New Laptop advice pls

[Lamp]

I need some advice. I want to get a new laptop. I've been out of touch with laptops for quite a few years

Requirements:

- Windows 10
- 17 inch minimum screen size
- Better than 1366 x 768 screen resolution
- Must have at least two USB 3 ports
- Touchscreen a plus, but not essential
- I don't want to spend a fortune on it.

Doesn't need to have vast amounts of storage or game-spec processors. I'll be watching videos / running spreadsheets / playing Forge of Empires (browser based game). My current laptop does everything, but the main reason for the upgrade is I want a much better screen resolution and a slightly larger screen size.

Any specific models you recommend ?
Or would you recommend just getting a monitor instead ? (I don't want to sod about with thunderbolt ports or stuff like that)

Thanks in advance

 

[Raven]

The wife has a Dell which is pretty good, previously she had one with a touch screen that you could flip around to make into a sort of bulky tablet, and it broke just out of warranty. Too many moving parts between screen and keyboard, I would avoid something with that design like the plague.

 

[Overdriven]

How much do you want to spend and how much are you willing to spend?

"Spend a fortune" means different things to different people. I'd say get a Dell XPS or a Surface Pro but I don't know your budget.

 

[Scouse]

Windows 11.

Bow to the inevitable

 

[caLLous]

The cheaper option is obviously just to get a 24/27/32/whatever inch screen if you're really happy with the laptop you have. The problem with that is you're sacrificing the portability aspect but if you're going down that route (ie if you always use your laptop the same place) you might as well get a proper mouse and keyboard as well. The monitor would have built in speakers as well which, although not "good", will more than likely be better than the laptop's. Connect it via DisplayPort or (more likely) HDMI and it'll deliver the audio to the monitor as well.

As for laptops, I recently bought a Lenovo E15 Gen 3 for my mum and it's great - the problem with laptops with bigger screens is that they get expensive more quickly and you'll find that the innards are downgraded to try to keep the price down.

Also, we need to know your definition of a "fortune". We've seen your kitchen.

 

[Aoami]

A couple of pro Dell posts in here, but I'd say avoid them personally. I have Dell XPS 17s for work, get them brand new and am going through them at a rate of 1 every 8-9 months at the moment.

BSOD problem on the first one.
Trackpad & wireless card (or whatever it is in a laptop) went on the second one.
Screen snapped off on the third one after a very innocuous incident.

 

[Lamp]

I'd like to spend around £500 on it
I could go upto £700 ish
Anything more would simply be unnecessary. My needs are pretty basic

 

[caLLous]

I'd like to spend around £500 on it
I could go upto £700 ish
Anything more would simply be unnecessary. My needs are pretty basic

I think you'll struggle to get a laptop with a 17" screen with anything remotely decent inside for that kind of money (it might even be worse than whatever you currently have, performance-wise).

As your main motivation is just a bigger screen I'd get a screen. Depending on the version of HDMI that your current laptop has it will probably be able to drive an external monitor at a higher resolution than the laptop's screen. It'll certainly manage 1920x1080, probably 2560x1440 and maybe 4k.

 

[Lamp]

OK.
Well, if I need to spend more, so be it. Like I said, I've been out of the loop for years.

I'll start looking around for 17 inch 2K+ laptops then
If anyone has any specific recommendations please do let me know.

 

[Lamp]

Edit: I was *way* out on my pricing. They're all around the £2000 mark

 

[caLLous]

Edit: I was *way* out on my pricing. They're all around the £2000 mark

Yeaaaah. You can easily spend north of £5k on a big laptop. You can get 17" laptops for £400-£700 but the screens will all be 1920x1080 and the quality of the panels will be on the low side and, like I said, the quality/spec of the internal components will be pared back to enable them to offer it at a lower price.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 3 looks "ok" and reviews "ok" but I'm sure you'd be happier with a bigger, higher-res external monitor.

 

[Lamp]

Well, looks like I have some Googling to do
Should keep me out of trouble for a few days at least

 

[BloodOmen]

I'd say avoid MSI laptops, not had the best of experiences with them.

 

[Nomans]

Acer Predator gaming laptops are pretty good, depending on specs can vary from reasonable to extreme prices…

 

[Scouse]

@Lamp

Refurbished Asus TUF A17 FA706 Ryzen 7-4800H 8GB 512GB GTX 1660Ti 17.3 Inch Windows 10 Gaming Laptop - Laptops Direct

Buy Refurbished Asus TUF A17 FA706 Ryzen 7-4800H 8GB 512GB GTX 1660Ti 17.3 Inch Windows 10 Gaming Laptop from LaptopsDirect

www.laptopsdirect.co.uk

??

 

[Tom]

USB 3 is old and slow now. Look to USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, Thunderbolt 4, etc.

 

[Scouse]

Just wants a bigger monitor really tho?.
Big upgrade on what lamp's got for 850 quid that?

 

[Raven]

3 month warranty. Nope.

 

[georgie]

Awww, Lamp's got a buddy.

 

[caLLous]

Awww, Lamp's got a buddy.

A buddy on such a mission to be helpful they scoured the internet for this thread and felt compelled to sign up just to provide a "helpful post" while squeezing in promotion of a completely irrelevant storage recovery service.

 

[georgie]

IKR, I wish I had a buddy that dedicated to me.