Laptop for General Use (Non-Lenovo) - Budget $1,300

L91245 on 05/12/2023 - 14:57
Last edited 06/12/2023 - 11:46 by 2 other users

Hi all, I am a confused noob looking for suggestions for a laptop with a budget of up to $1,300.

I have been looking at the deals over Black Friday and none seemed to stand out. Not necessarily after a mega-bargain, just don't want to get an outdated / slow system.

Uses:

  • Main use will be general WFH office work and browsing the internet (up to 20+ tabs open)
  • Minimum 16gb ram seems to be the suggestion from what I have read
  • 90% of time plugged into power outlet, lid closed, plugged into to dual monitors 24" at home, so screen doesn't matter too much
  • Light gaming if possible (if I start heavy gaming I will purchase desktop down the track)
  • Not a Lenovo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo#Security_and_privacy_in…)
  • Confused about thunderbolt and if it's a necessity for future proofing laptop?

Thanks in advance.

Computing Computer Laptop

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 05/12/2023 - 15:05

    90% of time plugged into power outlet, lid closed, plugged into to dual monitors 24" at home, so screen doesn't matter too much
    - Light gaming if possible (if I start heavy gaming I will purchase desktop down the track)

    So plugged in most of the time. Battery life not a concern. Weight and portability not an issue either. You want more GPU horsepower and upgradable RAM.

    You might be looking for a gaming laptop? Sounds like a Nitro 5 or Gigabyte G5 might be your kind of thing.

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/acer-nitro-an515
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/gigabyte-g5-mf
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/dell-g15-5525

  • geekcohen on 05/12/2023 - 15:13

    Not a Lenovo

    I applaud this. Had a number of Lenovos have WiFi Card Failures as well.

    • bobokingdom on 05/12/2023 - 15:17
      +1

      non-intel Wifi Card?

      • geekcohen on 05/12/2023 - 15:20
        -1

        Not 100% sure, different models, no all the same model and over a two year period with different retailers.

        • bobokingdom on 05/12/2023 - 15:23
          +1

          I just wonder whether it is Lenovo issues or the WiFi card manufacturers. To me, Lenovo has reasonable built quality at particular price point especially the ThinkPad series (even the cheapest E series are quite good). The screen may not be the best but ThinkPad has long support cycle.

          • scrimshaw on 05/12/2023 - 16:58

            @bobokingdom: Lenovo wifi cards are either Realtek (budget and crappy) or Intel. Thankfully they tend to avoid using the crappy realtek cards in their higher end business grade laptops.

            I have a Realtek one in my ThinkPad E570p (Skylake generation) which is pretty horrible.

  • Mechz on 05/12/2023 - 15:20
    +8

    You think citing security issues from the middle of last decade and before is really relevant?

    Dell and HP were doing things just as bad.

    • 91245 on 06/12/2023 - 11:09

      Thanks for your reply. Those are fair points you raise, something for me to consider regarding the other companies.

      I realise you can never be 100% secure. Per the Lenovo Wikipedia I linked, an issue from 2008 seemed to only be reported in 2021 (by Bloomberg Business).

      I just wanted to add that Lenovo is a Chinese company and hence effectively owned by the government.

      • rumblytangara on 06/12/2023 - 12:09
        +1

        Per the Lenovo Wikipedia I linked, an issue from 2008 seemed to only be reported in 2021 (by Bloomberg Business).

        I remember that story, and it was reported many years before 2021. It was about allegations that Supermicro motherboards typically used in servers had unauthorised chips installed on them- big story at the time, but iirc it never went anywhere and for something that should have been impossible to refute, nothing was ever proved. It was like someone invented a rumour to make waves (which it did) and then after a month or two the story just died out for lack of followup evidence.

        The Superfish thing was much more real and it applied to the non-Thinkpad Lenovo laptops. It was done for ad revenue (true, it could have been more nefarious, but I think that Occam's Razor applies here).

        Thing is though, worrying about a decades old security hoax, or real problems from five to seven years ago is pointless. Lenovo, HP, Dell, you name it. There are security researchers looking at their products all the time- if anything exists as a problem, it'll make news a lot sooner than that. And the most likely source of problems isn't with the hardware manufacturer, it's with OS vulnerabilities or user behaviour.

        No manufacturer is perfect, but I don't recall other laptop manufacturers ever doing anything as bad as Superfish though. That's basically factory-installed BIOS level malware.

        • Mechz on 06/12/2023 - 12:36
          +1

          Sony's rootkit was possibly worse.

  • erasimos on 05/12/2023 - 15:54

    Thunderbolt / USB 4 is a universal docking standard. If you buy a Thunderbolt 4 dock with all the outputs you need docking is a one cable affair. Gaming machines need beefy power supplies and generally skimp out on thunderbolt at that price range.

    A certified Thunderbolt 3/4 dock generally goes for about 300 to 400 dollars but can pick them up refurbished or use non certified like this https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/816173.

    Most intels will have thunderbolt but AMD would be lucky to find a usb 4 as they sell a lot of processors that aren't capable.

    Also ram is likely soldered in so get as much as you think you will need at the start.

  • rumblytangara on 05/12/2023 - 17:29
    +2

    90% of time plugged into power outlet, lid closed, plugged into to dual monitors 24" at home, so screen doesn't matter too much

    Is portability really that important, or could you just get a secondhand micro sized computer, load it up to 16GB RAM, and use that instead? There's one for $200 on the deals pages right now- 6 core, 8th Gen Intel CPU.

  • this is us on 05/12/2023 - 19:42
    -3

    Probably good to read this if you are worried about breaches and security:

    https://www.tomshardware.com/news/laptops-security-vulnerabi…

    • CrispyChrispy on 05/12/2023 - 22:24
      +1

      That article is nearly 7 years old?

      Don't go clicking dodgy links, don't fiddle with Windows Security, use your common sense and you'll be fine.

      • this is us on 05/12/2023 - 23:03

        The Lenovo Superfish fiasco mentioned by OPs link was 8 years ago. If they are worried about security, there is a list of similar fiascos that they might want to consider.

        If companies install BIOS bloatware that affect security, you can do everything right and still be in trouble. It's not only about opening partypics.exe

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