Thin, light productivity laptop

manic111 · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:25

I'm looking for a new laptop, mostly for work. I'll be coming from a 2011 Macbook Pro, so my main criteria is that it's considerably lighter, with enough grunt (i.e. at least an i5) for me to multitask and maybe do some very light gaming (Football Manager, Civ etc).

Ideally, I don't want to spend more than £1k, and I'm very picky on build quality, keyboard and trackpad (which rules out a lot of Windows laptops). The one I keep coming back to is the new XPS 13, which can be picked up refurbished for a really reasonable price, but it just seems a bit ... well ... boring! I know it's a rubbish reason not to buy a laptop, but there we go.

I've experienced the Asus laptops (my girlfriend has one) and intensely dislike the trackpad. The HP ones seem similar to the Dell but worse in most ways. Everything else is probably over budget. Are there any other recommendations, or should I just bite the bullet and get the Dell?

inogen · 9 Mar 2018 at 13:32

Either the Dell or a Thinkpad. I've got an X1 Carbon and its great. I've used the Dell and prefer the Thinkpad. Though I like the nipple and always have

Read some good things about the Huawei Matebook but I've not seen or used one.

Hades · 9 Mar 2018 at 21:29

The latest 6th gen ThinkPad Carbon X1 has just been released with the 15w low voltage quad core CPU's. It's getting great feedback on forums and a couple of reviews. The keyboard will be better than the Macbook or the Dell. Traditionally Thinkpad screens haven't been great (nowhere near as good as the Macbook or XPS) but the X1C usually has a half decent one. The optional new HDR screen is apparently one of the best on any laptop, including the Macbook.

https://youtu.be/aSIEWiD2y_8

manic111 · 9 Mar 2018 at 21:34

Hades said:
The latest 6th gen ThinkPad Carbon X1 has just been released with the 15w low voltage quad core CPU's. It's getting great feedback on forums and a couple of reviews. The keyboard will be better than the Macbook or the Dell. Traditionally Thinkpad screens haven't been great (nowhere near as good as the Macbook or XPS) but the X1C usually has a half decent one. The optional new HDR screen is apparently one of the best on any laptop, including the Macbook.

https://youtu.be/aSIEWiD2y_8

I think it's way over my budget, though? Unless I'm looking at the wrong thing.

Hades · 9 Mar 2018 at 21:38

Sorry just saw your budget.

Yes it's a lot more than that. You could probably get a refurbished 5th gen X1 but it would only be dual core. It's still something to consider if you're also looking at used Dells.

MoRT489 · 12 Apr 2018 at 16:06

Did you consider HP Spectre or Razer Blade Stealth? Wonder what people’s thoughts are on those as I need a laptop In this range and am put off by the camera placement in the Dell XPS 13.

manic111 · 12 Apr 2018 at 21:00

I never got around to buying, I've had my head turned by the Surface Book 2 with a dgpu, so I'm saving a bit for that, and if in the meantime something comes out with the new Intel chips I'll be well placed.

FWIW though, I considered both - the HP didn't seem to have as nice a touchpad or be as well built, and is expensive compared to the Dell outlet. The Razer could tempt me but I'd need to see one in person, which is tricky

ExoMale · 12 Apr 2018 at 23:31

not that i got much experience with various laptops, i think these prices are crazy for intel only graphics, i know these are not aimed at gamers, but still, for the money they cost you would least expect a dedicated gpu, just feels robbed.

krooton · 13 Apr 2018 at 16:29

XPS 15 in the outlet at the moment for under £1k, features a 1050 too

manic111 · 15 Apr 2018 at 16:04

ExoMale said:
not that i got much experience with various laptops, i think these prices are crazy for intel only graphics, i know these are not aimed at gamers, but still, for the money they cost you would least expect a dedicated gpu, just feels robbed.

Yes and no. I want the best build quality, a trackpad that doesn't wind me up, and a good screen and keyboard. My 2011 MBP has lasted me over 7 years because it has all those things. If I get it, it's worthwhile over something half the price that I need to upgrade in a couple of years because it's not good enough.

I'm going into this fully aware that I'm getting something which isn't as highly specced for the money as I could buy, but it's worthwhile if it does what I want

ExoMale · 15 Apr 2018 at 19:53

manic111 said:
Yes and no. I want the best build quality, a trackpad that doesn't wind me up, and a good screen and keyboard. My 2011 MBP has lasted me over 7 years because it has all those things. If I get it, it's worthwhile over something half the price that I need to upgrade in a couple of years because it's not good enough.

I'm going into this fully aware that I'm getting something which isn't as highly specced for the money as I could buy, but it's worthwhile if it does what I want

yeah thats fine, we all buy whats best for us, my comment was a general observation of the laptop segment, you dont need to be a gamer to have a laptop with a dedicated gpu, 500-540m/600-640m/700-740m/800-840m for examples are not gaming types and from a desktop point of view its nice to have video memory on its own dedicated chip to keep the whole system running less stressed and for how much these laptops talked about here seems like you wouldnt get your moneys worth if the intel graphics are not up to scratch.

MoRT489 · 18 Apr 2018 at 13:30

I’ve just come across the ASUS ZenBook 13 UX331 which is an ultrabook with discrete graphics - gaming becomes a real possibility. Has anyone owned an Asus, thoughts?