Laptop for Programming and Suitable for Travel - Budget $1000

Mysterious on 08/12/2021 - 12:09
Last edited 08/12/2021 - 19:39 by 2 other users

Recently my Lenovo laptops called the quits so I'm in the market for a laptop under 1k thats suitable for programming and travelling, so ideally it'd be lightweight opposed to a Lenovo.

I saw this for $997: HP Envy X360 13.3" FHD 2-in-1 Laptop (256GB) Ryzen 5

I saw this for $797, although was on sale recently for $648: Asus VivoBook 15.6" FHD Thin & Light Laptop (256GB) Intel i5

I've been way out of the loop with newer generation chips, not exactly sure if these would be ideal. Not particularly looking for anything spectacular or flashy, no gaming required, but nothing too expensive.

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  AndyC1 on 08/12/2021 - 12:37

  Programming on a 13.3" monitor… Takes me back to the 40 column mode text editors.
  Programming with 256GB SSD… Haven't been able to install the dev apps and source and other bits on that size SSD for a very long time….

  As for CPU head on over to toms hardware guide for info and details.

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  djkelly69 on 08/12/2021 - 12:56

  Not sure what you have against Lenovos, but Ideapad Slim 5 Pro 14" at 1.4kg with Ryzen 5600U/16gb/512gb can be had for ~$1100 from the Edu store and seems like a decent option to look at.

  Will be cheaper if you can make do with a smaller hard drive or less ram, or go for a Slim 5 (more plastic-y build, worse screen, no USBC charging, etc).

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    Mysterious on 08/12/2021 - 14:34

    I have one. ThinkPad E15 Gen 2. Motherboard had to be replaced three times. Promised a refund under warranty last month but still waiting for updates 😕 been asking customer service every few days. Definitely changed my attitude towards Lenovo.

    Very different to my previous laptop, the HP Sceptre X360 from 2015 which still runs OK today.

    Otherwise I'd buy it, I noticed it was on sale for $900 but looking to take my money elsewhere.

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  scrimshaw on 08/12/2021 - 13:20

  +1

  The HP Envy is much, much better than that Vivobook in terms of portability and durability.

  The build quality on ASUS vivobooks are generally mediocre (looks like brushed aluminium but is actually mostly plastic) and their IO is also bad (2x USB 2.0 ports — what year is it!?). Couple that with a sub 250 nit 45% NTSC display and poor thermal design.

  Just be aware that the RAM is soldered on for that Envy model, there is no additional DIMM slots for upgrade.

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    Mysterious on 08/12/2021 - 14:38

    Envy has much better specs and I assume the quality is better, I'm going to be checking them out today in-store.

    Do you reckon I will have any luck going to HN and The Good Guys to try price beat or get a gift card or extended warranty? Last laptop I bought in-store, the manager couldn't beat the price but gave me free extended warranty.

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  qvinto on 08/12/2021 - 13:53

  If you can spend a bit more get a refurbished Macbook Air M1 if you can use Mac OS. Much better value proposition than most laptops in that price range

  https://www.apple.com/au/shop/refurbished/mac/2020-macbook-a…

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    Mysterious on 08/12/2021 - 14:39

    Unfortunately not a fan of Mac OS, never got used to it, I'm sure it has its perks but not for me.

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  andresampras on 08/12/2021 - 17:43

  Don't buy a laptop in 2021 with less than 16GB RAM, unless it has user-upgradeable RAM slot (less common in thin-n-light)

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  Quantumcat on 08/12/2021 - 18:25

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