Help! ASUS Zenbook UX32VD-DB71 or Clevo P150EM for Same Price?

[PR-0927]

So I'm going to be buying a laptop soon for law school (moving out to LA to go to USC Gould School of Law). And I'm just stuck between these two beauties. Please read the rest VERY carefully if you care to give any input.

The ASUS Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 is a 13.3" ultrabook with a 1080p IPS screen (matte/anti-glare), a backlit-keyboard, a low-power Core i7 dual-core Ivy Bridge (will this quickly feel slow and obsolete?), a GeForce GT 620M, 4GB of DDR3 1600 SDRAM, and a 500GB 5400RPM HDD (with a 30GB iSSD - it's one of those hybrid drive things).

Not a fan of the low RAM or slow HDD (I abhor 5400RPM HDDs). But, if I buy that laptop, I can purchase the following two things and swap out the RAM and HDD (RAM will then be 6GB):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147163
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231481


It's a great laptop. But it's by no means a super-powerful PC. It also has no optical drive.

But it looks beautiful. More importantly (I pretty much don't care about aesthetics), its portability, battery life, and weight are quite nice:

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-ux32vddb...er-p-4682.html


The Clevo P150EM is a 15.6" gaming laptop with a 1080p screen (matte/ant-glare 95% NTSC Color Gamut option available), a backlit-keyboard, a quad-core Core i7 Ivy Bridge, a GeForce GTX 670M, 12GB of DDR3 1600 SDRAM (the upgrade from 8GB to 12GB of RAM is free!), and a 500GB 7200RPM HDD.

It's a wonderful laptop as well. It's not exactly the most mobile or light, nor is its battery life amazing. And its design is fairly bland/blank. The screen resolution is the same as the Zenbook's, but since it's 15.6" rather than 13.3", the pixel density is less (meaning it's not as sharp - it also is not an IPS screen).

But it's HIGHLY-customizable and very powerful. Anything and everything can be upgraded on it, and the backlight features on the keyboard are pretty awesome:

http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9150-...em-p-4341.html


In the configurations I want them (the Zenbook with the separate RAM and SSD purchases, vs. the P150EM on that above website), the price is only $1 apart.

What do I do? What would you recommend? I will be taking my gaming desktop with me as well. But the swapping of parts in the Zenbook may be an overall pain, and may be nerve-wracking.

Thanks in advance for any advice I might get!

- PR-0927

[nm+]

Pretty much every law school makes you buy their laptop these days. Make sure you don't have to. No sense blowing another $1000 or so.

I got a pretty decent for the time IBM t42 when I went.
You want something small and light. Battery life is less of a concern as law schools have an amazing amount of plugs.
Get something durable as hell, the thing will be your life for the next 3 years.

You don't need an optical drive. If you're going to blow $1300, I'd get a Lenovo think pad. Yes, they're ugly, yes, they're expensive, but they'll last 3 years without a whimper. They won't be as fast, but you have a desktop for games (heh, you won't be playing games.)

edit: For the SSD, remember that a thin notebook like that may very well have a 1.8in HD. As I have learned this means that large SSDs cost roughly a billion dollars (300GB costs $500)

If you don't need discrete graphics (you don't), I'd recommend an X series or a T430s.
Otherwise, T420s, though you're stuck with an older CPU.
Let's be clear though, you could have any CPU and you'll be fine.

I might max out the RAM (obviously after you buy it), as that is the one thing you'll use.

[PR-0927]

Originally Posted by nm+

Pretty much every law school makes you buy their laptop these days. Make sure you don't have to. No sense blowing another $1000 or so.

I got a pretty decent for the time IBM t42 when I went.
You want something small and light. Battery life is less of a concern as law schools have an amazing amount of plugs.
Get something durable as hell, the thing will be your life for the next 3 years.

You don't need an optical drive. If you're going to blow $1300, I'd get a Lenovo think pad. Yes, they're ugly, yes, they're expensive, but they'll last 3 years without a whimper. They won't be as fast, but you have a desktop for games (heh, you won't be playing games.)

edit: For the SSD, remember that a thin notebook like that may very well have a 1.8in HD. As I have learned this means that large SSDs cost roughly a billion dollars (300GB costs $500)

If you don't need discrete graphics (you don't), I'd recommend an X series or a T430s.
Otherwise, T420s, though you're stuck with an older CPU.
Let's be clear though, you could have any CPU and you'll be fine.

I might max out the RAM (obviously after you buy it), as that is the one thing you'll use.

Ah, much appreciated on the input, especially from someone who went to law school.

Yeah, my school doesn't force me to buy one they supply (thankfully).

For me I've narrowed it down to these two, as a 1080p screen (minimum) is mandatory for me. I've been leaning towards the ASUS too, but I'm somewhat reluctant for two reasons: one, I'm paying the same price for less bang (inferior specs); two, I'm uneasy about such a thin laptop's durability - but the Internet seems to feel that it's quite durable and well-built.

The Lenovos get too expensive for what I want at minimum (1080p display; dual-core i5/i7 if smaller, quad-core if larger; 6GB of RAM, 7200RPM HDD). Otherwise I'd be considering them seriously too.

And I currently have a ****ty Dell Vostro 1500 (never, ever buying from this company again). It's lasted me since 2007, as I take good care of my tech. I think three years won't be an issue.

