Need Help Deciding Which Laptop for The Wife - HELP

flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 12:27
Last edited 07/06/2016 - 12:42 by 1 other user

HI all

Wife is about to start writing her thesis - and a quick trip interstate showed me just how heavy her crappy HP laptop is

I am going to buy an upgraded lappy for her and have narrowed it down to these choices.

She would be using it for word, internet browsing and working on the go

  1. Microsoft surface pro - maybe a 3 off gumtree or even a 4

  2. Lenovo yoga 700
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/251204

  3. Asus Zenbook UX305UA
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/251054

Does anyone have any advice - I'm an apple man myself so have little idea. I feel that having a proper keyboard would benefit when typing for long periods

flash

Computing

Comments

  • 2jzzzz on 07/06/2016 - 12:46

    Just got the 12" Macbook, but screen might be a little small for word processing mainly.

    • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 12:48

      Wifey prefer Windows. Unfortunately

      • cDNA on 07/06/2016 - 13:21

        Don't say unfortunately. Your wife is in the majority. You've got a keeper. :p

        Do you have a budget?

        Buy her a HP elitebook or Lenovo T series laptop. Lenovo has the best keyboard out of all the manufacturers.

        The dell outlet also has many deals. Look for a dell latitude 14 7000 series. You won't have to spend more than $1200.

        http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/product…

        • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 13:32

          She is a keeper. I'll take a look. Tbh I get a bit confused with all the different models of dell. Plus I thought with the eBay sale I might snag a better value Lappy from the good guys. I'd forgotten about the outlet store. I should have considered it as I buy lots of stuff from the apple refurbished store.

  • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 13:01

    I guess the other option is this one with the m processor

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/250838

  • cmilano8 on 07/06/2016 - 13:13

    Both are very similar, with the Asus winning in RAM. The Lenovo is has slightly larger screen (13.3" vs 14") which gives it more weight than Asus..

    I personally am a fan of Asus, having experienced first hand their warranty policy. I like the look of this Zenbook too - it is lighter, more reliable. I have no problem with the screen size, if this is going to be the laptop I carry around, I want it light.

    A friend of mine uses the Lenovo Yoga and loves it - though she moans about all the bloatware that comes with it.

    • macrocephalic on 07/06/2016 - 13:24

      Both Lenovo and Asus have had major security flaws exposed recently. If you get one, see if it's affected (Lenovo had a BIOS malware - so no way to remove) and also do a clean windows install to get rid of bloatware.

      http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/now-three-pre-installed-malware…

      http://teletext.zaibatsutel.net/post/145370716258/deadupdate…

      • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 13:26

        I've had pc's in the past where clean installs have been difficult. The old website that used to have Windows to download no longer existed. Admittedly I tried to do this years ago. Is it any easier now? My recollection is that the laptop makes you restore to factory settings which includes all the crapware.

        • macrocephalic on 07/06/2016 - 13:29

          TBH, I haven't done a full, legal, install of windows home for quite a long time. I tend to deal with volume licenced and 'unlicenced' installs (depending on where I am).

      • cmilano8 on 07/06/2016 - 14:10
        +1

        Oh crap, thanks for the info. I have uninstalled most of the bloatware that came with my Asus save Smart Gesture and Instant Key, I will check if I have rid of that offending item!

        In saying that, sans the bloatware, Asus is good.. right?

        • macrocephalic on 07/06/2016 - 14:51

          I think Asus are ok. Companies like Dell, Lenovo, and HP cop a lot of flak because they are common corporate laptop brands - where Asus isn't normally.

  • Shaw on 07/06/2016 - 13:25
    +1

    DFO-2305-1375 REFURBISHED Inspiron 13 7000 Series 6th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6200U Processor (3MB Cache, up to 2.80 GHz) 8GB Single Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (8GBx1) 256GB Solid State Drive Windows 10 Home (64bit) English Optical Drive not included 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0, Dual Band 2.4&5 GHz, 1x1 Intel(R) HD graphics 520 Stereo speakers professionally tuned with MaxxAudio(R) by Waves 43 WHr, 3-Cell Battery (integrated) Internal US International Qwerty Backlit Keyboard 13.3-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Truelife LED-Backlit Touch Display with Wide Viewing Angle (IPS) LCD Back Cover -Silver No OS Media Included. Unit has minor cosmetic wear. 1 Year 5 $ 799

    Search for '799' here.

    • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 13:39

      Can anyone comment on this battery life of this baby? It looks good

      • cDNA on 07/06/2016 - 13:46

        Average at best. Less than 5 hours.

        Buy a Dell Latitude not an inspiron. She'll thank you. :)

      • Shaw on 07/06/2016 - 16:51

        Review states 8 hours, here., and here with the slightly more powerful, but older generation, i7.

  • macrocephalic on 07/06/2016 - 13:26

    Might also be worth checking out the Dell Factory Outlet: http://www.dell.com/learn/au/en/audhs1/campaigns/dell-outlet…

    Shaw beat me to it ^^

    • Shaw on 07/06/2016 - 13:28

      :)

  • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 13:30

    This is honestly why I love ozbargain

  • lupiter on 07/06/2016 - 13:35

    If she's writing her thesis then I would think you should focus on screen quality and keyboard quality. The screen quality on the SP3/4 is good, but it's designed first for portability not extended typing. If she's writing her thesis while travelling a lot or likes to write in a cafe/library then it's a decent choice. Also good for oneNote addicts.

    Screen quality you can research online but keyboard quality is much harder, I'd go in and try anything you're thinking of to see if it will be suitable for lots of typing. Many cheap laptops skimp on keyboard quality and it's just a mushy mess. If she's always at an office plugging in to an external keyboard and monitor then this probably isn't a big issue, just try and get something without lots of Asus/Lenovo bloatware.

    If you're an Apple guy, maybe consider a 13" rMBP or even an Air, and buy your own Windows and install with Bootcamp? Decent screens (rMBP is lovely) and good keyboards on those machines.

    • macrocephalic on 07/06/2016 - 14:53

      Agreed about the keyboard. I have a dell latitude work laptop, and it's an ok keyboard, but it's nothing compared to the cherry brown keyboard I use when it's on the desk.

  • kerfuffle on 07/06/2016 - 13:38

    Go ASUS. I too have experienced their warranty policy first hand and it's great. The only reason why my current laptop is not an ASUS is due to having to practically dismantle my old ASUS just to change the CMOS battery (I currently use a Sony VAIO).

    • lupiter on 07/06/2016 - 16:18

      I had terrible experience with the ASUS warranty this year, obviously it varies a lot then :/

      • kerfuffle on 07/06/2016 - 17:30

        To be fair it was quite a couple of years ago so perhaps their warranty has changed since

  • epicttiimm on 07/06/2016 - 14:03

    If you want to spend more get the Dell XPS 13. Pricey but considered by many to be the best Windows laptop. Would've got one myself to replace my ageing 2010 MBP but I'm deeply entrenched in the Apple camp so got a rMB instead.

    • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 14:19

      Probably extreme overkill for the wife.

  • Skramit on 07/06/2016 - 15:43

    I've owned Dell, HP and Lenovo laptops. Lenovo in my opinion have the most comfortable keyboards with nice amount of travel and good feel. So I would recommend a Lenovo! But this sort of thing is quite subjective. Best to have a quick play in a JB-Hifi or something first and try a few of the keyboards out.

  • Steve K on 07/06/2016 - 16:16

    Surface pro gets my vote for thesis work, as she can use the pen to mark up by hand when revising, just like printing and then reading with red pen and highlighter ready, then you can see all your proposed changes and corrections on top of the original text before you commit to any changes. a pro 3 or pro 4 are both fine, spring for the pro 4 pen, which lets you use the other end as an eraser. also, bluetooth keyboards and mice or even usb ones work fine with surface pros, if your fussy about keyboards (i've tried some, but keep going back to the original surface keyboard).

  • Banana on 07/06/2016 - 21:55

    I have had 1 Asus and 2 Lenovos…there is a reason why I bought the second Lenovo..

    • flashi007 on 07/06/2016 - 22:24

      because its a good brand?

      • Banana on 08/06/2016 - 20:58

        I like Lenovos better. I currently own a Lenovo Yoga 2. It has been serving me faithfully for the past 2 years. I ran some stats programs on it as well (SPSS, graphpads,graph prism) and it seems to be okay.

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