New laptop recommendations circa $2000

SaberX on 23/03/2019 - 19:59
Last edited 23/03/2019 - 20:03

Hi all,

Last bought a laptop in 2011. Finally looking for a new one to replace it. Have 2k for bday gift to spend, any difference over i can top up personally.

I dont need anything for multimedia or a gaming workhorse, so i am considering whether to go a 13 or 14" if its still decent for a desktop replacement. My 2011 laptop is 15.6"

I dont typically carry it around but the latest gen seem pretty slim and light. I did notice that there's a distinct lack of usb ports these days and alot have those thunderbolt ports. Is it advisable just to suck it up and move on from usb drives, external hdds and usb dongle Bluetooth mouses and devices?? Jb hi fi did suggest a power through hub where one lighting port could go to a hub with 2 or 3 usb ports, sd card, power charging plug etc, but this would work mainly at home and not so much on the road??

Some suggested going dell inspiron 7000 class as a more top consumer line. Or perhaps an XPS.

I saw lenovo do yoga 920/930s and other lines. Hp has a spectre and specta x360 lines.

I did find a HP spectre 360 13-ae010tu model. I can get it from 2698 to abour 2190 on clearance. Would this be a decent laptop? Has i7, 16gb ram, 512 gb ssd. Just abit lost why a hp spectre without the flip (x360) is like 1900-2100 vs the 2698 original price of this x360? Is it all money paid gor a flip feature and a gimmick? Or actually better parts and performance??

Key features im after:

-Perhaps 1 normal usb port if not more?
-2 or 3 thunderbolt ports at least or whatever is the goto port i should be getting to fututeproof?
-8gb or 16gb ram. Will there be much notable diff between 8 and 16gb for someone not using multimedia or design etc? Or is it pointless??
-more hdd space the better. I used to fill 750 gb and 1tb over time. Although i note alot of ssda are only 256gb?
-hdmi out port incase of hooking up to an extern monitors or screen. I note alot of new laptops are thin base and exclude this. Am i better off just getting an external hub via connecting to a thunderbolt port that has hdmi out?

-sd card slot or microsd?? Only as phones and gopros etc all use this media so i figure it woulf be important to have. Again not sure if an external hub is a better solution?

  • decent battery life. Mostly desktop replacement but be good to have a laptop that lasts more thab 3 or 4 hrs as my laptops never go over that. With my work dell latitude 5490 the 10+ hrs is truly incredibly cool when your off the grid (rarely of course, albeit handy)

-light to medium laptop. I dont need razer thin but i guess if. ican get decent functionality id rather a medium to thin base and weight

-encryption to protect private data. Or does windows 10 home still come with bit locker built in encryption??

  • quality and futureproofing is very important. I dont want 1st gen tech (latest) and the price tag that goes it. Im comfortable having powerful "last yrs tech". My $1600 asus on sale at $999 (ozb post ironically) has served me since 2011. Arguably clunkier now but im happy to have something for many years.

Any comments on the lenovo vs hp vs dell brand and quality debate? Any particular lines and models around the 2k mark that have well known problems or issues to stay well clear of? I recall hp used to habe heating issues and some laptops are poorly constructed i.e. all one part together that any repairs were very costly to take apart the whole thing i.e. microsoft surface pros supposedly. So i want to go for something that is more good in that department. On one hand some dells seem to have users complaining of well known issues requiring fixing. How are lenovos?? And which lines or classes to focus on for a decent consumer laptop?

Appreciate any warnings,hints or tips. Or should i just take the $2198 x360 spectre above? Only one or two clearance models on sale…

Also hoping to pickup a washing machine and/or dishwasher so hopefully can bag some combined bargains.

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • d123 on 23/03/2019 - 21:11
    +1

    I actually have the HP spectre 360 13-ae010tu model and love it! I can't compare it to the others though. There are also very good Hackintosh instructions for this laptop which work well and can make it to a dual boot Windows 10 / Macbook Pro laptop. The battery generally lasts me about 10-11 hours on a single charge but I never run it to empty. It is an excellent laptop.

    Hope this helps you in your decision making.

    • SaberX on 23/03/2019 - 23:41

      Thanks!! Great to hear you have it. Can i ask how much was yours?? Mine says 2698 down to 2198 on clearance for normal silver model… i love the new blue versions of the spectre 13s and all i saw in harvey norman….

      No interest in mac though haha. Do you not find the number of lightning ports enough??

      Can i also ask how hot the laptop gets (past ozb posts seem to mention heat issues?)? Manageable?

