Lenovo 320s, ASUS Vivobook 14s or...?

[tom.weber05]

Hey community,

I am looking for a small and portable Laptop with god battery life and good enough specs to work with, that I can take on my travels.

At the moment, it comes down to the Lenovo Ideapad 320s in 14 inch (550 US$, 4gb RAM, 1TB HDD, both upgradeable), the same laptop in 13.3 inch variation (720 US$, 8gb RAM, 256 SSD) or the Asus Vivobook 14s (780 US$, 8gb RAM, 256 SSD).

It has to be portable and light. thats why I tend to the Ideapad 320s. But I read a review that the battery and performance is not that great, so I am still thinking.

I am also open to any recommandations what else I could get in that price range.
Also, ASUS has the 2 years global warranty, whereas Lenovo just offers 1 year warranty.

Any advices? Suggestions?

 

[tom.weber05]

No opinions on this?

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Only on the brand, not the actual model.

Lenovo currently seem to be the market leaders for laptop build-quality & reliability if that's any help.

I can't advise on the best model though because I don't know what's out there at the moment, I don't follow it.

 

[GreyCatz]

Going by brand:

Lenovos are generally attractive machines offering OK specs and good build quality. Pricing strategies can be confusing at times, but they tend to undercut their closest rivals from HP and Dell by 10 to 15 per cent. The 100 and 300 models are designed to be sold by the hundreds to large corporations. They do not offer the same build quality as upper-level Y models or ThinkPads, and the specs are clearly meant to satisfy the accounting department. Because Lenovo reckon that these laptops will rarely leave the well-lit offices, battery life is poor and the display quality is mediocre.

ASUS spend most of their development money on affordable head-turners. Build quality is not their strongest suit, and some of the design solutions tend to add unnecessary complexity. A case in point is the problems with their battery packs, which still bogs down some of their great-looking Vivobooks and Zenbooks. Because of the slim and sleek design, ASUS use different kinds of odd-shaped batteries that tend to dislodge themselves. And because these laptops are more or less sealed-off machines, you can't really do anything about it yourself, i.e. you have to embark on a lengthy RMA procedure (depending on where you live).


Going by budget ($500 to $800):

There are numerous alternatives in this price range. Here are two examples, and in the following I'll be using US-based online stores. I don't know where you live so you'll have to make the relevant adjustments yourself.

Amazon US have this $670 Dell:
https/www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-7000-7370-Laptop/dp/B0764N2QL3/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1524382120&sr=1-4&refinements=p_36%3A50000-80000%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A3545275011

A 13.3" clam-shell laptop featuring the latest Intel CPU generation. Weight is 3.59lbs and it comes with a 2K touch-IPS panel. That will make it a very useful laptop for travelling but the this panel setup will also cut into the battery life. I have no data on this, but I doubt it's going to be more than 6 - 7 hours. The good news is that charge-up times should be down to 15 minutes, according to Dell.

newegg.com have this $556 Acer:
https/www.newegg.com/global/nl/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834316241

You get a 2GB MX 150 dedicated GPU to go with the 8th-gen i5 CPU. Weight is 3.97lbs. The 14" screen is not IPS but Acer's ComfyView panels are decent enough for being TN and they're definitely superior to the TNs used in Lenovos entry-level laptops.

If you have to choose between the laptops in your opening post, I would recommend the $720 Lenovo 320s.

Cheers,
GreyCatz.