What laptop to replace Surface Book?
Discussion
My Surface Book 2 has died very suddenly. One day OK, the next day completely dead and unresponsive. So, whilst I go through the wringer with Microsoft, what replacements are worth looking at?
Before the SB2 I was looking at a Lenovo X1C - are these still worth the money? I've actually fallen back onto using our 8-y-o Thinkpad T530, which works great, if a little on the heavy side. Could do with bit of a clean too...
Lenovo Yoga? Dell Inspiron? HP Envy? Others? Not Microsoft.
Preferences - something that won't die suddenly, portable and rugged, quicker processor - SB2 has 8th Gen i5 which was kinda OK but nothing more, memory could get away with 8GB/256GB but 16GB/512GB would be useful, touchscreen with some sort of pen would be useful - SB2 was good for this
Budget? No idea how these are priced in the UK, but use the models as a guide. TIA.
Before the SB2 I was looking at a Lenovo X1C - are these still worth the money? I've actually fallen back onto using our 8-y-o Thinkpad T530, which works great, if a little on the heavy side. Could do with bit of a clean too...
Lenovo Yoga? Dell Inspiron? HP Envy? Others? Not Microsoft.
Preferences - something that won't die suddenly, portable and rugged, quicker processor - SB2 has 8th Gen i5 which was kinda OK but nothing more, memory could get away with 8GB/256GB but 16GB/512GB would be useful, touchscreen with some sort of pen would be useful - SB2 was good for this
Budget? No idea how these are priced in the UK, but use the models as a guide. TIA.
I've been looking at the Dell Latitude 2-in-1 stuff - a friend has a 9300 series and he thinks its a good piece of kit for his work. Anyone else any other experience with these? My client has provided a Latitude 7400 laptop for use and that seems pretty good, through the touchscreen is a bit coarse to use.
Reviving this as I've just come out the other side of 'discussions' with Microsoft, and currently now holding money instead of a laptop. Now need to buy!
Specs preferred...
16MB/256MB
i7 or equivalent - 10th or 11th Gen?
Touchscreen
14-15" screen - 13" is too small
Good quality keyboard, mouse/touchpad, and screen
2-in-1 OK, but not necessary
IR camera for sign-in - a bit like the IR sign-in on a phone, once you've had it, it seems a backward step to not have it
On the list...
Lenovo X1C
X1 Yoga - a Yoga 9i was there but no IR camera
Dell XPS15
Dell Latitude 7400 and upwards
The HP noted above looks OK, but I'm not struck with HP following some fun with my daughter's Envy, whereas my experience over the past 20 years with Lenovo, and IBM before, and also with Dell has been nothing but positive.
Specs preferred...
16MB/256MB
i7 or equivalent - 10th or 11th Gen?
Touchscreen
14-15" screen - 13" is too small
Good quality keyboard, mouse/touchpad, and screen
2-in-1 OK, but not necessary
IR camera for sign-in - a bit like the IR sign-in on a phone, once you've had it, it seems a backward step to not have it
On the list...
Lenovo X1C
X1 Yoga - a Yoga 9i was there but no IR camera
Dell XPS15
Dell Latitude 7400 and upwards
The HP noted above looks OK, but I'm not struck with HP following some fun with my daughter's Envy, whereas my experience over the past 20 years with Lenovo, and IBM before, and also with Dell has been nothing but positive.
I've got a 13" latitude 2 in 1 and it's been great, but my wife has the 15" and is a much heavier user than than me, and its started occasionally disconnecting the screen at probably 4-5 years old. I reckon the cabling is probably a bit more fragile than a standard laptop, so probably not worth going 2 in 1 unless you specifically want it.
ETA: I feel I should point out that my wife uses her laptop a lot more than I use mine, not that she uses a laptop and is very heavy!
ETA: I feel I should point out that my wife uses her laptop a lot more than I use mine, not that she uses a laptop and is very heavy!
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Thursday 18th March 09:32
RizzoTheRat said:
I've got a 13" latitude 2 in 1 and it's been great, but my wife has the 15" and is a much heavier user than than me, and its started occasionally disconnecting the screen at probably 4-5 years old. I reckon the cabling is probably a bit more fragile than a standard laptop, so probably not worth going 2 in 1 unless you specifically want it.
Thanks - will keep that in mind. 2-in-1 isn't essential, but I did use the detachable screen from the SB2, albeit nowhere near as much as planned - but that was due to a job change. Regular clamshell will be fine, esp one with a touchscreen that opens to near-flat.I find I use it in tablet mode, with the keyboard folded 360 degrees right back behind the screen, a bit when playing games with my nieces that involve drawing on the screen, but can't think of anything else I've used it like that for. Folding it 180 degrees is useful for watching stuff on planes though as it stands up nice and tall on the table.
"Just purchased a HP Spectre X360 - its a lovely bit of kit..."
I have a 2018 Spectre I7 with the vega graphics that I used daily for work.
They have an amazing spec but unfortunately it hasn't been very reliable which has completely let down my experience of it.
Over the past three years it has had 3 screens, The first one started glitching and the second started ghosting. The third I bought off ebay second hand which has so for been ok.
The keyboard started to not accept certain keys, which turned out to be a dodgy ribbon cable.
And finally I noticed that the bottom cover wasn't closing properly and it turns out the battery has swollen causing the bottom cover to pop out. I'm currently waiting for a new battery which is surprisingly hard to find.
I have a 2018 Spectre I7 with the vega graphics that I used daily for work.
They have an amazing spec but unfortunately it hasn't been very reliable which has completely let down my experience of it.
Over the past three years it has had 3 screens, The first one started glitching and the second started ghosting. The third I bought off ebay second hand which has so for been ok.
The keyboard started to not accept certain keys, which turned out to be a dodgy ribbon cable.
And finally I noticed that the bottom cover wasn't closing properly and it turns out the battery has swollen causing the bottom cover to pop out. I'm currently waiting for a new battery which is surprisingly hard to find.
I could go back to MS for more of the same, knowing that the warranty process does work, but that's like all those other threads about people buying German cars, but only as long as the warranty holds out cos you know it'll all go tits up at some point. Might as well try something else from another big company, warranty will likely be similar, and there's always the chance you wont need it.
Local Dell Outlet store has a 7-month old refurbished XPS15 (July 2020 build date) with 10th Gen i7, UHD+ touch screen, 16GB/512GB combo, and IR HD camera, all for equivalent of 60% of list price. 12 months warranty included, can take that to 3 years for an additional $200.
Can't see anything else near it for the money.
Local Dell Outlet store has a 7-month old refurbished XPS15 (July 2020 build date) with 10th Gen i7, UHD+ touch screen, 16GB/512GB combo, and IR HD camera, all for equivalent of 60% of list price. 12 months warranty included, can take that to 3 years for an additional $200.
Can't see anything else near it for the money.
coming from left field, I have a Surface Pro 7 that behaves perfectly and is teamed with a 27" HP monitor. It gives me the form factor I was looking for, touch-first if I ever want it and I do my main slog at my desk on the big screen.
If that does not tick the box, I have a 2nd gen X1 Carbon that is brilliant. Retired to run EverywhereOS and Win10 when I need it but still good (I actually retired it because I "sourced" a version with a US keyboard)
If that does not tick the box, I have a 2nd gen X1 Carbon that is brilliant. Retired to run EverywhereOS and Win10 when I need it but still good (I actually retired it because I "sourced" a version with a US keyboard)
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