(Part 3) Best products from r/Laptop

You're not going to be able to do squat for video editing or streaming on a 250-370 dollar laptop. the best laptops in that price range to be completely honest are chromebooks. Chromebooks aren't bad but you can't do much other than chrome based stuff, hence the name. If you just wanted to watch videos and could tolerate a 720p screen, chromebooks would be fine, but I will NEVER recommend any windows laptop at that price point unless for some odd reason it has more than 6 gigabytes of RAM. 6 is the bare minimum that one should accept when using Windows 10, and 8 should be the target minimum. Only get 6 gigabytes of RAM if that's the absolute best you could afford at the time. You may be better off spending a couple hundred extra dollars on something like the Acer Aspire or one of the many HP x360 models. I personally recommend the x360 over the acer simply because I've got better product history with HP than I do Acer. I personally didn't get my laptop on Amazon, couldn't find one for my budget that was good enough. I paid 400 dollars for mine. I have the HP 15-bw053od. It's a 15 inch laptop with a quad core AMD APU and pretty decent integrated graphics (good enough to game on actually) it also has 8 gigabytes of RAM out of the box but I could upgrade to 16 any time for pretty cheap. Also it has a pretty slow 5400 RPM hard drive but that could also be swapped out with an SSD down the road. Amazon may not be the best place for you to get yourself a laptop unless you wanna bump your budget up by a couple hundred dollars, I got my laptop at OfficeMax. Microcenter is also a good place to look for laptops though.
Here are a couple links to okay/good laptops on Amazon, which are sadly about your 370 dollar limit:

HP x360 2in1

Acer Aspire E15

Both of those are pretty strong for the price, but they wouldn't be the absolute best at video editing. Depending on the webcam streaming you want to do those laptops could do just fine. The acer would do video editing a bit better simply for having an SSD installed already, but if I remember correctly, you could also put an SSD in the x360, which is also a touch screen, which I think is pretty useful for a lot of windows programs outside of gaming.

The best way to see is to search for the model number + tear down / upgrade and see if you find stuff. Otherwise it is boring technical docu. Usually you will find videos or guides.

In regards to that probook, it is nice. Those are business devices that have been retired (generally used well for 2-3 years.) The nice thing about those is they are usually well made, cheap, and you can find replacement parts easy because of how they flood the market at the end of their expected life cycle. If it doesn't fail in those 90 days, it probably won't. I've bought a few refurbs without issue... some have had but they usually get resolved quickly. Just make sure to put it through its paces early and quickly.

As far as 6th vs 7th, there are differences. They may not affect you as much as someone else. The reality is that the performance jumps between intel gen isn't huge. It is there but not so much to say, you must upgrade. Now, when we talk about 8th gen... to me the core count is a massive upgrade. 9th gen hopefully will be a new architecture (this one has spanned 3 gens now... ugh) and should be a significant increase that could justify an upgrade. That said, so long as you don't skimp too much now, you won't have any issues for years.

The caddy is fine, I've done stuff like that no problem.

As far as benchmarks... https://www.notebookcheck.net/ and sites like tomshardware are great to look at. There are others. Also the site you linked (userbenchmark) is great as well. http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-6200U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-7200U/m36796vsm153577 this is their compare tool. Very handy. Combine that with notebook check and other resources to get an understanding of its real world performance.

I still like that dell the most... https://www.boadica.com.br/produtos/p141935/dell-computer-inspiron-15-5559

Here is a guide on how to replace the boot drive.
http://laptopmedia.com/highlights/inside-dell-inspiron-5559-disassembly-upgrade-guide-and-internal-photos/

If you do this I suggest buying something like the below link. You can use it as a backup drive in that case which is great though I strongly suggest multiple backups.

https://www.amazon.com/ORICO-USB3-0-External-Enclosure-Supported/dp/B01M08LCXW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1512077029&sr=8-3&keywords=external+drive+enclosure

Here is info on the caddy upgrade for it...

http://www.tomsguide.com/forum/id-2862858/dell-inspiron-5559-replace-dvd-drive-ssd.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSLvD6jIJ4A



http://www.tomsguide.com/forum/id-2862858/dell-inspiron-5559-replace-dvd-drive-ssd.html

As far as the SSD, you would want a minimum of 250gb in my opinon. Ask yourself how much data you are really storing... Consider use of services such as Onedrive, Google Drive, SpiderOak, icloud, dropbox, etc... (some are better than others)

For example, I have a surface with 128gb on it.. perfect for what I use it for. I have never had an issue. It is almost entirely a work device.

