Torn between two laptops

[IAmAndre]

Hi guys,

 

I'm looking for an upgrade for my 1st generation Matebook (core m5, 8GB of RAM, 256GB storage). This won't be my main computer since I'm using my gaming desktop most of the time, so I'll be using it only when I want to work in a café or when I travel. So my work consists mainly in writing (a LOT of content of all kinds), programming (mostly web development, which also includes web design), and video editing (relatively light tasks but often rendering large files).

 

So I'm looking for something with a decent screen, a good keyboard, at least a core i5, 16GB of RAM (or 8 with an empty slot), and preferably a dedicated GPU and a touch screen. I don't want to spend over $700 since I won't use it all that much and I don't mind waiting for sales or price drops.

 

Following Linus' video on the MacBook Air, I considered buying the 15" Dell Inspiron 7000 2-in-1 but today I saw that Asus VIvoBook and I kind of like it. As you can see none of these laptops match all my requirements but they kind of make it up in some way: the Asus doesn't have a touch screen but it has that touchpad that turns into a touchscreen, which can be useful, and it also have a dedicated GPU, which the Dell lacks. However the Dell has a 10th gen Intel CPU, which has decent iGPU performance, and it has a 2-in-1 form factor.

 

Now in order to decide which one to go for, I'd need your thoughts about their longevity. I'm not a huge fan of Asus products, especially the budget-oriented ones as I've had bad experiences in the past. Dell on the other hand does pretty well in this regard, and they are also better in terms of drivers and updates. So am I biased or is the Asus laptop worth it? 

[Metallus97]

Can you wait for another month or so? THen Ryzen 4000 laptop chips will hit the market. Form what AMD told (lately they keep their promises mostly) and how Zen2 performs on the desktop idd hold up and wait for 4000 AMD parts. 

Even if they are not that much better then intel on the desktop they will lead to some price adjustments. How ever I am pretty sure that mobile Zen2 (was it called Renior or something like that) will deliver big time.

[IAmAndre]

2 minutes ago, Metallus97 said:

Can you wait for another month or so? THen Ryzen 4000 laptop chips will hit the market. Form what AMD told (lately they keep their promises mostly) and how Zen2 performs on the desktop idd hold up and wait for 4000 AMD parts. 

Even if they are not that much better then intel on the desktop they will lead to some price adjustments. How ever I am pretty sure that mobile Zen2 (was it called Renior or something like that) will deliver big time.

Yes I saw the news about the next AMD chips but I thought they were going on sale in the summer or so?

[thedangerine]

That Asus VivoBook do be looking kinda nice

[IAmAndre]

1 minute ago, thedangerine said:

That Asus VivoBook do be looking kinda nice

Pretty thin and powerful and it has ports! However from the review I saw it seems to throttle quite a bit and the screen isn't that great.

[thedangerine]

2 minutes ago, IAmAndre said:

Pretty thin and powerful and it has ports! However from the review I saw it seems to throttle quite a bit and the screen isn't that great.

Shame it was looking pretty fresh

[IAmAndre]

1 minute ago, thedangerine said:

Shame it was looking pretty fresh

I assume they had to cut corners Asus style, which means making it look good and then use a crappy cooling configuration with a single fan and heat pipe, and add a second screen in the touch pad that looks better than the main screen.

[IAmAndre]

1 hour ago, Lord Vile said:

Get a used MacBook pro from 2015. Should be able to find loads for under your budget, especially with people moving on to the new 16" having held on to them through the 2016-18 model.

Not interested in it. The specs are ridiculously poor for what I'm doing and both alternatives have better specs.