Reddit reviews ASUS K401 14" Ultra Slim Full HD Notebook Computer, Intel Core i7-5500U 2.4GHz,4G*2[4G ON BD] RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 940M GDDR3 2GB, 750GB HDD, Windows 10

if you're just playing Civ, you should be able to get by on integrated graphics, so long as you aren't playing huge maps.

You could get this Asus K401LB which is 3.6 lbs and has Nvidia GT 940M graphics. It does, however, lack display quality, which is going to be more important for you if you're working with Photoshop and Lightroom.

I would suggest the Asus Zenbook UX305UA, especially while it's on sale for $699.

It's extremely lightweight, has a high quality 13.3" 1920x1080 IPS display, an i5-6200U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, great battery life, etc. Keeping graphics on medium in Civ V and you should have no problem playing it with the integrated graphics. I'd turn off unit animations, though. Though, honestly I turn those off on my desktop too. I hate waiting for them and quick battles always.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EI97J0W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1SH4EAPSJFCZH

found this. decided to extend my budget and screen size just a bit. hopefully its in stock after i sell my desktop

One of your best options is probably the Asus K401 for $625. It is probably your only option if you really want a 14 inch, as almost all gaming laptops in this price range are 15.6 inches. It is pretty light weight at 3.9 pounds, and has pretty powerful specs with an i7 processor and 8 GB of ram. It also has a decent battery, and a 940M graphics card that will allow you to play light and moderate games just fine like Civ 5.

ok. I have a 1200 dollar budget, and I think this is what im gonna do.
700 on an ultrabook with a dedicated gpu, like a 940m, like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EI97J0W/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=

200 on the r9 480
Have my i5 4690k already
50 for a motherboard
50 for 1tb hdd
50 for 8-16 gb ram
50 for 120 gb ssd
100 for mini itx case

This is a nice cheaper laptop that still ticks all your boxes and features a dedicated GPU for lighter gaming. More than enough for Hearthstone on High. Im not exactly sure what the battery is, but pretty much all smaller laptops I'm aware of have decent battery.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EI97J0W/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_16?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A133XRPP18G6HD

Only thing I've been able to find in this range is the ASUS K401: https://www.amazon.com/K401-Notebook-Computer-i7-5500U-GeForce/dp/B01EI97J0W/

EDIT: There is also apparently a new Asus K-series model: (two links, not sure the difference between them)
https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Non-Touch-i7-5500U-GeForce-Windows/dp/B01EPXFAKC?SubscriptionId=AKIAJQYFXGBZ6MDO67HQ&tag=shopineer-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01EPXFAKC
https://www.amazon.com/Asus-Back-lit-Ultrabook-Bluetooth-Wireless-AC/dp/B01GKC1A9Q?SubscriptionId=AKIAJQYFXGBZ6MDO67HQ&tag=shopineer-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01GKC1A9Q

I'm like 99% sure I'm going to go with this, thanks a ton!

EDIT: Just wondering, is this the same laptop for a much cheaper price? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EI97J0W/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=

How about the ASUS K401 it comes with ntel Core i7-5500U 2.4GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 940M GDDR3 2GB, 750GB HDD, Windows 10

Here is what you should look for in a college laptop http://laptoplegend.com/2016/good-laptops-for-college-students/

What do you thing about this?
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-K401-Notebook-Computer-i7-5500U/dp/B01EI97J0W

What about this ?