Need recommendation on replacement laptop

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HaxNobody

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I've got a few specific features that I need, but they aren't usually the sort of things that you can 'filter by' when searching manufacturers' websites for new machines. I'm replacing an awesome Asus UX32VD ultrabook because it has one main bad problem - the charge port has gone bad for the second time and I don't want to fix it again. It's still super fast and nice to use otherwise.

So I want a 13-14 inch laptop to replace it. I need a durable charge port since that's what failed on the previous machine (light usage too, I might add). Here's a list of features that I want.

Must Have:
  • Full-size SD card slot.
  • Durable charge port (I notice a lot use USB-C now - will it continue to work for many years?)
  • Minimum 10GB RAM since that's what I have currently and it works.
  • Quad-core processor (8th-gen i7).
  • At least one USB-C port.
  • Headphone jack.
  • Minimum 1920x1080 resolution.
  • M.2 SSD (512GB-1TB)

Must NOT Have:
  • Detachable screen (Too top-heavy).

Optional nice-to-have features:
  • Backlit keyboard.
  • Removable battery.
  • Ethernet jack.
  • Matte screen (probably not an option for touchscreens)
  • Greater than 1920x1080 resolution.
  • Discrete graphics.
  • Fingerprint reader.
  • Docking station capability.
  • HDMI and/or DisplayPort output.
  • Physical trackpad buttons for left AND right.
Hopefully someone here has a few suitable suggestions to fit these specs - please let me know! I don't particularly hate any manufacturers, but I do want something that will last many years like my old laptop has.
 
Well, there are quite a few options, but if you want something similar to what you had, there are successing Asus models or equivalent: Asus UX331UN, Acer Swift 3 (latest model, with MX150, there are several variants) and perhaps the Lenovo 720s 14 - link (not sure, no in-depth reviews)

The probkem with the UX331UN is the keyboard, judging by reviews, the acer has an IPS display, but not a very good one

Check some more options here
 
junky said:
Well, there are quite a few options, but if you want something similar to what you had, there are successing Asus models or equivalent: Asus UX331UN, Acer Swift 3 (latest model, with MX150, there are several variants) and perhaps the Lenovo 720s 14 - link (not sure, no in-depth reviews)

The probkem with the UX331UN is the keyboard, judging by reviews, the acer has an IPS display, but not a very good one

Check some more options here
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not trying to stick to a particular budget like under $1k or whatever. The UX331UN appears to have the same terrible power connector that I'm trying to avoid from my current laptop. Same with some of the others. Is USB-C durable enough for this? I see many laptops are now using it as a charging connector. Will it last?
 
I've decided on an HP EliteBook 830 G5. The main limitation is that it does not have an SD card slot, but I guess I can live with using an adapter for that. It has a barrel charge port, however it is also able to charge via USB-C, which gives me 2 options in case one breaks. It has pretty much everything else that I want - backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, bright (400 nits) FHD screen, replaceable RAM and M.2 SSD slot, and a proper ethernet port which my current laptop doesn't even have. It even has Bluetooth 4.2, whereas most others seem to be on 4.1.

I'm going to buy it with a base ram and ssd config, and upgrade it myself to save a few bucks. Probably not going to get WWAN.
 
HaxNobody said:
I've decided on an HP EliteBook 830 G5. The main limitation is that it does not have an SD card slot, but I guess I can live with using an adapter for that. It has a barrel charge port, however it is also able to charge via USB-C, which gives me 2 options in case one breaks. It has pretty much everything else that I want - backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, bright (400 nits) FHD screen, replaceable RAM and M.2 SSD slot, and a proper ethernet port which my current laptop doesn't even have. It even has Bluetooth 4.2, whereas most others seem to be on 4.1.

I'm going to buy it with a base ram and ssd config, and upgrade it myself to save a few bucks. Probably not going to get WWAN.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't see your message.

If you are going for a model without a dGPU, I think you might want to consider the Dell e7490 - I like the E74XX quite a lot. And you'll also get TB3 port
 
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