For your budget, stick with 14"
Heavy usage of AutoCAD and Solidwork may tax the CPU and GPU more than Dota2
Anyway, the best you can hope for is i5 M CPU, and some mid-range GPU.

Acer
Aspire V3-471G-53212G75d, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT630M@RM1899[2.3kg], 2GB, 750GB W8

Dell
Vostro 5460, i5-3230M +Nvidia GT630M@RM1899[1.54kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Ubuntu 12.04, 3 cell; W8SL@RM2099

Lenovo
G480, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT635M@RM1699, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), FreeDOS
G480, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT635M@RM1899, 4GB, 1TB (5400rpm), W8, 2 yrs warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

Very tight budget
AutoCAD and Solidwork actually could make use of powerful CPU & GPU.
But you may have to look at i3 M CPU and low-med range GPU

Lenovo
G480, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT635M@RM1699, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), FreeDOS

Dell
Inspiron 14 (3420), i3-3110M + Nvidia GT625M@RM1599[2.1kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8 (not easy to find now)
Inspiron 14-3421, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT625M@RM1649[1.99kg], Ubuntu, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), 6-cell; W8SL@RM1899

Acer
V5-551G-84552G1T, A8-4555 + AMD HD7650M@RM1599, 2GB, 1TB, W8

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

" *prefer can use longer, more reliable, motherboard not easy to get burn** " = with your budget, it's budget line laptop. Take good care of the unit, and pray hard you don't get any lemon unit right out of the box

A45VS-VX026H, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT645M@RM2199[2.4kg], 2GB, 500GB, W8
K46CM-WX177H, i5-3317U + Nvidia GT635M@RM2199[2kg], 2GB, 750GB, W8, OD
N56VZ-S3151H, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT650M@RM2799[2.7kg][B&O], 4GB, 750GB, W8; color: black
N56VB-S3070H, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M + (1920x1080)@TBA[2.7kg][B&O], 4GB, 750GB, W8

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

Discrete GPU from Nvidia is more powerful than the build-in GPU from Intel.
Don't know what "games" you play, but a better GPU is never a bad think for the same price

Please make sure you get good external cooling solution (cooling pad, table fan ... ) whenever you use laptop for a long time / gaming on it ...

GTX780M? That re-seller can time travel like "back to the future"?

In that case, you actually do only need Intel HD 4000

Errrrr ... Ask the re-seller to show you the "ultrabook" sticker for the A45VS (it is not )

If you really want ultrabook:

K46CM-WX059V, i3-3217U + Nvidia GT635M@RM1899[2kg], 2GB, 500GB, 4-cell battery, W7HP, OD
Use the remaining of your budget to change the HDD to 256G SSD (~ RM600+/-) and you will have a very satisfying machine

Remember to negotiate.

If you want to play with touchscreen in W8: (but don't recommend it for now due to current hinge design)
S200E, i3-3217U + Intel HD4000 + (1366x768; touch)@RM1799[1.38kg], 4GB, 500GB, W8; colors: Grey/Pink/White, 2-cell, 1 year
S300CA-C1033H, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + (1366x768;touch)@RM2399, 4GB, 500GB, W8
S400CA-CA006H, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 24GB mSATA + 500GB + (1366x768; touch)@RM2299[2kg], 4GB, W8
13" or smaller is better as the screen won't be too heavy.

This post has been edited by nexus2238: May 23 2013, 05:46 PM

All gaming laptops will get hot it's a matter of degree Get good external cooling solution (cooling pad, table fan ... )

Gaming laptops are expensive.

Asus
G55VW-S1216H, i7-3630QM +Nvidia GTX660M (2GB) + (1920x1080)@RM3999[3.78kg], 4GB, 1TB(5400rpm), W8

Lenovo
Y400, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT750M@RM2499, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS, 120wPSU, swappable ODD, 2 years warranty
Y400, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT750M@RM2799, 4GB, 500GB, W8, 120wPSU, swappable ODD, 2 years warranty
Y500, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080)@RM2999, 8GB, 1TB, W8, red backlit, swappable ODD, 120w psu, 2 yrs
Y500, i7-3630QM + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080)@RM3899, 8GB, 1TB, W8, red backlit, swappable GN37 exGPU & ODD, 120w+170w psu, 2 yrs


www.illegear.com
Illegear RE-15, i5-3210M + Nvidia GTX660M + (1920x1080)@RM3299, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), FreeDOS [CPU Options: i5-3210M - i7-3840XM][/color]

Prices are RSP, negotiable.
I think Y400/500 is your best bet. Use your remaining budget to get SSD (256G ~ RM600+/-).

illegear run promotion from time to time, may want to check it out. (check with Prince J or Mr. Docter)

Where is the warranty support for the Clevo? If overseas, you may want to factor that in to your potential ownership cost (shipping to and fro could cost you big bucks )

If you are going for the AMD 7970M GPU, you should not cut corner on the CPU (could bottleneck). Certain games and apps do make use of quad core CPU

If you are not in a hurry, you should wait. Not only Haswell, but AMD and Nvidia are releasing HD8xxxM and GTX7xxM respectively in coming months, could give 5 - 10% boost in performance for the same money you spend now

Just to share my experience on w8 clean install.

