Laptop recommendation

[fullmetaljesus]

Anyone have a good laptop recommendation? My Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop is dying and I need to replace it. I used to be very up to date on hardware, but haven't followed computer hardware in forever. I watched a ton of "best laptop" videos when I bought this one and felt it was horrid. Not only did I pay too much for it, but it started having issues that I could never resolve after it ran out of warranty (a one year warranty, pffft). Stupid thing could never even play videos for more than a few minutes before it would lock up. Tried all sorts of things, driver updates, Windows updates, etc. Nothing ever fixed it. Got one of those cooling stations for it to sit on and blow the vents out every few months, but it still has issues. I even went to Linux, which worked for about a week and then back to the same problems. Now it's really laggy and has locked up out of the blue, just while I'm surfing the net.

Anyway, wanting to replace it with something that will last, or at least work correctly. I'd like to keep it well under $1k. I don't game on my laptop, but want something that's pretty responsive. I have a full setup of external monitor, mouse and keyboard that I use, so screen size isn't a huge priority, though I would prefer to keep it over 14".

Thanks in advance INGO

Can we get s run down of your habits?

What do you intend to use it for?
You said no gaming, but are you doing million line spreadsheets, 3d rendering, coding, just surfing the net l, YouTube, and email?

What's your day to day, what are your needs? Also side question, do you have an iPhone or an android?

 

[Ingomike]

I second Costco.

Dell Inspiron 15 Touchscreen Laptop - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U - 1080p - Windows 11, $749.99​

They give a two year warranty also.

The SSD drives I put in my old Dell machines made them better than new. Have you ever thought about replacing the drive in your old one? If you had a spinner it could be the issue.

 

[wtburnette]

Get your kids into gaming and then have them give you their old computer when it no longer works for them. Has worked for me two times, have a MSI G70...

Hey now, I'm not that old. I build my own PC's and have for the last 25+ years...

Everyone in my family uses Dell XPS 15's and 13's. Super solid and trouble free. The aluminum casing takes a beating.

I have the worst luck with Dell laptops. I bought an XPS 15 for my now ex-wife and she had tons of issues with it. Again, after the warranty ran out. I ended up having to buy new RAM and a new SSD, plus reinstalled Windows multiple times to get it working right again. They're beautiful, but my experience was not trouble free.

Can we get s run down of your habits?

What do you intend to use it for?
You said no gaming, but are you doing million line spreadsheets, 3d rendering, coding, just surfing the net l, YouTube, and email?

What's your day to day, what are your needs? Also side question, do you have an iPhone or an android?

Sorry, I thought I'd said that it's almost exclusively web browsing. I have very light office use as well. I've been using Linux Mint on this system for over a year and it's what I prefer and what I also use on my desktop rig (have a desktop in the loft, this laptop is in my home office so I can surf INGO and sites that are blocked on my work laptop).

I second Costco.

Dell Inspiron 15 Touchscreen Laptop - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U - 1080p - Windows 11, $749.99​

They give a two year warranty also.

The SSD drives I put in my old Dell machines made them better than new. Have you ever thought about replacing the drive in your old one? If you had a spinner it could be the issue.

I'll never buy a touchscreen laptop. One of the dumbest ideas I've ever seen on non-phone devices. Touch screen monitors are an even worse idea. I don't want finger prints all over a screen I'm going to stare at for hours. It's bad enough on my phone that I have to clean constantly.

Yes, I am a believer in SSD's. Every system I've had for the last 10+ years has had an SSD. Sure as heck makes PC building much nicer, especially with NvME SSD's that click into the mobo and therefore there are a lot less cables cluttering up the inside of the case.

 

[wtburnette]

Alternatively and probably cheaper, I could toss spare parts together and get a frankenstein desktop build for the office and just grab a good tablet to use for the kitchen and general web browsing. A laptop seemed like a better idea as I do occasionally travel (once in a blue moon) and it would be nice to have my computer with me. I hate trying to surf on my phone or even on a tablet. Laptops are so much more convenient.

Oh I forgot to answer. I'm an android guy. Hate apple with a passion. I used to support both apple and Windows devices and have always vastly preferred Windows (now Linux). Tried using a iPhone back in the day, as well as an iPad and didn't like either (same as when I tried using a Mac device, as I had a nice MacBook at one job but never used it because I didn't care for it). I've used Android since they released their first phone.

