Recommendation for a Laptop to Replace a Surface Pro 4? - Budget $3000

DigSpider on 09/09/2021 - 15:57
Last edited 09/09/2021 - 16:17 by 1 other user

Good day, everyone.

First of all, thank you for taking the time to read and assist me.

TLDR: Can I please get some help with a suitable replacement for a Surface Pro 4 (which has started showing signs of the damned display issues that caused the "FlickerGate" issues years ago. Unfortunately, mine is already out of warranty, so all I have left is to use it for a few mins per day, until the Flickering begins, and then I have to give up on it.

I am after:

• Lightweight
• Beautiful screen (IPS preferably, but has to have very high res)
• i7, 16GB as bare minimum, but preferably 32GB RAM and 512GB min SSD
• 13in screen is ideal. Nothing past 14, or lower than 12 or 13.
• Decent battery life, but I understand there's no magic when asking for a lightweight device
• Must be less than $ 2500 / $3000

Would be great if possible: If there's anyone in the market that supplies a device that supports a pen to draw on the screen, like the Surface does, that would be awesome.

Thank you all again and I would love your recommendations of devices and places where I can buy them with decent prices.

• 

  kerfuffle on 09/09/2021 - 16:00

  Surface Laptop 4 13.5"? 32GB is over $3000 RRP though. You can use your Surface Pen on it (assuming you have one already for your Surface Pro 4).

  • 

    DigSpider on 09/09/2021 - 19:35

    +1

    Thanks for the recommendation, but I'll be giving the surface line a pass from now on.

    I've paid top dollar on mine a while ago and I got much older gear that it's still working top notch, and this is now useless because of a bad screen that can't be replaced…

• 

  solidussnake on 09/09/2021 - 18:23

  +1

  Dell XPS13 I believe they do them In a foldable option that also is compatible with a stylus also a nice 3849x2400 touch screen

  https://www.dell.com/en-au/shop/2-in-1-laptops/xps-13-2-in-1…

  • 

    DigSpider on 09/09/2021 - 19:35

    +1

    Thanks for the recommendation. This seems to fit the bill for me, yes.

    As long as it's compatible with a stylus and has a nice and shiny high quality screen, this seems indeed like it's right up my alley.

    Any recommendations of stores with better prices on this piece of gear?

    Thanks!

    • 

      solidussnake on 09/09/2021 - 19:42

      +1

      JB Hi-fi used to sell them and often have 15% off (Same price as Dell's website) but most of the xps have been removed either try the Factory Outlet or wait for a dell eBay 20% off sale.

      I have the XPS13 6th gen and has the qhd screen it's very impressive and colour accuracy is spot on !

      • 

        DigSpider on 09/09/2021 - 19:44

        +1

        Thank you once again!

        If anyone reading this has any recommendation of other places with good prices (I realize I JUST missed on this deal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/647072) please let me know.

        Thanks!

        • 

          01011010 on 16/11/2021 - 11:55

          @DigSpider: did you end up buying? the XPS is on clearance atm for under $2k.

          • 

            DigSpider on 16/11/2021 - 13:29

            +1

            @01011010: Thanks, mate.
            Yeah, I bit the bullet and got an Asus ROG X13 at a couple of hundred of dollars of discount.

            • 

              trufflesthepenguin on 21/11/2021 - 21:10

              @DigSpider: I've been eyeing that, where did you get it from? Keen to hear what you think of it.

              • 

                DigSpider on 21/11/2021 - 21:15

                @trufflesthepenguin: Scorptec.

                It gets VERY hot, because it's designed to be quiet, rather than cool, so you have to play around with the fan's setup and get them to get going sooner than the default settings to improve the life of the hardware. If all you care about is the noise and don't mind maybe having a dead laptop in a few years down the track, then keep the default settings and run it in a mini-furnace mode.

                I'm now running Linux, so the support for fan control is nowhere near as decent as Windows (in fact, it SUCKS completely) but I'm with Linux for the privacy, so happy with the tradeoff.
                If I ever were to use the laptop for gaming rather than processing as I'm using now, I'd just switch to Windows (I've kept Windows installed as a dual-boot just in case).

                It's absolutely solid and very high quality and I love having a 3050Ti and a CPU with 16 freaking cores under the hood of such a small device, but I wish they were sold with 32GB of RAM and 1TB solid drive instead… But such is life.

                Cheers and good luck!