Best PC Notebook or Small Laptop?
I am a hard core PC guy - tried Apple products, and (aside from my iPhone) they just don't do it for me. My computer is a frequently upgraded Lenovo laptop (currently the P71), which I used as a desktop and infrequent business travel. But we're planning on travelling more, and the heavyweight P71 is really too large and heavy to travel with comfortably (especially since I need to carry an external hard drive and other accessories). Can you recommend a PC-based, lightweight laptop or pad computer that will still give me the functionality of a real computer?
Thanks,
Phi
Thanks,
Phi
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
membership
This solution is only available to members.
To access this solution, you must be a member of Experts Exchange.
I would caution you - reviews are nice, but everyone is different.
For example, You could find me the fastest, lightest laptop out there, but if the keyboard requires I press Function (Fn) to access any of the Home, End, Page Up, or Page Down keys, I won't buy it. I use those keys frequently and not having them DIRECTLY accessible is UNACCEPTABLE to me - and a LOT of laptops are doing that these days.
And there are plenty of other factors you should be considering that makes a laptop right for you. Screen - high resolution or not? I like high resolution screens, but if you don't - or you have vision problems, "Full HD" may make some things TINY and QHD might be unbearable.
Rather than trusting someone else with what you'd like to work on, I would suggest you are better off going to a few local places that sell a variety of laptops. Near me, I can go to a Microsoft Store (not terribly cheap, but bonus, they don't let crapware (beyond Microsoft's own) be installed on the laptop), Micro Center, or Best Buy. I also wouldn't rule out Costco. Then, look them over, look at the keyboard, the weight, the screen, the specs.
As a general rule, if you want performance, you don't want ANYTHING that has a spinning hard drive. SSD at least, if not NVMe. 8 GB of RAM (16 might not hurt but it depends on what you do). And an i5 or Ryzen 5 as a minimum.
When I was looking for a laptop a couple year back, I wanted:
*Touch Screen
*Full HD minimum
*SSD Storage
*Gigabit Ethernet built in
*i5
*8 GB RAM or better (MUST support 16)
*GOOD keyboard (for me)
*$700 or less.
I was flexible on the SSD and RAM - those can generally be easily upgraded. I went to Micro Center, Looked at NewEgg, checked at Costco and the Microsoft Store... much to my disappointment, every one that came close to my requirements, usually lacked one thing (strangely, that was most often a gigabit ethernet port (who uses 10/100 these days!? apparently almost everyone), but sometimes if it had the ethernet, it lacked a touch screen. Or Full HD. Or a decent keyboard). I finally found what I wanted at (with spinning hard drive) at Worst Buy (my nick name for not Best Buy) for $650. I went and bought an SSD and didn't even bother to turn the thing on before replacing the drive.
Been quite happy with it ever since.
Ultimately, my point is this - laptops, like phones, are personal devices, don't trust reviews to find you one. I would only use reviews for them to modify my buying decision once I found ones that match my criteria.
For example, You could find me the fastest, lightest laptop out there, but if the keyboard requires I press Function (Fn) to access any of the Home, End, Page Up, or Page Down keys, I won't buy it. I use those keys frequently and not having them DIRECTLY accessible is UNACCEPTABLE to me - and a LOT of laptops are doing that these days.
And there are plenty of other factors you should be considering that makes a laptop right for you. Screen - high resolution or not? I like high resolution screens, but if you don't - or you have vision problems, "Full HD" may make some things TINY and QHD might be unbearable.
Rather than trusting someone else with what you'd like to work on, I would suggest you are better off going to a few local places that sell a variety of laptops. Near me, I can go to a Microsoft Store (not terribly cheap, but bonus, they don't let crapware (beyond Microsoft's own) be installed on the laptop), Micro Center, or Best Buy. I also wouldn't rule out Costco. Then, look them over, look at the keyboard, the weight, the screen, the specs.
As a general rule, if you want performance, you don't want ANYTHING that has a spinning hard drive. SSD at least, if not NVMe. 8 GB of RAM (16 might not hurt but it depends on what you do). And an i5 or Ryzen 5 as a minimum.
When I was looking for a laptop a couple year back, I wanted:
*Touch Screen
*Full HD minimum
*SSD Storage
*Gigabit Ethernet built in
*i5
*8 GB RAM or better (MUST support 16)
*GOOD keyboard (for me)
*$700 or less.
I was flexible on the SSD and RAM - those can generally be easily upgraded. I went to Micro Center, Looked at NewEgg, checked at Costco and the Microsoft Store... much to my disappointment, every one that came close to my requirements, usually lacked one thing (strangely, that was most often a gigabit ethernet port (who uses 10/100 these days!? apparently almost everyone), but sometimes if it had the ethernet, it lacked a touch screen. Or Full HD. Or a decent keyboard). I finally found what I wanted at (with spinning hard drive) at Worst Buy (my nick name for not Best Buy) for $650. I went and bought an SSD and didn't even bother to turn the thing on before replacing the drive.
Been quite happy with it ever since.
Ultimately, my point is this - laptops, like phones, are personal devices, don't trust reviews to find you one. I would only use reviews for them to modify my buying decision once I found ones that match my criteria.
ASKER
Thank you, Lee. The overarching principle to keep in mind with all major purchases is that individual needs vary :).
ASKER