 

[Ingomike]

I'll never buy a touchscreen laptop. One of the dumbest ideas I've ever seen on non-phone devices. Touch screen monitors are an even worse idea. I don't want finger prints all over a screen I'm going to stare at for hours. It's bad enough on my phone that I have to clean constantly.

I love the touch screen mainly for making small things bigger and seeing detail in photos and prints. Do not use for routine operation, that’s what an external mouse is for…

 

[WebSnyper]

Alternatively and probably cheaper, I could toss spare parts together and get a frankenstein desktop build for the office and just grab a good tablet to use for the kitchen and general web browsing. A laptop seemed like a better idea as I do occasionally travel (once in a blue moon) and it would be nice to have my computer with me. I hate trying to surf on my phone or even on a tablet. Laptops are so much more convenient.

Oh I forgot to answer. I'm an android guy. Hate apple with a passion. I used to support both apple and Windows devices and have always vastly preferred Windows (now Linux). Tried using a iPhone back in the day, as well as an iPad and didn't like either (same as when I tried using a Mac device, as I had a nice MacBook at one job but never used it because I didn't care for it). I've used Android since they released their first phone.

I honestly used to be very similar on preferring laptop, over mobile device, etc (and wayback many years ago I actually worked in mobile device mgmt). That said, browsing experience, etc on iPad (and I'm sure other mobile devices in the category) has really advanced pretty well.

I'll jump on a laptop if I'm looking to do something serious, but most forum, informational browsing, etc in the evenings is on a tablet/mobile device these days. I'm sure a good Android tablet would hold it's own as well (I know in the past there were a bunch of cheap ones that have a bad name to the entire category, but would think some of the Samsung or other major player devices in that space would work well.

 

[WebSnyper]

I'll never buy a touchscreen laptop. One of the dumbest ideas I've ever seen on non-phone devices. Touch screen monitors are an even worse idea. I don't want finger prints all over a screen I'm going to stare at for hours. It's bad enough on my phone that I have to clean constantly.

Can't say I'd buy a laptop because it had a touch screen, but on the other hand, if the rest of the deal was ok, I wouldn't necessarily avoid one because it was there. Like you, I just don't use the functionality myself.

 

[radar8756]

Work uses HP laptops with Docking stations - Power Adapter plugs into Dock - then laptop is Powered by the USB C connection - One Cable

We get a Duplicate setup for home ... Dock / Power / 2- monitors / Keyboard / mouse

 

[wtburnette]

Can't say I'd buy a laptop because it had a touch screen, but on the other hand, if the rest of the deal was ok, I wouldn't necessarily avoid one because it was there. Like you, I just don't use the functionality myself.

Yeah, it's just a pet peeve of mine. I remember when touchscreen monitors were being pushed heavily when that abomination Windows 8 was released. People were all excited and I'm like, that's dumb. Not only do you then have to deal with finger prints on the monitor, but how many people sit so close to their monitor that they can reach out and touch it without having to stretch / reach? Not many. Ironically the setup I'm on right now has the monitor closer than I'd ever had before, but I still wouldn't want to reach out and touch the screen. Just a dumb, dumb idea IMO. Other opinions may vary, but I can't help it if those people are wrong...

 

[jkaetz]

I have ages of experience with Dell. I would be looking at the Dell Outlet for an XPS 13 or 15 depending on size and weight. New job has given me a Lenovo X1 carbon and I believe it is actually lighter than the same generation XPS 13 if that's a consideration. The stuff about Lenovo and malware is FUD. They wouldn't be used by any US businesses if they really had malware that deeply embedded. Don't completely discount the touchscreen laptops as they typically have a better display than the non-touch. Dell's 4k touch displays are greatly superior to their standard displays even if you never touch them.

Refurbished Laptops and 2-in-1 PCs: Dell Outlet | Dell United States

New & Refurbished Laptops and 2-in-1s | Outlet

Check out our range of new and refurbished laptops now in stock at the Lenovo Outlet Store. Grab yourself a bargain, but hurry as stock is limited.

www.lenovo.com

Your idea of a desktop/tablet setup isn't a bad one either. Current Android tables are plenty for the typical mobile usage. You can always connect a bluetooth keyboard & mouse if you really need to do something serious.