1. I bought a Lenovo E430 for my wife recently. It come with W8Pro licence and DVDs. On the HDD is a W7Pro installed (W8P come with downgraded W7P license) but without DVD.
2. I bought a Plextor M5S 256G SSD.
3. Asked my wife, she said she want to try W8P (she has some sampling of it on my old Y580, which I had passed to my cousin).
4. Checked the UEFI, the W8P license key was already in the UEFI. But I could not figure out the way to extract it. Key extractor would extract W7P license key as W7P was installed on the HDD.
5. Extracted the W7P license key. Also use the Lenovo apps to create backup recovery discs for W7P (since the laptop don't come with W7P DVD, and I never know if my wife will change her mind ).
6. Used the DVDs to install W8P on the HDD (I did not swap the SSD immediately). As usual, has all the Lenovo bloat ware.
7. Extracted the W8P license key.
8. Swapped the SSD in.
9. Did a clean install of W8P (MSDN ISO copy) on the SSD.
10. It never asked my about the W8P license key during OS installation. Installed all the Lenovo drivers, and laptop is running smooth.

So the conclusion from my experience is: If W8 OEM license key is in UEFI, you can do a clean installation of W8 from clean ISO (mine is from MSDN), and it will not ask you to key in license key during installation.

Raymond, RAM stick price fluctuate. It has been on the up recently. Don't sweat it
http://www.dramexchange.com/

Yoga 13 is pretty good, can turn it into tablet mode.
IdeaPad Yoga 13, i5-3337U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM3399, 4GB, 2 years; colors: grey/orange
It's will be a great deal if you could get it at RM2.5k if it is a brand new box-sealed unit (not a display )

HP
Envy SpectreXT 13-2215TU, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM2899[1.39kg], 4GB, W8,backlit keyboard (no touchscreen, not hybrid)

Sony
Vaio SVT13126CVS, i5-3317U + Intel HD4000 + (1366x768;touch) + 128GB SSD@RM2899[1.66kg], 4GB, W8; color: silver; Vaio carrying case
Vaio SVT13136CVS, i5-3337U + Intel HD4000 + (1366x768;touch) + 128GB SSD@RM2999[1.66kg], 4GB, W8; color: silver; Vaio carrying case
(not hybrid)

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

I don't owned a Y500.

1. I strongly suggest you do these preparatory:
a. Do a recovery backup of the W8 (just in case).
b. Use key extractor to extract the W8 license key.
c. Go into UEFI and ascertain that W8 license key is already in UEFI.
d. Download all the necessary drivers from Lenovo website. (You may need to pay attention as iinm, different trackpad and wifi adapter has different drivers )

2. Please ensure whatever W8 ISO you get is really CLEAN

3. What I understand from Y500 owners is that Lenovo one-key recovery (the consumer version that come with Y500) will not work if you do a clean install of W8. No big loss if you know what you are doing

4. Fire away

If you are concerned, spend ~ RM300 to extend the warranty to 3 years on site (machine already come with 2 years carry in warranty). Should cover it until your next upgrade

The funny thing is most of the models with AMD CPU is way below your budget

Lots of the 13" don't have ODD anymore.
btw, why do you "heavy usage for DVD"? Can't you ISO it and mount it? Respond is much faster that way

RAM could be upgraded after market, normally will not void hardware warranty. 4G sticks ~ RM90.

Will help if you could tell us the apps you multi-task on

Asus
A45VS-VX026H, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT645M@RM2199[2.4kg], 2GB, 500GB, W8
K46CM-WX177H, i5-3317U + Nvidia GT635M@RM2199[2kg], 2GB, 750GB, W8, OD

Dell
Inspiron 14R (Special Edition), i5-3210M + Nvidia GT640M(28nm Kepler)@RM2049[2.38kg], 4GB, 500GB(7200rpm), W7HP/W8
Inspiron 14R, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT625M@RM2099[2.33], 4GB, 750GB(5400rpm), W8SL
Vostro 5460, i5-3230M +Nvidia GT630M@RM1899[1.54kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Ubuntu 12.04, 3 cell; W8SL@RM2099
Vostro 5460, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT630M + (32GB mSATA SSD + 500GB(5400rpm))@RM2199[1.54kg], 4GB, W8SL, 3 cell (Vostro 5460 only has 1 RAM slot. You need to get 8G stick to replace the 4G stick)

HP
Envy4-1238TX, i5-3337U + AMD HD8750M@RM2099[Beats][1.75kg], 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8
Envy Dv4-5202TX/5203TX, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT630M@RM2399[Beats], 4GB, 750GB(5400rpm), W8
Pavilion G4-2107AX, A10-4600M + AMD HD7670M@RM1899, 2GB, 500GB

Lenovo
Z400, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty
G480, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT635M@RM1699, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), FreeDOS
G480, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT635M@RM1899, 4GB, 1TB (5400rpm), W8, 2 yrs warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.
Use the remaining of your budget to extend warranty (Dell, 3 years on site ~ RM250+), swap HDD with SSD (SSD 256G ~ RM600+/-, 128G ~ RM300+/-).

