Laptop Recommendations

[Col&Ali]

I know this question crops up frequently but I have a few requests on behalf of DD who is one year into teaching and her Lenovo which she used at Uni is packing up.

She would like a laptop which is:

Fast
Responsive
Light in weight
Microsoft Office
Large memory
Quick to open Adobe docs
Good camera
Heavy usage

We would welcome suggestions and recommendations please

[ROBBOTOO]

We at home recently got an HP pavilion and it looked great. But the clickpad is awful! Can’t control it even changing the settings! I can’t stand it.

Work then changed my work laptop to an HP probook! Different clickpad driver to my home laptop but just as bad!

The clickpad is awful on both! No control! Jumps all over the place! Can’t use either! Can’t stand either!

[Dinglebert]

Son number 2 got an Acer Swift 3 earlier this year. It meets all your requirements.

However there are many, many different versions of the Acer Swift 3! We wend for a SSD drive with as much ram as possible. You can always get more memory by using usb drives.

These can look expensive compared to others. In particular I would ignore the Acer Aspire. We got ours direct from Acer who do sometimes have good offers on.

Just checked Acer site and they definately do not have good offers on the Swift 3. Twice what we paid.

[smithlane]

Whatever you do don't get a HP - Model 15-bs162sa. Worst laptop I've ever owned, it's been back to the shop twice now to be sorted. It freezes constantly and is ridiculously slow, I'll never get another one. Looking at the Apple Macbooks even though the prices are eye watering!

[400ixl]

Is it mainly for graphical work?

If so, one of the few times a MacBook could be the right answer.

Otherwise maybe look at something like Alienware fro Dell, but that may be a bit heavy. If so, then something with a 10th gen i7 processor, a minimum of 8gb ram (16 if you can) and an SSD drive.

Something from Dell, HP or Lenovo. I wouldn't go with Acer, Samsung or any of the tier 2 providers if you want something in the higher range.

If portability are the main criteria the an HP Pro X2 or a Microsoft Surface Tab would be an option.

[the_weird_one]

Any idea as to budget?

For outright graphic horsepower Macbook Pro 16" or Microsoft Surface Book 3

For good price to performance but without dedicated graphics cards the Macbook Pro 13" but one with the 10th Generation Intel Processors or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3

I've had Dell's/HP's/Lenovo's/Toshiba's in the past and never been as happy with those than either my current Macbook or partners Surface devices

[Kenwood]

A good place to look is the Dell Outlet. Some of the laptops on there are very good value for money.

They are made up of cancelled orders, returned orders or slightly marked.

I ordered one each for my son & daughter a couple of years ago for between £400-£500. They are both still going strong.
They arrived in virtually perfect condition, one had a very slight mark on the case which was hardly noticeable.

You can specify what you need in the filtered options, ie. screen resolution, SSD Drive, memory size, dedicated graphics.

Here’s the link:
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=7&c=uk&cs=ukdfh1&l=en &s=dfh&~ck=mn

[Col&Ali]

Originally Posted by the_weird_one

Any idea as to budget?

For outright graphic horsepower Macbook Pro 16" or Microsoft Surface Book 3

For good price to performance but without dedicated graphics cards the Macbook Pro 13" but one with the 10th Generation Intel Processors or the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3

I've had Dell's/HP's/Lenovo's/Toshiba's in the past and never been as happy with those than either my current Macbook or partners Surface devices

See more...

Ideally she doesn’t want to spend too much but is starting to realise that to future proof she will have to spend more.

MacBook and Surface laptops seem to be favoured amongst teacher colleagues but are expensive!

Are they lightweight?

I’m afraid I’m not sure what graphics are needed - what type of work would need a higher class of graphics?

[holidaysaver75]

We moved to a MacBook and it’s weathering far better than Windows laptops we’ve had. 18 months in and it’s as responsive as when we bought it. It was expensive, but I think it’s been worth it.

[the_weird_one]

Originally Posted by Col&Ali

Ideally she doesn’t want to spend too much but is starting to realise that to future proof she will have to spend more.

MacBook and Surface laptops seem to be favoured amongst teacher colleagues but are expensive!

Are they lightweight?

I’m afraid I’m not sure what graphics are needed - what type of work would need a higher class of graphics?

See more...

The 13" Macbook Pro I use is 1.4kg in weight, with the Surface Laptop my partner uses coming in at between 1.265kg and 1.542kg depending on the finish.

The Macbook side by side to the Surface Laptop is noticeably heavier but without the direct same time comparison you wouldn't say the Macbook is heavy.

Both are lighter than the previous laptops I've had and significantly lighter than some of the lenses for my camera.

The Surface Laptop has a few features that make it's hardware potentially better than the Macbook range. It has standard a standard USB ports as well as Type C and a touch screen which can use the Surface Pen.

Where as Macbooks are USB Type C only and no touch screen.

With both however if it needs connecting to an external display she'll need a USB Type C to Display adapter