Recommend a general all purpose desktop replacement laptop (15-17")?

Shadowprice

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Hello,

I've been out of the loop for quite awhile with laptops. I've done plenty of research but just looking to also get some word of mouth as well. I'm looking for a good general all purpose laptop. This will mostly serve as a desktop replacement laptop, I generally never travel with it save for a couple times a year if that, so weight isn't as issue. I do like moving it around occasionally to the kitchen or living room, but once again, portability is not an issue. It mostly stays on my desk in my bedroom 80% of the time.

The thing is, my needs aren't necessarily high. It's just for general web browsing and doing my usual office suite work and photo organizing, basically it houses my life in terms of all my data and information. I do watch a lot of videos and movies on my computer. Youtube/Netflix/TV all in high order.

I don't really game much, if I do it's old titles that aren't very demanding.

The thing is I really want high build quality because I keep my laptops for a long time. My current is a MacBook Pro Retina 2012 (the very first one they made). But it's getting long in the tooth and the touchpad doesn't work. Honestly if I could just get the touchpad fixed maybe I could still use it.. but it's considered vintage now by Apple and the model itself is going to be 8 years old.

So I really value build quality and a high quality screen. I don't want a touch screen and I don't need 4K or anything, just something good for watching movies.

I don't really have a set budget honestly. I've been looking at things like the Acer Aspire 5 all the way to the MacBook Pro 16" that came out a couple months ago. I also checked out the Dell XPS 15 and that looks very appealing as well, but I've read reviews that it can have some assorted problems like freezing and other little bugs and glitches which is making me reluctant.

I don't really want a "gaming" laptop either because I don't game enough to really take advantage of it. I also like laptops that are reasonably quiet and don't have loud fans.

Any suggestions?
 
If you don't have high needs you should just fix your MacBook and keep it. It's still a very capable machine. Vintage it's a very subjective word in this case, if it works for you, then it's irrelevant.
 
I would look into the newer HP Spectre x360 coming out. Very stylish, good solid build, good battery and solid performance.
 
Hello,

I've been out of the loop for quite awhile with laptops. I've done plenty of research but just looking to also get some word of mouth as well. I'm looking for a good general all purpose laptop. This will mostly serve as a desktop replacement laptop, I generally never travel with it save for a couple times a year if that, so weight isn't as issue. I do like moving it around occasionally to the kitchen or living room, but once again, portability is not an issue. It mostly stays on my desk in my bedroom 80% of the time.

The thing is, my needs aren't necessarily high. It's just for general web browsing and doing my usual office suite work and photo organizing, basically it houses my life in terms of all my data and information. I do watch a lot of videos and movies on my computer. Youtube/Netflix/TV all in high order.

I don't really game much, if I do it's old titles that aren't very demanding.

The thing is I really want high build quality because I keep my laptops for a long time. My current is a MacBook Pro Retina 2012 (the very first one they made). But it's getting long in the tooth and the touchpad doesn't work. Honestly if I could just get the touchpad fixed maybe I could still use it.. but it's considered vintage now by Apple and the model itself is going to be 8 years old.

So I really value build quality and a high quality screen. I don't want a touch screen and I don't need 4K or anything, just something good for watching movies.

I don't really have a set budget honestly. I've been looking at things like the Acer Aspire 5 all the way to the MacBook Pro 16" that came out a couple months ago. I also checked out the Dell XPS 15 and that looks very appealing as well, but I've read reviews that it can have some assorted problems like freezing and other little bugs and glitches which is making me reluctant.

I don't really want a "gaming" laptop either because I don't game enough to really take advantage of it. I also like laptops that are reasonably quiet and don't have loud fans.

Any suggestions?

I'd be very tempted to get a 16-inch MacBook Pro. It'll provide a familiar experience, good build quality and a great screen. It's overkill for your tasks, but you'll probably be using it for several years where that's less likely for many of the alternatives. And yeah, I'm a bit leery of the build quality at Windows PC vendors as of late... Dell in particular seems to be having a rash of problems, even for XPS systems that are supposed to be a cut above. Not that Apple never has problems (just ask anyone who bought one of the butterfly keyboard MacBooks), but when it gets the design right, it's pretty damn good.

If you do get one, you can likely stick to the base model unless you really think you'll need more storage or RAM (probably not).
 
I'd be very tempted to get a 16-inch MacBook Pro. It'll provide a familiar experience, good build quality and a great screen. It's overkill for your tasks, but you'll probably be using it for several years where that's less likely for many of the alternatives. And yeah, I'm a bit leery of the build quality at Windows PC vendors as of late... Dell in particular seems to be having a rash of problems, even for XPS systems that are supposed to be a cut above. Not that Apple never has problems (just ask anyone who bought one of the butterfly keyboard MacBooks), but when it gets the design right, it's pretty damn good.

If you do get one, you can likely stick to the base model unless you really think you'll need more storage or RAM (probably not).

The new Surface Laptop's are amazing when it comes to build quality, Razer's laptops as well. If you're willing to pay the amount of a macbook there are good windows options.
 
The new Surface Laptop's are amazing when it comes to build quality, Razer's laptops as well. If you're willing to pay the amount of a macbook there are good windows options.