      And can you flip it into tablet and use the keyboard side (connected to an external monitor)?

      • d123 on 24/03/2019 - 02:42

        Hi, mine was about 2400 from memory. It has one USB-A port and two USB-C ports. That has been plenty for me however I do miss having a HDMI port, so I purchased a USB-C adapter that has a HDMI port and I have another one with an HDMI an 3 USB-A ports.

        It gets warm/hot occasionally, usually during Windows 10 updates, but not for MS Office type work, internet browsing, nor watching videos. It really is a great machine. Small, light, stylish, and a massive battery.

        When placing it in tablet mode the keyboard is disabled, which makes sense as otherwise when you hold it the keyboard keys wood keep getting pressed.

        Hope this helps.

        • SaberX on 24/03/2019 - 13:12

          Hi. Thanks for the response. Makes sense with the keyboard. I presume you'd have to connect it via an usb c adapter to hdmi or a hub with hdmi with the laptop closed and an external keyboard in that case… would save on a keyboard if you could enable the keyboard in tablet mode. Don't suppose you've connected to one or two monitors externally before? And if it is ok?

          Do you happen to know if the spectre x360s or win 10 come inbuilt with encryption softwate for hdd privacy. Like the old win 8 had bitlocker??

          Have you found yourself using the tablet flip function much? Consider a spectre 13 is say 2100 vs 2700 retail for a x360 flip i am wondering how much you get out of tablet use. You cant install android apps via a workaround from google play to turn it into a typical android tablet?

          Did yoirs come with the pen??i never thought id need one and wondering if it is a seperate accessory i can remove in order to negotiate down the price?

          Have you found the 13" screen tiring or small onthe eyes for extended use?? Coming from a 15.6" my biggest worry was it feels great and looks fine on testing. Flashy, light, sleek, but come 4 or 6 hrs on a table whether it comes in abit small and tedious on your eyes?

          Thanks for commenting on the heat issues. Glas to hear it's generally sorted as many people's first comments when i ask about laptops is they know nothing,but they'd never go HP as they used to own one and they would overheat.

          • d123 on 24/03/2019 - 21:09

            @SaberX: Hi, I have had the laptop for about a year. I walk into a meeting with the leatherette sleeve that came with it (the pen was also included and has a place in the sleeve), and those in the meeting are positively surprised when they see me pull out a full sized laptop from what looks like an incredibly thin sleeve. I don't ask for a power point, and I only carry a tiny USB-C to HDMI adapter and my flat bluetooth Microsoft mouse. And then I can run all day on it.

            I really like the 13" format and I can connect a second screen to it easily.

            I have the laptop set up to go into sleep mode when I close the lid. I finish the meeting and just close the lid and leave - none of this closing down a computer business in front of everyone. Sometimes I bring a tiny Bluetooth speaker with me, and it all just works.

            The other questions you have asked are operating system related. Better to look up Windows 10 functionality.

            Again, I strongly recommend this particular laptop.

            Good luck.

            • SaberX on 25/03/2019 - 03:32

              @d123: Thanks for the feedback. I think the main factors of use for this as per yourself is ease of business and work rather than im going for a more consumer line laptop.

              That said i did manage to push the price further down so from 2198 down to 2089 max wiggle room. At that price it isnt 4k display but its hard to argue against having 512gb ssd and 16gb ram. The only thing is i wish its speakers werent at bottom in tablet mode i.e. the lenovo yovo c930s the speaker somewhat follows you. The lenovos stylus pen alao is inbuilt which makes a big diff in convenience and functionality i reckon. For an user that rarely uses it im more likely to reach for it when i do need it when its inbuilt. The lenovo yoga c930 also like many other lenovos feels better spaced on the keyboard and the chassis feel. But i guess that's something one will grow accustomed to i presume.

              Definitely a more metal like clicky keyboard than the softer force absorbing lenovo keyboards…. hopefullybit doesnt stay a bug bear or anything.

              Otherwise a great laptop. Its funny how many config variants of the same laptop model there are in stores to complicate the decision making process..

              Lastly i had no mention of a laptop sleeve. Did yours just come in the box as an included item? Hopefully i get said sleeve given i am meant to have an included stylus too! Hopefully the stylus proves useful than more gimmick as i havent had a chance to use one yet or see how it works with various software.

              • d123 on 29/03/2019 - 21:01

                @SaberX: Yes the sleeve and the pen were included in the box which was sealed from the factory.

                Well done on the further price reduction. How did you do it?

        • SaberX on 24/03/2019 - 13:13

          How long have you owned/used your laptop for btw if you dont mind me asking?

