pjm1
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- 4,155
- Name
- Paul
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Ok, I'm needing* a new work** laptop and looking for a recommendation or three...
* needing is probably overstating, but I would like one and if I don't get one soon I'm going to bust either my work briefcase or my shoulder...
** work is quite loosely defined: I want a new laptop, I will be buying it through my business and I will technically be using it for work. Sometimes.
As my portable carry-around I currently have a heavy, clunky, slow and cheap 15" HP laptop with a horrible TN screen. I fancy something smaller, much lighter with a better screen, faster processer and which looks/feels like a premium product rather than bargain basement. Weight is important as I do carry it around in my briefcase and the current laptop is in danger of destroying said briefcase (which is a false economy since the briefcase cost more than a decent laptop!) It is this reason I'd rather compromise on screen estate and go for a 13".
I have never used a Mac and I don't particularly want to start... more importantly, I don't want to start the whole Mac vs PC war thing, so let's just assume I'm going to buy a PC and nip that right in the bud.
The current top of the list is an Asus Zenbook UX301LA which seems to be about £1,400. It's probably a touch more than I really wanted to spend, but it does look quite lovely and the reviews are favourable. I also looked at the Yoga 2 Pro, but that doesn't seem to get as good a write-up and I'm not really fussed by the whole twisting screen thing. There seem to be a few other 13" laptops around with IPS screens, but as a novice I don't really know which ones have better screens than the others. Budget is £1-1.5k give or take, I'd prefer to spend less but equally don't want to sacrifice really beneficial features for the sake of a hundred quid or two. Therein lies the slippery slope!
What do I want it for? Well, work (technically), which means Word, Excel, Outlook and surfing. Also for non-work, so LR and PS but not to be used as the main processing computer - all of that (and day-to-day work much of the time) is done on my desktop which is reasonably powerful with a decent sized standalone monitor. It's really just if I'm out and about and want to download images - e.g. when I'm on holiday or perhaps away for a couple of days at a time. Basically, this is just a backup computer which I'll have with me when I'm not at home/in the office. I probably use it 10-20% of the time, the other 80-90% is reverting to my desktop.
It is probably a bit OTT getting a really high spec laptop, but it seems a false economy to spend maybe £500 getting something which looks nice but is feature-impaired... as I really do need a lighter laptop. Or would I genuinely be better off getting a Chromebook or something and saving a wedge of cash?
Any ideas?
* needing is probably overstating, but I would like one and if I don't get one soon I'm going to bust either my work briefcase or my shoulder...
** work is quite loosely defined: I want a new laptop, I will be buying it through my business and I will technically be using it for work. Sometimes.
As my portable carry-around I currently have a heavy, clunky, slow and cheap 15" HP laptop with a horrible TN screen. I fancy something smaller, much lighter with a better screen, faster processer and which looks/feels like a premium product rather than bargain basement. Weight is important as I do carry it around in my briefcase and the current laptop is in danger of destroying said briefcase (which is a false economy since the briefcase cost more than a decent laptop!) It is this reason I'd rather compromise on screen estate and go for a 13".
I have never used a Mac and I don't particularly want to start... more importantly, I don't want to start the whole Mac vs PC war thing, so let's just assume I'm going to buy a PC and nip that right in the bud.
The current top of the list is an Asus Zenbook UX301LA which seems to be about £1,400. It's probably a touch more than I really wanted to spend, but it does look quite lovely and the reviews are favourable. I also looked at the Yoga 2 Pro, but that doesn't seem to get as good a write-up and I'm not really fussed by the whole twisting screen thing. There seem to be a few other 13" laptops around with IPS screens, but as a novice I don't really know which ones have better screens than the others. Budget is £1-1.5k give or take, I'd prefer to spend less but equally don't want to sacrifice really beneficial features for the sake of a hundred quid or two. Therein lies the slippery slope!
What do I want it for? Well, work (technically), which means Word, Excel, Outlook and surfing. Also for non-work, so LR and PS but not to be used as the main processing computer - all of that (and day-to-day work much of the time) is done on my desktop which is reasonably powerful with a decent sized standalone monitor. It's really just if I'm out and about and want to download images - e.g. when I'm on holiday or perhaps away for a couple of days at a time. Basically, this is just a backup computer which I'll have with me when I'm not at home/in the office. I probably use it 10-20% of the time, the other 80-90% is reverting to my desktop.
It is probably a bit OTT getting a really high spec laptop, but it seems a false economy to spend maybe £500 getting something which looks nice but is feature-impaired... as I really do need a lighter laptop. Or would I genuinely be better off getting a Chromebook or something and saving a wedge of cash?
Any ideas?
