let me tell you, there is no perfect brands in the world. so wherever u go, your laptop will still in risk of unwanted break downs. so i advice you, get a laptop with good warranty support (Dell, Lenovo, HP) and double check and confirm everything is fine if you insist on getting ASUS. dont listen to peoples whom like to judge through brandings.

above those 3 i suggested, the Dell does a very pretty job out there.

if you increase your budget, you may look at these :

ASUS
S550CB-CJ102H i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M + 24GB mSATA + 500GB + (1366x768; touch)@RM2499[1.83kg], 4GB, W8

Dell
Inspiron 15R, i7-4500U + AMD HD8850M (GDDR5)@RM2449 [2.32kg], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm), Ubuntu 12.04 , 6 cell; W8SL@RM2649

according to the illegear topic, it seems like you are unhappy with your illegear laptop. anyway, dont go for MSI GE-40, the thinness is trapping the heat and likely to damage the internal components. the Y510P is good enough, especially SLI version ones. or top up a little for this :

MSI GE60-2OE, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GTX765M + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM4299,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, backlit keyboard

after negotiate will be around RM4100. try your best to negotiate hard with sellers.

This post has been edited by raymondtong94: Sep 19 2013, 09:07 AM

1. same stuff. both screen resolution are 1366x768.
2. 6 cells have longer battery life, and can hold more charges but depends on the size of the cell too.

ASUS have the G55 but the specs arent pretty enough. 3rd gen i7 and GTX660M.

the Y510P uses haswell processor.

what about the new vaio duo?

i like the new vaio duo. its astonishingly beautiful but the convertible hinge looks pretty cheap and may break at anytime.

the sales associate says that to convert, pull or push the top center of the screen.

This post has been edited by raymondtong94: Sep 19 2013, 10:11 AM

i dont think there is 2 SATA bays on the GE-60

for the SSD, if you have retail version, just give it a clean install. if you have OEM version, scared that you might need some practice.

if you have softwares like CCcleaner (for simpleness) you can disable it.

if you are willing to spend a little more penny, you can choose a SSD.
the performance of a SSD is you will never forget its fastness.

sure, why not?
just FYI, if you want to hard drive bays, you need to buy a caddy drive for the Z500 but will sacrifice your DVD-RW drive though.

bad for heavy/professional applications. those 5400rpm drives are suitable for storing data and files.

considered as professional applications.
non professional applications - games, cleaners, download managers, simple applications

120/128GB - RM3xx
240/256GB - RM6xx
480/512GB - RM11xx

you wont lose your DVD drive unless you swap the DVD drive with a HDD caddy drive, which doesnt comes as default configuration.

even though SSD cost a bomb, but they are good investment. even after a year of usage, the SSD value is hard to drop.

Acer
Iconia W510, Intel Z2760 + Intel GMA + 64GB SSD + (1920x1080 IPS; touch)@RM1699, 2GB, W8
P3-131-21292G06, Pentium 2129Y + Intel HD + 60GB SSD + (1366x768 IPS;touch)@RM1799, 2GB, W8

ASUS
VivoBook S200E, i3-3217U + Intel HD4000 + (1366x768; touch)@RM1699[1.38kg], 4GB, 500GB, W8; colors: Grey/Pink/White, 2-cell, 1 year

Dell
Inspiron 11, Celeron 2955U + Intel HD + (1366x768;touch)@RM1299, 2GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8

hybrid is enough for daily work and student usage. if you can top up RM1000, you can even consider microsoft surface pro, the fully x86 windows tablet.

these :

Dell
Inspiron 14-3437, i3-4010U + Intel HD4400@RM1399[1.99kg], Ubuntu, 4GB, 750GB(5400rpm), 4-cell; W8SL@RM1549
Inspiron 15, i5-4200U + AMD HD8670M@RM1699, Ubuntu, 6GB, 750GB(5400rpm), 6-cell; W8SL@RM1899
Vostro 5470, i3-4010U + Intel HD4400@RM1899, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8, 3-cell

Lenovo
G400s, i5-3230M + Intel HD4000@RM1599, 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS
S410p, i5-4200U + Intel HD4400M@RM1699[1.8kg], 4GB, 500GB, FreeDOS

prices are RRP and negotiable. use the remaining budget to get a windows (free DOS applicable only) and/or upgrade the warranty to 3 yeas on-site.

forgot about that.

Z480 - 2.3kg
Y410P - 2.5kg
S410P - 2.1kg

all directly from official website, and it is fresh net weight (weight of the laptop including battery)

This post has been edited by raymondtong94: Sep 21 2013, 07:32 PM

Dell
Inspiron 15, i5-4200U + Intel HD4400@RM1749, Ubuntu, 6GB, 750GB(5400rpm), 4-cell; W8SL@RM1899

use remaining budget and upgrade the warranty.

not cant upgrade, not advised to do so.

1. Yes
2. Yes but not intensive
3. Yes

This post has been edited by raymondtong94: Sep 21 2013, 11:16 PM

means, not heavy editing, simple editing only.
no matter what application you use, it really depends on your type of usage.

try Illegear RE-17.

medium editing is okay. even my laptop, HP Elitebook 6930p can edit and render 1080p videos under Premiere CS6 very well.