Question laptop recommendation for full-on idiot

[Yarberger1]

Hello everyone

Before I get to the cut/paste questions, some background. I have severe buyer's remorse from my first (and only) laptop purchase, made five or so years ago. This is the machine: https://icecat.biz/en/p/acer/nx.g2kaa.006/aspire-notebooks-es1-521-880k-37424083.html, which currently serves as a paperweight.

I have replaced the HD with an SSD, increased RAM to 16GB and reinstalled the OS. The machine is still awful. It takes minutes, not seconds, to open Chrome. It cannot play Youtube videos without constantly stuttering. Opening simple programs like Word or Excel causes freezes or extreme delays. I'm in the market for something new, which will last, and which has great hardware which will handle the tasks I throw at it with ease. What I don't want to do is overcompensate by selecting features/hardware which are unnecessary for my needs, simply because of any fear I may have of another Aspire debacle.

1. What is your budget? Up to US$3,000 (taxes and shipping included)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? I would like a 15"-17" machine.

3. What screen resolution do you want? More important than resolution is my preference for a touchscreen (I have no preference between 2 in 1 machines and standard laptops). For resolution, 1920x1200 is okay if screen brightness is good (400 nits or higher), so higher resolution is a 'nice to have' rather than a necessity. I am nervous about OLED screens because of burn-in, although that may not be a factor these days...?

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? I will not carry it around with me all the time. It will be typically used around the house, or on occasional business trips, so it falls more in the category of desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need? Again, because this is not intended as a portable, on the go machine, battery life is less critical. It would be great if battery life could last for a trans-Atlantic flight (7 hours), but this is another 'nice to have'.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Just silly little games like Gardenscapes. My WoW days are behind me.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) General office applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Zoom calls, web browsing, video streaming, social media.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? I'd like to transfer iTunes onto the machine (35GB). Otherwise, what I work with (standard documents) takes up very little room. I think that a 256GB drive should be fine.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. I am comfortable buying from Dell directly, and have done so several times in the past with no issues. I have never purchased a computer from any other online retailer (I bought my Acer from Costco, and I built my own desktop).

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? A long time. I would rather hold on to this for 5+ years minimum.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ? None. I have an external optical drive which serves my needs.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. I have been looking at Dell (XPS), ASUS (ZenBook), Lenovo (ThinkPad). The MS Surface spec sheet seems awfully low on detail. The HP Spectre seems good but I have had poor dealings with HP on other products so I'm wary.

13. What country do you live in? Canada. In addition to the Dell, ASUS and Lenovo online stores, we have Canada Computers and Best Buy as the brick/mortar retailers in my area.

Very grateful for any guidance, advice or gentle criticism.

Cheers!

 

[Etrius vanRandr]

1. What is your budget? Up to US$3,000 (taxes and shipping included)

This is currently one of the best laptops you can buy for $3000. Call me an HP shill if you want, I've had nothing but pleasure with HP computers, especially corporate/enterprise high end.

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-zbook-fury-17-g7-mobile-workstation-customizable-46q00av-mb

If you want something cheaper, the older models of ZBook are still great

HP ZBook 17 G5 Core i7-8750H 2.2GHz 32GB 1TB SSD+128GB Boot Drive Win10Pro P2000 | eBay

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HP ZBook 17 G6 17.3 FHD i7-9850H 2.6GHz 32GB 512GB NVMe Quadro T1000 Windows 11 | eBay

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2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? I would like a 15"-17" machine.

ZBooks (and probooks by extension) come from 13in all the way up top 18.4in

3. What screen resolution do you want? More important than resolution is my preference for a touchscreen (I have no preference between 2 in 1 machines and standard laptops). For resolution, 1920x1200 is okay if screen brightness is good (400 nits or higher), so higher resolution is a 'nice to have' rather than a necessity. I am nervous about OLED screens because of burn-in, although that may not be a factor these days...?

Pretty sure ZBooks are 1080p or 4K, and the 1080p models use LCDs

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? I will not carry it around with me all the time. It will be typically used around the house, or on occasional business trips, so it falls more in the category of desktop replacement.

Older ZBooks have a dedicated docking station (G1 and G2) and the newer models use TB3.

