Better Laptop?

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this, but I figure it's worth a shot.

 

I can get an HP ENVY 15t-j000 Quad Edition for $700 (inc. tax), that will be used for school, with these specs:

Windows 8 64-bit
i7-4700MQ
Intel HD Graphics 4600
15.6in 1080p display
8GB of RAM
1TB 5400rpm Hybrid HDD (option of adding a 24GB mSSD HDD Acceleration Cache-worth it?)
4.8lbs
About 9 hours of battery life

1) Should I get the hybrid HDD and the mSSD cache?

2) With a total price ceiling of $950, is there a better laptop that is less than 5lbs and a 4th gen processor?

3) I've looked at the np2650 by Sager, but I couldn't find anything about the battery life. Would that be a better laptop to get if the battery life is better than 6 hours? It is supposedly 5.5lbs.

Sorry for the double post, but just wanted to let people know that I originally had sentence breaks and spacing.