What to consider when purchasing a budget laptop?
What to consider when purchasing a budget laptop?
Edit: I just found these two laptops on Amazon.de and both sound like incredible deals, but almost in the range of "too good to be true."
Lenovo (Ryzen 5 5500U) with 20 GB RAM/1TB SSD
at 600 euro.
HP 255 G8 5B6R0ES (Ryzen 7 5700U) with 8GB RAM/512 GB SSD
at 600 euro.
They both have Windows 11 which wouldn't be my preference, but is this a deal too good to pass up?
Hi, everyone.
I'll be visiting Germany and thought I'd better pick up a laptop while there as they're often unreliable where I live.
I've been checking Saturn, MediaMarkt, and Amazon for different options as I think those are the major stores for getting tech stuff.
On Saturn I found these:
HP 15s-eq1355ng (Ryzen 5 4500U)
at 520 euro.
Acer Aspire 5 A515-56-545J (i5-1135G7)
at 600 euro.
I normally favour Acer to HP (though I can't say I have anything bad to say about my old HP Probooks), but I just can't really see that the price can be justified. I'm just wondering if there is a reason I should avoid the HP at all costs or both of them.
I also saw this on MediaMarkt:
HP 15s-eq0355ng (Ryzen 5 3500U)
at 430 euro.
My budget is somewhat flexible and what I want from the laptops is pretty flexible as well. I play games casually, do a bit of video and photo work casually too, etc.
I do like having a decent number of port options, but these days it almost seems like getting a dongle is an inevitable necessity.
I'm probably looking for a 15" laptop, but could possibly make do with 14". Either way probably 1080p.
Battery life is pretty important to me.
A webcam at 720p is also pretty important to me (Is it just me or does it seem like all Asus Vivobooks come with these awful VGA webcams?)
All the laptops above have 500GB SSDs and I think that would be a minimum for me. I do like the fact that Acers make upgrading so easy, but HP seem rather the opposite. Though I think with a 500 GB SSD, I likely won't need to upgrade the storage.
There are other options above 600 euro that are interesting, but ultimately it's easy to keep getting a bit better and a bit better until I'm looking at a laptop that's much more than I intended to pay. I'm probably looking around the 400-600 euro range and probably prefer dealing with Windows 10 than Windows 11 at this point. All of the laptops I mentioned are significantly better than what I'm coming from, so they're all upgrades to me, in their own right.
Anyway, what do you think about these laptops? I could give you a whole list of the ones I looked at, but I don't want to wear you out completely.
Two side notes:
1: What's the main benefits of the HP 255 G8s over the HP-15s, etc ?
2: How are the Intel Iris XE graphics to the Vega ones? I hear everyone raving about the Iris XE, but is that because Intel are finally coming closer to AMD in terms of graphics or are they actually better?
Thanks so much. I appreciate any advice
From the two options you considered, I prefer Lenovo's build quality and reliability over HP, Acer, or Dell. The Ryzen 7 offers a solid upgrade compared to the 5, and the additional RAM and storage space aren't essential for your needs. It really depends on how you define "casual gaming." Are you referring to games like chess and Minecraft, or more demanding titles? If your play requires powerful graphics performance and sufficient storage for games, that's what matters most.
Hi, thank you for your response.
I don’t have any prior experience with Lenovo products. The older laptops I’ve owned have been quite dependable, though I haven’t had the chance to try the latest models. There’s a feeling that they might not match their former performance.
When it comes to gaming, I mainly play World of Tanks, but I’ve tested on various machines with subpar configurations (even a second-gen Pentium with built-in graphics).
The laptop I’ve used best for this purpose is an Acer E15 with an i3 8300U, which runs smoothly even at low settings. It seems like either of these options would represent a noticeable upgrade, so I’m leaning toward “casual gaming.”
I think the HP offers better battery life, though I’m not sure if that’s accurate.
Also, I noticed the links aren’t displaying correctly when I click on them. Here are the correct URLs:
HP: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/dp/B09N7HFHNV...=UTF8&th=1
Lenovo: https://www.amazon.de/-/en/notebook...4/...SJ41W&th=1
I suspect I’m choosing the HP mainly because of its stronger processor (upgrade RAM or SSD if possible) and the fact it seems to be built that way, whereas the Lenovo appears to have been opened and modified. I don’t want any issues.
In summary, I prefer the HP’s design better, but do you think the Lenovo’s build quality is enough to sway my decision? I’m not very familiar with new computers from either brand.
Appreciate your help.
Any thoughts on the screen quality and which one is superior? The HP claims it uses IPS technology, while the Lenovo seems to use TN.
If the Lenovo has the complete factory warranty, that's acceptable. I suspect it wouldn't come from an authorized seller without it, even if it's an upgraded version. Just confirm the warranty is still valid for it.