5. How much battery life do you need? Again, because this is not intended as a portable, on the go machine, battery life is less critical. It would be great if battery life could last for a trans-Atlantic flight (7 hours), but this is another 'nice to have'.

Older ZBooks can have extended batteries. Mine gets 7 hours idle, about 5 hours of web, and 3 hours of gaming.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Just silly little games like Gardenscapes. My WoW days are behind me.

ZBooks can do everything.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need? I'd like to transfer iTunes onto the machine (35GB). Otherwise, what I work with (standard documents) takes up very little room. I think that a 256GB drive should be fine.

Completely configurable, if you built your own desktop then configuring a ZBook should be easy.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links. I am comfortable buying from Dell directly, and have done so several times in the past with no issues. I have never purchased a computer from any other online retailer (I bought my Acer from Costco, and I built my own desktop).

Do not, under any circumstances, buy directly from HP or Dell. There are many reasons why, but markups and forced warranties and extra service packages are the main reason.

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop? A long time. I would rather hold on to this for 5+ years minimum.

My ZBook is from 2014. Let that sink it. I still use it for modern gaming like Elden Ring, Valorant, Destiny 2, WoW, etc.

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons. I have been looking at Dell (XPS), ASUS (ZenBook), Lenovo (ThinkPad). The MS Surface spec sheet seems awfully low on detail. The HP Spectre seems good but I have had poor dealings with HP on other products so I'm wary.

Stay away from Dell. Please. HP's low end dumbsumer products are bad. If you buy an HP, buy their corporate or enterprise products. Lenovo is OK, it's not an ecosystem I am familiar with.

This is the machine: https://icecat.biz/en/p/acer/nx.g2kaa.006/aspire-notebooks-es1-521-880k-37424083.html, which currently serves as a paperweight.

And yeah, that's an awful laptop.

 

[Yarberger1]

Hi Etrius

Thank you so much for the very in-depth response. I hadn't seen the HP ZBooks (I'd looked at the Spectre but that was it from the HP lineup), so many thanks for the suggestion.

Broadly speaking, and based upon my needs as set out in the original post, is this a case of overcompensating? On the one hand, I want a laptop that is armed with everything necessary to prevent the issues I am having now. On the other hand, I wonder whether I am spending too much when systems (e.g. i5 processor or 16GB RAM as opposed to i7 or 32GB RAM) could be ideal.

I noted your advice to stay away from Dell. I have heard this before. Yet almost every online tech reviewer touts the XPS as among the best laptop lines available. Why is there this huge disconnect in terms of advice and recommendations? The reviewers all state within their reviews that their conclusions are objective and unbiased, and that they have received no money or other incentives from Dell (or any other tech company whose products they are reviewing).

Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Etrius vanRandr]

On the one hand, I want a laptop that is armed with everything necessary to prevent the issues I am having now

The ZBook is like a Merkava Mk4 when all you need is a Fennek. It's gracious overcompensation but I could not be happier with my ZBook despite something simpler being able to fit my needs just as well.

On the other hand, I wonder whether I am spending too much when systems (e.g. i5 processor or 16GB RAM as opposed to i7 or 32GB RAM) could be ideal.

The ZBook can be configured with an i3, i5, i7, or Xeon CPU. One of the reasons that makes them so great. If you are skilled with PCs and repair in general, grab a ZBook 17 G2 and kit it out the way I have with mine - a well-specced hand built version would cost you about $800 to $1000 depending on SSDs and GPU.

Yet almost every online tech reviewer touts the XPS as among the best laptop lines available.

Something something Dell pays their reviewers something something.

The thing with the ZBook is that it's not a common laptop. It doesn't have the brand name that XPS laptops do, however, the XPS is still a consumer laptop and the ZBooks are still corporate/enterprise laptops.

Why is there this huge disconnect in terms of advice and recommendations?

They're sycophants doing what they're told, that's why.

The reviewers all state within their reviews that their conclusions are objective and unbiased, and that they have received no money or other incentives from Dell (or any other tech company whose products they are reviewing).

If they're being honest in that regard, check their channels for ZBook reviews. None of them have probably ever set their eyes on one.

I don't lie in my signature. I recommend them because of my overwhelmingly positive experience with them. If I was paid by HP, I'd be doing a video and not writing on a forum. I'd also have the latest one, and not one from 2014.

