Hey guys, I'm looking to get a new laptop and I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations on brands, models, etc. I'm looking for a laptop around $1000 - $1500 for work purposes that can run Adobe programs (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) with ease and maybe play the odd game or two, though it's not required. The laptop should preferably be lightweight since I would travel with it a lot. Much appreciated :)

I haven't used this laptop before, but anything the Wirecutter recommends is generally top notch.

got a scratch and dent Lenovo y50 with an i7 8gb RAM and 860m 2gb vram for $525 and for me it works like a charm but battery leaves a lot to be desired. For a gaming laptop it can't be beat but i'm starting to think i should have gone the ultraportable route instead with the ability to convert to a tablet. if i were you i'd probably go for a Surface Pro 3; incredibly lightweight and still powerful af. It could probably manage a lot of games on low or mid settings, too (though don't expect miracles in that regard).

e: i know it's probably not what you're looking for, just wanted to share my personal experience with laptops. the y50 is a bit over 5lbs which may be more than you'd like but still quite good for a decent gaming laptop.

Tested recently recommended the Dell XPS 13.

http://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/532747-best-windows-ultrabook-today/

I went through something similar recently. I'm a windows desktop guy and used to be a windows laptop guy but my needs changed over the years. Here's what I've had over the past 4 years,

Lenovo y500

Macbook 13" Retina

Macbook 15" Retina

Surface 3 Pro

Dell XPS 13 (2015)

HP Spectre x360 (2015)

Macbook (New 12 Inch)

The Lenovo was cheap and powerful but super heavy, buggy, and not very well made. It's fine if you don't care about weight and quality of the trackpad/keys.

The XPS 13 is a great notebook with an abysmal trackpad. It was completely unusable for me. If you don't need a trackpad, that may be a good choice.

Surface 3 Pro was very good and has great touch/stylus capabilities but it's expensive for what it is.

The Spectre x360 was a buggy piece of garbage. Don't bother, I returned it after a day.

Macbook 13" is relatively inexpensive, well made, fairly light but not super powerful. You'll be able to play some games on it but not many.

The Macbook 15" Retina is a great machine but expensive and a little heavy

The Macbook, which is what I'm using now is fantastic but it's expensive and may not be powerful enough for you.

I would probably recommend the Retina 13" with 256 GB (512 is you need extra storage, otherwise you can use the SD slot). It's not very heavy, has great battery life, a fantastic trackpad, and a great display. You can play some games on it but you aren't going to be running Batman, Witcher, etc.

If you need something with more horsepower but want it to be lighter, you're going to pay a premium, probably at least $2k. Otherwise you'll have to go with something like the Lenovo Y50.

@horseman6: Yeah I've been thinking about MacBook Pro as a viable option now that I'm looking through the suggestions like the XPS 13. That looks sexy as hell and has the specs I'm looking for. Shame to hear about the touchpad though, that's the thing I loved most about my MacBook Pro I had a couple of years ago, that touchpad was practically flawless and nothing really compares. Right now it's a toss up between the two: XPS 13 with its 256GB SSD or the MacBook Pro 13" with its better touchpad.

The Lenovo Y50, T450s and W550s were also on my list but they're a little too bulky/heavy though their specs are better than XPS 13 or MacBook at a similar price range.

http://www.eurocom.com/ec/configure(1,275,0)ec

I have a G550JK, picked it up when nvidia brought out the maxwell chips. I travel a bit so made sure that it's pretty slim & fits in a messenger bag. Cost me $1000 when I got it, think you'd be able to get a similar one with a 960 for around the same price now.

If you are going to be traveling a lot, I would get the FHD rather than the QHD XPS 13. Yes, it's a lower res, but the battery life is double that of the QHD. Other than that, the Macbook and XPS 13 are very similar in performance. The one thing I always keep in mind is that Apple products have great resale value. I trade my laptop in every year (by trade I mean resell), lose maybe 25% and then upgrade. You won't be able to do that with the XPS 13.

Avoid Apple macbooks, there is no replaceable battery option, high repair cost and fragile.

Get a laptop that fits your needs. Check if it has enough processor power to run applications, usb/hdmi ports and storage.

Check this Laptop Buying Guide and Checklist so you don't get the wrong machine.