WFH laptop - budget £775

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Discussion

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
Hi all,

A friend’s company is now offering some funding for WFH technology, after holding out for the last 15 months.

The budget is 775£ for a laptop. They are looking for something that is relatively small and light, and will handle running a Citrix virtual session and ideally 2 external monitors.

Are there any such laptops around? How about those which swivel around and you can use the screen as a tablet - what is the starting price for those?

Many thanks. I was asked these questions but honestly have about as much idea as the person asking them!

xeny

4,277 posts

77 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
Be quick https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell-new-inspiron...

Will drive 2 external screen (HDMI and DP over USB C) decent resolution 512GB SSD , 16 GB RAM.

ollyprice87

274 posts

159 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
Plenty in that price range but why don't the company order them and lose the VAT?

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
xeny said:
Be quick https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell-new-inspiron...

Will drive 2 external screen (HDMI and DP over USB C) decent resolution 512GB SSD , 16 GB RAM.
Thank you. How much of a deal is this in reality?

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
ollyprice87 said:
Plenty in that price range but why don't the company order them and lose the VAT?
No idea. Massive global company operating in 100 countries, so probably just easier to have a blanket global policy.

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
What is the name for the type of laptop that has a swivel screen which can be used as a tablet?

Mammasaid

3,780 posts

96 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
klan8456 said:
What is the name for the type of laptop that has a swivel screen which can be used as a tablet?
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/work/shop/2-in-1-busine...

Edited by Mammasaid on Tuesday 8th June 10:05

xeny

4,277 posts

77 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
klan8456 said:
Thank you. How much of a deal is this in reality?
It's better than my employer's esteemed purchasing department can manage. Not sure if that says more about purchasing or the deal. Good enough I'd consider buying one for myself at that price.

louiebaby

10,651 posts

190 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
Mammasaid said:
klan8456 said:
What is the name for the type of laptop that has a swivel screen which can be used as a tablet?
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/work/shop/2-in-1-busine...
Like this you mean?

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/inspiron-15-2-in-...

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
That looks great! Are there any more expensive models with better functionality but still within the price limit?

louiebaby

10,651 posts

190 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
klan8456 said:
That looks great! Are there any more expensive models with better functionality but still within the price limit?
If you get one with a touchscreen / shiny screen, it can be a PITA to work on with reflections. I'd choose a matt finish without touchscreen EVERY day.

jamm13dodger

141 posts

35 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
I'd be asking how long its expected to last and if you are responsible for replacing it once it breaks? If you are then looking for one with a decent lenght warranty will be important. Also, is that warranty next day on site repair or do you have to send it away? If you have to send it away how long will it be away for and what are you using in the meantime?

romeodelta

1,113 posts

160 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
klan8456 said:
ollyprice87 said:
Plenty in that price range but why don't the company order them and lose the VAT?
No idea. Massive global company operating in 100 countries, so probably just easier to have a blanket global policy.
Can't help, but this seems like a strange approach from so many angles.

Helpdesk support for some random POS laptop from Currys with whatever crappy AV software it comes with blocking everything, will be a nightmare. No SOE image, user has admin rights to install all the viruses they want, warranty claims, have to talk every user through installing VPN and other software. Madness.

My bet is Procurement are struggling/can't be arsed to source a bulk order due to the global shortage, so have suggested this - but it will come back to bite them 100%.

Edited by romeodelta on Tuesday 8th June 23:46

LunarOne

5,095 posts

136 months

Tuesday 8th June 2021
quotequote all
romeodelta said:
Can't help but this seems like a strange approach from so many angles.

Helpdesk support for some random POS laptop from Currys with whatever crappy AV software it comes with blocking everything, will be a nightmare. No SOE image, user has admin rights to install all the viruses they want, warranty claims, RTB, have to talk every user through installing VPN and other software. Madness.

