New Laptop Upgrade Options

benjamming

benjamming

Joined
Jan 3, 2004
Messages
6,338
Location
northern Alabama
Looking at a new laptop & trying to decide between a 15.6" & 17.3". I've pretty much settled on a 15.6". My current laptop is a Toshiba Qosmio from 10 years ago & is 17" nominal. So, I don't mind heft in a laptop & would like to keep for a good while. I also would like some thoughts on all the below upgrade options in regards to fair pricing & longevity of the system. I'm not really interested in adding things myself after purchase & would rather get it the way it will end up if possible.

It seems like a smart upgrade to the i7 processor.
It believe the memory upgrade to 32GB is a no brainer but the jump to 64GB is not.
I certainly want to upgrade the hard drive (all are SSD) & would seem to be a good idea to have a 2nd hard drive as well. Lots of options available below. I don't know the pros & cons of the Crucial SSD vs. Samsung SSD.
Windows 11 Home is included; Windows 11 Pro is $50. I am currently running Windows 10 so not sure about 11 Home vs. Pro.
I don't know why I would buy an extra AC adapter for $210.
The warranty can be upgraded to 3-year for $299 which, by nature, I'm usually against but perhaps this would be prudent.

What's up with the embedded battery? Non-replaceable?

15.6" full HD (1920x1080) LED-backlit display
Processor: i5-1340P 12 core (4P+8E) @ up to 4.60GHz Turbo, 16 threads, 12MB smart cache -> $130 for i7-1360P 12 core 16 threads processor with 18MB smart cache
Standard thermal paste compound
Memory: 16GB DDR5-4800 SODIMM (2x8GB), CAS 40 Latency, low voltage -> $85 for 32GB DDR5-4800 SODIMM (2x16GB), CAS 40 Latency, low voltage or $215 for 64GB DDR5-4800 SODIMM (2x32GB), CAS 40 Latency, low voltage
Integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics
2 built-in stereo speakers
Hard drive 1: 500GB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 SSD - 4700 MBps read/1900 MBps write speed -> $45 for 1TB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 SD HDD 5000 MBps read/3600 MBps write OR $95 for 2TB OR $70 for 500GB Samsung 980 Pro PCIe 4.0 SSD 6900 MBps read/5000 MBps write OR $125 for 1TB Samsung 990 or $225 for 2TB Samsung 990
Hard drive 2: None -> $55 for 2nd 500GB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 SSD 4700 MBps read/1900 MBps write OR $75 for 1TB OR $135 for 2TB
Optical drive: None -> $50 for Slim external DVD-RW (we have some items that still use DVD such as homeschool)
integrated Thunderbolt 4
integrated Intel Dual Band WiFi 6E AX211
integrated Bluetooth 5.0
Windows 11 Home -> upgrade to Windows Pro for $50
backlit keyboard with numeric pad
integrated touchpad
integrated 1MP HD video camera
embedded 73 Wh lithium ion battery
2-year parts & labor warranty
 
i am very pleased with my inspiron 16 + love the backlit keys BUT the overly sensitive cursor STINKS opening things while just passing over them, so gotta be careful + double check when ordering on line. its a W11 + seems worse than my older HP lappy with W10 + is a LOT slower. watch for holiday deals!!
 
Definitely need to know a budget. Apple laptops like the macbook air have exceptional battery life and good support for updates.
 
Not looking for different laptop manufacturer options hence my questions on options presented.
I'm also not looking for an Apple product hence my questions on Win 11 Home vs Pro.
 
benjamming said:
Not looking for different laptop manufacturer options hence my questions on options presented.
I'm also not looking for an Apple product hence my questions on Win 11 Home vs Pro.
Click to expand...

Skip the Pro version unless you're using it for business purposes. There's some nice features on Pro over Home but most users won't even notice the differences.
 
