Help me pick a laptop

[shruggie]

Hi folks, I'm trying to find a new laptop for myself.

I've been researching for a while now and I haven't been able to pinpoint something that perfectly fits my requirements. Hoping maybe folks can recommend something.

 

• Required:
  • 13"~14"
  • At least 16GB,
  • 512GB+ storage.
  • AMD 5+ or Intel i5/i7 gen10+
  • At least 1x USB C and 1x USB A
  • Non garbage keyboard
  • Below 3k USD with compromises. 4k with no compromises.
• Preferred
  • Fingerprint reader
  • Some repairability/upgradeability
  • Battery life =>8h
  • Pick-up-able / Delivers in 2 weeks.
• Optional
  • GPU (It's a nice bonus if it can run games at any quality level)
  • An Ethernet port
  • WWAN
  • No RGB
• Deal breakers
  • < 5h Battery life
  • Overheating
  • Excessive proprietary drivers and clutter (I.e.: Dell)
  • Dell, Acer and HP
• Things I don't care about:
  • Webcam
  • Thickness/Thinness
  • Weight
  • OS
  • Gimmicks

 

I've been considering the following machines

• M1 Mac Pro 13"
  • Why I want:
    • Battery life
    • Warranty
    • Does the job
  • Why I don't want:
    • Apple
    • Can't dual boot.
• Framework Laptop
  • Why I want:
    • Simple, upgradable, straight to the point
    • Easy to recycle into some stationary device.
    • Seems very linux friendly
  • Why I don't want:
    • Gimmicky port customization
    • I need a laptop soon, will take a while to ship.
    • Not established enough
• ASUS ROG G14
  • Why I want:
    • Good specs
    • Graphics that don't break bank
    • I am an ASUS fanboy
  • Why I don't want:
    • Overheating concerns
    • Weird keyboard layout
    • Known QA issues
    • Likely not very linux friendly

 

I plan on using this machine for some casual internet browsing, programming and varying levels of gaming depending on capability. (If it runs Doom II it's good enough. If it emulates PS2 it's great. If it runs BF2042 in 60fps in any capacity it's perfect.)

[RONOTHAN##]

It might be a good idea to look at some Thinkpads. The Thinkpad T14 Gen1 or Gen2 might be a good option, since it is one of the few 14" laptops that come with an ethernet jack, all your specs you require, a great keyboard, Fingerprint sensor, pretty good battery life, I believe it has WWAN support, and Linux friendly (it looks like it's somewhat important to you). The GPU isn't great, MX450 in the top spec, but it's good enough to run like a PS2 emulator. Plus, they're at a fairly decent price. They're pretty well built, the older ones specifically were near indestructible, and parts are pretty easy to find because of how many are run in business environments. 

[Bombastinator]

Just counting bullet points the winner is the mac because it has a 3-2 ratio where as all the others are even or negative.  What features are more important though mean that some bullet points have more value than others so things can become more problematic.one that comes to mind is the mac bullet point “does the job” dont they all do the job?  If so that one has little meaning, but some of the others have issues which may or may not be shared as well.  The problem with this kind of comparison is it tends to create buyers remorse no matter what eventually gets chosen.  A lot of them are value judgments and some of them may even be game Enders, but there is no way to tell which would be which for any of them. 

[shruggie]

7 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

It might be a good idea to look at some Thinkpads. The Thinkpad T14 Gen1 or Gen2 might be a good option, since it is one of the few 14" laptops that come with an ethernet jack, all your specs you require, a great keyboard, Fingerprint sensor, pretty good battery life, I believe it has WWAN support, and Linux friendly (it looks like it's somewhat important to you). The GPU isn't great, MX450 in the top spec, but it's good enough to run like a PS2 emulator. Plus, they're at a fairly decent price. They're pretty well built, the older ones specifically were near indestructible, and parts are pretty easy to find because of how many are run in business environments. 

 

Yeah, you're correct, I'm planning to daily drive Linux with Windows on dual boot for compatibility.

 

As for Lenovo, that's fair, I completely forgot about the Thinkpads. I'll have to take a peek if Lenovo Canada has anything interesting going on, because usually stuff is either custom tailored and it takes months, or it's in stock and arrives quickly.

 

Their machines should cover most use cases indeed.

 

5 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Just counting bullet points the winner is the mac because it has a 3-2 ratio where as all the others are even or negative.  What features are more important though mean that some bullet points have more value than others so things can become more problematic.

 

That's true, however I also forgot to mention that the lack of repairability/upgradeability on a Mac is troubling.

 

Mac or Lenovo

That is the question.

[RONOTHAN##]

1 minute ago, shruggie said:

I'll have to take a peek if Lenovo Canada has anything interesting going on, because usually stuff is either custom tailored and it takes months, or it's in stock and arrives quickly.

Look mainly on Amazon/Best Buy/etc, since Lenovo usually sells stuff for $100+ more on their own websites. It's worth checking, but you can usually save a lot going to somewhere else, in addition to getting it a lot quicker.

[Bombastinator]

8 minutes ago, shruggie said:

 

Yeah, you're correct, I'm planning to daily drive Linux with Windows on dual boot for compatibility.

 

As for Lenovo, that's fair, I completely forgot about the Thinkpads. I'll have to take a peek if Lenovo Canada has anything interesting going on, because usually stuff is either custom tailored and it takes months, or it's in stock and arrives quickly.

 

Their machines should cover most use cases indeed.

 

 

That's true, however I also forgot to mention that the lack of repairability/upgradeability on a Mac is troubling.

 

Mac or Lenovo

That is the question.

It’s counted as a positive in the framework apparently.  Perhaps set up critical criteria and assign scores?  Some of the stuff can change too over time as things like linux availability for the mac improves.   I kind of want to say “which sparks more joy?” Which is one methodology.  Might be time to just roll a die or something. 6 sided die, 2 sides for each device as there are three. If you try it and then go “no!  I don’t want that one!” then via the “sparks joy” system you never did.

Edited July 31, 2021 by Bombastinator