I have a gaming laptop with 256gb ssd. This is great for a couple games and some work stuff. No problems.

I have a main desktop with 2tb of SSD storage and 4tb of standard HDD for backups. This is my main work horse and I use it for work and pleasure. That still isn't enough storage ha!

I have a server with 16tb of storage and I am working on building a NAS with 100s.

I have some cloud servers with as little as 20gb of storage and as much as 200tb. It ranges depending on use...

You get the idea. So, ask yourself how much you actually need. I think a 250gb+ ssd is plenty. If you had that 1tb as external and used online services, you'd be hard pressed to use it unless you start doing some data processing, media creation, or gaming.

I just purchased an Asus n550jk yesterday and the first thing I did was upgraded the slow HDD to the Samsung 850 EVO SSD. It cut my boot time down from around 18 seconds to 6 so I'm pretty excited about the results. I wasn't familiar with the n551jk so i quickly searched for it and it looks like our laptops are pretty similar, but do have slightly different cases. The HDD caddy that I picked up from Amazon was around ten dollars and fit perfectly, but like I mentioned our laptops do have slightly different bodies so I'm not sure whether it'll work for yours or not. The bezel from the front of my dvd drive was easy to pop off and attach to the caddy so there's no gaping hole in the side of my laptop. The correct place to connect your SSD is where the HDD was and then attach the HDD into the optical drive, speed shouldn't be affected.


I simply used the included cloning software that came with the Samsung SSD and a SATA-USB adapter to clone my HDD to my SSD before installing it, but you can also simply download a fresh copy of windows 8 and then use the product key on the bottom of the laptop to activate it. I know lots of people recommend using a fresh copy of windows 8, but I figured I could always format it and install a fresh copy if I run into any issues down the road. Good luck!


The HDD Caddy I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GNVLUPY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Everyone I know that has gotten a chrome book didn’t like it. Most started falling apart (the older models) and the Os was annoying. And they couldn’t manage things as they wanted like on a Windows. I believe you can get something for the gas power if not better in the price range. For the <$900 mark I would be looking for something like this:

CPU: 8th generation Intel Processor, most likely i5-8(something)U, or at best i7-8750h

GPU: If not for gaming it really is not needed to have a separate graphics card, integrated graphics like an mx150 will do find for most video watching and stuff. May become a little slower if using photoshop heavily or other programs like CAD’ing

RAM: looking. For 8+ Gb DDR4. Should be able to handle everything you’re looking at doing

Memory: look for an SSD, try to get over half a Tb (512Gb) as that will give you space in the future. Maybe a SSD and HDD mix could work as you used the SSD for faster boot and load times, and the HDD for storage.

Screen: I don’t know how much color correct stuff you will be using, but maybe a 4K or touchscreen may be nice on your preference

Based on that here are a couple I could think of after a quick googling:

$810 Acer Spin 3: seems like a decent one, has a nice i7-8565U processor, 16Gb DDR4, 512Gb NVMe SSD with fingerprint reader and stylus. Also is o a tablet laptop with some people really like.

$588 Lenovo Ideapad: If you want to go a cheaper route this looks decent, a nice i5-8250U processor with 8GB DDR4 memory. The main drawback I see is the 1Tb HDD, which would give you significant battery but also take significantly longer to load applications and boot up. It does have a optical drive (DVD) which most laptops don’t have anymore however.

Just search and look around, watch some reviews, you can find one great for you!

How long do you plan on keeping it? Undervolting shouldn't cause too much stress if done reasonably. There are some good videos. Check out MeanPooh on YouTube. He must have zillions of Nitro 5 videos about everything from undervolting, repasting, and gaming. Another good Youtuber is "Bob of All Trades" who has a few Nitro 5 videos including repasting. Bob loved the Nitro 5.

Repasting is easy. It was more difficult to pry open the case. Just do it slowly and carefully. One of the complaints was that the heat pipe was shared by the CPU and GPU. Is it optimal? No, but it's good enough if you repaste and undervolt and use a CPU cooler. Also you can set a more aggressive fan curve with the included software. Set it to for high performance and MaxiCool when you game. Use headphones to isolate the fan noise and you will have a great experience.

Another upgrade I really recommend is to get a better panel. The stock panel is around 25-35ms of input lag and only 60Hz. You can buy a more color accurate TN panel which has 1-3ms of input lag and runs at 120Hz for about $80 last time I checked. Maybe even cheaper now. The brightness controls work. It's easy to change the screen. Much easier than repasting. It took me no more than 10 minutes to do it. If I had to do it again, it would probably take 5 minutes.

