Laptop <$1k - what are my options?

[ragu]

SOS. I need to buy a new laptop which I mainly use for work purposes - run lots of spreadsheets, quickbooks, and streaming music/netflix in the meanwhile. Absolutely no gaming. I'm typically plugged in so battery life isn't a concern. However, I'd really like it to be really light weight.

What are go-to options with limited budget (~$1k)?

Thanks!

[ExtraSlow]

If you will be logging many hours on this while working, maybe don't worry about weight and focus on the largest keyboard. It makes a huge difference. If you are spreadsheeting, a real number pad also helps a ton.

[dirtsniffer]

I agree a real number pad is crucial for spreadsheets. Also I like the premium display but maybe less important to you

[ExtraSlow]

Here's one to start the discussion. Has SSD, Number pad, and one of the best laptop keyboards in the business. I have an older E-series, and I really like the platform.

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX71601

[macman64]

A Surface Go may be an option then just do external keyboard and such. I don't know if the CPU will be fast enough for the work you do though.

[Neil4Speed]

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Here's one to start the discussion. Has SSD, Number pad, and one of the best laptop keyboards in the business. I have an older E-series, and I really like the platform.

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX71601

Seems like a great price point for a Thinkpad with an 8th Gen!

[ExtraSlow]

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Seems like a great price point for a Thinkpad with an 8th Gen!

I thought it was not bad. And from the sounds of it, processing speed isn't that big of a deal for the OP. It certainly isn't for me. RAM and SSD make a much bigger difference to me.

[msommers]

See if M/E will pricematch with Amazon

https://www.amazon.ca/Lenovo-ThinkPa.../dp/B078X1YVJP

[Xtrema]

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See if M/E will pricematch with Amazon

https://www.amazon.ca/Lenovo-ThinkPa.../dp/B078X1YVJP

It's not Amazon and by 3rd party named Newseed. So they may not.

[ragu]

Quick update and with urgency this time. I sporadically looked at a few laptops and figured I'd up my budget to $2k and must haves are light weight and keypad to the side. It should also come with all the office applications for this price.

Please let me know what you see and hope to pull the trigger quickly. Thx

[ExtraSlow]

I still reccomend Lenovo E580. Can get the higher spec model, and some extra Ram, as well as the office suite for under $2k. In stock at memex, could have it by suppertime.

[ExtraSlow]

Still like my old Lenovo, but it's time for an update soon. Perusing MemEx, it looks like the Lenovo E590 is the sweet spot now.
Lenovo
ThinkPad E590 w/ Core™ i5-8265U, 8GB, 256GB SSD, 15.6in Full HD, Windows 10 Pro = $999
8th Gen processor, SSD, 8gb ram.

This would be for a paying gig, so budget could be flexible if features were persuasive. Please critique this choice, what else is out there?

[Mitsu3000gt]

Do you want a discrete GPU? The Intel HD620 is garbage, but if you never do anything other than surf the web and use MS office it doesn't matter. Some Intel Ice Lake based laptops are out now which have iGPUs comparable to AMD's Vega 10 iGPU, which is enormously superior to the HD620 in everything and similar to a MX150 discrete GPU.

For the same price range you can get something like and Acer Swift 3 which is better spec'd and surprisingly well built - it even has a matte 1080P screen and a secondary 1TB storage drive which is nice. The 14" version is only $799 but has no discrete GPU:

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX72838


Especially in the $1K price point, there can be huge differences in GPU and SSD performance but it's not always easy to tell (very rarely is this advertised). A lot of manufacturers are still putting in SATAIII SSD's in their cheaper laptops where some are using proper PCI-E X4 SSD's. Same with the GPU - many stick with Intel's garbage HD620 iGPU but more and more are throwing in a MX150 which is not amazing but is 2-3x better and has dedicated vRAM.

If you want Thunderbolt, try make sure it's x4 PCI lanes as well, otherwise USB 3.1 Type C will suffice for most people. Most people only really need thunderbolt if they are hooking up an expensive discrete GPU in an enclosure.

Can't go wrong with an E-series Lenovo either for business duty but that price isn't great IMHO. Memory Express always has really bad prices on laptops, you might be better off waiting for Dell/Lenovo to have another promo unless you need this immediately. Lenovo has a Canada Day sale running right now - you can get a 15" Ideapad S340 with the same specs as that E590 for $735. You could also move up to a T-series for $1200 or so ($900 off but it's not worth $2K in the first place).

[ExtraSlow]

These are some good thoughts thanks. As to the GPU, if I'm not gaming, what does that do for me?

[Mitsu3000gt]

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These are some good thoughts thanks. As to the GPU, if I'm not gaming, what does that do for me?

If you aren't gaming or using content creation/editing software (Photoshop, Premiere, etc.) or using it as a HTPC to stream large UHD video files you probably won't even know the difference. The integrated GPUs like the Intel HD620 are enough to smoothly run daily/office tasks like web browsing, YouTube and MS office.

Anything graphically intensive though and they are very inadequate. The other nice thing about a discrete GPU is the CPU still has the integrated GPU, so it can use the integrated one for lighter tasks and only engage the discrete GPU when it needs to. If you did want to play games with the HD620, it can barely run old e-sports titles at 30fps and extremely low settings. The other thing it does is use some of your system memory, so with only 8GB it's going to eat into that. Sharing your computer's RAM is not only way slower than dedicated vRAM found on discrete cards, but it reduces your available system RAM for everything else. Windows 10 lets the iGPU use up to half the system RAM, so in this case 4GB.

If it's strictly an office/work PC, you are unlikely to run into any issues. If you want to use it for anything else, you might appreciate a discrete GPU like the very common GeForce MX150. You can get it even in some 13" laptops now and it's very easy to find in the larger 15" laptops. Ice Lake laptops are out now but few and far between, but those have Intel's new iGPU with dramatically upgraded performance.

[ExtraSlow]

Well the chances of gaming are zero. I haven't played a game on a computer (or anywhere else) in fifteen years.
I'm still gathering info. Does a GPU help with things like 3d modelling or simulations software?

[revelations]

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Does a GPU help with things like 3d modeling or simulations software?

Absolutely does - this is where a separate GPU will definitely outperform a built in one.

[ExtraSlow]

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Absolutely does - this is where a separate GPU will definitely outperform a built in one.

ok, I have some research to do on this then. I have a month or more to figure this out.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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Well the chances of gaming are zero. I haven't played a game on a computer (or anywhere else) in fifteen years.
I'm still gathering info. Does a GPU help with things like 3d modelling or simulations software?

Generally yes, but it also depends on if the particular software is written with GPU acceleration, and also what exactly you are doing with that software. 3D modeling/CAD is usually more CPU intensive (as many cores/threads as you can get) and video/rendering is usually more GPU intensive, but that is not a rule. Sketchup and some other CAD programs for example only use 1 CPU core to my knowledge, and you can use either CPU or GPU based packages for the rendering side. Usually there are certain tasks that get sent through the CPU no matter what, but depending on the software and the task, there can be a significant benefit from as much GPU power as you can get. A balanced approach is usually best. That kind of work usually also requires a lot of RAM.

[Xtrema]

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ok, I have some research to do on this then. I have a month or more to figure this out.

Figure out your GPU needs, laptops with discrete GPU tends to be less portable (heavier/bigger)

Also, Ryzen based laptops are starting to appear and there are now cheaper Intel laptops to fight them. Holding off for a month isn't bad timing wise as the US back to school is coming soon and may start some sales.