Which small laptop?

[davek_964]

I know it's been asked a million times, but a quick search didn't really help. I started a thread a few days ago that I was considering a Samsung Book3 360 but I'm less sure now so wanted some general suggestions. I want to replace my current laptop - it does still do what I want, but is 10+ years old / Windows 7 and too bulky (and slow). I very rarely use a laptop (and could simply use my work one) - but still feel the need to replace my current one.

It does not have to be high performance. Although I want it to be relatively quick, my use will be occasional web browsing (even though 99% of that is on my Android tablet), using Word, using the Harmony app to update remote controls etc. No games, nothing processor intensive.

1) Must be Windows based laptop - I have absolutely no interest in anything made by Apple and I do not want a Chromebook.

2) I want portable - light and small is good, which is making me look at 13.3" ones - but I am wary about the keyboard being a bit cramped (although they didn't seem too bad in Currys). 14" might be the most sensible - I don't want bigger than that, and if I go 14" it needs to be fairly slim.

3) Touchscreen is a must - tablet mode is nice to have, but not necessary.

4) I would prefer 16GB of RAM and 512GB HDD - which is why the Samsung gets out of budget

5) Budget ~£1k - don't really want to go higher.

6) I'd like a decent screen - OLED would be nice

At the moment, top of my list is the Asus Zenbook Flip S13 UX371 - it is currently very reasonable at Amazon (under £900) - it's the right size, right RAM, 1TB HDD, 4k OLED etc.
It seems to tick almost all of my boxes - and although it gets mixed reviews for performance I'm sure it would be capable of what I'd use it for.

But I wonder if there are better alternatives - especially 14".

[the-photographer]

I wouldn't spend £1000 with used corporate hardware cheaply available

Dell 7390 13.3" touch screen £180 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374880073320 there is also a 14" version, 7940

if you want to buy from a big business have a look at https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/ where they have a 33% sale today lots of touch and 2-1 tablet models available.

Or the official Dell returns site

https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInven...

Dell Outlet Latitude 14 - 7430 Laptop
Intel Core 12th Generation i7-1265U Processor (10 Core, Up to 4.80GHz, 12MB Cache, 15W)
Windows 11 Pro
32GB Memory
512GB PCIe M.2 NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive
2-in-1, 14 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Wide View Angle Anti-Reflective Anti-Smudge 300-nits SLP Touch Display, WLAN Capable, Supports Active Pen (Aluminum)

£900 (the pen support is pretty good with things like Onenote)

Edited by the-photographer on Friday 18th August 09:35

Edited by the-photographer on Friday 18th August 09:36

Edited by the-photographer on Friday 18th August 09:51

[Jonny_]

For that usage a grand seems excessive! Decent refurbished ex corporate ThinkPad is generally my go to, you'll get a well specced X390 or 7th/8th generation X1 Carbon for about £400 to £500.

[eeLee]

Dell XPS 13. Fundamantally the class leader:
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInven...

Alternately, a Surface Pro of some description would be ideal, this is what I went for several years ago and it's extremely flexible.

[Luke.]

Surface Laptop?

[davek_964]

(I should probably clarify my requirements a bit - although I agree a much cheaper laptop would meet my requirements - this is essentially a toy, and £1k is the budget. So I'm really wanting the best ~£1k laptop that ticks the boxes.)

eeLee said:

Dell XPS 13. Fundamantally the class leader:
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInven...

Alternately, a Surface Pro of some description would be ideal, this is what I went for several years ago and it's extremely flexible.

I must admit, I do think the XPS13 is probably the sensible choice - I know they're supposed to be very good. I'd prefer to be able to see one - Curry's use to have them in stock, but are almost all HP these days.

Actually - that one seems to be non-touch display? I think that is a deal breaker for me.

Are the refurb'd Dells OK?

[the-photographer]

davek_964 said:

(I should probably clarify my requirements a bit - although I agree a much cheaper laptop would meet my requirements - this is essentially a toy, and £1k is the budget. So I'm really wanting the best ~£1k laptop that ticks the boxes.)

eeLee said:

Dell XPS 13. Fundamantally the class leader:
https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInven...

Alternately, a Surface Pro of some description would be ideal, this is what I went for several years ago and it's extremely flexible.

I must admit, I do think the XPS13 is probably the sensible choice - I know they're supposed to be very good. I'd prefer to be able to see one - Curry's use to have them in stock, but are almost all HP these days.

Actually - that one seems to be non-touch display? I think that is a deal breaker for me.

Are the refurb'd Dells OK?

Try this one

https://outlet.euro.dell.com/Online/SecondaryInven...

The outlet site is where Dell sell customer returns etc, completely fine.

[davek_964]

I thought I'd give a conclusion in case it helps with anybody else looking for a laptop :

I looked at the Dell options on the outlet store and just couldn't find one with the spec I want for the price I'd set. I would have to settle for some combination of 8GB RAM / 128GB HDD / i5. It was a similar story with Surface (although in that case, you usually also had to buy the keyboard separately).

Eventually I settled on Asus Flip 14 - specifically the one on Amazon with AMD Ryzen 7. Argos also had an Asus Flip 14 (Intel) but it lacked some of the features I wanted (e.g. fingerprint reader, SD card slot) whereas the Ryzen model had them. 2.8k OLED touchscreen / 16GB / 512GB.

Initial impressions are mostly very positive. The size is perfect, screen is stunning, keyboard is excellent size and feel and although I've not really done anything with it yet, it's a million times faster booting up than a 10+ year old Sony.
Only a few minor negatives : I seem to keep catching the trackpad with my palm which makes moving the pointer a bit hit and miss - I guess I'll get used to it, but it's a bit odd - not a problem I have with other laptops.

The USB ports are TIGHT. In itself that wouldn't be a major issue - but the USB C / Thunderbolt ports are very close together and pulling a flash drive out is difficult with the power cable 0.0001mm away from it.........

These are minor issues though and so far it seem to be exactly what I wanted - even if that is about 10 x what I actually need!

Edited by davek_964 on Wednesday 23 August 16:00