Edit: This is the screen you want. It's only $70. That's a steal for a great gaming screen. Works on the Dell series as well G3-G5-G7. Here's a review from someone with a Nitro 5 using that panel.

I wouldn't really recommend this one, tbh.

Main reason I don't think it's worth it is because of its 1366x768 display. 1366x768 resolution doesn't let you fit much onscreen, and such a large screen it makes everything onscreen rather large. The display, even if less considered by some people, actually tends to make a lot more of a difference than most other specs for how nice a computer is to use. $429 is in price territory where 1920x1080 starts to become an option, and I think it's one of the most important things to make sure you get.

The 12GB RAM might make it look like an attractive option, but it doesn't really make much sense to buy a computer for its RAM. RAM is cheap and easy to upgrade, and the difference between, say, 8GB and 12GB, won't likely make near as much difference as other things for most use.

The GPU in the A12 APU is better than other iGPUs, but it's only about on par with a GT 920MX.

Something like these I think would be a better option at a similar price:

• Acer E5-575G-52RJ, Link 1 ($459)
  
• Acer E5-575G-52RJ, Link 2 ($459)
  
• Acer E5-575G-55KK ($469)
  
  They have:
  
  
• 1920x1080 resolution
  
• More powerful NVIDIA GT 940MX GPU

Ok kl... for gaming there should be a few things to take into consideration. these are heat management, processing speed and gaming quality. therefore it would be best to get a laptop that will give you the best experience thats withing your budget. your budget gives you a lot of great options and the laptop that i think would be a great choice for your tasks is this Eluktronics N870HK1. it sports a powerful Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad Core cpu which will manage all your intensive tasks, Windows 10 Home, A 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti gpu for great gaming quality, 17.3” Full HD IPS Display screen which will be great for photoshop, A decent 512 GB SSD and 16GB DDR4 RAM which will be sufficient for multitasking and gaming as well.

Here's my list of laptops which I would suggest

A. ThinkPad E490 - Ryzen 3700u, 16GB RAM & 256GB SSD

B. ThinkPad E480 - Intel i7 8550u, RX550X, 8GB RAM & 512GB HDD

C. Huawei Matebook D14 - Intel i5 8250u, mx150, 8GB RAM & 256GB SSD

Out of these three the ThinkPad E490 would be best out of the box but the E480 would be the best if you feel comfortable in changin the HDD to an SSD at some point down the line. The Matebook would have about the same performance as the E490 but looks more like a macbook if you're into that sort of thing. The Matebook's largest downside however is that you can't rally upgrade it that much.

Overall I would suggest you get the ThinkPad E480 because it has the best processor, graphics chip and then the biggest issue, the HDD, can be swapped an SSD later on. The E490 would still be the best out-of-the-box experience though.

If you're able to afford it/return your current laptop, check out these options:

• [Acer Aspire 5]
  (https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-i5-8250U-GeForce-A515-51G-515J/dp/B075KCJHMD/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1526179654&sr=8-4&keywords=mx150)
  
  ^ This is the best option if you're looking for something new. It costs $550 and since it has a relatively new dedicated graphics card, it is more than enough for school/light gaming.
  
  
  
• ASUS VivoBook F510UA
  
  ^ A newer version of your laptop that has the same CPU as the Acer, but has no SSD nor dedicated graphics. Is actually pretty sleek looking for the price. $509
  
  
• Dell Inspiron 15 5000 5577
  
  ^ Much more powerful than the other two laptops but also older, and maybe not the best for school due to its bulk. Is much much much better for gaming. Most expensive one listed here at $655.49
  
  
• HP elitebook 8470p
  
  ^ Cheapest laptop that can run minecraft with 40 to 60 fps. Is refurbished. Has good keyboard and surprisingly built like a tank, with the most metal out of all the laptops linked, but is also a bit bulky for school. Screen is only 720p screen like your current one. Way less powerful than other laptops but CPU is still an upgrade from your current. $263.99
  
  Edit: spelling & formatting.

Hi sharp_like_marbles happy to help you out. I would definitely go with the PROSTAR Clevo Gaming Laptop N850HP6 your going to love it. A powerful 7th Gen Intel Core i7 7700HQ (2.80 GHz) processor with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB graphics card as well it is able to run the latest games smoothly in high settings:-).An IPS (1920x1080) LED Matte Type Display love the display 8 GB DDR4 Memory and 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD, pretty decent battery life as well. 5.51lbs with windows 10.

