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Decently Powerful and light Laptop For My Mum

Geekazoid
By Geekazoid
in Phones and Tablets
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Hi guys,

I've been looking for a decent (and light) laptop for my mum as she's looking to replace her ageing laptop (I think it's 6-7 years old). At the moment there is no set budget. I would like it to have a decent IPS display for her because she does a lot of graphics work and works with photos, etc. Just so you know, she definitely does not want a MacBook Pro just in case anyone of you were going to recommend one.

If you need any more info...just ask. :)

Thanks in advance guys. :D

Laptop Feature Requests

• IPS display

• i7 CPU

• Dedicated GPU

• Light in weight

• Decent build quality

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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@Geekazoid

 

What kind of graphics work? Would an i7 be a big asset or is she simply doing some light editing on photos but need colour accuracy?

And is HD graphics fine, or would she prefer a dedicated GPU?

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What kind of graphics work?

Well, she designs graphics and sells them and fixes up personal photos she's taken with her Canon EOS 650D.

Would an i7 be a big asset or is she simply doing some light editing on photos but need colour accuracy?

Well I think she could do with just a i5 CPU, however, I believe that she would want the extra grunt that an i7 CPU would provide. It's because she IS working with graphics and photos that I want her to have a colour accurate display. I hope that answers those questions. :)

And is HD graphics fine, or would she prefer a dedicated GPU?

I think a dedicated GPU would be preferable because she wants this laptop to last for quite awhile. :)

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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Alienware 18

CPU: AMD FX-8120 | CPU Cooler: Thermaltake Contac 30 | Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 | Memory: Kingston 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 | Storage: WD 1TB | GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7870 | Case: Thermaltake Chaser MK-I | PSU: Thermaltake Black Widow 850W

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How about a Mackbook air I have one (in fact I'm using one to type this) I love it. Its got great speed its light easy to use and is all around a great laptop. If your mom isn't going to play games you don't need a powerful I7 laptop for just web browsing and emails. Get a 13in macbook air I can promise you she will love it.   

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How about a Mackbook air I have one (in fact I'm using one to type this) I love it. Its got great speed its light easy to use and is all around a great laptop. If your mom isn't going to play games you don't need a powerful I7 laptop for just web browsing and emails. Get a 13in macbook air I can promise you she will love it.   

 

Could you at least read the topic before posting? He said she doesn't want a Macbook Pro (I doubt she'd like the Air instead ..) and it's not only for web browsing and emails ..

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Well if you have no budget and she really doesn't want a Mac get a Razer blade 14. It has a i7 touchscreen almost 4K display, is light and very powerful. 

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Lenovo y50

PSU Tier List | CoC

Gaming Build | FreeNAS Server

Spoiler

i5-4690k || Seidon 240m || GTX780 ACX || MSI Z97s SLI Plus || 8GB 2400mhz || 250GB 840 Evo || 1TB WD Blue || H440 (Black/Blue) || Windows 10 Pro || Dell P2414H & BenQ XL2411Z || Ducky Shine Mini || Logitech G502 Proteus Core

Spoiler

FreeNAS 9.3 - Stable || Xeon E3 1230v2 || Supermicro X9SCM-F || 32GB Crucial ECC DDR3 || 3x4TB WD Red (JBOD) || SYBA SI-PEX40064 sata controller || Corsair CX500m || NZXT Source 210.

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Well if you have no budget and she really doesn't want a Mac get a Razer blade 14. It has a i7 touchscreen almost 4K display, is light and very powerful.

In all fairness, I own a MacBook Air and whilst she loves the aesthetics and the light weight of it, she doesn't like OS X. She's a 100% Windows user. And she would probably want something a little more aesthetically pleasing than the Razer Blade 14. Thanks for the suggestion though. :)

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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Posted (edited)
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Zenbook UX302 is a good idea

Also the MSI ghost is worth checking out

Thanks! I'll have a look.