As for gaming, as silly as it might seem, getting to play some games will be my motivation to actually get **** done efficiently in law school - using this as an incentive works wonders for me.

Plus, I don't drink or party, and pretty much just spend my free time either playing games, lifting weights/swimming, watching movies/shows, or hanging with friends. So I should have some time to game.

Also, I've heard that if one can set aside a strict schedule for studying, daily, he/she can end up with quite a bit of free time in law school. I'm hoping this is true and that I can manage to do such a thing.

Also about the SSD - yeah, I need a 7mm one, so I made sure to find a cheap but good one at that price (the one I linked in my OP).

But I really do appreciate your input, and what you've said has given me more insight than what others have said so far. Thanks!

- PR-0927

[nm+]

Originally Posted by PR-0927

Ah, much appreciated on the input, especially from someone who went to law school.

Yeah, my school doesn't force me to buy one they supply (thankfully).

For me I've narrowed it down to these two, as a 1080p screen (minimum) is mandatory for me. I've been leaning towards the ASUS too, but I'm somewhat reluctant for two reasons: one, I'm paying the same price for less bang (inferior specs); two, I'm uneasy about such a thin laptop's durability - but the Internet seems to feel that it's quite durable and well-built.

The Lenovos get too expensive for what I want at minimum (1080p display; dual-core i5/i7 if smaller, quad-core if larger; 6GB of RAM, 7200RPM HDD). Otherwise I'd be considering them seriously too.

You're paying for quality

Plus, I don't drink or party, and pretty much just spend my free time either playing games, lifting weights/swimming, watching movies/shows, or hanging with friends. So I should have some time to game.

The only law students who don't drink are mormons (which is fine if you are).
Alcohol is a major social lubricant in LS, much more than college, unfortunately. This doesn't mean keggers (often) though.

Also, I've heard that if one can set aside a strict schedule for studying, daily, he/she can end up with quite a bit of free time in law school. I'm hoping this is true and that I can manage to do such a thing.

You sure have a lot of free time, it'll ruin you.

[PR-0927]

Originally Posted by nm+

You're paying for quality

Haha, of course. I agree. But I don't have that kind of a budget. Trying to keep it below $1400.

Actually, now I'm kind of split between the ASUS Zenbook UX32VD and the Sony VAIO S (15.5" variant). Bah.

The only law students who don't drink are mormons (which is fine if you are).
Alcohol is a major social lubricant in LS, much more than college, unfortunately. This doesn't mean keggers (often) though.

Yeah, I'm just a teetotaler with some very strong beliefs on mind-altering substances. Bit of a health freak too. Also, my biggest role model looked down upon the usage of alcohol, and personally, I wish to emulate that as best as I can.

I'll pay for it, as I did in college, socializing-wise. Oh well.

You sure have a lot of free time, it'll ruin you.

Haha, bit confused by what you wrote here? I do have free time at the moment...haven't started school yet...

- PR-0927

[Vxheous]

I assume you're bringing your desktop computer with you? If so, go with the zenbook for the portability, you probably won't be using it to play games anyhow.

[PR-0927]

Originally Posted by Vxheous

I assume you're bringing your desktop computer with you? If so, go with the zenbook for the portability, you probably won't be using it to play games anyhow.

Yep, that's the conclusion I came to as well! Good advice, sir.

[dcx_badass]

Originally Posted by nm+

Pretty much every law school makes you buy their laptop these days. Make sure you don't have to. No sense blowing another $1000 or so.

Out of pure curiosity, why?

[Vxheous]

I'm thinking about picking up a Zenbook Prime for my wife this coming Christmas (also coinsides with her Birthday) since she thinks my ASUS G74sx is too big to use while sitting on the couch. Zenbook looks really nice.

[PR-0927]

Got the ASUS UX32VD-DB71.

It's fantastic. I upgraded the RAM to 6GB and swapped out the snail-slow 5400RPM HDD for a nice Samsung 830 (128GB, 6.0Gbps).

The IPS screen is so beautiful, I want to cry, haha. Actually, Anandtech did some nice reviews, and the current line of Zenbooks have arguably the best displays around, in regards to contrast, brightness, and black level.

Better than even the MacBook Pro Retina display.

Although it should be noted that the color gamut is not as good as on the MacBook Pro Retina - but it's better than basically everything else.

It's VERY light, VERY well-built, and VERY slim.

I love this thing.

Also, despite the fact that it's running a barely-dedicated GPU (GeForce GT 620M), I was pleasantly surprised that it was able to max out Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion very smoothly, at 1080p and even at 16xAF and 4xMSAA (I did not try 8xMSAA).

Of course I have my gaming desktop for any heavy gaming, but it's nice to see that I can do some high-quality portable gaming, if need be (I usually need an RTS or two on my laptops).

- PR-0927

[nm+]

Originally Posted by dcx_badass

Out of pure curiosity, why?

Generally because you're required to own a laptop for testing, so they make you buy one that can support the testing software as part of the tuition.

It actually worked pretty well at my school as we had IBM notebooks (thinkpad t43) and our IT dept was an authorized IBM warranty center. If your laptop had an issue, you just brought it up and thy'd generally just swap your HD into another one.