13" laptop Recomondations

[dar998]

My wife is starting her first year of college soon and I'm looking for laptop recommendations. We would like something under $1000 with decent battery life, a decent screen (13 inch but 15 is not a deal breaker), and well built. Thanks a million

[5x5]

If you're looking for a durable and reliable machine, look at a business laptop. Lenovo ThinkPad, Dell Latitude, HP EliteBook.

 

Personally, I'd say the ThinkPad E480 or E490 would be a good fit - it's an entry-level 14" business laptop. Just get a model with an IPS screen and SSD and you're golden.

[GoodBytes]

7 minutes ago, dar998 said:

My wife is starting her first year of college soon and I'm looking for laptop recommendations. We would like something under $1000 with decent battery life, a decent screen (13 inch but 15 is not a deal breaker), and well built. Thanks a million

What degree is she pursuing?

 

[Kevpark]

I would recommend getting a Dell XPS 13 9380 or a XPS 15 which is on sale on Dell Outlet. I'll give you a link:

https://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&brandid=2201&sign=PXhcOSHtr1T4IOw%2fPR7Udb2ceIfasUGq%2bBZREF9vsJYsk6uC6MigTVe3MnP3crNtip7ZsrM5yYsGSrJqVJSoy7ypWwBX3b8IyP6EjE4HXnyJZwkdQb3HN%2f9cVhCbZlrx0wJ%2f1mVFL4iSgdGegFdT7a%2fsS7ju0DkhlifLxWMk9RVZFga5Qg5UgYuOgG176dwJzinh40Drc4ihzpu%2btnrknSIAxPvU70unAwQHWmXgedaUV31q0hXmgA%3d%3d

[dar998]

1 hour ago, GoodBytes said:

What degree is she pursuing?

 

Accounting, but her use case would mostly be notes. I have an ample desktop at home for full keyboard layout

[Sat1600]

I am personally a fan of used business machines.

 

https://www.dellrefurbished.com/laptops/dell-latitude-14-7000-series-e7470-225353.html?

 

Use code: BTS4UDEAL for 40% off

 

 

Or 

 

 

https://www.dellrefurbished.com/laptops/dell-latitude-12-7000-series-e7250-182874?

 

Same code

[GoodBytes]

1 hour ago, dar998 said:

Accounting, but her use case would mostly be notes. I have an ample desktop at home for full keyboard layout

ok I am not sure for this field. The reason I asked, is because I was wondering if she would benefit more of having a laptop with a digitize pen, like a Surface line system. (new models comes out in Oct, usually. Starting a semester without  laptop can help better determine her needs as well). That said, a Surface Pro will probably be over her budget by a bit (depending on the model and needs), a Surface Go might be better fit (rumors suggest that the next model may scrap the Intel Pentium Gold, for a potentially more powerful CPU: Snapdragon 8cx series. So ARM based, which technically should deliver serious "i5-level" performance with native ARM apps (Firefox, Chrome, and Chromium Edge are all in the works for ARM based version, Office is already there, if I am not mistaken, full VLC is there already), but will get a some notable performance drop for x86 32-bit programs due to emulation... however, if you focus on just more simple apps or small projects project it should be fine.. gaming... no). Of course we have to wait for it to be released, let alone have the rumor be true and see benchmarks and actual real world situation. If there is a Surface Go 2, probably will be released before school starts as this is the main market for this device.

 

[genexis_x]

6 hours ago, dar998 said:

decent battery life, a decent screen

Prefer min how many hours of battery life? Decent display means high sRGB?

 

Where are you from? No preference on weight? Mind non-upgradeable RAM?

[dar998]

1 hour ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Prefer min how many hours of battery life? Decent display means high sRGB?

 

Where are you from? No preference on weight? Mind non-upgradeable RAM?

I'd like around 8 hours away from a plug, more is better. Decent display, full HD that's bright enough to read outdoors. Eastern US region. Lighter is better. Non-upgradable RAM doesn't bother me as long as it is 8 or more

[NeuesTestament]

14 hours ago, dar998 said:

My wife is starting her first year of college soon and I'm looking for laptop recommendations. We would like something under $1000 with decent battery life, a decent screen (13 inch but 15 is not a deal breaker), and well built. Thanks a million

From personal experience I can recommend the ThinkPad L380 ( There is a new version, the L390 out by now). It has decent battery life, a great keyboard and build quality is also decent. Only downside really is the display which is just okay.

[genexis_x]

Business grade:

Lenovo Thinkpad X395 customize with FHD IPS

 

Consumer grade:

Dell XPS 13 9380 (brightest display among all)

HP Spectre x360 13t customize

Lenovo Thinkbook 13s 20R9005LUS - upgradeable RAM (rare in 13 inch Ultrabook)

Lenovo Ideapad 730s 81JB0007US - no USB A

Lenovo Yoga 730 13 81CT001TUS

HP Envy x360 13-ar0062nr

HP Envy 13t customize

Acer Swift 3 SF313-51-57EQ

Acer Spin 5 13 SP513-52N-52PL/5621/552K, SP513-53N-53Y5/56CR

Asus UX333FA

Asus UX391UA

Asus UX331UA