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id definitely suggest you save $150 and get the asus zenbook because it will definitely perform the same or even better than the macbook in some cases. it has a great IPS display, good enough ram, a great 7th gen i5 cpu which with easily allow you to multitask and play those games you mentioned and its built quality is pretty good even though the macbook would get the edge, battery life under general use is just great as well.

Thanks guys for recommendations.

Comparing Acer Aspire S13 ($600) to Asus Zenbook UX330UA ($700) I noticed that Asus' only advantage​s are slightly better processor and weight. I would definitely go for Acer because of the price.

However, I'm concerned about (what I've read) poor build quality of Acer. As I'll be traveling a lot, I would prefer to have a solid laptop (ideally aluminium over plastic). I can't really judge which one is better built.
What do you think?

I've noticed also that someone recommended Lenovo IdeaPad 710s ($800) in another thread. It seems to be built much better than Acer and Asus (I'm assuming it would last longer), has i7u processor and Iris 540.
Do you think those differences are worth $200 more?

And the weird thing, I find that specific Lenovo model to be more like $950 in EU, which is a lot more. Do you guys know a good dealer that is shipping them to EU?

Happy to help you out SPMrFantastic :-), here is something that is in the $700 range and your going to love. Are you a fan of hp because this hp will convert you into a hp lover. The HP ENVY 13-ab016nr Notebook 13inch laptop is a thing of beauty. It has an intel i5-7200u processor can manage you office work and web browsing with 256 ssd storage makes the laptop boot up in second. Nice Full HD (1920x1080) IPS eDP BrightView WLED-backlit, also 8GB LPDDR3 SDRAM. Iknow you said weight is not a concern but I most say that 3.31lbs is a nice weight to carry around.

I would go with the ASUS ZenBook UX330UA-AH54 13.3-inch Ultra-Slim Laptop its really light 2.6lbs,the incredibly Powerful with Intel Core i5 2.5GHz 7200U Processor and 8GB DDR3 Memory gives a wonderful performing laptop with 256 GB SSD which gives it boost in opening up programmes.

I have this laptop. It's been great, the 8th gen core is blazingly fast. It's not good for gaming but office work, general screwing around and other tasks are fine. I can edit video quite well too. We have the silver color than the rose gold.

Battery life with normal use has been around 15 hours. Heavy use 10-12. There was issues with its previous generation having a noisy fan. Let me dig up the amazon link.

Edit.. Nope, I have a different model.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075N1YHVK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

UX303UA for $850. It just went back up recently coming from $799. For $350 more you could get the UB which has double Memory, +4GB ram, dedicated GPU, and a jump from an i5 to an i7.

There is also the UX305 which is an older edition that only comes in gold. Not worth it IMO if you could get an even better one for $100 more.

How does this compare to https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075N1YHVK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1 ?
It's an amazing discount but looking at the specs I'm not sure what I'm gaining with that $250 bump other than a faster processor, double the disc and ram which I'm not sure I'll use.

Never buy Macbook,
XPS is decent but a little overpriced for its value.

Try Asus Zenbook Pro UX550VE-DB71T.
https://www.amazon.com/UX550VE-DB71T-15-6-inch-i7-7700HQ-Fingerprint-Ultrabook/dp/B07532Y2LL

https://www.amazon.com/UX550VE-DB71T-15-6-inch-NanoEdge-Processor-Fingerprint/dp/B07532Y2LL/ref=pd_sbs_147_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5F3Q5TR8E9SGNYCMC1RB

This is a way better deal right? Not worth $450 for an 1tb drive opposed to the stock 500gb

The UX303UA has a backlit keyboard. Why would anyone skip a major feature like this? It's awesome.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014VHW24Y?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00

I'm really tempted to buy the HP ENVY 13. Looking for an ultra-portable with great battery life, SSD, and good display. Budget is exactly US$ 800. Narrowed my search down to the HP and the new ASUS UX330, but I'm leaning toward the HP.

Suggestions?

I guess few months. Some are already here, like the MSI Prestige 14 - I7-10710U (6cores/12threads), GTX 1650 MQ

I would consider the ASUS ZenBook Ultra-Slim Laptop, 13.3-inch Full HD, 8th gen Intel i5-8250U Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlit keyboard, Fingerprint Reader, Anti-Glare, Windows 10, Grey, UX330UA-AH55

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/offer-listing/B00BNHOQFY/ref=sr_1_8_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1499918162&sr=8-8&keywords=HP+EliteBook&condition=used

What do you think about the Acer Aspire compared to the Samsung an Asus models you've been using?

Take a look at the [Asus Zenbook UX303UB] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014VHVZFQ/ref=twister_B017BCF43W?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1)
It has a discrete Nvidia GT940M GPU.

Why not this instead? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M18UZF5/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

As far as I can tell it's an M.2 slot, but I would double check and do some research first

Here's a 256GB SSD: http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-256GB-Internal-Solid-CT256M550SSD4/dp/B00ITFZTLI/

512GB: http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-512GB-Internal-Solid-CT512M550SSD4/dp/B00ITFZTHC

Found a video showing how to take it apart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsF0Bpuj8ss

Does this help?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0746P25QX/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1503530056&sr=1-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=acer+swift+3+sf314-52&dpPl=1&dpID=416dxj9GuYL&ref=plSrch

ASUS Zenbook UX303LA - 128gb SSD, Haswell, FHD Display, 3.2lbs, 8GB RAM - $899
ASUS Zenbook UX31A-DH71 13.3-Inch(1920 x 1080) i7-3517U 4GB 256GB SSD -
256GB SSD, Ivy Bridge, Matte FHD IPS display, 2.9lbs, 4GB RAM, 5hrs battery life review - $999