Didn't know MacBook Air comes with Nvidia GPU

Welcome to the thread

Just wondering, do you intend to buy here or just surveying? Cause the models here might be different from that in Singapore oh :hmm;
I think 14 inchers will be better choice if you want it to be light
14"
Acer V5-473PG-54204G50, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M +(1366x768;touch)@RM2299, 4GB, 500GB,W8 *no OD

Dell Inspiron 14R, i7-4500U + Nvidia GT750M (GDDR5) + (1366x768;touch)@RM2999[2.32kg], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm), W8SL , 6 cell

HP
Envy Touchsmart 14-K028TX Sleekbook, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768;touch)@RM2799, 4GB, 500GB, W8, ext OD
Envy Touchsmart 14-K029TX Sleekbook, i5-4500U + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768;touch) + 128GB SSD@RM3299, 4GB, 500GB, W8, ext OD

Lenovo Z400 touch, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768, touch)@RM2199, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty

Sony Vaio SVF14219SGW, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768;touch)@RM2699[2.4kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8SL; colors: white/black/pink

Toshiba Satelite L40-AS125XG/B/W, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2299, 2GB, 750GB, W8; colors: Gold/blue/white

*weights not all less than 2.2kg ya, but switching to SSD will reduce weight
*prices in RRP, negotiable
*The Dell offers the best gaming performance
*Since you have a good budget, use the remaining budget to extend warranty to 3 years (so that its covered even if you are in M'sia/Singapore)
*Use remaining budget to upgrade the HDD to SSD, that will give you a lot more speed + lighter and less prone to damage while you travel Of course, if you are not that adventurous, just get the RM3299 HP, just that 128GB SSD is kind of limited, especially for your budget

This one is good for the job
14"
Acer V5-473PG-54204G50, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M +(1366x768;touch)@RM2299, 4GB, 500GB,W8 *no OD

*Price in RRP, negotiable~

liondancefreak, names sounds pretty familiar

For your case, can consider these premium notebooks:
13"
Apple MacBookAir 13", i5-4250U + Intel HD5000 + 128GB SSD + (1440x900)@RM3299[1.35kg], 4GB, backlit keyboard, Mac OSX
*extend warranty to 3 years @~RM800
*assuming you don't mind Apple

Dell XPS13, i5-3337U + Intel HD4000 + 128GB SSD@RM3199[1.36kg], 4GB, W8, backlit
*extend warranty to 3 years on-site@~RM750

14"
Dell
Inspiron 14 7000, i5-4200U + Intel HD4400 + 32GB mSATA + 500GB(5400rpm)@RM2699[2.02kg], 6GB(soldered), , W8SL, backlit keyboard, 58Whr, No ODD
Inspiron 14 7000, i5-4200U + Intel HD4400 + 32GB mSATA + 500GB(5400rpm) + (1366x768; Touch) @RM2999[2.02kg], 6GB(soldered), , W8SL, backlit keyboard, 58Whr, No ODD

*extend warranty to 3 years@~RM350
*Inspiron 7000 series is relatively less premium than the XPS line, thus the lower price
*Do take note that all these notebook doesn't have optical drives. I recommend them since they all come with SSD or mSATA SSD, they don't lag at all

**prices in RRP, negotiable with much better price than shown in Dell website

Originally wanted to recommend that
But noticed you wanted touchscreen haha
Its priced at RM4k too (of course can still nego)~
Great choice, very powerful for something that light, just take note that it will get very hot because of its slim profile during load

Performance should be more or less on par
MSI builds dedicated performance machines, so should be okay

14"
Acer
V5-473PG-54204G50, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M +(1366x768;touch)@RM2299, 4GB, 500GB,W8 *no OD

Asus
K46CB-WX060H, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[2kg], 2GB, 750GB, W8, 4-cell, OD

Dell
Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049
Vostro 5470, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2249, 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), W8, 3-cell
Inspiron 14R, i7-4500U + Nvidia GT750M (GDDR5) @RM2499[2.32kg], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm), Ubuntu 12.04 , 6 cell; W8SL@RM2699

HP
Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8; colors: silver/black

Lenovo
Z400 touch, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768, touch)@RM2199, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty

Sony
Vaio SVF14218SGW, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2399[2.4kg], 4GB, 500GB, W8SL; colors: white/black

Toshiba
Satellite L40-AS109Xb/G/W, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, 3 years local warranty; colors: Blue/gold/white
Satelite L40-AS125XG/B/W, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2299, 2GB, 750GB, W8; colors: Gold/blue/white

*prices in RRP, negotiable
*if applicable, use remaining budget to extend warranty to 3 years

For 14 inchers please refer above
For 15", can consider these:
15.6"

Asus
S550CB-CJ102H i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M + 24GB mSATA + 500GB + (1366x768; touch)@RM2499[1.83kg], 4GB, W8
S551LB-CJ120H, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2699[2.4kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8, 3-cell
*Do take note that although S551 is newer, its slower than the S550

Dell S551LB-CJ120H, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2699[2.4kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8, 3-cell

