Laptop Help

White_Widow

White_Widow

White_Widow

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Joined
26 Oct 2003
Posts
221
Hello everyone,

I hope your all enjoying the snow!

I want to buy a new laptop to replace my desktop. I have a PS5 so wont be using it for gaming.

It is mainly excel, browsing and other work related tasks. I wanted a 17" screen as my current laptop (14") is too small for me.

Budget of around £1500 but would prefer less if possible. I did look at the LG Gram 17Z90Q, i7, 32gb ram during black friday but that has increased in price again.

I am in no rush so happy to wait until January if its worth it for the January sales?

Would really appreciate some help with this please as most of the laptops I see these days are flimsy and feel like they wouldn't last 5 minutes!

Thank you in advance!

John
 
I try to keep my laptops for roughly 5 years so want something that will be future proofed. I work on very complex excel sheets, sometimes with 2/3 open at a time. I plan to plug the laptop into my 38" widescreen monitor when at the office and use it with that plus the laptop screen if needed and then obviously just the laptop when out.

Definitely up for spending less if possible!

Thank you for your help.
 
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No laptop (or desktop, really) can be future-proof; you can only buy the best there is at the time. It's hard to say what will happen from Boxing Day onwards but right now the MSI Creator M16 for £1100 on OcUK looks about right. My main laptop has a 16" QHD screen and I find it very pleasant to use. I would expect the RAM to be upgradable if you find 16GB isn't enough. If you decide to wait then keep an eye on Lenovo's web site as there are often good discounts to be had. You should also consider Ryzen 7 CPUs as well as i7.
 
Thank you that looks like a great option. What I meant by future proof is I may not need 32gb ram now but in a few year I may do.
I used to use AMD processors years ago when I was building computers for a living but haven't been involved for at least 10 years now. I have always had Intel since.
In your opinion, which CPU is the better for laptops? Is it the i7 or the AMD Ryzen 7?
 
White_Widow said:
I try to keep my laptops for roughly 5 years so want something that will be future proofed. I work on very complex excel sheets, sometimes with 2/3 open at a time. I plan to plug the laptop into my 38" widescreen monitor when at the office and use it with that plus the laptop screen if needed and then obviously just the laptop when out.

Definitely up for spending less if possible!

Thank you for your help.
Click to expand...

If you're plugging into a TV, and want 4K then looking at a laptop with HDMI 2.0

The one I have now will output 1080p. Which is fine for me as I don't connect to TV.
 
White_Widow said:
Thank you that looks like a great option. What I meant by future proof is I may not need 32gb ram now but in a few year I may do.
I used to use AMD processors years ago when I was building computers for a living but haven't been involved for at least 10 years now. I have always had Intel since.
In your opinion, which CPU is the better for laptops? Is it the i7 or the AMD Ryzen 7?
Click to expand...

Ryzen are more battery efficient. As for RAM, you could always upgrade later if you get a laptop with RAM sockets. I've got 16GB and in W11 it's around 6GB memory usage,

Check the resolution of the 17" models find out res and ratio

I'm using 1920x1200 16" 16:10 and it's a better ratio than 16:9

Do you have example spreedsheet of similar size to see what it uses my RAM up?
 
I think 16GB will be fine and then I can upgrade to 32GB if needed.
Would you say the Ryzen are faster than i7 or similar?
I will be plugging into 38" wide monitor. I think 4k would be a good option.

Thank you
 
Both are fast for usual work but from reviews Ryzens are a bit more power efficient. I'm using a octocore ryzen 7 and it's very fast. Ryzen IGP isn't bad either plays older games ok, Alien Isolaition maxed setting 50fps native 1900x1200 etc. It struggles on modern fast FPS though.
 
One thing I have heard of with i7s is heat issues, as they can make the laptop very hot, although it would depend on model.

I have an i5 Dell Inspiron with 8GB of RAM. I could probably do with some more RAM, but I think the processor is fine for me anyway. I don't think Excel is particularly processor intensive and it could be that an i7 is overkill for you (worth some research). If you were doing video editing I would say i7 but Excel I'm not so sure.
 
radderfire said:
One thing I have heard of with i7s is heat issues, as they can make the laptop very hot, although it would depend on model.

I have an i5 Dell Inspiron with 8GB of RAM. I could probably do with some more RAM, but I think the processor is fine for me anyway. I don't think Excel is particularly processor intensive and it could be that an i7 is overkill for you (worth some research). If you were doing video editing I would say i7 but Excel I'm not so sure.
Click to expand...

check hdmi spec is it 1.4 or 2? 4k need ver2
 
White_Widow said:
Thank you that looks like a great option. What I meant by future proof is I may not need 32gb ram now but in a few year I may do.
I used to use AMD processors years ago when I was building computers for a living but haven't been involved for at least 10 years now. I have always had Intel since.
In your opinion, which CPU is the better for laptops? Is it the i7 or the AMD Ryzen 7?
Click to expand...
My personal choice at the moment is AMD. As you've noted, 12th gen Intel can run hot. I was firmly in the Intel camp until a couple of years ago when I bought a Ryzen 4xxx laptop.
 
Hi guys, I ended up waiting to buy the new laptop and want to order something next week.

Same as first post, budget is around £1500, would go cheaper though. 17" if possible.

What do you all recommend? There is so much choice I am struggling to make a decision.

Thanks in advance!
 
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