Aiya, just a hobbyist

https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2656663
sifu TJ, with the help of lots of other sifus, is maintaining a price list for laptop here

For the Vostro 5460, you can find owners comments here:
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2806893

Specs not that old lah
Samsung 840 SSD just get released for < 1 year.
AMD HD 7970M is still the top mobile GPU from AMD until the HD 8970M come into the market
Ivy bridge is still the "current" gen CPU

For this spec, the whole Haswell thing is more relevant to you in terms of energy usage profile.
Even though the IGPU (the gaming laptop most likely will get CPU with Iris Pro Intel 5200 IGPU) may not be relevant in gaming laptop, but if AMD Enduro do its job, there will be lots of apps that can stay with the more power efficient Intel 5200, which help to extend battery performance further.

If the specs is good enough for your usage requirement, by all means go for it. It is a powerful setup

But as I said, do watch out for warranty support

This post has been edited by nexus2238: May 27 2013, 03:43 PM

AMD's competition Nvidia GPU at the top end has been about price/performance for a while.
Now that AMD has revealed its card on HD 8970M, just wait for Nvidia to show us its GTX780M

Anyway, HD 7970M / 8970M are powerful GPU, good enough for lots of people

Check with your sis on what apps will she be using.
Most recent version of Stat / Math apps could make use of quad core. So if she run data intensive apps, get a i7 quad core.

Tight budget But usage requirement don't need powerful CPU/GPU.

Dell
Inspiron 14-3421, B997 + Intel HD@RM1199[1.99kg], Win8SL, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), 4-cell
Inspiron 14-3421, i3-3217U + Intel HD4000@RM1399[1.99kg], Win8SL, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), 4-cell

HP
Pavilion Sleekbook 14-b010TU, B987 + Intel HD@RM1399, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8
Pavilion Sleekbook 14-b051TU, i3-2367M + Intel HD3000@RM1499, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8

Lenovo
G480, i3-2348M + Intel HD3000@RM1299, 2GB, 500GB (5400rpm), FreeDOS; W8@RM1499
S300, Pentium 997 + Intel HD3000 @RM1199[1.8kg], 2GB,500GB(5400rpm), freeDOS; W7HB/W8@RM1399, no ODD, 1 yr warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

If the girl don't need "traditional laptop form factor" (with keyboard blah blah blah ... ), can consider tablet for her usage.

All laptop get hot easily, just a matter of degree If you can, get external cooling solution (cooling pad ~ RM80 is good enough, or table fan )

For your budget and usage, stay with 14". More choice, and 14" and 15" image look the same under the same resolution (1366x768). Unless you need dedicated num key for your assignment (but you could get good external numpad, Logitech wireless only ~ RM90).

Asus
K46CM-WX060V, B987 + Nvidia GT630M@RM1699[2kg], 2GB, 500GB, W8, OD
K46CM-WX059V, i3-3217U + Nvidia GT635M@RM1899[2kg], 2GB, 500GB, 4-cell battery, W7HP, OD
A55VD-SX471/472/473, i3-3110M + Nvidia GT610M@RM1599[2.52kg], 2GB, 500GB, W8

HP
Envy4-1009TU/1019TU, i3-2367M + Intel HD3000 + 32GB mSATA+ 500GB(5400rpm)@RM1899[Beats][1.75kg], 4GB, W7HP
Pavilion Sleekbook 14-b051TU, i3-2367M + Intel HD3000@RM1499, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8
Pavilion G4-2110TU, i3-3110M + Intel HD4000@RM1599, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W7HP
Pavilion G4-2132/2133TX, i5-3210M + AMD HD7670M@RM1899[2.19kg], 2GB ,500GB(7200rpm), W7HB

Lenovo
G480, i5-3230M + Intel HD4000@RM1499, 2GB, 500GB (5400rpm), FreeDOS
G480, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT635M@RM1699, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), FreeDOS
G480, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT635M@RM1899, 4GB, 1TB (5400rpm), W8, 2 yrs warranty
Ideapad G580, i5-3210M + Nvidia GT630M@RM1699, 2GB, 500GB, freeDOS, 1 yr warranty

Prices are RSP, negotiable.

A lot of "slowness" in old laptop is probably due to dust (if no cleaning) or just bloating OS (do a clean install will help).
Also consider a SSD, tend to make laptop become a lot snappier. 256G only RM600 +/- now. Some reseller is also selling the Crucial M500 1G SSD for RM1.8k

For apps and games (has to program for it) that can make use of quad core CPU, it really help.
In terms of heat generated, it also depends on the max TDP. E.g. i5-3230M is 35W. i7-3720QM is drawing 45W, but i7-3632QM is also only 35W. (think of TDP as the max heat the CPU is allowed to run up )

But Clevo gaming laptop is designed with powerful CPU / GPU in mind. The AMD HD 7970M generate more heat than the i7 CPU