EDIT: I had a look at them both. The first suggestion is a possible contender but it lacks a dedicated GPU. The second suggestion pretty much ticks most of the boxes but I'm not sure if it utilises an IPS display and it's not quite the aesthetics my mother would be looking for. Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

Edited by Geekazoid

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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Bit on the expensive side but

GS60 Ghost Pro 3K-095

3k laptop, thin, ips screen.

a MSI GP70 Leopard-010 would be great for a cheaper option, but I don't think it's an IPS screen. Xotic pc offers a 92% color gamut screen with this.

muh specs 

Gaming and HTPC (reparations)- ASUS 1080, MSI X99A SLI Plus, 5820k- 4.5GHz @ 1.25v, asetek based 360mm AIO, RM 1000x, 16GB memory, 750D with front USB 2.0 replaced with 3.0  ports, 2 250GB 850 EVOs in Raid 0 (why not, only has games on it), some hard drives

Screens- Acer preditor XB241H (1080p, 144Hz Gsync), LG 1080p ultrawide, (all mounted) directly wired to TV in other room

Stuff- k70 with reds, steel series rival, g13, full desk covering mouse mat

All parts black

Workstation(desk)- 3770k, 970 reference, 16GB of some crucial memory, a motherboard of some kind I don't remember, Micomsoft SC-512N1-L/DVI, CM Storm Trooper (It's got a handle, can you handle that?), 240mm Asetek based AIO, Crucial M550 256GB (upgrade soon), some hard drives, disc drives, and hot swap bays

Screens- 3  ASUS VN248H-P IPS 1080p screens mounted on a stand, some old tv on the wall above it. 

Stuff- Epicgear defiant (solderless swappable switches), g600, moutned mic and other stuff. 

Laptop docking area- 2 1440p korean monitors mounted, one AHVA matte, one samsung PLS gloss (very annoying, yes). Trashy Razer blackwidow chroma...I mean like the J key doesn't click anymore. I got a model M i use on it to, but its time for a new keyboard. Some edgy Utechsmart mouse similar to g600. Hooked to laptop dock for both of my dell precision laptops. (not only docking area)

Shelf- i7-2600 non-k (has vt-d), 380t, some ASUS sandy itx board, intel quad nic. Currently hosts shared files, setting up as pfsense box in VM. Also acts as spare gaming PC with a 580 or whatever someone brings. Hooked into laptop dock area via usb switch

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Bit on the expensive side butGS60 Ghost Pro 3K-0953k laptop, thin, ips screen.a MSI GP70 Leopard-010 would be great for a cheaper option, but I don't think it's an IPS screen. Xotic pc offers a 92% color gamut screen with this.

Thanks mate! I'll be sure to have a look. :)

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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The MSI GE60 Apache Pro is only about $1150-$1199 and it has a 1080p IPS display, Core i7 4700HQ and a GTX 860M. It weighs about 4-5 lbs so it's not that heavy to carry around

Life.exe is missing

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In all fairness, I own a MacBook Air and whilst she loves the aesthetics and the light weight of it, she doesn't like OS X. 

 

Put windows on a retina pro :)

 

(sorry)

Desktop - Corsair 300r i7 4770k H100i MSI 780ti 16GB Vengeance Pro 2400mhz Crucial MX100 512gb Samsung Evo 250gb 2 TB WD Green, AOC Q2770PQU 1440p 27" monitor Laptop Clevo W110er - 11.6" 768p, i5 3230m, 650m GT 2gb, OCZ vertex 4 256gb,  4gb ram, Server: Fractal Define Mini, MSI Z78-G43, Intel G3220, 8GB Corsair Vengeance, 4x 3tb WD Reds in Raid 10, Phone Oppo Reno 10x 256gb , Camera Sony A7iii

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Put windows on a retina pro :)

 

(sorry)

Don't be, if you have the money it's a really nice machine.

That said I don't think he's trying for max budget.

muh specs 

Gaming and HTPC (reparations)- ASUS 1080, MSI X99A SLI Plus, 5820k- 4.5GHz @ 1.25v, asetek based 360mm AIO, RM 1000x, 16GB memory, 750D with front USB 2.0 replaced with 3.0  ports, 2 250GB 850 EVOs in Raid 0 (why not, only has games on it), some hard drives

Screens- Acer preditor XB241H (1080p, 144Hz Gsync), LG 1080p ultrawide, (all mounted) directly wired to TV in other room

Stuff- k70 with reds, steel series rival, g13, full desk covering mouse mat

All parts black

Workstation(desk)- 3770k, 970 reference, 16GB of some crucial memory, a motherboard of some kind I don't remember, Micomsoft SC-512N1-L/DVI, CM Storm Trooper (It's got a handle, can you handle that?), 240mm Asetek based AIO, Crucial M550 256GB (upgrade soon), some hard drives, disc drives, and hot swap bays

Screens- 3  ASUS VN248H-P IPS 1080p screens mounted on a stand, some old tv on the wall above it. 

Stuff- Epicgear defiant (solderless swappable switches), g600, moutned mic and other stuff. 

