Can you give me some advice? thank you

[gamikuala]

I would like to get a new laptop, and I was hoping for some advice to upgrade from a Dell Inspiron 14z (2010).

My main usages are running Latex, coding with python, LabView, Mathematica, and playing some games mainly Dota2 and CV5, doing productivity work and watching series.

I would like it light to be able to take it with me to university.

My budget is 1300 euros, but I'm willing to go a couple of days without food to increase it a bit. I have been saving for 5 years to get a razer laptop, but as it has been reported to suddenly die and with there bad customer support I'm afraid of getting one.

can you suggest some laptops for me to check?

Thank you so much

[TheBean]

dell xps 15? they have really good cpu performance and are really light. they are also really popular college laptops. to save money, i recommend buying from dell outlet store. you can get crazy discounts for refurbished laptops. they are refurbised by dell. they have the exact same warranty and you can buy more if you want. 

 

you can even game because the gpu is pretty good. it does run a little hot and loud, but that can be fixed by undervolting and/or re-pasting the cpu

 

@GeneXiS_X

[genexis_x]

11 hours ago, Saksham said:

dell xps 15?

I'll never recommend XPS 15 (maybe the iGPU model but that's a rare case)

11 hours ago, gamikuala said:

My budget is 1300 euros

Any preference on weight and battery life? Any links of online stores?

[gamikuala]

Oh wow I got a reply that quickly? I really thought no one will look at my post.

Thank you so much for replying @Saksham

I heard that xps 15 is not that good, and I don't fancy that laptop, if that make sense.

 

@genexis_x Thank you for your reply, for stores I have a friend from USA is visiting in November and I will ask him to get it for me so anything that will deliver to Chicago is good.for weight I would like it to be light and I would like the laptop to not be over the top when it comes to looks. For the battery anything above 6 hours is good for me.

 

I have been think about surface laptop 3 for my use, I can keep using my old laptop for gaming and maybe thought the next years build a gaming PC. I also found out that I can get a student discount and get the 13.5", Black (metal), Intel Core i5, 8GB, 256GB for  $1,169.10 instead of $1,299.00. I'm afraid that I'm making a bad decision just because I like how it looks. I have been thinking of Thinkpads but it seems very expensive. I also have been thinking about ASUS Zephyrus GA502 but I dont know about the fact that it is made of plastic and that the fans are loud and I would like to work in the library or in a coffee shop without people looking at me. can you guys tell me what you think?

thank you for replying to me again, and sorry for my late reply I just though that no one will get back to me so I'm so happy with your replies

all the best  

 

[genexis_x]

10 hours ago, gamikuala said:

Oh wow I got a reply that quickly?

If I'm active in forum I can reply you in hours

10 hours ago, gamikuala said:

I would like it to be light

Max weight in kg/lbs?

[gamikuala]

@genexis_x my old Inspiron was 4,6 pounds = 2.1 Kg so I would say that 2Kg is max for my next one

[genexis_x]

I was going to suggest Mag-15, but it's $1599

[Skooz]

check out lenovo y540 and asus tuf gaming laptop

 

its even cheaper than your budget so you can probably use that extra money for upgrades from the base model.

 

they are both current gen hardware so that will comfortably last until you graduate. only draw back is that they are not exactly light in weight, although their size is not that big to me personally, they are on the heavy side. both are around 2kg ish....actually closer to 2.5kg i think.

 

battery life isnt exactly the best either, but if you are using it indoor you probably dont need to max the screen brightness anyways, assuming you are doing light weight office work only i think 6 hours is doable.

 

there are better laptops that would probably fit your need a lot more, but i am not sure about sacrificing that much 3d performance just to trim a few pounds of weight. I personally am not willing to make that sacrifice, and anything better would cost so much more.....

