Which Laptop is for me? Please give me consideration pointers

[Live2Deliver]

Hi,
I'm now looking through laptops to replace my 7 years old Acer laptop (upgraded to Win8.1 running smooth), it is showing its age hardware-wise.

Long story short, below are my considerations:
SHOULD be light (1.5 - <2.0 KG)
MUST have Ethernet
DECENT video card - I don't mind Intel 4000
SHOULD have either VGA or micro-hdmi (I have the Surface RT adapter)
i5 or above
Screen 13" above as long as light weight. Doesn't matter touch screen.
Not above Singapore Dollars 1,500 preferred
SHOULD be future-proof and component upgradable / repairable
SHOULD have ease of repairs (spare parts availability, drivers support)

I have shortlisted the following brands and models. They are hyper-linked to local brochures and info:
MSI GP60 (SGD1499) - Awesome specs for price, removable parts, Too heavy
Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro (SGD1949) - Micro HDMI, Light ultraportable, expensive
Lenovo Flex 2 14 (SGD1299) - Fits the deal! no VGA/micro-HDMI, has to purchase adapter
Lenovo U430 Touch (SGD1399)

Dell - no particular model
No wish to buy Acer or Asus (used them, regretted)

I'm starting this post to crowd-source for ideas on what to look out for when buying a laptop, if my points are valid..
I like to hear what else I can look out for or are my considerations valid.

As a plus, advise any models you think fits my deal. Please give me some support and drop your message below! Thank you!:excited:

 

[Windows Moan]

Hi

There are places that build them to your spec so you can choose what you need.. With out knowing where you are I can't suggest 'em!

I would say a resounding no the Yoga, they're a bit crap and gimmicky.

Have you looked at HP?

edit: Forgot to say Hi!!

 

[Live2Deliver]

Thanks Windows Moan for writing back.

I'm living in Singapore. I've been advised to avoid custom laptops due to certain complications like quality (compatibility, casing and external look factor) and warranties since all parts have different policies, + they may be more expensive after building.

However i'm using a custom PC myself which so far has no hassle, don't know if the same can be said for laptops.

I had a HP desktop before, it was a Pentium 4 3.06GHz era one. Gave up on HQ after finding it full of bloatware and problematic, like HP software problem and even crashing, and not to say the OEM modification to the OS on it which means there are certain presets after each formats, unless I buys my own OS.

I'm giving up on the yoga too due to limited USB port, and smaller screen size. The only reason now for me to buy it is the excellent QHD screen and 256GB SSD option over conventional HDD

 

[Windows Moan]

No problem. I always build my own desktops because I don't like paying for things I don't use/need. On the laptop front, I have to admit I love my MacBook Air (Haswell) but got a decent student discount on that.

R.E. Custom Laptops - I live in the UK so can't recommend anywhere near you obviously! However, a friend just grabbed a custom laptop from a pcspecialist.co.uk and I must admit I'm quite impressed although, he's only had a few days so can't review the long term build quality but..

(main specs)
Quad Core i7-4910MQ 2.9Ghz
16Gb Ram
NVIDIA GTX 765M Graphics Card - 2Gb DDR5 Ram
240Gb SSD
15.6" IPS Screen.
3x USB 3.0
Bluray Drive (Would have preferred without an optical but hey)
The case is quite good quality at only 1 1/2" ish thick when closed and also aesthetically reasonable.

...about ?800 GBP - Good value in my opinion. He is using it primarily for recording Live Bands on the road.

No OS included but has installed his second Win 8.1 license (I'm sure you get 2 computers with one license purchase) without issue.

Hope this helps and good hunting