I'd put those on the short list, but they do have their caveats. First, the Surface Laptop isn't a high-performance machine. Admittedly you don't need high performance for what the OP is doing, but if you want absolute longevity, that's something to consider. And Razer is definitely oriented more at gamers than general-purpose use. I've also heard iffy things about Razer's aftermarket support, although I've also heard that may have changed in the past year or so.
 
13" or 14" Latitude, refurbished straight from Dell with a warranty if you're price sensitive, and then get a dock for its 'home' to make portability easy.
 
I'd put those on the short list, but they do have their caveats. First, the Surface Laptop isn't a high-performance machine. Admittedly you don't need high performance for what the OP is doing, but if you want absolute longevity, that's something to consider. And Razer is definitely oriented more at gamers than general-purpose use. I've also heard iffy things about Razer's aftermarket support, although I've also heard that may have changed in the past year or so.

surface book is more high performance, surface laptop is more about the 13 macpro level.

razer is pretty good with their laptops, they are shit with their peripherals. the build quality is macbook pro level and with quadro/oled options pretty solid.
 
The XPS line from Dell is great. I've had a few of the 13"s over the years. I'd guess the 15s are same quality just bigger. Since you are not gaming, they would be a great fit. The other I would recommend is the Lenovo X carbon, same ballpark quality-wise as the XPS from Dell (if not even better). I decided to go the gaming route, so ended up going Aero 15 from Gigabyte for toting around (and a Razer Pro 17 in my living room for DTR <- great build quality as well but heavy due to all the metal vs the plastic in all the others).
 
HP ZBook 15 G6 or ZBook 17 G6. 5 drive bays in the 17 inch model for all of your storage. The computers have Dreamcolor options which are arguably some of the best screens in laptops. Mil spec build quality and come standard with 3 years business on-site technical support warranty.
 
Same boat here....debating if 4K and scaling (I'd be using windows 10 64 pro) vs FHD. Looking at 14-15"...I have a 17" Envy that is just too big to carry around daily when I have to work in a tight situation (or airplane).

Was shopping Carbon X1 (extreme looks interesting too) and the XPS15. Not sure if I really need discrete GPU but I currently have a GTX850M in my older Envy with a 5500U processor.

My laptop is my life in a way so budget is open, but I don't want to just spend to spend on 'bling'. I want a nice fit and finish, good screen, backlit keyboard, NVMe would be nice with a data drive (Using 220GB on my OS and 918GB on my data).
 
I haven't checked lately but 4k with scaling in windows has never worked well for me. The deal breaker though would be what apps are you using and do they scale well. I've heard Adobe apps don't (tiny menus) so that would be one case. If you are using MS office (like me) those usually work well with less issues.
 
For me I am using all sorts of apps from photoshop to office to secure crt and more. Network Engineer/programmer/etc.

I really don't game much anymore though, but I wouldn't mind firing up Left For Dead, Killing Floor or COD/etc once in a whle.
 
Still not sure what to do....X1 Carbon and call it a day or dig deeper into a P1/P53 or Zbook workstation....i do like to game, but it's extremely rare.
 
I'll say that it has improved enough to be useful, including with Adobe apps- however, I'd also recommend checking the apps used most before committing.
 
I've got a vote here for the X1 carbon... I've had 2nd gen since late 2013 and it's still going strong. I kind of want a convertible now but I can't justify $1400 on a XPS 13 2-in-1 because the X1 Carbon is still humming along.
 
You can try fixing it yourself if you feel confident in taking the Macbook Pro apart. ifixit has some tutorial walk through and you can purchase the parts from them for decent price. If you're SoCal I can fix it for you for free if you purchase the parts.
 
Picked up a mint P52 with 110 days of warranty left. 8850H/32GB/4K....came with 500GB, but I swapped to 2x2TB SX8200 Pro NVMe. Running 0.140 undervolt and its quiet.
 
Same boat here....debating if 4K and scaling (I'd be using windows 10 64 pro) vs FHD. Looking at 14-15"...I have a 17" Envy that is just too big to carry around daily when I have to work in a tight situation (or airplane).

Was shopping Carbon X1 (extreme looks interesting too) and the XPS15. Not sure if I really need discrete GPU but I currently have a GTX850M in my older Envy with a 5500U processor.

My laptop is my life in a way so budget is open, but I don't want to just spend to spend on 'bling'. I want a nice fit and finish, good screen, backlit keyboard, NVMe would be nice with a data drive (Using 220GB on my OS and 918GB on my data).

I was thinking for the OP and you the best one would be the new HP Envy 17 inch, its way lighter than the previous versions.
Also the LG Gram looks like a solid candidate.
 
I was thinking for the OP and you the best one would be the new HP Envy 17 inch, its way lighter than the previous versions.
Also the LG Gram looks like a solid candidate.

I have a 17" Envy the form factor is a PITA to use anywhere that has limited space, esp airplanes.
 
These three are the ones that I recommend:
The best HP laptops you can buy today
  • HP Elite Dragonfly.
  • HP Spectre Folio.
  • HP Spectre x360 (15-inch, OLED)
 
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