Could someone recommend a good laptop for around $700?

I'm looking for something that I can develop in Unity with, as well as practice animation in Source Filmmaker and do some basic 3D Modeling with Blender. This is going to be a work/college laptop, so there won't be very many games, but I'd ideally like something with a bit of power so I can play if I'd like. I've been looking around for a bit, but I figured I'd come to you guys and see what the consensus here is. My budget is around $700-800.

I was looking at the ASUS X X550JK, so please let me know if this seems like it'd be a good fit. Otherwise, if there are any other recommendations, I'm more than happy to hear them.

 

My first thoughts, after looking over that laptop, would be the resolution might be a tad small. I noticed there is another model of that line, the ASUS X X750JA, with a similar price tag that has a bigger screen (17.3-inch 1600 by 900). Though it only has Intel HD 4600 graphics. I don't know how much that will really affect those two programs.

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/X750JA/
http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-17-3-i7-4700HQ-Laptop-Drive/dp/B00DXFF6EO

Edit: A little further digging seems to indicate that the official ASUS page for the laptop model you gave may have incorrect specifications. ASUS lists it as 1366 by 768, but both Amazon and NewEgg are stating that it is 1920 by 1080 and the customer reviews apparently back this up. If this is the case I think the one you mentioned is the better choice.

 

A questioner on the Amazon Answers section stated that it was 1920x1080, but then again the validity of that is questionable, so I'm not sure either. Either way, I'm personally not opposed to having a 1366x768 screen if that's the case - I've had it before and enjoyed it.

 

You may simply have to go to a local store carrying it to get an accurate number. Office Depot claims they have it in stock and it is 1920 by 1080. They're also $200 more than everyone else. I don't know how they stay in business.

The remainder of the specifications are all identical across the various sites. Intel Core i7, 8GB memory, NVIDIA graphics, 1TB drive. Those are all pretty solid features regardless of the resolution.

 

Have you worked much on larger displays? It can be a significant productivity boost. (As can multiple screens, though that's clearly not much of an option with a laptop.)

 

I've only ever worked on 1366x768 and 1920x1080. I can say that I've never noticed much productivity loss, though then again I've never really worked on an in-depth project before. With the way things are shaping up though, it looks like I won't have to worry about it.