  • alee112 on 23/03/2019 - 21:17
    +1

    I've personally been looking at Lenovo's T4xx series, 470 is last gen (but still good), as well as the T480 and T480s. What I love about it is that it's fairly cheap (well under 2k when on sale, it was about a month ago for 1.4k, not sure if lenovo still has the sale going on), has lots of ports (2 usb, 1 usb c, hdmi, thunderbolt, sd card reader - dongles needed), and REALLY EASY TO UPGRADE THE SPECS. So you can pretty much upgrade the storage and ram later on if required.

    Otherwise, the Dell XPS line and the HP spectres that you mentioned are also good options to go (I would personally go with the XPS over the spectre). However, these could easily go over 2k. The Dell Inspiron is a pretty solid pick as well, and I would go with the Inspiron over both the XPS and Spectre for you, as you said that you wouldnt need to carry it around much, so not worth paying more for a lighter laptop

    • SaberX on 24/03/2019 - 00:11

      Thanks ill have a look into the lenovos 4xx series. Where does the Txxx series fit relative to yoga 920 etc (yoga series)?

      Is the yoga series the more business line?

      I agree under 2k woule be great but the spectre x360 i quoted is coming down to $2198 (hoping to negotiate lower) from 2698. Not sure how much it woupd normally sell for? Or if this is value for money when compared to the dell and lenovo options?

      Is there anything negative to note about the specter x360s in terms of quality or well known issues?? Do HPs still have the overheating and very hot bases with long use??

      Ideally looking for a laptop that stays cool enough all day long on your lap if need be under normal operating conditions….

      • alee112 on 24/03/2019 - 21:38

        The T series is their 'business' line, while the Yoga is more of their two in 1 option. T series doesn have any touch screen or 360 capabilities if I recall correctly.
        Yep, the price I looked at was directly through Lenovo (was around 30 or 40% off at the end of January). I had a look yesterday and I think the sale ended unfortunately

    • SaberX on 24/03/2019 - 00:12

      Is the sales usually direct through lenovo that you mentioned for 1.4kish?

      Just as powerful specs as the spectre but without the size and portability/weight?

  • GNUT on 23/03/2019 - 21:51

    I would recommend IBM or Dell laptops as they have a good reputation with quality laptops. Wife has a yoga provided from work I think it was the 260 with the touch screen and she's been using it everyday and it comes in very handy for signing pdf files ECT… Also battery life has been fantastic and it still kicking strong with 3 year's of use day in and out.

    • SaberX on 24/03/2019 - 00:02

      Would you necessarily call lenovos ibms though given they're now owned by the chinese ? Quality remained same??

      Any reason for no to the spectre or HP in general??

      • GNUT on 24/03/2019 - 19:43

        I use to work with PC's alot and have gone through like 20+ laptops(mostly gaming laptops) in the past 15 years…. I use to have a HP laptop but find quality is just ok. Don't get me wrong they could be good now but I just find IBM Lenovo/Dell and the asus rog so far has quality build for business/gaming laptops.

        Chinese products are actually very good these days and would highly vouch and recommend the Xiaomi brand (I got the gen1 robot, battery charger the poco F1 mobile) and am very impressed by value for money and quality.

        I wouldn't be surprised if I was to buy a Xiaomi later on down the track haha.

  • DBBROS on 24/03/2019 - 13:19

    I have a six year old Lenovo ideapad which is working fine without any issues and my brother has a nine and half year old ThinkPad which has a defunct keyboard but works on the USB. He upgraded to the Dell G7 few months ago

  • [Deactivated] on 24/04/2019 - 00:12

    T480 and configure with the following
    - i5 (or i7 if you feel generous, but not worth it for $200 in my own opinion)
    - 16 GB ram in 2x8GB
    - 500gb HHD (DIY upgrade with a 500GB samsung evo, currently on promo with cashback) and sell the 500gb mechanical HHD for $30 on gumtree
    - external 72wh battery (it has 24wh internal, makes it just shy of 100wh, can last around 15-20hrs)
    - FHD display (a joke that they still offer HD)

    The laptop should be around $1600 (dont forget CR 8%) + $200 for SSD… not the best price, but no T480 deals atm.

    Dell wise, i have used their Latitude 7xxx for work. Quite solid. Would go for it if you prefer Dell. Downside is, can not get a tankie battery as an option.

    HP - avoid. Work has "elite" book… crap built (very plastic) and average keyboard… no option battery… some people have "spectre" at work too… everyone wants to toss that thing into the bin…

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