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Deciding on an Ultrabook for parents

Looking to assist my parents in purchasing a new laptop. I want to recommend something that will last them a long time as well as be powerful enough to future workloads (because everything is becoming an Electron app and using 1000x memory). Their workload usually consists of document editing and Zoom, although they are pushing the specs of their current machine (i7 6th gen, 8GB RAM) to the limit by never closing any Chrome tabs (200+). They cannot be helped in that regard. Fortunately, money is not an issue for them so I want to recommend something premium (<$2000).

  • Must be a Windows laptop
  • Will not be used for gaming
  • Minimum of 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM (RAM would be nice too but that is increasingly rare these days)
  • Storage should be upgradable
  • Build quality is important
  • Tall screen aspect-ratio is preferred
  • Must have a touch-screen (2-in-1 is not required)
  • Numpad is not preferred
  • 15-inch is preferred

So far we tried the 14" HP Spectre, but returned it after noticing the horrible screen-door effect on the OLED screen...

The other laptop I have found that looks promising is the Surface Laptop 4, although I am disappointed by its lack of thunderbolt 4 and the use of last-gen AMD processors.

If we decided to purchase the Surface Laptop should we purchase the Intel or AMD version?

Is there another laptop out there that meets these specifications? I have been hesitant about recommending an XPS as I have not heard great things about the keyboard on the new 13" and the 15" is still using 10th gen Intel.

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34 minutes ago, PizzaJailer said:

Looking to assist my parents in purchasing a new laptop. I want to recommend something that will last them a long time as well as be powerful enough to future workloads (because everything is becoming an Electron app and using 1000x memory). Their workload usually consists of document editing and Zoom, although they are pushing the specs of their current machine (i7 6th gen, 8GB RAM) to the limit by never closing any Chrome tabs (200+). They cannot be helped in that regard. Fortunately, money is not an issue for them so I want to recommend something premium (<$2000).

  • Must be a Windows laptop
  • Will not be used for gaming
  • Minimum of 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM (RAM would be nice too but that is increasingly rare these days)
  • Storage should be upgradable
  • Build quality is important
  • Tall screen aspect-ratio is preferred
  • Must have a touch-screen (2-in-1 is not required)
  • Numpad is not preferred
  • 15-inch is preferred

So far we tried the 14" HP Spectre, but returned it after noticing the horrible screen-door effect on the OLED screen...

The other laptop I have found that looks promising is the Surface Laptop 4, although I am disappointed by its lack of thunderbolt 4 and the use of last-gen AMD processors.

If we decided to purchase the Surface Laptop should we purchase the Intel or AMD version?

Is there another laptop out there that meets these specifications? I have been hesitant about recommending an XPS as I have not heard great things about the keyboard on the new 13" and the 15" is still using 10th gen Intel.

The low money solution is put more memory in the thing they got. If money is no object an m1 seems like a good solution unless they hate MacOS. MacOS is good for old people because you can get AppleCare for it which can radically reduce having to field late night tech support calls.  If they know how to use windows but don’t know how to use MacOS it can be a terrible idea though.  MacOS IS more derp resistant, and if there is a derp that is what AppleCare is for. 
 

the trick with intel/AMD is you want to avoid AMD that is not zen2 or better (so no CPUs that start with the number 3 or less, and with intel you want to avoid CPUs that start with 11. The big one here with the chrome tab issue though is whatever you get is going to want 16gb in it. 

Edited by Bombastinator

Not a pro, not even very good.  I’m just old and have time currently.  Assuming I know a lot about computers can be a mistake.

 

Life is like a bowl of chocolates: there are all these little crinkly paper cups everywhere.

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And the M1 chip is extremely battery efficient, even when doing things. My M1 Pro on Zoom consumes almost no energy, and only loses 20% Battery in 3 hours zoom. Every Windows machine would have a significantly lower battery life. Like, on those stuff, you will not need a Charger during the Day, unles you work like 15 hours a day.

And that M1 chip is extremely difficult to push to the limits in "daily Tasks".

But the upcoming (maybe announcement in a Month during WWDC) 14" Pro might be promising for 2000 bucks. mini LED, probably re-design, and probably THE fastest Notebook chip on the market, that will rival Desktop Chips.

 

AMD: Ryzen 4000 is good, Ryzen 5000 is great, and THE best you can get right now.

Intel: Tiger Lake 11th gen is fine, and does the job. Good single core, not that great multicore, but it will do the job more than just fine. You won't "notice" any difference in those Tasks. 10th Gen Ice Lake is fine too tbh, but it's not cheaper than 11th Gen models, so get 11th gen only (unless it's H-series models, then it depends..

Do you need Thunderbolt? Intel it is, AMD has almost never Thunderbolt.

 

Dell XPS: 13" has 11th gen Tiger Lake, 10nm (predecessor was 10th gen Ice Lake, NOT to be confused with 10th gen Comet Lake)

15" has 10th gen, because there is no 11th Gen with more than 4 Cores yet (they are just coming out right now, "Tiger Lake-H"), so it's still Comet-Lake with 35-45w TDP, and more than 4 Cores.

 

It won't make a difference in daily tasks tbh. If the Dell XPS 15 fits the needs, get it. A Notebook is MUCH more than just the CPU Generation. If the overall package is great, i wouldn't mind a small compromise.

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