I've had the opportunity to examine and indulge in the newer ZBooks because the company I work for uses the newer models. But I don't personally own a newer model.

 

[Yarberger1]

That's very helpful, thank you. You are correct in that none of the reviewers I have come across have included a ZBook in their lineup. It's likely why I'd never come across them until now.

Much appreciated!

 

[Etrius vanRandr]

You are correct in that none of the reviewers I have come across have included a ZBook in their lineup.

I mean realistically, who goes on YouTube to buy a ZBook? It's a corporate/enterprise oriented overengineered notebook with a history of being used by the heavy industry like mining, the military, NASA, and oil drilling. It's not as prolific as the ToughBook but gets the job done well without throwing a fit.

Yeah, there's a couple ZBooks in orbit right now aboard the ISS.

 

[hang-the-9]

Hello everyone

Before I get to the cut/paste questions, some background. I have severe buyer's remorse from my first (and only) laptop purchase, made five or so years ago. This is the machine: https://icecat.biz/en/p/acer/nx.g2kaa.006/aspire-notebooks-es1-521-880k-37424083.html, which currently serves as a paperweight.

I have replaced the HD with an SSD, increased RAM to 16GB and reinstalled the OS. The machine is still awful. It takes minutes, not seconds, to open Chrome. It cannot play Youtube videos without constantly stuttering. Opening simple programs like Word or Excel causes freezes or extreme delays. I'm in the market for something new, which will last, and which has great hardware which will handle the tasks I throw at it with ease. What I don't want to do is overcompensate by selecting features/hardware which are unnecessary for my needs, simply because of any fear I may have of another Aspire debacle.

1. What is your budget? Up to US$3,000 (taxes and shipping included)

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering? I would like a 15"-17" machine.

3. What screen resolution do you want? More important than resolution is my preference for a touchscreen (I have no preference between 2 in 1 machines and standard laptops). For resolution, 1920x1200 is okay if screen brightness is good (400 nits or higher), so higher resolution is a 'nice to have' rather than a necessity. I am nervous about OLED screens because of burn-in, although that may not be a factor these days...?

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop? I will not carry it around with me all the time. It will be typically used around the house, or on occasional business trips, so it falls more in the category of desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need? Again, because this is not intended as a portable, on the go machine, battery life is less critical. It would be great if battery life could last for a trans-Atlantic flight (7 hours), but this is another 'nice to have'.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)? Just silly little games like Gardenscapes. My WoW days are behind me.

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.) General office applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Zoom calls, web browsing, video streaming, social media.
--- snip ---
Cheers!

I would not spend nearly your budget on a laptop even for gaming, not only because the top end specs are totally wasted on basic use but also because a laptop in general is much less reliable than a desktop and after the warranty is out, you are spending a lot of extra money on repairing an expensive laptop, or would loose all that money fully if the cost of repair is more than the value of the laptop when it breaks. Screen can crack, case can crack, etc.... things happen.

A $1,000 or less laptop is more than enough for any use past heavy video processing or gaming if you want speed in those.

I like the Lenovo T models, very strurdy and reliable hardware. You can find new models for around $1,000 and even used ones in the $3-400 range like a T470 or so are more than good enough for use with 16GB of RAM in them. The T16 or T15 are good like this one https/www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-i5-1135G7-Fingerprint-Bluetooth/dp/B09MR5MYJ6/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=Lenovo+T16&qid=1660319181&sr=8-10&th=1

The E models are also very good and cheaper, but may have a bit cheaper construction internally https/www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-E15-1920x1080-i5-10210U-Computers/dp/B08PYF8DB6/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=Lenovo+T16&qid=1660319334&refinements=p_36:80000-150000&rnid=2421885011&sr=8-9

https://www.amazon.com/ThinkPad-Qua..._36:80000-150000&rnid=2421885011&sr=8-16&th=1

 

[Etrius vanRandr]

I would not spend nearly your budget on a laptop even for gaming, not only because the top end specs are totally wasted on basic use but also because a laptop in general is much less reliable than a desktop and after the warranty is out, you are spending a lot of extra money on repairing an expensive laptop, or would loose all that money fully if the cost of repair is more than the value of the laptop when it breaks. Screen can crack, case can crack, etc.... things happen.

HP offers nearly perpetual warranty extensions