Wife wants a lightweight laptop/notebook

November 17, 2018, 08:19 AM

0-0

Today we are a month short of our 5th wedding anniversary and the spousal unit has been sending multiple signals of requiring a portable machine.

Practical specs are very lightweight, 8GB RAM and upwards upgradeable, SSD and 15' display.
She will use it for simple spreadsheets, web surfing and one govmt tax program still computer based and W7 friendly. Not sure about full W10 compatibility but not a deal breaker.

Will need a few options so I can search locally for availability and reasonable pricing. Started locally and they told me 3 grand just for mentioning lightweight...

Thanks.

0-0

November 17, 2018, 08:37 AM

NavyGuy

Dell XPS is a good choice. I have the XPS in 13 and really like it.

Well south of 3K
https://www.dell.com/en-us/sho...3=154704492038914486

November 17, 2018, 08:50 AM

mcrimm

You should find some killer deals in the next week.

I had a couple of Dell XPS laptops and they performed well. I recently moved to a MacBook Pro. While these are pricey machines, I really really like it. I can run any windows program under Parallels yet integrate with my iPhone and iPad and Watch.
Mike

November 17, 2018, 08:53 AM

RHINOWSO

My son has an XPS 13 and loves it, the rest of us have MacBook Pros. A friend has a MacBook Air.

All are great, lightweight options.

November 17, 2018, 08:58 AM

V-Tail

quote:
Originally posted by NavyGuy:
Dell XPS is a good choice. I have the XPS in 13 and really like it.

Well south of 3K

0-0 is in Argentina. I would not be surprised if this was more than $3K.

November 17, 2018, 09:28 AM

0-0

Dell is available in Argentina. They have a minimal footprint in our consumer market and sell directly AFAIK. They target mostly the server market and is corporate oriented.

Therefore, us chickens now little to nothing about their products. But knowing where to start and having the right question might go a long distance.

NavyGuy input is gold. Thank you very much for it.

Local pricing might be a different story. But I'll go to my hardware guy with the clue and see where it leads.

0-0

November 17, 2018, 09:55 AM

reloader-1

Second the motion for the XPS 13, it’s a fantastic machine.

November 17, 2018, 09:58 AM

Aeteocles

XPS 13 or 15.

My wife and I have a pair of early 2017 models. Quality machines for sure.

November 17, 2018, 10:09 AM

KenS

Check out the offerings from Asus. They have some very nice convertible laptops with ssd drives and some impressive battery life. I have an older ux305c that runs like a champ and my wife has touch screen model ux360c that she really likes.

Ken

November 17, 2018, 10:28 AM

konata88

For my purchase, I looked at Dell XPS, Lenovo Thinkpad and MSFT Surface Pro.

I think any would have been fine. But I went w/ the Surface Pro. No complaints other than a display issue fixed under special extended warranty.

November 17, 2018, 11:15 AM

matai

I like my yoga

November 17, 2018, 11:30 AM

PASig

Do NOT buy any HP Stream series laptop. They are thin and light and look nice, but are a complete dog with Win10. They’d boot up quick but after that, it was like using a Pentium 133, SLLLLLLLOWWWWWWWWWW.

November 17, 2018, 11:36 AM

bigdeal

As already mentioned both Dell XPS and Lenovo products would be a good choice. Something to be aware of when you go super slim and light, memory is many times not user upgradeable, so make sure to order what you feel you need. My rule of thumb with ultra lights is to configure them the way I'd want them and not plan on trying to upgrade them. On the other hand, if you're willing to accept a slightly larger form factor, something like my Lenovo Thinkpad T450 14" offers a lot of positives as well as an upgrade path for most of its components.

November 17, 2018, 12:11 PM

LBTRS

quote:
Originally posted by 0-0:
Today we are a month short of our 5th wedding anniversary and the spousal unit has been sending multiple signals of requiring a portable machine.

Practical specs are very lightweight, 8GB RAM and upwards upgradeable, SSD and 15' display.
She will use it for simple spreadsheets, web surfing and one govmt tax program still computer based and W7 friendly. Not sure about full W10 compatibility but not a deal breaker.

Will need a few options so I can search locally for availability and reasonable pricing. Started locally and they told me 3 grand just for mentioning lightweight...

Thanks.

0-0

You won't need to pay anywhere near $3k for what you're looking for. Someone is feeding you a line. What you're looking for can be had for less than $500, however, I would spend a bit more to get something that will not become outdated so quickly. $800 - $1000 and you will have more than she needs.

Costco has some great laptops that are on the higher end for great prices. Just looked at them yesterday.

November 17, 2018, 03:08 PM

arfmel

^^^

0-0 is in Argentina. May not be a Costco there.

November 17, 2018, 04:07 PM

butterflyeffect

Dell has a new Laptop thats very Nice, Lightweight and all the features are amazing, it has been touted to be the thinnest laptop.

November 18, 2018, 08:07 AM

henryaz

quote:
Originally posted by butterflyeffect:
Dell has a new Laptop thats very Nice, Lightweight and all the features are amazing, it has been touted to be the thinnest laptop.

I, for one, just hate this industry movement to "thinner" laptops and other devices, like phones/tablets. Sure, they look sleek, but it gives the Li-ion battery less room to expand a bit as it warms up. There have been too many instances lately from multiple manufacturers experiencing bulged cases, or even exploding or burning batteries. What the heck does a few extra millimeters of space "cost" in terms of usability? Users gripe about not enough battery time, so they try to squeeze as much battery as they can in too little space.

November 18, 2018, 08:58 AM

SPWAMike0317

Some good recommendations already. On the Windows 7/Windows 10 side. You will be hard pressed to buy a new laptop with anything other than Windows 10.

In addition, later versions of the Intel CPU do not support Windows 7.

From

Tomshardware.com: Unfortunately, the 7th generation Kaby Lake CPUs only support Windows 10. Although, the 6th gen CPUs are good and do support windows 7 so I would recomend going to a 6th gen CPU if keeping windows 7 is a necessity. I would go for an i5 6500.

November 18, 2018, 09:42 AM

maxxpower

I have been impressed with my work issue Lenovo Thinkpad P50.

It has been on and off the docking station thousands of times without a single hiccup.

It is surprisingly light and thin for its power and the battery life is fantastic.

I'm sure there are lighter and thinner options, but the reliability factor should not be overlooked so I would give the Lenovo P series a look.