Laptop recommendation for a noob

[Muhammad_Abbas]

Laptop needed for non gaming use. I filled out a form, please recommend:

1. What is your budget?
   Around 800-900 usd
2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
   Doesnt matter too much to me, can be 13inch or 15 inch
3. What screen resolution do you want?
   Fhd works fine for me.
4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
   I am not a traveller, so will use it in home.
5. How much battery life do you need?
   Not a lot, since i will use it at home.
6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?
   Nah i dont need it for gaming, console pleb.
7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)
   Browsing, some photo editing, microsoft office, casual media consumption.
8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?
   500ssd
9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
   No specific sites.
10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?
    I want it laptop that lasts a longer time and doesnt start lagging too early. I dont want it to have too many issues
11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?
    I dont need an optical drive.
12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don’t like and explain the reasons.
    Dell, hp, lenovo, also zenbook. I have heard these are good but i have no experience. Also i have heard hp starts to have issues really fast or it breaks early, idk i need your honest opinions which brand to prefer for longevity and speed.
    Laptops i found that people were recommending on YouTube:
    Dell inspiron 14
    Hp pavilion x360
    Hp pavilion 15
    Lenovo thinkpad e14
    lenoco ideapad 3
    Asus zenbook 14
    Idk if these are good or if there are better options. Please recommend.
13. What country do you live in?
    Pakistan
14. Please tell us any additional information if needed
    Specs needed:
    Intel i7 9th, 10th or 11th gen
    500ssd
    12-16gb ram.

 

[root]

Hey, welcome to CF!

I’d say you’ve got a pretty good budget for what you’re after, though laptop prices have shot up since the pandemic.

In terms of build quality you’ll find there’s little difference between the brands, though you’ll generally find enterprise laptops will last a lot longer than consumer ones e.g a Thinkpad will have much better quality than an Ideapad, in general.

Personally out of your list I’d be looking at the ThinkPad E14. They’re not as good as they used to be but generally last many, many years - I tend to buy mine second hand at dirt cheap prices and use them until they no longer want to work.

 

[strollin]

Unless you find a good deal on a used laptop, I doubt you will be able to get a laptop with an i7 and 12GB of RAM with your budget. You may need to settle for an i5.

 

[Muhammad_Abbas]

I am scared of getting a damaged product while buying used products, is buying a new thinkpad e14 gen2 a good idea compared to buying dell or hp?

 

[Muhammad_Abbas]

Alright but which laptop around 1000usd would be the better one with these specs tho

 

[root]

I must say it can be quite hard to make a specific recommendation. It’s going to come down to your own personal preference and budget.

I generally like Lenovo equipment for personal use. In my job I deal with Dell all day, every day. I used to swear by HP but found in my experience their quality dropped over the past 5-10 years.

Ultimately though in terms of quality or longevity I don’t think there’s a huge difference between brands. My best advice would be to make a shortlist of 2-3 laptops, try to view the same or similar models in an electronics store or at least check out a few videos on YouTube and find the one you like the best.