Suggestions for a new ASUS laptop to replace a UL30A-X5?

So I do love my UL30A, and it has no issues except for minor things like a slightly loose hinge on the left side. Also the webcam is unusable. However, I do want to upgrade to something with an i5 or i7 Haswell processor. The Core 2 Duo was great in 2009, but it lags a lot when watching HD videos. Also the standard HDD feels really slow after using some new SSD laptops out there. The best thing about the UL30A is the 8-9 hour battery life on normal use. Nothing out there for under $1000 gets that as far as I have read. Does anyone know of anything that can get 6-7 hours at least? I'm looking for an Ultrabook, with 4gb or 8gb of RAM, preferably an SSD, a Touchscreen 1080p IPS Display and reliable build quality. I have researched the UX302LA, it's at around $899 at Best Buy with all of my needs except for the SSD (which I would probably upgrade to anyway). The only thing is I am hearing a lot of issues about it. Common things include dead pixels on a lot of them and some squeaky keys (space bar). I would probably get a warranty if I got one, but I want to be safe before spending nearly $1000 on a laptop.

 

Depending on what you use the computer for you may not need a whole new computer and just upgrade your current HDD to a SSD like you're thinking about. If you plan on buying one for a new notebook anyway you could get it ahead of time and see if that brings life back to your current notebook.

 

1. Loose left hinge, this can eventually break and cause plastic bezel to break as well as detached hinge thus making the entire lid unusable.
2. Processor upgrade, there are all kinds of configuration for Haswell platform so it comes down what you want to get. Ultra portable? Gaming powerhouse? Basic model?
3. UX302LA is good model, and you can change to SSD on your own, such as a Samsung 840 Evo is very good for the price on 120/240GB.

 

1. OK so actually I miswrote.. the hinge isn't exactly loose. There is actually a small gap on the plastic on the left side by the ExpressGate button where the battery meets the laptop. So when the hinge is opened, there is a small snapping noise of the plastic in that area. It hasn't caused any major problems for me yet.

2. And I've compared a few laptops and I really do like the UX302LA, but it has a lot of issues with screen bleeding and keyboard squeaking. I want to stay loyal to ASUS as this thing has caused me no issues so far, but as far as other brands go, the only one I would consider is Lenovo. I have seen the U430 Touch and an i5 with 8GB of RAM and 1600x900 screen is at $699 at Best Buy right now, but that has no SSD. I have also researched the Yoga 2 Pro, with 128GB and 4GB of ram, but I heard the 3200x1800 screen doesn't scale too well and text looks small. It's at $950 right now at Best Buy I may have to stick to a 1920x1080 max resolution. Also my one other requirement is 7-8 hours of battery life on normal use (40-50pct brightness and web-browsing). Most of the ones I see out now claim to have 9-10 hours, but real world life is only 5-6 hours.

3. Yeah, I may actually get the 840 EVO to try in the UL30A, and if it is fast, I can stick with it until the new Broadwell chips come out this summer. There might be some nice laptops out at that point.