Laptop docking area- 2 1440p korean monitors mounted, one AHVA matte, one samsung PLS gloss (very annoying, yes). Trashy Razer blackwidow chroma...I mean like the J key doesn't click anymore. I got a model M i use on it to, but its time for a new keyboard. Some edgy Utechsmart mouse similar to g600. Hooked to laptop dock for both of my dell precision laptops. (not only docking area)

Shelf- i7-2600 non-k (has vt-d), 380t, some ASUS sandy itx board, intel quad nic. Currently hosts shared files, setting up as pfsense box in VM. Also acts as spare gaming PC with a 580 or whatever someone brings. Hooked into laptop dock area via usb switch

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In all fairness, I own a MacBook Air and whilst she loves the aesthetics and the light weight of it, she doesn't like OS X. She's a 100% Windows user. And she would probably want something a little more aesthetically pleasing than the Razer Blade 14. Thanks for the suggestion though. :)

I don't see why she wouldn't like how it looks its got the build quality of a apple product. Unless she doesn't like green that is a great looking laptop. Show her a picture of it.

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I don't see why she wouldn't like how it looks its got the build quality of a apple product. Unless she doesn't like green that is a great looking laptop. Show her a picture of it.

exactly. It's basically a black and green macbook. And with an IPS screen.

muh specs 

Gaming and HTPC (reparations)- ASUS 1080, MSI X99A SLI Plus, 5820k- 4.5GHz @ 1.25v, asetek based 360mm AIO, RM 1000x, 16GB memory, 750D with front USB 2.0 replaced with 3.0  ports, 2 250GB 850 EVOs in Raid 0 (why not, only has games on it), some hard drives

Screens- Acer preditor XB241H (1080p, 144Hz Gsync), LG 1080p ultrawide, (all mounted) directly wired to TV in other room

Stuff- k70 with reds, steel series rival, g13, full desk covering mouse mat

All parts black

Workstation(desk)- 3770k, 970 reference, 16GB of some crucial memory, a motherboard of some kind I don't remember, Micomsoft SC-512N1-L/DVI, CM Storm Trooper (It's got a handle, can you handle that?), 240mm Asetek based AIO, Crucial M550 256GB (upgrade soon), some hard drives, disc drives, and hot swap bays

Screens- 3  ASUS VN248H-P IPS 1080p screens mounted on a stand, some old tv on the wall above it. 

Stuff- Epicgear defiant (solderless swappable switches), g600, moutned mic and other stuff. 

Laptop docking area- 2 1440p korean monitors mounted, one AHVA matte, one samsung PLS gloss (very annoying, yes). Trashy Razer blackwidow chroma...I mean like the J key doesn't click anymore. I got a model M i use on it to, but its time for a new keyboard. Some edgy Utechsmart mouse similar to g600. Hooked to laptop dock for both of my dell precision laptops. (not only docking area)

Shelf- i7-2600 non-k (has vt-d), 380t, some ASUS sandy itx board, intel quad nic. Currently hosts shared files, setting up as pfsense box in VM. Also acts as spare gaming PC with a 580 or whatever someone brings. Hooked into laptop dock area via usb switch

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exactly. It's basically a black and green macbook. And with an IPS screen.

So she doesn't like it? I thought you said she liked the matchbook just not OSX?

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Put windows on a retina pro :)

 

(sorry)

Well they're a tad too pricey and I think she would prefer a normal Windows keyboard. Using an Apple keyboard in Windows can be a bit challenging for some and I know she would prefer a Windows laptop. I do hear what you're saying, it's just not for her. ;)

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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So she doesn't like it? I thought you said she liked the MacBook just not OSX?

Yeah, she does like it but like I've said above, she'd prefer a Windows keyboard on a Windows laptop. ;)

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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Sorry to be picky/fussy guys, I just know what my mum likes. After all...I've known her my entire life. :P

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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Sorry to be picky/fussy guys, I just know what my mum likes. After all...I've known her my entire life. :P

But you should explain to her its not all about looks its also how well it preforms because computer like people its what's on the inside that counts.

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But you should explain to her its not all about looks its also how well it preforms because computer like people its what's on the inside that counts.

Okay, well I'll show her the suggested laptops and see what she thinks. :D

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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Thanks for helping me out guys so far. It's very much appreciated. :)

ON A 7 MONTH BREAK FROM THESE LTT FORUMS. WILL BE BACK ON NOVEMBER 5th.


Advisor in the 'Displays' Sub-forum | Sony Vegas Pro Enthusiast & Advisor


 † Tech Tips Christian Fellowship Founder & Coordinator †

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