Robochan Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 My 2010 era core 2 duo Lenovo is showing its age and I’m looking for something to browse the web, text docs, view CAD files, video, tune cars, etc on. No gaming or rendering though. Durability and battery life are more of a concern. The Lenovo 14” X1 yoga and the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 have caught my eye. I7, 16gb ram they both are around $1400. Does anyone have any feedback on 2 in 1 style is worth it or any other recommendations? I was hoping to be under 1000 but don’t want to buy junk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrodh Posted January 2, 2020 Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 If you've been using the same laptop for almost a decade if I was you I'd just jump up how often I replace my laptop and spend less. Buy a more budget friendly one for $500 or so and replace it in 2-4 years or so. You will get so much more bang for your buck, and really based on what you are using it for you won't see much if any noticeable loss in performance from spending $500-$1000 more. If you where doing rendering higher end gaming, etc. then you would require the $1000+ We just got a Lenovo 15.6" 330 series for like $350 on sale. Wife couldn't be happier and she does basically the same things browsing, videos, some light duty work on it. This $350 will blow your 10 year old laptop out of the water certainly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted January 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2020 My 10 year old one is a higher end unit and was built well. Has taken some abuse. What draws me to the ones listed are the CNC aluminum body and nice keyboards that don’t flex. I fear the plastic 500 laptops will die quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerrodh Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Yeah I get you with the aluminum body and such I was just speaking from a performance standpoint the $300-$500 laptops are going to be insanely better than what you've been looking at. Also I wouldn't get to hung up on 16gigs of ram either. I have 16gigs on my desktop. I was streaming 2 videos, playing a new release game and downloading another with multiple instances of google going just to see what my performance would do and I didn't even use 8gigs doing all that. I don't have direct experience with any of the aluminum body current laptops but there are plenty out there for under $1000 just maybe not with 16 gigs of ram etc. But I don't think you need that for what you are doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojoe Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 I'm no computer guru. In 2017, I feel I was looking for the same thing you posted. I'm no fan of a particular make, but function and competitive specs were a focus. I went with this one in 2017 and would do it again. https://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Advance-HP-Spectre-15-CH011DX/dp/B07F963B49/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1ACW3H151X4CL&keywords=hp+spectre+x360+15&qid=1578011418&sprefix=hp+spectre%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfunnyryan Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Ability Affordability Portability pick two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokin5s Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 sent you a PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 I think the sweet spot it usually around a grand. Just over 3 years ago I picked up some ACER "gaming-type" laptop and it has been my primary work machine since then. I do CADD on it 8-10 hours a day and it has really been good even with 3D stuff. https://www.amazon.com/Acer-VN7-592G-71ZL-15-6-inch-Notebook-Windows/dp/B015XBKY6U Not sure how it would compare to whats out there now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pat Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Depending on the complexity of the models you are looking at and the CAD software you are using, for the most part CAD isn't that demanding in 2019. Most potato GPU's can do it just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergwheel1647545492 Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 Depending on the complexity of the models you are looking at and the CAD software you are using, for the most part CAD isn't that demanding in 2020. Most potato GPU's can do it just fine. FTFY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pat Posted January 3, 2020 Report Share Posted January 3, 2020 FTFY The New Years curse claims another victim. My deepest apologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furloaf Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Depending on the complexity of the models you are looking at and the CAD software you are using, for the most part CAD isn't that demanding in 2019. Most potato GPU's can do it just fine. Not sure about that. I have an HP Elitebook from work and CAD lags a bit on it. It's an I7 with no discrete GPU. Any laptop with a modern discrete GPU will probably do okay however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rally Pat Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Not sure about that. I have an HP Elitebook from work and CAD lags a bit on it. It's an I7 with no discrete GPU. Any laptop with a modern discrete GPU will probably do okay however. How old is it? What generation of i7? Before AMD's ass raping of Intel the last couple years, most of the enterprise grade i7's were only dual core with hyper threading and low end onboard GPU's to match. I fought this battle with out of touch boomer IT management for a long time. They were always like "But its an i7, thats plenty for _______ !", not realizing or not caring that when it comes to mobile CPU's, the name means literally nothing as there were like a dozen SKU's for every generation. Shouldn't be as much of an issue with something manufactured after the AMD curb stomping, but for sure any level discrete GPU would do marvelous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furloaf Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 How old is it? What generation of i7? Before AMD's ass raping of Intel the last couple years, most of the enterprise grade i7's were only dual core with hyper threading and low end onboard GPU's to match. I fought this battle with out of touch boomer IT management for a long time. They were always like "But its an i7, thats plenty for _______ !", not realizing or not caring that when it comes to mobile CPU's, the name means literally nothing as there were like a dozen SKU's for every generation. Shouldn't be as much of an issue with something manufactured after the AMD curb stomping, but for sure any level discrete GPU would do marvelous. 6600U with 520HD. Sounds like we have the same IT department... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted January 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Probably going to pick up a C940 Yoga today. Reading Iris is a big improvement over older integrated graphics. The OLED on the HP spectre looks amazing but the Lenovo seems slightly better built and 1080 is probably just fine for a 14”. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unfunnyryan Posted January 4, 2020 Report Share Posted January 4, 2020 Probably going to pick up a C940 Yoga today. Reading Iris is a big improvement over older integrated graphics. The OLED on the HP spectre looks amazing but the Lenovo seems slightly better built and 1080 is probably just fine for a 14”. I have experience with both of these machines of previous generations. They're both good decisions. I have a spectre (not the x360, the ultrathin one) that has held up very well over the past 3 years. My dad and brother have yogas that are decent, I just wish they had USB-C charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted January 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2020 I have experience with both of these machines of previous generations. They're both good decisions. I have a spectre (not the x360, the ultrathin one) that has held up very well over the past 3 years. My dad and brother have yogas that are decent, I just wish they had USB-C charging. The one I just got does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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