Another 'Which Laptop' Request for Help

[Mr Pointy]

Another 'what laptop' thread I'm afraid but I'm hoping the PH collective can offer some advice on where I should look for my next laptop. My current Dell Latitude E6500 is nearly four years old now & hasn't faired particularly well & it's heavy compared to modern laptops. While it sort of does the job I think it's time for a change. It's main use is to run the usual MS Office programmes & AutoCad, although having said that it's simple 2D stuff so I don't need the grunt of a mobile workstation. Budget isn't huge constraint although I'd like to stay under around £1200 (inc VAT). Given that I don't always have access to a second display I need a 15" screen as anything smaller is a pain to work on for long periods.

I'm torn between standard laptops like the Dell Inspiron/Latitude or Lenovo T/P series and the newer devices such as the XPS 15/HP Spectre. There are some good deals on the XPS 15 & it looks lovely but I can't help but feel the connectivity is going to be an issue as there's no network connector unless you use an adapter & the Thunderbolt interface costs around £350. It seems I'd be carrying loads of adapters instead of just plugging into the laptop.

The other question I have is about screen resolution. I bought the Dell because it had a 1920x 1200 screen which gives a substantial increase over 1920x1080 screens, but this isn't an option this time. I find icons & text a little difficult to read so I raised the text size to 125% which leads me to wonder how text looks on a 4K screen. I'm sure the screen would look wonderful but that's no good if I can't see the icons on the toolbars.

So, where should I look? Which of the Dell/Lenovo ranges are either good or bad? Windows PCs only I'm afraid - I don't have the inclination to change over to a Mac.

[Thorburn]

Mr Pointy said:

I'm torn between standard laptops like the Dell Inspiron/Latitude or Lenovo T/P series and the newer devices such as the XPS 15/HP Spectre. There are some good deals on the XPS 15 & it looks lovely but I can't help but feel the connectivity is going to be an issue as there's no network connector unless you use an adapter & the Thunderbolt interface costs around £350. It seems I'd be carrying loads of adapters instead of just plugging into the laptop.

USB 3.0 ethernet adapters should manage Gbit ethernet speeds. You can just get some USB 3.0 hubs - not sure what you'd need from the Thunderbolt one?

Mr Pointy said:

The other question I have is about screen resolution. I bought the Dell because it had a 1920x 1200 screen which gives a substantial increase over 1920x1080 screens, but this isn't an option this time. I find icons & text a little difficult to read so I raised the text size to 125% which leads me to wonder how text looks on a 4K screen. I'm sure the screen would look wonderful but that's no good if I can't see the icons on the toolbars.

DPI scaling in Windows 8.1/10 is quite flexible, the UX305CA I have is a 3200x1800 13.3" screen and I use 200% DPI scaling to give an effective 1600x900, but with smoother text and rendering of applications which are DPI aware. Some older applications don't scale correctly, but in most cases I've switched to alternatives.