My bet is Procurement are struggling/can't be arsed to source a bulk order due to the global shortage, so have suggested this - but it will come back to bite them 100%.
Because Citrix. Everything on the laptop itself belongs to the user, and the corporate domain lives in the virtual session, so the user can't do anything damaging,. It's called BYOD, and it's a way to let users have the computer they want. It also means the user's computer doesn't need to have much power. If the user breaks the hardware, they can access the same session from any other computer securely. No user terminal backups are needed and it saves lots of money.

romeodelta

1,113 posts

160 months

Wednesday 9th June 2021
quotequote all
LunarOne said:
romeodelta said:
Can't help but this seems like a strange approach from so many angles.

Helpdesk support for some random POS laptop from Currys with whatever crappy AV software it comes with blocking everything, will be a nightmare. No SOE image, user has admin rights to install all the viruses they want, warranty claims, RTB, have to talk every user through installing VPN and other software. Madness.

My bet is Procurement are struggling/can't be arsed to source a bulk order due to the global shortage, so have suggested this - but it will come back to bite them 100%.
Because Citrix. Everything on the laptop itself belongs to the user, and the corporate domain lives in the virtual session, so the user can't do anything damaging,. It's called BYOD, and it's a way to let users have the computer they want. It also means the user's computer doesn't need to have much power. If the user breaks the hardware, they can access the same session from any other computer securely. No user terminal backups are needed and it saves lots of money.
I get BYOD as an exception, but as a rule for 1000s of users? I've personally never been a fan of VDI, just seems like this is going to be a headache to support IMO.

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Wednesday 9th June 2021
quotequote all
jamm13dodger said:
I'd be asking how long its expected to last and if you are responsible for replacing it once it breaks? If you are then looking for one with a decent lenght warranty will be important. Also, is that warranty next day on site repair or do you have to send it away? If you have to send it away how long will it be away for and what are you using in the meantime?
Good question. I checked and the response is:

  • can get new kit once every 3 years
  • company will not pay for additional warranty or support
  • if it breaks, you pay to fix it. You are expected to keep working, so would need to find a new laptop or other computer same day
I actually also found out that this budget is to cover the entire setup: 2 screens, mouse, keyboard, headset, laptop or PC, but my friend already has all the above except their laptop is ailing, hence looking at getting a new one.

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Wednesday 9th June 2021
quotequote all
romeodelta said:
klan8456 said:
ollyprice87 said:
Plenty in that price range but why don't the company order them and lose the VAT?
No idea. Massive global company operating in 100 countries, so probably just easier to have a blanket global policy.
Can't help, but this seems like a strange approach from so many angles.

Helpdesk support for some random POS laptop from Currys with whatever crappy AV software it comes with blocking everything, will be a nightmare. No SOE image, user has admin rights to install all the viruses they want, warranty claims, have to talk every user through installing VPN and other software. Madness.

My bet is Procurement are struggling/can't be arsed to source a bulk order due to the global shortage, so have suggested this - but it will come back to bite them 100%.

Edited by romeodelta on Tuesday 8th June 23:46
I believe the laptop just needs to be able to run a web browser to launch a Citrix session, so there really isn’t any tech support to speak of.


klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Wednesday 9th June 2021
quotequote all
romeodelta said:
I get BYOD as an exception, but as a rule for 1000s of users? I've personally never been a fan of VDI, just seems like this is going to be a headache to support IMO.
I think this coming is up beyond 300k users on Citrix, seems to have worked for the past year from what I hear (obviously just one person’s view and I’m getting 2nd hand info)

klan8456

Original Poster:

947 posts

74 months

Wednesday 9th June 2021
quotequote all
Any last laptop ideas before I pass on the 2-in-1 Dell deal?

Ridealong

542 posts

69 months

Wednesday 9th June 2021
quotequote all
If your friend is going to buy from Dell and has an American Express card, they can get £100 statement credit on £750 cumulatively spend so their budget can stretch to £875.

See this thread post #13
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...