[genexis_x]

37 minutes ago, Skooz said:

asus tuf

uh pls no

37 minutes ago, Skooz said:

both are around 2kg ish

2.2-2.3kg is not 'around 2kg'

37 minutes ago, Skooz said:

i think 6 hours is doable

6 hrs is a hard stretch in Y540 which isn't practical

[gamikuala]

Mag-15 is nice but out of my budget

[Skooz]

8 minutes ago, genexis_x said:

uh pls no

 

well why not?

8 minutes ago, genexis_x said:

2.2-2.3kg is not 'around 2kg'

 

actually closer to 2.5kg i think.

9 minutes ago, genexis_x said:

6 hrs is a hard stretch in Y540 which isn't practical

thats why i am saying its doable if he is only doing light office work with brightness turned down/battery saving mode/passive cooling etc. i am using fx505dt and i can pretty easily get 5 hours if i am just typing, thats with a even smaller battery than y540 too, 48wh vs lenovo 57wh, i dont think 6 hours is impossible.

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, Skooz said:

well why not?

Bad cooling, Asus poor QC+QA

1 hour ago, gamikuala said:

Mag-15 is nice but out of my budget

Well I guess you have to make compromise on either weight or battery life then

[gamikuala]

54 minutes ago, genexis_x said:

Well I guess you have to make compromise on either weight or battery life then

what would you suggest if I were to compromise on these two?

[gamikuala]

what would you say surface pro is used for?

[genexis_x]

17 minutes ago, gamikuala said:

what would you suggest if I were to compromise on these two?

Below $1100:

Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-52-78VL

Lenovo Legion Y540 customize (9750H, 1660Ti, 8GB RAM - manual upgrade, 1TB+256GB, 144Hz)

Lenovo Legion Y540 81SX000KUS: no 144Hz

 

Wouldn't recommend Surface - anti-consumer, poor QC+QA and questionable reliability

[gamikuala]

I see, and why lenovo ThinkPads are out of the race ?

 

[genexis_x]

Just now, gamikuala said:

I see, and why lenovo ThinkPads are out of the race ?

I thought you wanted performance laptop?

[gamikuala]

ThinkPads are not performance laptops?

[gamikuala]

also what should I not consider ASUS Zephyrus GA502, as far as I understand it is strong cheap and light ? 

[gamikuala]

and what about the base model of Y740 ?

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/legion-laptops/legion-y-series/Lenovo-Legion-Y740-15/p/88GMY701059

[genexis_x]

7 minutes ago, gamikuala said:

ThinkPads are not performance laptops?

Some P series models, yes, but they are expensive

4 minutes ago, gamikuala said:

also what should I not consider ASUS Zephyrus GA502, as far as I understand it is strong cheap and light ? 

Many issues. I've explained many times in this forum so not going to repeat it again. Only good thing is the battery life, but I would still not recommend it

[genexis_x]

2 minutes ago, gamikuala said:

and what about the base model of Y740 ?

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/legion-laptops/legion-y-series/Lenovo-Legion-Y740-15/p/88GMY701059

Also decent

 

Use this link https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/beneplaceoffer/laptops/legion-laptops/legion-y-series/Lenovo-Legion-Y740-15/p/88GMY701059

1660Ti: 81UF0000US

2060: 81UH0000US or customize

2070MQ: 81UH0001US

[gamikuala]

thank you I will take what you said into consideration

I still have to wait 2 weeks for my next check

[gamikuala]

OMG I just found out about THINKPAD P53S and it is offered for 1050 usd, I think it is amazing, please let me know know what you thing it seems perfect !

[Skooz]

7 hours ago, genexis_x said:

Bad cooling, Asus poor QC+QA

 

actually with ryzen, cooling is more than adequate. In fact its actually cooler than a lot of the more expensive similarly spec laptops. As far as QC + QA go, yeah thats a concern i supposed, but ive used 3 laptop from them so far, nothing ever happened except the normal wear and tear. One thing i will address though, is their monitor quality, now thats a bummer because asus monitor in general are somewhat washed out comparing to other premium named brand, THAT i will agree.