[Q] Laptop/Convertible Buying Conundrum

[MattDN93]

Hi guys,

So I know these threads get posted often, but I'm frustrated in trying to pick something for my needs and I hoped you'd have some advice. Here's the context:

I'm a CompEng student, currently have a 5 year old HP dv6 which I've used hard, with an i7-2630QM, 8GB RAM, Radeon 6770M and a 128GB Samsung EVO SSD which I retrofitted. The problem with it is that the (2nd replacement) battery is pretty much useless now, despite redoing the thermals it overheats and the discrete GPU no longer detects (long story, I think the chip could actually be KIA). The USB daughterboard shorted and it's frustrating to carry this thing with my huge 120W power brick around.

So...I'm looking for a new laptop at a budget of around R15k, but I'm leaning towards a convertible/ultrabook/2-in-1 over a gaming device for convenience - but I still want enough performance for say 20 Chrome tabs (gaming will be on the back burner now - I get it :erm and a chipset that'll handle fairly heavy productivity workload without dying.

I've found three I hoped to get your opinion on:

http://www.webantics.com/asus-trans...-5y71-125-full-hd-touchscreen-2-in-1-notebook
Question: 4GB and Core M 5Y71 suitable for heavy Chrome usage? Nice form factor though.

https://www.incredible.co.za/dell/?___store=incredibleconnection
Great spec just worried about the 5400RPM HDD, could I retrofit my SSD? Also is a 5000 series Intel CPU worth it given Skylake is out? Wait for the Skylake variant?

http://www.laptopdirect.co.za/Asus-UX305UA-FC010T-lp-133072.php
Skylake CPU but only 4GB RAM - worth it?

If you have any other choices in the R15k price range, please do advise. Thanks so much!

 

[CataclysmZA]

What programs do you use now, does your university give you software as part of your degree, and what games do you currently play? Will you ever use the stylus on the Dell? Do you particularly want a convertible notebook?

 

[MattDN93]

What programs do you use now, does your university give you software as part of your degree, and what games do you currently play? Will you ever use the stylus on the Dell? Do you particularly want a convertible notebook?

I use all sorts - Visual Studio, Office, VirtualBox, MATLAB, several other IDEs, light Photoshop, Steam amongst others. University gives us Office 365 and MATLAB, whilst the IDEs we use for assembly stuff is just free to download. I'd just want to run those satisfactorily (preferably some simultaneously).

As for games, I played BF4, DiRT Rally, and older COD titles (4, MW2, MW3).

At this point, I'd be happy to sacrifice gaming ability for a fairly strong device (in performance) that's thinner/lighter than what I have now. If I used the Dell stylus it'd be for lectures, highlighting and annotating existing notes (its passive, I believe?).

The convertible part would be helpful for watching movies and series (no TV in my student flat at present).