A Good Laptop for 650$-850$ after Black Friday Deals

[CrazedKilla124]

Hey everyone! 

I live in a different country than the US, but a friend of mine lives there. I've been in the need of a new laptop desparately, because my at-least 5 year old Lenovo ThinkPad X240 is giving me a rough, rough time right now - horrendous battery, startup that's slow as a snail, it shuts down while I'm using it, closes open apps - the whole deal. 

I really need a new laptop, and I've decided to pay )a minimum of 600$ and a maximum of 850$ (well, my parents - I'm 18 and I'm in college ). Let's tale the range to be around 650-850$, although it's slightly more likely to be on the lower end.

I primarily need a laptop for college work - Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Web browsing - but I need it to be lightning quick. At this point I'm looking at an i5 at least, and hopefully a 256GB SSD  - although it would be great if the SSD was smaller, but with a larger HDD too. This is for the same reason that many need an SSD - quick bootup, app loading, that kinda thing (I really need this, I'm so sick of my current laptop - it's obviously old, and obviously has an HDD with a very low RPM or whatever.)

I'm also much more inclined towards a 13-inch laptop - because I need portability for college and light weight, and they also hopefully will be cheaper than a 15 inch  

I also need advice on whether an i5 is overkill for my scenario - I know my work is not demanding - but I need a laptop as future-proof as possible for the price, something which will last me at least 4-5 years without significant slow-down. Battery life is also important, but since I'm moving up from a laptop which gave me less than an hour of battery due to its old age, I don't think anything will hurt me that much

I strictly don't want anything like a gaming laptop of course, because although I would love to game and never really got the chance to, my priorities - battery life and portability - are not things you get in a gaming laptop at this price point. I also want to stay as far away from touch screens as possible, because to me, laptop touch screens are a gimmick, and needlessly drive the price up.

In short, I want a no-nonsense, preferably great-looking laptop that is lightning quick with basic tasks and bootup, has decent battery life and won't blow a hole in my pocket. 

I'm currently looking at the Dell XPS 13 and the HP Envy 13, both of which at first sight seem above my price range - but I'm hoping their prices will drop thanks to Black Friday. Please, suggest some other laptops too, or advise me on how these are - and on whether their prices will come down to what I can afford because of Black Friday

I also really really need worldwide warranty, because I live in India, and if my laptop gets bricked, I'm screwed if I can't get it repaired here 

Please reply ASAP, I need enough time to discuss and brainstorm - I'm also bang in the middle of my end-sem tests

 

Thank you!!!

[ki8aras]

11 minutes ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

Hey everyone! 

I live in a different country than the US, but a friend of mine lives there. I've been in the need of a new laptop desparately, because my at-least 5 year old Lenovo ThinkPad X240 is giving me a rough, rough time right now - horrendous battery, startup that's slow as a snail, it shuts down while I'm using it, closes open apps - the whole deal. 

I really need a new laptop, and I've decided to pay )a minimum of 600$ and a maximum of 850$ (well, my parents - I'm 18 and I'm in college ). Let's tale the range to be around 650-850$, although it's slightly more likely to be on the lower end.

I primarily need a laptop for college work - Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Web browsing - but I need it to be lightning quick. At this point I'm looking at an i5 at least, and hopefully a 256GB SSD  - although it would be great if the SSD was smaller, but with a larger HDD too. This is for the same reason that many need an SSD - quick bootup, app loading, that kinda thing (I really need this, I'm so sick of my current laptop - it's obviously old, and obviously has an HDD with a very low RPM or whatever.)

I'm also much more inclined towards a 13-inch laptop - because I need portability for college and light weight, and they also hopefully will be cheaper than a 15 inch  

I also need advice on whether an i5 is overkill for my scenario - I know my work is not demanding - but I need a laptop as future-proof as possible for the price, something which will last me at least 4-5 years without significant slow-down. Battery life is also important, but since I'm moving up from a laptop which gave me less than an hour of battery due to its old age, I don't think anything will hurt me that much

I strictly don't want anything like a gaming laptop of course, because although I would love to game and never really got the chance to, my priorities - battery life and portability - are not things you get in a gaming laptop at this price point. I also want to stay as far away from touch screens as possible, because to me, laptop touch screens are a gimmick, and needlessly drive the price up.

In short, I want a no-nonsense, preferably great-looking laptop that is lightning quick with basic tasks and bootup, has decent battery life and won't blow a hole in my pocket. 

