Please Recommend a Thin Client Laptop

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  Melb69 on 08/09/2019 - 13:41

  Add budget range.

  • 

    uk3000 on 08/09/2019 - 14:12

    Added. I think around $1.5K for a thin client would be reasonable.

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  Skramit on 08/09/2019 - 13:49

  I’m after a laptop too. $1700-2200

  Looking for the highest spec possible. No GPU. 14 or 15” screen. What’s my best bet?

  • 

    uk3000 on 08/09/2019 - 14:13

    +1

    I'd recommend Lenovo Yoga 700 series unless you need long battery life.

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  So lo on 08/09/2019 - 14:02

  +2

  LG Gram?

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  MagicMushroom on 08/09/2019 - 14:54

  +1

  These come into my mind.
  Dell XPS 13, Inspiron 13 7000
  HP Spectre, Envy, Pavilion
  Surface laptop
  Asus zenbook 14
  Huawei MateBook

  • 

    Twocupteabag on 22/09/2019 - 18:09

    Can zenbooks charge from usb c?

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  JimmyF on 08/09/2019 - 19:52

  +1

  I currently have a 13" Lenovo Yoga 720 and it ticks all the boxes besides the battery life and being fan-less,

  I would say the yoga 730 13" but the same issue.

  The harsh fact is, fanless units are gutless units.

  You can't have all of these at once in a ultrabook, being speed/battery life/fanless

  • 

    uk3000 on 08/09/2019 - 20:12

    Don't really have to be speedy for RDC. I think something with Intel Core m3-8100Y should be a reasonable compromise, but I struggle to find an m3 laptop that would meet other reqs. Perhaps, Chuwi Aerobook?

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  CC123 on 08/09/2019 - 20:39

  +2

  I can't provide one based on experience however you should check this thread which contains 'budget' laptops under $1200.

  Did some searching around, this seemed to be the 'best' one I could find, however, I am not sure if the keyboard is backlit and I am not sure how responsive the touchpad is.

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  uk3000 on 09/09/2019 - 11:10

  I don't care much about brands, so I've decided to give this Chuwi LapBook Pro a try, at $610 AUD shipped from AliExpress. The reviews aren't bad. The battery capacity isn't impressive at 37Wh, but the 6W Celeron N4100 SoC CPU is not power hungry either. As I'm gonna use it for remote desktop mostly, I hope it should last for about 8hrs as they advertise.

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  Rockets84 on 23/09/2019 - 12:50

  +1

  What about the ThinkPad E595? Has most of the features your looking for but on the larger size.

  https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/484991

  • 

    uk3000 on 23/09/2019 - 21:25

    That's a great machine but non-backlit keyboard is a deal-breaker for me.

    • 

      Rockets84 on 24/09/2019 - 10:06

      +1

      I didn't notice that it didn't have a backlit keyboard. I've used ThinkPad's for years and every one came with a backlit or light for the keyboard so kind of just assumed it was there but I've always used X or T series. I've got 8 ThinkPad's in the house and all have backlit keyboards.

      • 

        uk3000 on 25/09/2019 - 13:13

        It appears the E (Edge) series doesn't have a backlit keyboard as Lenovo position it as budget. I used to own one of them and it was a great machine otherwise.

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  uk3000 on 26/09/2019 - 10:57

  The Chuwi LapBook Pro had arrived and it's a very well built machine. Been using it for over a week by now.

  What I don't like:

  • no touch screen (but that's OK for remote desktop connections);
  • no fingerprint scanner;
  • the webcam video feed is sluggish and washed-out;
  • the USB type-c charging port doesn't support PD. It requires a dumb 12V USB type-C charger (included). I overlooked that one while reading reviews, and that's my biggest disappointment.

  What I do like:

  • it's fanless and stays cool while running the basic tasks like browsing, youtube and remote desktop connections.
  • the battery gets me through the day. So far, I've been only charging it overnight.
  • the eMMC SSD was easily upgradeable. It performed much better than I expected, but I still swapped it for a 500GB Crucial SSD (MX500 M.2 2280 SATA) for extra $90.

  Overall, it's a good fit for its purpose and its price tag.