New laptop needed - recommendations please?

Shoxt3r

Hi there,

After a real problem with my last laptop a Dell Inspiron 7577 I'm now looking for a replacement laptop.

My budget is between £900-1,200.

As a Web Developer I'm ideally looking for something which will comfortably run Adobe Photoshop, Visual Studio and do some light video editing too. I may also use the laptop for some gaming so a decent Graphics Card would be welcome. As a guide, my 7577 had a Intel i7 7700HQ processor, 16GB RAM, 1050Ti Graphics Card and a 1TB and 128GB SSD, so ideally I'd be looking for something with a similar spec.

My 7577 was a 15.6" but due to the bezel and number pad it was more like a 17". It was also a heavy beast at 2.7kg.

It does need to be portable as I commute for 4 hours a day (about an hour of this is spent on foot) so maybe a 15" maximum would be good and lighter the better.

Ideally I want to avoid laptops with a similar screen to the 7577 as I have a feeling I'll have the same "white spot" problems. For example the replacement for the 7577 has the same screen setup. Also I want to avoid touchscreens as I'd never use it to it's full potential and would be a waste of budget in my opinion.

So in summary...

- Good screen (thin bezel, high refresh rate)
- An i7 processor
- Decent graphics card started looking at ones with a GTX 1060 or 1070, but aware there is a new generation that's released following CES 2019)
- Good RAM (8GB  minimum)
- Decent sizes for the HDD (1TB) and SSD (256GB ). If the SSD is large enough though I'm happy just to have that for now

Many thanks in advance.

Achraf

1.Lenovo ThinkPad E470 laptop
2.13-inch MacBook Air (2018)
3.Microsoft Surface Pro 6
4.Google Pixelbook
5.Microsot Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch)

Shoxt3r

Thanks Achraf! Have fed back about each option below:

1.Lenovo ThinkPad E470 laptop - Ideally need a laptop with an i7.

2.13-inch MacBook Air (2018) - Not keen on MacBooks - I don't have any other Apple products so wouldn't be able to take full advantage of it. I'm much more of a Windows guy.

3.Microsoft Surface Pro 6 - Like the idea of a Surface but not sure they have the "grunt" needed such as dedicated graphics, especially for gaming and video rendering.

4.Google Pixelbook - Again, like the idea of it but no dedicated graphics card.

5.Microsot Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch) - As above.

Thanks!

psychopomp1

I think you may have to increase your budget if you want a laptop with an i7 processor AND a decent screen AND a dedicated GPU card AND light/portable AND a high SSD capacity disk.

The Lenovo Thinkpad X1 6th gen, ticks most of your requirements but it ain't cheap at £1720. However it will last you at least 5 years as the Thinkpad X series notebooks are built to last.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th Gen | 14" business laptop | Lenovo UK

Shoxt3r

It really does feel like it - especially with all the recent price increases for graphics and processors. It's a real shame that my old Dell's screen wasn't up to the job as otherwise it was a fantastic piece of kit!

I could maybe handle a laptop if it was a bit of the heavy side but as I'm commuting it needs to be as light as possible. The SSD is more of a nice-to-have as long as I could switch out a standard HDD if I felt I needed to.

psychopomp1

Also worth considering the Lenovo Thinkpad T490. Configured with an i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce MX250 GDDR5 2GB card it comes out at £1254. It only has a 256GB SSD but you can upgrade this yourself later on if you wish.

Lenovo ThinkPad T490 | 14" Feature-packed corporate workhorse | Lenovo UK

Shoxt3r

Thanks for the recommendation - however I'm ideally looking for a laptop with a 15.6" or maximum 17" screen size.

psychopomp1

Fair do's, in that case consider the 15.6" Thinkpad T580 or T590 - the former configured with an i7 processor and 2GB dedicated GPU card comes out at £1192. I would forget about a 17" screen if you're looking for a light laptop, most (if not all) tend to be quite heavy at that screen size.

ThinkPad T Series | Our flagship laptops for business | Lenovo UK

Member 830298

HI.  Not sure if you have found anything yet?
We have an Acer in stock under your budget.
Plus you can also use our AV Forum discount code: Stud1901
here is the link: Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-51-50PN Gaming Laptop - Intel

Shoxt3r

Hi there,

Thanks for your help!
I'm still on the look-out after all these months haha. I'm now ideally looking for a laptop with a thin bezel just to make the most of the laptop body screen-wise, but also an i7 and 16GB RAM to match my old Dell.

I'm looking at the following as it seems to tick all the boxes, though cheaper would obviously be nicer! haha.
ASUS TUF FX505GM NVIDIA GTX 1060, 16GB, 15.6" FHD 120Hz, i7-8750H Gaming Laptop

Thanks for your reply.