I'm currently looking at the Dell XPS 13 and the HP Envy 13, both of which at first sight seem above my price range - but I'm hoping their prices will drop thanks to Black Friday. Please, suggest some other laptops too, or advise me on how these are - and on whether their prices will come down to what I can afford because of Black Friday

I also really really need worldwide warranty, because I live in India, and if my laptop gets bricked, I'm screwed if I can't get it repaired here 

Please reply ASAP, I need enough time to discuss and brainstorm - I'm also bang in the middle of my end-sem tests

 

Thank you!!!

i haven't done any research to recommend sth but i can give a bit of advice,be careful and only buy laptops with 8th gen processors since thet are quadcores and you'll be able to keep using the laptop for much longer because of the increased power

[genexis_x]

20 minutes ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

battery life and portability

Give a range on min battery life you prefer

22 minutes ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

laptop touch screens are a gimmick, and needlessly drive the price up

Not really actually

[CrazedKilla124]

9 minutes ago, ki8aras said:

i haven't done any research to recommend sth but i can give a bit of advice,be careful and only buy laptops with 8th gen processors since thet are quadcores and you'll be able to keep using the laptop for much longer because of the increased power

Yeah, I'm hoping for an 8th Gen one, because even the i3s are quad core, so as you said - more future-proof. Thanks

[CrazedKilla124]

2 minutes ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Give a range on min battery life you prefer

Not really actually

That's the thing - I'm not really sure what I can expect at this price range, given the specs I'm asking for aren't very slouchy, so I guess they must cut corners. 

I'd say at least 6 hours is reasonable? 

For example, the XPS has very conflicting battery-life reviews - some say 11 hours, others say below average. I have no clue anymore.

 

Okay, I don't MIND a touchscreen  - I just don't NEED it, and I'd rather not have something driving the price up in case it does. If it doesn't then great

[CrazedKilla124]

Ermahgerd, someone please help, it's an emergency!! The LTT forum was my last try at searching for answers!!!

[CrazedKilla124]

How is the HP Envy 13 i5 variant? Also, on the website, I noticed that the config that retailed for 800$ says "13.3" diagonal FHD IPS brightview micro-edge WLED-backlit (1920 x 1080)" as opposed to the +50$ variant that adds the terms "edge-to-edge". 

What the hell??

The 50$ one adds a touch screen of course, so that would explain the price rise - but does that mean the base variant doesn't have an edge-to-edge, and thus looks radically different from advertised? Or is that just HP being stupid? 

Also, it only has DDR3 8gigs. How much of a step down is that over DDR4, and is it a deal-breaker?

Again, use case being web browsing, college work, etc. I'm a law student. 

P. S. It looks gorgeous!! 

[NeuesTestament]

At that price point you could go for a Thinkpad E480. Has a quad core cpu, 256gb ssd (depending on the configuration) and gets you around 7 hours of battery life.

It’s a 14 inch laptop though 

[genexis_x]

19 hours ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

I'd say at least 6 hours is reasonable? 

Preferred max weight in kg/lbs?

 

So confirm you're buying from US?

[CrazedKilla124]

6 hours ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Preferred max weight in kg/lbs?

 

So confirm you're buying from US?

Never mind Max weight, I'm not looking for the lightest and thinnest, but reasonably thin. In other words I'm not sure around the weight or less than the one I have, which is 1.4 kgs would be great.

Yes, buying from the US.

[CrazedKilla124]

8 hours ago, NeuesTestament said:

At that price point you could go for a Thinkpad E480. Has a quad core cpu, 256gb ssd (depending on the configuration) and gets you around 7 hours of battery life.

It’s a 14 inch laptop though 

Umm.. okay. I will give it a check. (After seeing the Envy I'm not really hell bent on another ugly ThinkPad tbh, but I see that it is good for productivity)

Thoughts on the Envy?

 

 

[CrazedKilla124]

I also see the Envy 13 and the Envy X360 13 as weird competition to each other. Here though, the consideration comes down to Ryzen 5 Vs Core i5 for me. I know that three Vega APU gives Ryzen a graphical edge, and I would love to game - it also seems to be fetching me a better deal right now. But the i5 seems faster as a processor. Again main purpose is college work and not gaming so I still don't know which is better value. 

I've also heard of thermal throttling issues on the x360.

Thoughts? 

Because right now, in spite of the confusion, these two seem to be the most lucrative devices for me. 

[NeuesTestament]

37 minutes ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

Umm.. okay. I will give it a check. (After seeing the Envy I'm not really hell bent on another ugly ThinkPad tbh, but I see that it is good for productivity)

Thoughts on the Envy?

 

 

I can't really say much about the Envy since I don't have any experience with it.

