Laptop buying decisions are hard

[EWIL]

Hi guys, 

I am buying a new Notebook and I have done my research, but I need help in my decision making. 

I am a masters student in microbiology and need a notebook mostly for writing, Photoshop, Illustrator and a bit of gaming (Life is strange and other not very demanding titles).

I narrowed down my options to three laptops and will now list the differences, which maybe also help someone else decide.

Just to inform you, I will use an external Monitor so colors and size isn't really a factor here.

 

1. HP Spectre x360
   • Kaby Lake G-Chip with 4x 3.10 ghz
   • Vega Graphics with 4GB HBM2
   • 4k Touchscreen with Pen and around 300 nits brightness
   • 2 in 1
   • HDMI Port 
   • Card Reader
   • 15,6 inch
   • 1700€
2. Dell 9570
   • i7-8750H
   • 1050ti with 4GB
   • 4k Touchscreen and around 400 nits brightness
   • HDMI Port 
   • Card Reader
   • 15,6 inch
   • USB-C Charging
   • 2100€
3. Huawei Matebook Pro
   • U8550
   • Mx150 with 2GB
   • 3000x2000 Touchscreen with around 450 nits brightness
   • no HDMI
   • no Card Reader
   • 14 inch
   • USB-C charging
   • 1600€

So my thoughts:

I really like the HP Spectre because it's all I want for an good prize, my worries are that the screen brightness might not enough and it doesn't have USB charging with would be a nice to have.

 

The Dell 9570 seems like a solid choice although the cooling seems to be a problem, and  alot of people complain about the graphics which seem to crash a lot. A nice to have from Dell is their Desktop Dock, which can charge the Laptop and also has all the ports I would like to have. and yeah the screen is awesome.

 

Huawei Matebook Pro

Best screen but a little underpowered an I would have to buy a dongle, because they copied too much from Apple. A nice to have is that with the right screen it can be charged over USB-C because its so low powered. Cool trackpad as well.

 

Right now my favourite is the Dell, because of the screen, otherwise HP all the way. The Huawei would be a nice, but with the Huawei I can't get rid of my current Desktop because it doesn't have enough power.

 

What I want from this thread? Built quality from these manufacturers, Personal experience with the mentioned models and a discussion about screen brightness (no experience in this area, my current Laptop is around 8 years old and I guess has aorund 200 nits)

 

And yes I thought about Razor as well, but for that price and my use case it doesn't make sense. 

 

[Origami Cactus]

300nits is more than enough, unless you live in a very sunny country.

[genexis_x]

Only limited to these 3 options?

 

Budget? Location? Preferred max weight and battery life? Any special requirements? (eg TB3 port)

[EWIL]

1 hour ago, ZM Fong said:

Only limited to these 3 options?

 

Budget? Location? Preferred max weight and battery life? Any special requirements? (eg TB3 port)

Yes, like I said I did my homework, these 3 options fullfill most if not all of my requirements. All high resolution displays with dedicated graphics and Touchscreen and Slim bezel. All with TB3, all 16 GB Ram and all in my Price Range of 1500 to 2500€. Weight and Battery life are no concern and so I ended up with these 3 modells and the above mentioned questions and doubts.

 

Thanks for you interested in my topic.

[Xizerz]

I wouldn't recommend the huawei unless you're on a super tight budget. With it being from a Chinese brand, it will be a lot harder to service it when you have problems. 

 

I would personally purchase the Dell because it has very high build quality and the 1050ti would be great for that 4k screen. Plus the panel is more color accurate if you're serious about design work enough.

However for your use case as a student, having a pen and 2-in-1 might be something that you don't know you want. If it seems really appealing to lay your laptop down and use it as a piece of paper then you should definitely get this, but if you don't think you'll use this feature at all then you're probably better off with the Dell.

 

Also you mentioned that you would only have this hooked up to a monitor? If that's the case why does a 4k screen matter to you?

[EWIL]

31 minutes ago, Xizerz said:

I wouldn't recommend the huawei unless you're on a super tight budget. With it being from a Chinese brand, it will be a lot harder to service it when you have problems. 

 

I would personally purchase the Dell because it has very high build quality and the 1050ti would be great for that 4k screen. Plus the panel is more color accurate if you're serious about design work enough.

However for your use case as a student, having a pen and 2-in-1 might be something that you don't know you want. If it seems really appealing to lay your laptop down and use it as a piece of paper then you should definitely get this, but if you don't think you'll use this feature at all then you're probably better off with the Dell.

 

Also you mentioned that you would only have this hooked up to a monitor? If that's the case why does a 4k screen matter to you?

i completely agree with you on the Dell Panel, but the 1050ti is actually the problem, which they seemingly don't fix and the Kaby Lake G doesn't lag behind much and works. 

Like you said, 2 in 1 is nice to have, but for me not a necessary. 

There is a dell with a same specs as the HP, but the nicer screen, but the price difference there is around 800€, which doesn't makes sense to me even with better screen. 

 

Well actually the 4k screen doesn't matter, but the Touchscreen does and there is no way around 4k in that case. All 1080p Touchscreens, I found, don't have enough power.

 

Thanks for the input on the Huawei, that makes sense, especially because they are not well established brand.

 

 

 

[Xizerz]

2 hours ago, EWIL said:

-snip-

What specific models are you comparing? The Dell you are thinking of is 15 inches but I think the hp might be 13. If that's the case you can get a dell xps 13 instead. They have an option for a touchscreen as well (qhd I think) with similar specs. This might be a more affordable option if you don't mind a 13 inch size.

[EWIL]

4 minutes ago, Xizerz said:

What specific models are you comparing? The Dell you are thinking of is 15 inches but I think the hp might be 13. If that's the case you can get a dell xps 13 instead. They have an option for a touchscreen as well (qhd I think) with similar specs. This might be a more affordable option if you don't mind a 13 inch size.

13 inch don't have dedicated graphics.

 

Due to the fact that I don't need it tomorrow but in the next 2-3 months, I will wait, If Dell gets a solution with its 1050ti will get it otherwise I think hp, is king in what i get for my money. 

 

This post at least helped my to decide not to get the Huawei.

 

Thanks all.

[genexis_x]

12 hours ago, EWIL said:

Weight and Battery life are no concern

Why don't go for more powerful laptops with better cooling? (of course, bulkier)