'2in1' ultrabook

ShivP

ShivP

ShivP

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Hi all

I am after an ultrabook of '2in1' type a la HP Envy/Spectre x360 and Dell XPS 7390 2in1.

My budget is around £800 (company is paying), happy to consider used. 13" screen size.
I ideally want an i7, 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD. However, I realise this is quite an ask.
I am upgrading from my XPS 9350 with i5 6200U/8GB RAM/250GB SSD.
Will primarily be used for uni work, my work work will be done on desktop but taking the opportunity to upgrade as they are paying. It will also be used on holidays etc to watch movies and things, hence the 2in1 would be a nice feature.

What options could I consider? I understand there is the previous gen XPS 13 2in1, however not sure whether this is as good as a regular XPS 13.

Thanks.
 
Alexrose1uk said:
What about the Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5 14" 2-in-1? Its available for 699 and has a 4700U/8GB RAM (soldered) and 512GB SSD, and quidco/topcashback on the top to another £40. It's 14", but the cooling does a reasonable job and the 4700U should smoke the i7 in that form factor.
The Ideapads in non metal are a little plasticy but beyond the RAM it seems to fit your requirements pretty well if the extra inch is acceptable. I realise the XPS may have a better screen.

There is a 16GB variant but this seems to be out of stock.

I would have suggested the 4800U as it adds the SMT for 16 threads, but the 4800U is almost impossible to get right now as demand is so high. It and the 4700U are faster than ANYTHING Intel in the 15W domain right now however.

I got my mother in law one of the plain Ideapad 5s with the 4800U when they were available, and she's had absolutely no complaints and she is picky as hell.

If you can, for productivity in a U form factor, I'd DEFINATELY be looking at Ryzen right now unless you need Thunderbolt, they absolutely dominate Intel's current U offerings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFYdHkvRs2c
Click to expand...


USB c with PD charging would be necessary, but the only thing I use through USB c is keyboard mouse etc and a HDMI 1080p monitor which is fine through regular USB c?
 
Alexrose1uk said:
As long as they do DP via USB-C, yes, they'll output video and I believe the Lenovo's do, or if you've got one of the hubs which has a USB->HDMI/DP converter built in then also not an issue.

Another good option would be HP ProBook x360 435 G7. It's about £925, but basically looks like it meets ALL your requirements - 13.3", 4700U (way better than 15W i7)/16GB RAM (3200MHz in dual channel)/512GB SSD :) so its plenty pokey again, and should make the U series i7s look last gen. Believe it also supports USB-C charging.

I compared the UK spec Envy to the Probook, and the Probook looked just that bit better, brighter screen plus metal chassis, and shorter lead times. It's basically the Envy, but with business tweaks.

Another thing that potentially make the Probook worth more, is unlike the Lenovo where the RAM is soldered, in the HP it's standard SODIMM so theoretically upgradeable, and NVME M.2 also so again easy to upgrade the storage.

Apparently a 400nit screen in the direct from HP option so will be brighter than the Lenovo.

There is a Ryzen 5 cheaper Probook, but it seems completely out of stock at the moment, the demand for these chips is pretty huge.

They're not quite as good for gamers as the top end i7/i9 due to latency/Zen 2, but for most productivity and general workflow, these Ryzen's are incredible. The 15/35 and 45W variants genuinely give the i9-10980HK a hard time at points (or WIN!). For the price you can't knock them, I am trying to find something small and business-y for the wife, and I won't consider a Ryzen 3000 or Intel in the vast majority of the time, as the for the price, the 4000 series units are just so much better.

It gets a bit more interesting at 45W/gaming laptops, but in these 15/25W chassis... no brainer.
I can't link as HP sell gaming laptops also so would compete with OCUK there, but this is a business grade machine.

One other thing to like. 3 year warranty upgrade should only be £60-100.
Click to expand...
The probook sounds the ticket... I will definitely have a look at those
 
Alexrose1uk said:
As long as they do DP via USB-C, yes, they'll output video and I believe the Lenovo's do, or if you've got one of the hubs which has a USB->HDMI/DP converter built in then also not an issue.

Another good option would be HP ProBook x360 435 G7. It's about £925, but basically looks like it meets ALL your requirements - 13.3", 4700U (way better than 15W i7)/16GB RAM (3200MHz in dual channel)/512GB SSD :) so its plenty pokey again, and should make the U series i7s look last gen. Believe it also supports USB-C charging.

I compared the UK spec Envy to the Probook, and the Probook looked just that bit better, brighter screen plus metal chassis, and shorter lead times. It's basically the Envy, but with business tweaks.

Another thing that potentially make the Probook worth more, is unlike the Lenovo where the RAM is soldered, in the HP it's standard SODIMM so theoretically upgradeable, and NVME M.2 also so again easy to upgrade the storage.

Apparently a 400nit screen in the direct from HP option so will be brighter than the Lenovo.

There is a Ryzen 5 cheaper Probook, but it seems completely out of stock at the moment, the demand for these chips is pretty huge.

They're not quite as good for gamers as the top end i7/i9 due to latency/Zen 2, but for most productivity and general workflow, these Ryzen's are incredible. The 15/25, 35 and 45W variants genuinely give the i9-10980HK a hard time at points (or WIN!). For the price you can't knock them, I am trying to find something small and business-y for the wife, and I won't consider a Ryzen 3000 or Intel in the vast majority of the time, as the for the price, the 4000 series units are just so much better.

It gets a bit more interesting at 45W/gaming laptops, but in these 15/25W chassis... no brainer.
I can't link as HP sell gaming laptops also so would compete with OCUK there, but this is a business grade machine.

One other thing to like. 3 year warranty upgrade should only be £60-100.
Click to expand...

Went to see an envy today at John Lewis... Quite liked it.
However struggling to find any probook 435 g7 anywhere even to buy?
 
I might order one of those ProBooks then and make use of the 14 day returns with HP. If I don't like it I will probably return and order the Envy instead. Only problem is the Envy with the R7 and 16GB RAM/512GB SSD is out of stock everywhere
 
Despite your best efforts @Alexrose1uk I have just found a Ryzen 7 4700U, 16GB 512SSD Envy x360 "refurbished" for £799, £200 saving off new listed price which was too good to ignore.

If it turns out to be a dog, 30 days returns and I will be ordering the ProBook 435 G7
 
Looks like I hit the 'jackpot'. No marks etc on the laptop at all and 9 months HP warranty remaining. I'll take that for £200 off list price!!

It's great so far, I think I will keep it
The only really annoying thing is the AMD Radeon and Ryzen 7 stickers have been put on wonky so they might have to come off
 
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