13 inch not an option? Consider Acer Swift 3 14/15 with MX150 and Xiaomi Notebook Pro (if you're fine with the warranty policy).

For budget options, consider Acer Aspire 5 with i7+IPS+SSD, needs RAM upgrade, 128GB SSD may be not enough to you. Or Acer Aspire 6, needs RAM+SSD upgrades.

For weaker dGPU, Lenovo Yoga 520 is a good choice but needs RAM upgrade. Lenovo Ideapad 320s 14 too but needs RAM+SSD upgrades. Dell 7570 also not bad with good IPS panel (not entry level), however it has mediocre battery life and the 128GB SSD may be not enough to you.

This post has been edited by ZM Fong: Apr 19 2018, 05:36 PM

Good laptop, but don't expect 'excellent' build quality. No dGPU though. Needs tuning like undervolting due to mediocre cooling. High quality IPS panel, just like other Zenbooks. Choose the Gold or Grey version, they have aluminum frame lid.

This post has been edited by ZM Fong: Apr 19 2018, 06:15 PM

Aspire 5=A515. It's a good budget laptop.

For budget laptops the 2 options above are the best, just need RAM+SSD upgrades. Acer Aspire 5 with i7 comes with IPS panel and included 128GB SSD while the i5 model gets TN panel without SSD. MX150 is far better than RX540 in terms of performance and efficiency especially in laptops. Note that 8550U and 8250U don't have much performance difference (except for 2MB more L3 cache) due to cooling and TDP limitations.

This post has been edited by ZM Fong: Apr 20 2018, 09:59 AM

This is mainly due to bad thermal paste job. After repaste should be OK. It has good build quality, I would say even slightly better than my Y520. For this budget Aspire 5 and 320s 14 have good build quality. 320s 13 as well but the cooling and battery life are mediocre, excellent IPS panel though.

Nope, it's a slimmer and lighter version of Aspire 5. So far there's only 1 model: 8250U, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, MX150. There's a possibility that it includes a good IPS panel too, not entry level IPS. Full aluminum body (maybe aluminum frame+plastic body), not plastic+aluminum brush. Needs RAM and SSD upgrades. No reviews yet so can't tell whether it's a good laptop or not but the concept of Aspire 6 is similar to Swift 3. See Laptopmedia for more info.

This post has been edited by ZM Fong: Apr 20 2018, 10:29 AM

Umm no. Ideapad 320 non S is mediocre. Everything. To be honest with you: If design is important then why ask for recommendations. Just buy the laptop that has sleek design. In fact good design doesn't mean good laptop.

Don't just compare specs. Ideapad 320 has mediocre build quality (flex too much, easy to twist), mediocre battery life+mediocre cooling (DVD drive takes up space) and OKish keyboard (due to keyboard flex). Also TN panel, same with Aspire 5. Too many trade offs, not much difference with those cheapo Asus Vivobooks and HP Pavilions. 320s 14 is better.

My criteria when choosing consumer laptops is build quality first, battery life second, the rest are display and input devices, maybe portability and warranty length as well. QC and reliability are not included since these depend on luck, however most budget laptops will have worse QC and reliability compared to the more expensive ones.

Edit: for your reference:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-IdeaPa...w.284462.0.html

This post has been edited by ZM Fong: Apr 20 2018, 03:40 PM

Have you even wonder why 2 laptop models with the same hardware specs can have twice the price difference? Choosing a laptop is not just specs, there are many things under the hood.

You cannot upgrade GPU in most laptops. Is battery life important to you?

XPS 13 is a good choice, however I suggest you to wait for XPS 15 refresh with CFL-H CPU.

Also consider Thinkpad T480:
i7 8550U, MX150, 8GB RAM (4+4 or single 8), 256GB PCIe SSD, backlit keyboard, W10 Home, 24+72Wh battery, IPS (many options), 3yr warranty. Choose the config you want

XPS 13 no idea, need ask other sifus. Definitely not Dell website as the prices are too high. Thinkpad buy from Lenovo website since you can customize it, however the delivery takes quite long time

Lenovo Ideapad 320s 14 - i5-8250U, 4GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 920MX GDDR5, entry level IPS, 52Wh battery, 1.7kg, good build quality, good input devices. Need RAM and SSD upgrades.

Note: 320s 14 is very similar to 520s 14, just different build material (plastic chassis with aluminium brush lid vs more aluminium, result in 0.1kg heavier, still considered good), different GPU selection and lack a fingerprint scanner

This post has been edited by ZM Fong: Apr 21 2018, 10:31 AM

What games you play?

I'm not at home currently

Dell Inspiron 7570 (8250U+940MX)
Xiaomi Notebook Pro (8250U+LP MX150, can be tuned to 7700HQ+25W MX150 performance) - import warranty concerns
Acer Swift 3 15 (8250U+25W MX150) - entry level IPS
Lenovo Yoga 520 14 (8250U+940MX GDDR5) - need manual RAM upgrade, entry level IPS
Lenovo Ideapad 320s 14 (8250U+920MX GDDR5) - need manual RAM+SSD upgrade, entry level IPS

Are you OK with iGPU? (no dGPU)

Define beautiful? That's very subjective

With KBL-R CPU:
Acer Swift 5 - low brightness, high sRGB IPS panel
Acer Swift 3 15
Lenovo Yoga 520 - need RAM upgrade to 8GB

Need RAM+SSD upgrades:
Lenovo Ideapad 320s 14
HP Probook 440 G5

Actually you don't need such high budget if you don't need performance, these options will do just fine:
Asus UX430UA with i3 - high sRGB IPS panel
Lenovo Yoga 520 14 with i3 - need RAM upgrade
Lenovo Ideapad 510s 14 - need RAM+SSD upgrades
Lenovo Yoga 510 - need RAM+SSD upgrades

Check my whitelist to know more

This post has been edited by ZM Fong: Apr 21 2018, 04:57 PM

You need to play those games at lowest settings to achieve playable FPS. If you don't need dGPU there are options like:
Asus UX461UA (8250U)
Asus UX430UA (8250U)
Lenovo Thinkpad E480/E580 (consumer laptop with Thinkpad name, good build quality, 3yr warranty)

Or Thinkpad T480 if you can find a good deal

If you don't mind weight, a good gaming laptop like Dell G7 7588 mentioned above is also recommended, more performance.

8GB SSD is for HDD caching, just like SSHD. Cheapest 120/128GB M.2 SSD is around RM220 if not mistaken. It's based on 7577 chassis, should have not much changes - solid build quality and cooling. Still need to wait for reviews. If you can wait, why not

Wait for CFL-H refresh. There's a Dell G7 7588