[CrazedKilla124]

1 hour ago, NeuesTestament said:

I can't really say much about the Envy since I don't have any experience with it.

Cool. The ThinkPad does seem like a good deal too though... Thanks 

[genexis_x]

14 hours ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

which is 1.4 kgs would be great

Asus UX333FA

 

With international upgrade:

Lenovo Thinkpad L380 Yoga, L380

Lenovo Thinkpad A285 (X280) - no info on battery life

 

Not sure about international warranty:

Lenovo Yoga 730/720 13

Lenovo Ideapad 720s 13 Intel

HP Envy 13t

[Purush_10]

I'm pretty much on the same page as yourself. I was looking at the HP Envy models myself and I just can't understand why the Envy x360 13 models are priced lower than the Envy 13 models. And moreover if you look at the reviews of the x360 models, they aren't that good (regardless of Intel or AMD processors) for e.g. https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-envy-x360-convertible-laptop-15t-1za23av-1 
Since purchasing it in US and using it outside the US will certainly lead to denial of warranty by HP, I'm in a fix as to what should I decide upon.
Moreover some reviewers highlighted the issue that the you'll have to be dependent on HP for driver updates and that they don't have a decent track record of the same.
Also since I haven't used an HP ever, can someone tell whether going for a fresh installation of Windows 10 on a new HP laptop is without any hassles (availability of drivers and stuff)?

[genexis_x]

2 hours ago, Purush_10 said:

Envy x360 13

Has major issues - CPU performance, battery life, driver

[Purush_10]

1 minute ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Has major issues - CPU performance, battery life, driver

The Ryzen models or Intel models too?

[genexis_x]

10 hours ago, Purush_10 said:

The Ryzen models or Intel models too?

Envy x360 13 don't have Intel model

[CrazedKilla124]

On 11/23/2018 at 9:20 AM, GeneXiS_X said:

Envy x360 13 don't have Intel model

It has an i7 model. 

[CrazedKilla124]

On 11/22/2018 at 7:55 PM, Purush_10 said:

I'm pretty much on the same page as yourself. I was looking at the HP Envy models myself and I just can't understand why the Envy x360 13 models are priced lower than the Envy 13 models. And moreover if you look at the reviews of the x360 models, they aren't that good (regardless of Intel or AMD processors) for e.g. https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-envy-x360-convertible-laptop-15t-1za23av-1 
Since purchasing it in US and using it outside the US will certainly lead to denial of warranty by HP, I'm in a fix as to what should I decide upon.
Moreover some reviewers highlighted the issue that the you'll have to be dependent on HP for driver updates and that they don't have a decent track record of the same.
Also since I haven't used an HP ever, can someone tell whether going for a fresh installation of Windows 10 on a new HP laptop is without any hassles (availability of drivers and stuff)?

YES!!! Otherwise I was completely sold on the Envy 13!!! There's barely any info on the warranty and that's what held me back from a purchase. 

The pain is real man, the pain is real. 

[CrazedKilla124]

Which is why I'm frantically searching if the Envy 13 has worldwide warranty - so many brands have it, and I'm really surprised there isn't any info on that. 

Final question - 

HOW do I know if the Envy 13 has worldwide warranty? Please help with this

[CrazedKilla124]

On 11/22/2018 at 7:55 PM, Purush_10 said:

I'm pretty much on the same page as yourself. I was looking at the HP Envy models myself and I just can't understand why the Envy x360 13 models are priced lower than the Envy 13 models. And moreover if you look at the reviews of the x360 models, they aren't that good (regardless of Intel or AMD processors) for e.g. https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-envy-x360-convertible-laptop-15t-1za23av-1 
Since purchasing it in US and using it outside the US will certainly lead to denial of warranty by HP, I'm in a fix as to what should I decide upon.
Moreover some reviewers highlighted the issue that the you'll have to be dependent on HP for driver updates and that they don't have a decent track record of the same.
Also since I haven't used an HP ever, can someone tell whether going for a fresh installation of Windows 10 on a new HP laptop is without any hassles (availability of drivers and stuff)?

The link is of the 15" one btw. 

[genexis_x]

2 hours ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

It has an i7 model. 

Show me. I'm talking about Envy x360 13 not Envy 13

1 hour ago, CrazedKilla124 said:

HOW do I know if the Envy 13 has worldwide warranty?

Depends on your country and the model itself

[CrazedKilla124]

1 hour ago, GeneXiS_X said:

Show me. I'm talking about Envy x360 13 not Envy 13

Depends on your country and the model itself

Okay nvm I did a thorough search of the warranty stuff - found no info. Thanks for the help anyway