Need a Laptop - Budget under $2k

linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 18:49
Last edited 01/11/2023 - 19:02 by 1 other user

So I’m pretty on the ball with fixing up and running old laptops and PCs once I have one in my hands, but buying them outright is a different story.

I have a budget of up to $2k at an absolute maximum, and the following requirements
- 16-18” OLED (preferred) screen
- At least 1TB SSD
- At least 16GB RAM (DDR4/5)
- At least 1 Thunderbolt port
- 1 USB-A 3.1 port
- HDMI
- Disc drive not important, but Blu-Ray or 4K if included

On a scale of 1-10, how (profanity) out of luck am I?

Any suggestions of models to look at would be appreciated, bonus points if JB sell it (I can upgrade some specs later if they don’t meet all of the above listed)

Computing Computer Laptop

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Gdsamp on 01/11/2023 - 18:56

not many 16in OLEDs, plenty of 14in OLED

this one looks pretty good
Legion Slim 5 (16", Gen 8) AMD

sadly even the intel models not specified as having thunderbolt
- linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 19:04
  
  Also sadly upgrading the RAM to 32GB increases the price by over $1000 instead of $80 as displayed
  - Gdsamp on 01/11/2023 - 20:51
    
    +2
    
    looks like its 2x8GB SODIMM, definitely within your capacity to upgrade after
    - linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 22:37
      
      This one seems to hit most of what I want, and is upgradable later if I need
      
      I’m 99% certain I won’t get exactly what I want within the budget, but I need to upgrade sooner rather than later unfortunately
      - Gdsamp on 01/11/2023 - 22:46
        
        @linkindan: Okay but keep in mind :
        the RAM on that one is soldered and not upgradeable
        7735HS processor is Zen 3 compared to Zen 4 7840HS of the legion, plus you get dedicated GPU with legion.
        that model is cheaper right now on Lenovo website
        
        linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 22:52
        
        @Gdsamp: There’s a couple of differences between them, which means JB wouldn’t price beat, but they are close enough to compare
        
        Didn’t actually notice the soldered RAM, that’s annoying.
        I don’t need anything for serious gaming (I’d be interested in playing GTA IV or V, but I won’t lose sleep over it), but processing large files and streaming videos etc is important - also being able to plug in my iPhone and have it seen by the computer (hence what pushed me over the edge today)
        
        Gdsamp on 01/11/2023 - 22:55
        
        @linkindan: also that Lenovo one includes 3yrs of On-site warranty, can add an extra year for 109$ & and 3yr sealed battery replacement for $26 when adding to cart. definitely worth it, have used lenovo on-site warranty a couple of times and they're fairly prompt.
        
        linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 22:56
        
        @Gdsamp: A couple of times within 3 years sounds concerning, what were the issues?
        
        Gdsamp on 01/11/2023 - 23:00
        
        @linkindan: ive an x395 from 2019
        
        1st, broke my keyboard (actually my fault) and had that replaced under warranty (early last yr)
        
        2nd time (was this year) i think was due to using laptop primarily plugged into dock with lid closed, caused the display to not work (flickering blank white image even when off, draining the battery). they replaced the motherboard. im guessing heat killed it, have since been using it on a laptop stand with no issues.
        
        if I had the $$$ and reason to upgrade i really like the look of the Z13 laptops, the new 13in now has a 2.8k OLED option
        
        linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 23:03
        
        @Gdsamp: Ok well that actually seems like reasonable faults aha
        
        Was there much in the way of bloatware etc when you bought it?
        
        Gdsamp on 01/11/2023 - 23:04
        
        @linkindan: Nah, just the lenovo vantage software which is relatively unintrusive. has useful feature that stops battery charging at a percentage you can set, handy for my use case (plugged into dock)
        
        linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 23:20
        
        +1
        
        @Gdsamp: Well I can deal with that if I need to - unlike their M10 tablet which was crammed with every useless thing under the sun
        
        I’ll probably go with the Legion, see what extra discounts I can dig up with gift cards or cashback
        
        Thanks for the help
solidussnake on 01/11/2023 - 20:39

Considered a second hand Dell XPS 15 10th gen and above ?? has pretty much everything including a 15" OLED screen 512/1tb SSD storage and 16GB min.
- linkindan on 01/11/2023 - 22:38
  
  I haven’t had good experiences with Dell or second hand laptops, so I can’t see myself getting a second hand Dell
- linkindan on 03/11/2023 - 11:50
  
  I’ll be honest, I don’t know why I said 16GB RAM - I really want 32 or 64, or at least the option to upgrade to 64
  
  Otherwise, yes this is pretty decent for the price
  
  Also looking at this which is more expensive, but arguably better than the other options - I have a bad habit of saying “Yep, that’s good” and not looking any further, so I’m trying to keep my options open for as long as possible aha

Need a Laptop - Budget under $2k

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