New Work Laptop

[LZ Holy Narwhal]

I just graduated college and am about to start working full-time (fingers crossed), and it's a lot of Excel usage and a lot of searches. Currently I'm using my Macbook, which is fine - however, I'm much more used to the Microsoft Office usage on Windows, since I use my gaming PC for that and now I just need a good one for my portable workflow and for the office. 

 

I've heard a lot of great things regarding AMD laptops and so that's what I'd like to do - get the best value for my money, naturally as much as possible - but I do have some criteria that may affect what is recommended, and is affecting my thoughts.

 

• Already have a gaming PC, and gaming is not important to me on-the-go
• Currently own a 2016 Macbook Pro - used to run Windows but it didn't run well for me and I also don't have that much storage space in that Macbook, which is the main issue
  • I do currently use my iPad Pro 2018 in conjunction with my Macbook, but I'm transitioning into using it for my notes at work and when I do have to use it as a second display, it's a bit too small for my liking.
• I also am connecting an external keyboard of my own, so laptop keyboard quality isn't AS important, but doesn't mean I want to be typing on Spongebob.
• I also would be connecting it to two other monitors, so I suppose take that into account

I've seen the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen 8, and the Surface Laptop AMD version - but wanted to hear some other options as well. Thanks!

[mr fobs]

An important thing to consider in the working field is thunderbolt support. That way you can connect to a supported dock and get power, ethernet, more displays, etc from one USB-C cord. Thunderbolt is only on Intel atm.

If you don't need gaming potential, essentially any laptop with 4 cores, and NVMe SSD, and 8-16 GB of ram will be enough. I would highly recommend though having thunderbolt as it is becoming more and more standard in the professional world.

 

EDIT: This laptop for example. Intel i7, 16 Gb, and NVMe storage for $900. Its as thin and light, has thunderbolt support, and you can actually do very light gaming on Iris Xe graphics. I am AMD fanboy, but Intel definitely has the upper hand in the professional world.

[Tarun10]

5 hours ago, mr fobs said:

An important thing to consider in the working field is thunderbolt support. That way you can connect to a supported dock and get power, ethernet, more displays, etc from one USB-C cord. Thunderbolt is only on Intel atm.
 

EDIT: This laptop for example. Intel i7, 16 Gb, and NVMe storage for $900. Its as thin and light, has thunderbolt support, and you can actually do very light gaming on Iris Xe graphics. I am AMD fanboy, but Intel definitely has the upper hand in the professional world.

I completely second this, Thunderbolt is a really important feature if you think you'll need it and Intel's 11th gen processors aren't too bad. I'd also look on notebookcheck.net for detailed reviews that cover battery life, cooling, upgradeability, etc. 

[Darkseth]

Since it's for your Work, how long can you live without it, if it breaks?

There's a huge difference between sending it in for 5 weeks vs. a technician coming to your place the next day to fix your Computer.

 

Business Devices like Lenovo Thinkpad series, HP ProBook (entry) or Elitebook (Higher End), maybe Dell Precision/Latitude with a 3+ year premium support plan will give you a good bit of reliability.

 

If you can afford Lenovo's X series, take a look at their 2021 lineup, many of them come with a 16:10 Display, which i would prefer working on compared to the old, narrow 16:9 format.

X1 Carbon series is always a good choice if you want it compact and light. T14 maybe, if it can be a little bit bulkier and Ryzen options.

 

However, only Intel CPUs will support Thunderbolt, if you're working with a Thunderbolt Dock.