Sub £900 Laptop advice please

[sihollies]

Hi
I am looking into buying a portable laptop with good battery life over the next month or two and would appreciate your knowledge.
I will use the laptop for Photoshop and Video editing, possibly a little bit of gaming, (nothing too demanding) and general word processing and browsing etc.
My maximum budget is £800-£900.
I looked into the Surface pro, but didnt like the fact that there are minimal USB ports on said unit, so will class that as a no, unless someone can advise otherwise.
The other Laptop that keeps popping up when I am looking online is the HP Envy x360.
There are both Intel and AMD configurations, and to be honest, dont really know what all the details/specs mean.
I have bought Intel for a long time, as in the past AMD seemed to be a powerful, but inferior product?? But am now led to believe that AMD have 'upped their game'??
Below are the models name and basic specs for both the Envy AMD & Intel models:

HP Envy x360 13.3" AMD Ryzen 5 - 128 GB SSD

AMD Ryzen 5 2500U processor
RAM: 8 GB / Storage: 128 GB SSD
Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 8
Full HD display


HP Envy x360 13.3" Intel Core i5, Geforce MX150 - 256 GB SSD

Intel® Core™ i5-8250U Processor
RAM: 8 GB / Storage: 256 GB SSD
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2 GB
Full HD display

Any advice on the AMD/Intel query would be GREATLY appreciated, and any other suggestions would also be greatly recieved.

Many thanks in advance
Simon

 

[mahardikahandoko]

Go for intel & Nvidia if you often play games

Go for AMD if you editing

yep, AMD did great job with their Ryzen & Vega so you'll only notice very small difference between that laptop. Choose what you like most, intel or amd

 

[sihollies]

Thanks very much for the reply.
The Intel i5 is £200 dearer than the AMD Ryzen 5 soI am assuming the AMD is way better value for money?
How does the Radeon Vega 8 compare with the NVIDIA GeForce MX150 2 GB found in the Intel unit.
I stated in my original post that I am willing to spend about £900, and was wondering if it would be worth spending another £100, at the current price and getting the 'next model up' of the AMD series?
Specs below:

AMD Ryzen 7 2700U processor
RAM: 8 GB / Storage: 512 GB SSD
Graphics: AMD Radeon Vega 10
Full HD display

Or, could anyone suggest a better make and model that fits within my price bracket?

Thanks again
Simon

 

[mahardikahandoko]

Ryzen 7 is equal to i7 so it's better than both. However, the mx150 still win at gaming scenario than vega 10 but the vega will win at editing/rendering scenario (as far as i know).

i think that would cover your daily needs (if you don't make 4K films or doing photoshop with many layer) you also get benefit with larger SSD

but if you don't mind to get a bulky gaming laptop you can get this laptop
MSI GV62 8RE

that laptop will give you better specs but it'll kill the simplicity of an ultrathin laptop and you can't work on your laptop without bring the charger.

I hope this will help you find your answer and good luck!

 

[sihollies]

Thanks for the advice.
I dont play any games really, just older basic ones.
The most demanding software that I use on a regular basis is Photoshop.
After reading your above replies, I think the Ryzen 5 will probbaly be fine for my needs at the moment , but.............. would it be more beneficial buying the Ryzen 7 for a more future proof laptop???

thanks
Simon

 

[mahardikahandoko]

You'll buy an upgradeable laptop (only ram & ssd)*, if you buy the ryzen 5 one you can still upgrade your laptop as time goes by. But, ryzen 7 will help you survive 1-2 years more than ryzen 5 (i guess) and also you'll get larger ssd so you could fit more of your work. if you go with ryzen 5 one, i suggest you to buy some external hard drive bcs i know that editing will need much more storage lol.

Ryzen 5 is the latest gen of AMD processor so it will help you get your works done within ~4-5 years (i guess) or more if you only do basic photoshop editing. The advantage of Ryzen 7 will be felt if you do some video editing, rendering will be more smooth. if you didn't do much video editing i guess you can stick with ryzen 5 since it will cover your need at the moment, still if you need more futureproof one, Ryzen 7 won't hurt

*based on some thread at HP forum. some model may be different

sorry for late reply

 

[sihollies]

Thankyou very much mahardikahandoko, your input has been invaluable and very informamative.
As you suggest that the the Ryzen 5 should be adequate for about 4 years, and if that is so, it will suit me perfectly, as I normally upgrade every 2-3 years or so and I think the additional cost of the Ryzen 7 would be worth it??.
Regarding the limited storage: it shouldnt be a problem, as I always store all my files to an external device.

Thankyou again
Simon