Toshiba
Satellite L50-A100X/XW, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, W8SL; 3 years local warranty; colors:silver/white

Satelite L50-A107X/XW, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2499, 4GB, 1TB, W8; colors: Silver/white

*Prices in RRP, negotiable

Err.... depends on the specs
Mind sharing both models here (since specs differ between countries).. I can only comment after seeing them

Thanks for sharing mate
Holy cr*p, that Sleekbooks comes with a QHD screen:
14" diagonal QHD+ BrightView LED-backlit IPS Touchscreen (3200 x 1800)

If the specs are accurate, I think its better to stick to the SGC1399 version, and using the remaining budget to upgrade the hybrid SSD/HDD to a full SSD, that will bring about more significant performance.
Although its an IPS screen, the QHD resolution means a hell lot more pixels to generate while you game = slower performance

There are better options if you are into gaming, these for instance:
14"
Dell Inspiron 14R, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM1849 [2.32kg], 4GB, 500GB(5400rpm), Linux, 6 cell; W8@RM2049

HP Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8; colors: silver/black

*prices in RRP, negotiable

Definitely
GT740M is newer and more powerful

Maybe you can read the articles in my siggy
Buy what you really need
Most people wants an i7 processor because it sounds good to get, but in the end they never use it, and it turns out to be a waste of money. And that's not all, since its an i7, you get higher temperatures and higher battery consumption too

For normal usage, an i5 is good enough, be it a ULV or non-ULV

Why would you need a quad core?

Read the articles in my siggy lol
CPU doesn't really improve speed

Yeah, sometimes I feel the same way haha
Well, at least I didn't give him directly the link to the articles in my blog haha

Most of the reviews didn't show precise temperature readings, but all of them say it gets hot, so you can expect it to get uncomfortably hot
It doesn't really matter what games you play (apart from flash ones ), it will still get hot... its a compromise you have to make for getting a slim or small but powerful notebook

Still, if you still want to get one, you can try disabling Turboboost, that will lower CPU temps by ~10C

Closest would be these:
14"
Asus K46CB-WX060H, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[2kg], 2GB, 750GB, W8, 4-cell, OD, 2 years warranty

HP Pavilion 14-N059TX, i5-4200U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2099[2.03kg], 4GB, 750GB, W8; colors: silver/black, 1 year warranty

Lenovo Z400 touch, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768, touch)@RM2199, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty
*this i5 is not power-saving

Toshiba Satellite L40-AS109Xb/G/W, i5-3337U + Nvidia GT740M@RM2199[Onkyo], 4GB, 750GB, 3 years local warranty; colors: Blue/gold/white


15 inchers are more expensive, so not recommended here
*prices in RRP, negotiable

Closest would be these:
15.6"
Acer
V7-582PG-74508G52k, i7-4500U + Nvidia GT750M + 24GB mSATA + 500GB HDD + (1920x1080 IPS; touch)@RM3399[2.2kg], 8GB, W8

Asus
N550JV-CN077H, i7-4700HQ + Nvidia GT750M + (1920x1080; IPS matte)@RM3699[2.7kg], 4GB, 1TB, W8, backlit keyboard

Dell
Inspiron 15 7000, i7-4500U + Nvidia GT750M (GDDR5) + (1920x1080; Touch)@RM3599[2.6kg], 8GB, 1TB(5400rpm), W8SL, backlit keyboard, 58Whr

Lenovo
Y510p, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080)@RM3399[2.7kg], 8GB, 1TB, W8, red backlit, swappable ODD, 120w psu, 2 yrs

MSI
GE60-2OC, i5-4200M + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM3099,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, steel series KB
GE60-2OC, i7-4700MQ + Nvidia GT750M(GDDR5) + (1920x1080; anti-glare)@RM3599,8GB, 750GB(7200rpm), W8, steel series KB

*Prices in RRP, negotiable
*Slim/thinness don't usually go well with good built/ low price unfortunately
*Longer battery life means less performance. If battery life is important to you, then avoid i7-4700HQ and i7-4700mQ

Can consider these:
14"
Lenovo Z400 touch, i5-3230M + Nvidia GT740M + (1366x768, touch)@RM2199, 4GB, 1TB, W8; 2 years warranty

15.6"
Lenovo Z510, i5-4200M + Nvidia GT740M@RM2399[2.2kg], 4GB, 1TB, backlit, W8; 2 yrs, color: white

*Prices in RRP, negotiable
*Use remaining budget to extend warranty to 3 years for peace of mind. Since usually a notebook lasts long or not depends on user care and a little bit of luck.
*Recommended these because they are running on Mobile processors (not power saving ones), so you get more CPU performance at the expense of battery life. But do take note that the Z4xx/Z5xx series are a tad harder to upgrade or do maintenance. So its best to upgrade everything when you first buy it. Upgrade to at least 8GB RAM, it will help a lot with Photoshop
*Upgrade to an SSD later on when you have the budget, that will help reduce load times significantly too

This post has been edited by [PF] T.J.: Nov 6 2013, 11:07 AM