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Laptop Recommendations

Deleted member 4353

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Oct 25, 2017
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Hey guys,

So im looking to get a new laptop. I used a Dell XPS 13 for close to 3 years and it worked great for the most part. Around year 2, there were some small issues with the screen where it would go black if I lightly hit the back but it wasn't really a big deal.

I need to get a new laptop and I've been looking at these 3 laptops.

HP Envy 13T with the i7 8550u
HP spectre with the i7 8550u
Dell Inspiron with the i7 8550u

They all usually have 8gb ram with 256gb ssd drive. I want them all to have the 8th gen intel.

I also want 13 or at least 14 inch laptops.

I have $1400 to use.

Any ideas what I should get? Any recommendations not on my list is welcome.

One thing I do despise is fan noise on a laptop. I hate fan noise. I googled the hp laptops and I read that they still have issues where the fan stays on and is noisy.

I dont game on my laptop. I mostly use the laptop for programming and small mobile game development.
 

Deleted member 8860

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Oct 26, 2017
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Why are you set on an i7 (non-Y/U/M) if you hate fan noise? It doesn't appear that you need the processing grunt.

Edit: I'm blind. Those are all U processors. Still, consider lower-power fanless designs.
 
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MoogleWizard

MoogleWizard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,681
Are Macs out of the question? I found them to be the most reliable and long-lasting. I'm saying this because you had issues with your Dell in only the second year.
 
MrKlaw

MrKlaw

Member
Oct 25, 2017
33,038
do you need that power? I don't know if core-m is still poor performing, but my wife's Zenbook is completely passive, as is the surface pro m3. So no fan noise at all because no fan.

if you want more power, 8th gen is fine but you might look at the i5s too - they're all 4c8t its just the cache/turbo thats different. So maybe more flexiblity for your budget.
 
Fliesen

Fliesen

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,253
MoogleWizard said:
Are Macs out of the question? I found them to be the most reliable and long-lasting. I'm saying this because you had issues with your Dell in only the second year.
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Also, with regards to fan noise - for better or worse - macs prefer thermal throttling to excessive fan noise. Like, the highest specced 13" Macbook pro throttles down really quickly after a certain amount of time under full load.

But no matter what manufacturer - are you really sure you need that much power in your laptop?
Is mobile game development that CPU heavy?
 
Johnny Blaze

Johnny Blaze

Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
4,162
DE
MoogleWizard said:
Are Macs out of the question? I found them to be the most reliable and long-lasting. I'm saying this because you had issues with your Dell in only the second year.
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I got my first Macbook two years ago and yeah no regrets, the thing just works and I use it also mostly for Android development (works flawlessly) and wanna try Unity soon.
 
MoogleWizard

MoogleWizard

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Oct 27, 2017
2,681
The problem about the current MacBook Pros/Macbooks is that the port situation is really bad and the keyboard is not for everyone. OP's budget would only allow for a low-end MacBook Pro, which only has two TB ports, or a MacBook Air, which has lots of ports and a better keyboard but the screen isn't great and it's not the most powerful. But if you want a machine that just works and is quiet, they're hard to beat. And you can run Windows in Bootcamp if you need it.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 4353

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emag said:
Why are you set on an i7 (non-Y/U/M) if you hate fan noise? It doesn't appear that you need the processing grunt.

Edit: I'm blind. Those are all U processors.
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All the 8th gen intel laptops I've seen have an i7. I don't know if I need that much processing power to be honest.

I used Unity a lot with my old XPS and it worked most of the time.

When it comes to fan noise, I know if im doing something intense like running a graphics intense unity game or something like that in the unity editor, the fan comes on. When i turn off the game the fan noise goes off.

What I dont want is the fan coming on when im just browsing. I read some HP's do that. The fan is always on.

I just cant see myself using a Mac as I prefer windows.
 
dragonchild

dragonchild

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Oct 26, 2017
2,270
I don't see any reliability concerns here. There are sites that stress test laptops for physical durability; if you're interested in a model I suggest trying to find how they hold up under Murphy's Law. Assuming this laptop isn't just going to be a compact PC to save on deskspace/legroom in your work area, and in some cases even if it is, at some point this machine is going to take punishment. You are going to drop it, spill liquids on it, get dust inside it, as well as pet hair, if you have pets. With desktop PCs, you may need to replace the keyboard. With a laptop, the guts of the system are literally right under the keys.
 
Doctoglethorpe

Doctoglethorpe

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Oct 27, 2017
3,214
I'd just stick with another XPS.

You could also maybe look at the surface laptop, depending on how you feel about the fabric keyboard.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 4353

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Does anyone know the difference between the XPS 13 and the Inspiron 13. I really loved the XPS 13 I had to be honest, it worked really well. They both have the 8th gen intel.
 
petran79

petran79

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Oct 27, 2017
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Greece
If given the choice, extend warranty to 3 years. My HP Omen present a faulty battery in disgnostics. Does not charge 100%. This after 1 year. Now Caps Lock key blinks 5 times slow and 3 times fast, indicating another hardware issue. Will bring it to service tomorrow. Shop offers a laptop replacement till they fix the laptop
 
MrKlaw

MrKlaw

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Oct 25, 2017
33,038
if I had $1400 available I sure wouldn't be buying a used laptop. Never mind how good a thinkpad might be.