 

[bwillits]

I found myself getting a new laptop every other year until I bought my Surface Book. I’m 5 years strong with it and it operates the same as it did day 1. I’m beyond happy with it but do believe it’s about 1k depending on options.

 

[WebSnyper]

The stuff about Lenovo and malware is FUD. They wouldn't be used by any US businesses if they really had malware that deeply embedded.

Well, it's potentially possible with any hardware company that doesn't very strictly control the entire supply chain. There are companies that control that supply chain specifically as some machines are used as Privileged Admin WorkStations/Secure Admin Workstations (PAWs & SAWs), so I'd never say never. That said, I'm not overly worried about it on known name brand suppliers from a personal aspect.

 

[wtburnette]

Hmmm... this is tempting to me:

ThinkBook 15 Gen 2 ARE

ww-single-model-think-laptops-default

www.lenovo.com

 

[fullmetaljesus]

Alternatively and probably cheaper, I could toss spare parts together and get a frankenstein desktop build for the office and just grab a good tablet to use for the kitchen and general web browsing. A laptop seemed like a better idea as I do occasionally travel (once in a blue moon) and it would be nice to have my computer with me. I hate trying to surf on my phone or even on a tablet. Laptops are so much more convenient.

Oh I forgot to answer. I'm an android guy. Hate apple with a passion. I used to support both apple and Windows devices and have always vastly preferred Windows (now Linux). Tried using a iPhone back in the day, as well as an iPad and didn't like either (same as when I tried using a Mac device, as I had a nice MacBook at one job but never used it because I didn't care for it). I've used Android since they released their first phone.

Look at the Lenovo Chromebooks.

I have had one since the beginning of the pandemic ****. I love it. Has a detachable keyboard so I can do real typing on it or just use it has a tablet .

 

[wtburnette]

Any issue on the system in the link I posted? I have a Ryzen 5 CPU in my desktop and it works fine. I assume a Ryzen 3 would be adequate. Otherwise the system seems pretty decent for the price.

Look at the Lenovo Chromebooks.

I have had one since the beginning of the pandemic ****. I love it. Has a detachable keyboard so I can do real typing on it or just use it has a tablet .

I'm just not overly sold on Chromebooks. I don't use any of the Google services, other than Gmail. I honestly prefer to keep most of my data on the drive in the system as well as multiple backups. Might have to look at them, but I don't know, they're a bit of a hard sell for me.

 

[jkaetz]

Any issue on the system in the link I posted? I have a Ryzen 5 CPU in my desktop and it works fine. I assume a Ryzen 3 would be adequate. Otherwise the system seems pretty decent for the price.



I'm just not overly sold on Chromebooks. I don't use any of the Google services, other than Gmail. I honestly prefer to keep most of my data on the drive in the system as well as multiple backups. Might have to look at them, but I don't know, they're a bit of a hard sell for me.

I'd be concerned. That is the budget CPU from 2020.
Ryzen 3/5/7/9 seems to be like Intel's i3/i5/i7/i9

Then the model number denoting what generation & spec it is: 4300U. Current gen is 7330U for reference.

Personally I wouldn't do a budget processor from either AMD or Intel. Stick with the i5/Ryzen 5 and above.

 

[wtburnette]

Yeah, I already decided against it, but thanks. Thinking about it there were some issues so I'm going to think harder about possibly getting a tablet. Might procrastinate until this laptop finally dies and I don't have a choice

 

[radar8756]

My sister did all her Online Banking / bills on a CHEAP ($99) 10" tablet for years

Depends what all you need to do with it

 

[BiscuitsandGravy]

My work is a 100% Dell shop so thats all I know... Not much help...

If you are one that likes to install your own OS, take a look at Ghostspectre W11 that has all the bloatware, spyware, and telemetry removed...

 

[wtburnette]

My work is a 100% Dell shop so thats all I know... Not much help...

If you are one that likes to install your own OS, take a look at Ghostspectre W11 that has all the bloatware, spyware, and telemetry removed...

Thanks. Very interesting but I'll stick with Linux Mint. I've lost my taste for Winbloze...