I bought this ASUS Zenbook a few years ago (it's basically a slightly smaller, less updated version of the 14, but with a matte screen instead of a backlit keyboard) and it still runs extremely well- I'm typing on it right now- so my opinion towards ASUS is positive. I've also had HP laptops in the past (worked well, but would slow down bc of all the tabs I had open), but those were gifts so I didn't pay attention the specs nearly as much as I did with my Zenbook (which I bought myself). I'm debating whether or not I even need to buy a new laptop, and both of those laptops are in the running as an eventual replacement.

Im sorry to say that I can't personally contribute to the discussion regarding which would be better for your photo editing, but I can say that there's a good chance you won't regret buying the ASUS in the long run. That being said, when it comes to such close choices, it all comes down to the small details:

• Which do you think looks better (aesthetically)?
  
• Go to your nearest electronics store and see if they have a version of these available for you to mess around with. Check out the screen- which display looks better to you?
  
• Which has better battery (generally speaking- it's rare for anyone to spend all their time on their laptop just doing one thing, so be wary of what the description say about battery life)? One site reviewed versions of both laptops (both i7, 8gb ram, but varying memory), and the Zenbook beat the Envy by quite a bit.
  
• Are the ports important to you? The zenbook has an HDMI port, but the Envy doesn't. They both have usb c (and A) though. The Envy comes with a fingerprint reader while the Zenbook doesn't.
  
• Does temperature matter? The Zenbook can get a few degrees hotter than the Envy does.
  
• Do you notice when your laptop/computer starts making noise (fans)?
  
  ​
  
  I'd buy the Zenbook 14.
  
  Although I really like the look of both, the Envy wins aesthetically for me. That being said, that's not nearly as important to me as storage or battery life- especially as a student. Since the Zenbook beats the Envy in both categories (although not in graphics*- all according to these two reviews: Zenbook 14, Envy 13) I'd go with that.
  
  *Apparently there's a version of the Zenbook 14 that has the same GPU (nvidia mx150) as the Envy 13 you're looking at, and the Zenbook 14 (nvidia mx150) beat the Envy 13 (nvidia mx150) in the graphics category of the review, so I'd look into that Zenbook.

Yes storage is low but it's SSD which is far more faster than older mechanical HDD. Other specs like CPU, RAM and GPU are best for the price.
There's also empty space to put in extra hard drive or an SSD inside which will cost you about $25 - $30 extra. Process is hassle free you'll find lot of YouTube videos to do that on your own or you can just take it to Acer service and they will be happy to do that for you.


Other cheaper laptop that I would recommend is this Dell inspiron - https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XFGF7SN/

It comes in different variants with varied specs and prices.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Toshiba-Satellite-Radius-12-P25W-Signature-Edition-2-in-1-PC/productID.328882500

This doesn't have a quad core, but. It has hyper threading, and operates like a hexacore? I believe it's 2 cores plus 4 threads. So either way it's a super fast processor.

512 SSD fairly obvious.

8GB Ram

Toshiba can make some decent laptops, I still prefer Dell when it comes to durability, but this Toshiba is nice as well.

If the 2 in 1 isn't for you I can take another gander

If we push the price tag higher http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Ultrabook-Computer-Infinity-Processor/dp/B01372OH8I/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1453685815&sr=1-5&refinements=p_n_feature_fourteen_browse-bin%3A2057441011%2Cp_n_feature_twelve_browse-bin%3A9521908011%2Cp_89%3ADell

This will get you a really really good display

Try the lenovo legion y530, it's just a little bit out of your budget, but it's got great reviews and I personally am using it's predecessor, so I believe it's a great fit for your needs. As for the budget problem, I'd recommend waiting for a couple months for the black friday/cyber monday sale.

You can check the product out here:
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Legion-81FV0001US-Laptop-GeForce/dp/B07FYCXD6D/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=lenovo+legion+y530&qid=1566923985&s=gateway&sr=8-2#

A trusted review:
https://youtu.be/UQaHNS7oCWY

Have you looked at the Acer Predator Helios 300?
6-Core i7, 16 GBddr4, GTX1660ti, excellent screen and so forth for $1200, €1070

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07QXLFLXT/ref=dp_ob_neva_mobile

Thanks for the comment Lewis.

When posted this i just looked at the specs. In that i mean like the basic not the generation or how high the number is. I still have no idea what the difference between a 1660ti and 1650ti. What i mean is i understand the higher the number the better but not really sure performance wise.

I talked to people on the discord and they helped me decide what laptop to get and how to solve me problem.

I am going to get the Helios 300 with a M.2 Sabrent 1TB SSD and a Heatsink for the SSD.