8th gen 15w CPU is a nice step forward, current ultrabook design with a 1080p 13/14" screen and 256GB SSD is lightweight, portable, great battery life. Get one with a decent warranty to last as long as you want to use it for and you're set for another few years.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 4353

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Dell XPS 13 9360 I7-8550U QUAD CORE 16GB RAM 512GB SSD

This is the one I've settled on. I'm not really a fan of Levovo or the thinkpad.

is there much of a difference between 16gb and 8gb ram?
 
RumbleHumble

RumbleHumble

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Oct 27, 2017
7,128
I'm on a used Dell Inspirion i5 processor with 256 gb solid state drive and love it. It cost me around $750.00 (although I'm sure that, with the recent release of new models, it's even cheaper). I'm even able to game (on medium settings of course) with relative ease.
 
Heckler456

Heckler456

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Oct 25, 2017
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RumbleHumble said:
I'm on a used Dell Inspirion i5 processor with 256 gb solid state drive and love it. It cost me around $750.00 (although I'm sure that, with the recent release of new models, it's even cheaper). I'm even able to game (on medium settings of course) with relative ease.
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How's the battery life and the build quality/sturdiness? I've been eying the Inspiron too, and while it seems to be a great get for its price, I can't help but feel like there has to be some kind of catch.

I'm looking for a laptop too, meant for daily commute on public transportation to university for the next 3-5 years, so I need something real sturdy, if only for ease of mind. I was looking at the new Thinkpad E580, and it looks pretty great. And probably the best choice in terms of durability, from what I hear about Thinkpad. It's 15 inch though OP, and the E480 13/14 inch version with the amd rx550 seems to have issues with the fan constantly running, so that might be a problem for you. Although, I don't know if that fan issue would exist if you took the version with the integrated intel graphics card.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

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Oct 25, 2017
23,480
jrush64 said:
Dell XPS 13 9360 I7-8550U QUAD CORE 16GB RAM 512GB SSD

This is the one I've settled on. I'm not really a fan of Levovo or the thinkpad.

is there much of a difference between 16gb and 8gb ram?
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Depends on your usage really. Check task manager and see how much ram is being used when you have the most applications open you normally do (and also when you're running the most intensive programs). If you're never getting close 8GB then it'll make no difference. When you go over the amount of ram you have, your computer uses your hard disk as temporary ram, which can really make your computer chug. 16GB will give you a lot more headroom to not get into those situations. If you're heavy multitasking you'll probably need it (I'm using 10GB right now).
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 4353

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Oct 25, 2017
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Alright thanks for all the recommendations. I settled for the dell XPS again because it seemed like the best. I had a very good experience with it. This new one has 512gb ssd and 16gb ram which is great.

The old XPS i had still works, I just need to send it in to dell because of some heating issues but it lasted for close to 3 years.

Off topic, is there a way to connect the SSD in the old XPS to usb so I can grab my files. the ssd looks like a stick of ram.
 
RumbleHumble

RumbleHumble

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Oct 27, 2017
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Heckler456 said:
How's the battery life and the build quality/sturdiness? I've been eying the Inspiron too, and while it seems to be a great get for its price, I can't help but feel like there has to be some kind of catch.

I'm looking for a laptop too, meant for daily commute on public transportation to university for the next 3-5 years, so I need something real sturdy, if only for ease of mind. I was looking at the new Thinkpad E580, and it looks pretty great. And probably the best choice in terms of durability, from what I hear about Thinkpad. It's 15 inch though OP, and the E480 13/14 inch version with the amd rx550 seems to have issues with the fan constantly running, so that might be a problem for you. Although, I don't know if that fan issue would exist if you took the version with the integrated intel graphics card.
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I've been satisfied with most of the build quality outside one major issue: I'm a little shakey as to how the screen is connected to the laptop itself. It's not the most secure. The image quality for the screen is also a little on the dark side. Battery life is solid. I can usually get around a little over 8 hours on balanced settings provided I'm not doing anything too demanding (much more if all I'm doing is Microsoft Office stuff). When playing something like Divinity OS: II, I've gotten around 3-5 hours.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 4353

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Oct 25, 2017
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sir_crocodile said:
does it have two notches or one notch?
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This is a picture of the SSD. I don't know what you mean by notches.

I think it's called M.2 Type 2280 SSD. https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/upgrade-dell-xps-13-ssd

I got the info from here.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

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Oct 25, 2017
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^^ yup. By notches I mean the holes between the connectors you can see on the left there. two notches mean b key, one notch means m key (which is normally nvme and a hassle to transfer from). Looks like you have a b key sata, which is relatively easy to transfer data from with peripherals like mrklaw posted.
 
Sunbro83

Sunbro83

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,262
Wanted to avoid making a new thread and this was the most recent for laptop recommendations so hoping someone can help.

Someone in Work is after one of the hyrbrid tablet/laptops for their wife and asked me for suggestions but it's not an area I'm familiar with. Anyone know what the current go-to options in this market are? Looking at a medium budget (nothing high end but doesn't need to be budget) and I'm in the UK if that makes a difference. Thanks
 
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