I'd suggest going for i7, 16-32gb RAM, at least 1tb SSD, preferably nvme. You'd better get a say 24" monitor and have laptop in dual screen mode when working or playing at home (not on the go).
 
andrew_j said:
Buy the fastest possible hard drive you can easily afford. Makes largest difference in computer performance IMHo.
Click to expand...
In a laptop the best you're going to do is a gen 4 drive with dram cache, so a Samsung 980 or 990, Hynix P41, Solidigm P44, WD SN850X, Crucial P5 Plus or T500, and I generally don't mess with 3rd party SSDs just buy one made by one of the major flash OEMs.
 
benjamming said:
Would an IPS display with 144Hz matte screen & ultra wide viewing angle suck less?
Click to expand...
IPS displays can struggle with displaying blacks (my LG tv is an example of this, blacks are more of a super deep dark gray), but others like a MacBook display do pretty great.

The high refresh rate will make everything “feel smoother.” I’d be looking for something that can do at least 500nits brightness though, if it’s around 250 it’ll be pretty dim in a brightly lit room.
 
benjamming said:
Looking at a new laptop & trying to decide between a 15.6" & 17.3". I've pretty much settled on a 15.6". My current laptop is a Toshiba Qosmio from 10 years ago & is 17" nominal. So, I don't mind heft in a laptop & would like to keep for a good while. I also would like some thoughts on all the below upgrade options in regards to fair pricing & longevity of the system. I'm not really interested in adding things myself after purchase & would rather get it the way it will end up if possible.

It seems like a smart upgrade to the i7 processor.
It believe the memory upgrade to 32GB is a no brainer but the jump to 64GB is not.
I certainly want to upgrade the hard drive (all are SSD) & would seem to be a good idea to have a 2nd hard drive as well. Lots of options available below. I don't know the pros & cons of the Crucial SSD vs. Samsung SSD.
Windows 11 Home is included; Windows 11 Pro is $50. I am currently running Windows 10 so not sure about 11 Home vs. Pro.
I don't know why I would buy an extra AC adapter for $210.
The warranty can be upgraded to 3-year for $299 which, by nature, I'm usually against but perhaps this would be prudent.

What's up with the embedded battery? Non-replaceable?

15.6" full HD (1920x1080) LED-backlit display
Processor: i5-1340P 12 core (4P+8E) @ up to 4.60GHz Turbo, 16 threads, 12MB smart cache -> $130 for i7-1360P 12 core 16 threads processor with 18MB smart cache
Standard thermal paste compound
Memory: 16GB DDR5-4800 SODIMM (2x8GB), CAS 40 Latency, low voltage -> $85 for 32GB DDR5-4800 SODIMM (2x16GB), CAS 40 Latency, low voltage or $215 for 64GB DDR5-4800 SODIMM (2x32GB), CAS 40 Latency, low voltage
Integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics
2 built-in stereo speakers
Hard drive 1: 500GB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 SSD - 4700 MBps read/1900 MBps write speed -> $45 for 1TB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 SD HDD 5000 MBps read/3600 MBps write OR $95 for 2TB OR $70 for 500GB Samsung 980 Pro PCIe 4.0 SSD 6900 MBps read/5000 MBps write OR $125 for 1TB Samsung 990 or $225 for 2TB Samsung 990
Hard drive 2: None -> $55 for 2nd 500GB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 SSD 4700 MBps read/1900 MBps write OR $75 for 1TB OR $135 for 2TB
Optical drive: None -> $50 for Slim external DVD-RW (we have some items that still use DVD such as homeschool)
integrated Thunderbolt 4
integrated Intel Dual Band WiFi 6E AX211
integrated Bluetooth 5.0
Windows 11 Home -> upgrade to Windows Pro for $50
backlit keyboard with numeric pad
integrated touchpad
integrated 1MP HD video camera
embedded 73 Wh lithium ion battery
2-year parts & labor warranty
Click to expand...
Have you considered a system 76 laptop? Linux has much better security than mac or windows and is super easy to use.
 
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