Buying a Laptop: The current Generation

11-06-2021 11:39am

Mwengwe wrote: »

Having an absolute nightmare trying to order a Matebook from Amazon. Long story short, they won't send it and keep pushing back the delivery date.

Is it worth risking something like Harvey Norman or Littlewoods?

maybe go for the acer swift 3 i5 11th model on acer.ie - 799 there

get or get access to studentbeans for 15% discount

comes in at 670 then afaik

light, metal build, 14 inch, good battery life, better screen than matebook, good cpu and igpu which runs at a good power level

plenty of detail in recent threads

Mwengwe · 11-06-2021 11:47am

glasso wrote: »

maybe go for the acer swift 3 i5 11th model on acer.ie - 799 there

get or get access to studentbeans for 15% discount

comes in at 670 then afaik

light, metal build, 14 inch, good battery life, better screen than matebook, good cpu and igpu which runs at a good power level

plenty of detail in recent threads

Interesting, the screen display was one of the main reasons I had my heart set on the Matebook. (not the D)
By the looks of things I might pay a bit extra for the Swift 5 at 340 brightness (from first glance at the specs)
300 brightness feels like an absolute minimum for me, my eyes are fussy.

Cheers glasso will research this a bit more.

11-06-2021 12:03pm

Mwengwe wrote: »

Interesting, the screen display was one of the main reasons I had my heart set on the Matebook. (not the D)
By the looks of things I might pay a bit extra for the Swift 5 at 340 brightness (from first glance at the specs)
300 brightness feels like an absolute minimum for me, my eyes are fussy.

Cheers glasso will research this a bit more.

it's more the colour accuracy that I was referring to (even though don't want a dark screen of course)

better in acer swift 3 than matebook 2020 model

11-06-2021 12:08pm

the acer swift 3 range is better value imo over the 5

14 inch screen is not small

defo go for 11th i5 cpus over 10th gen

masterboy123 · 19-06-2021 7:34am

Hi guys,

I am looking for a laptop with a metallic body if possible.

Budget=€750

Use= Student assignments, making PowerPoint presentations, reading for hours (should be good on eyes). 14 inch size.

Any suggestions, please?

I have a student card and account on Unidays. I see Lenovo 20% off there.

Thank you

19-06-2021 10:54am

masterboy123 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I am looking for a laptop with a metallic body if possible.

Budget=€750

Use= Student assignments, making PowerPoint presentations, reading for hours (should be good on eyes). 14 inch size.

Any suggestions, please?

I have a student card and account on Unidays. I see Lenovo 20% off there.

Thank you

acer swift 3 i5 11th gen - check other threads for link on acer.ie

discount on unidays also

800 - 15% = 670

masterboy123 · 19-06-2021 11:15am

Thanks for getting back to me.

How's Huawei laptops in comparison to Acer?

Matebook vs swift 3, which is better on eyes?

Also, I see €100 discount on Acer website when you subscribe. Could i use this discount together with 15% from Unidays?

glasso wrote: »

acer swift 3 i5 11th gen - check other threads for link on acer.ie

discount on unidays also

800 - 15% = 670

19-06-2021 11:41am

swift 3 one to go for now imo vs 2020 matebaook d

better screen (vs 2020 mode), better webcam position, better graphics power

2021 matebook d similar to acer 3 but less available

masterboy123 · 19-06-2021 5:04pm

What's the price of 2021 Matebook D14? I can't seem to find one.

I am hoping to get intel chip.

glasso wrote: »

swift 3 one to go for now imo vs 2020 matebaook d

better screen (vs 2020 mode), better webcam position, better graphics power

2021 matebook d similar to acer 3 but less available

masterboy123 · 19-06-2021 9:22pm

https://store.acer.com/en-ie/acer-swift-5-ultra-thin-touchscreen-laptop-sf514-54gt-blue-5

I am thinking to purchase this. Is it a good deal?

Bhail · 19-06-2021 10:46pm

My questions is a 13.3" HP Envy for €1300 vs second hand Matebook X Pro for €1000 second hand.

Hp Envy spec:

Windows 10 13.3"
Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7 Processor
RAM: 16 GB / Storage: 1 TB SSD
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce MX450 2 GB
Full HD touchscreen

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-envy-13-ba1565sa-13-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-1-tb-ssd-silver-10218522-pdt.html

Huawei Matebook X Pro
13.9-inch
i7 8850U
16 GB RAM
500 GB SSD
Discrete Graphics – MX150
2K

Thanks!

19-06-2021 11:03pm

envy

cpu in matebook is from 2017 - the 11th gen i7 is not far off 2X the power

the mx450 also hammers the mx150

the envy ssd drive will be a faster nvme drive also

envy is well built and decent screen also

Bhail · 19-06-2021 11:22pm

glasso wrote: »

envy

cpu in matebook is from 2017 - the 11th gen i7 is not far off 2X the power

the mx450 also hammers the mx150

the envy ssd drive will be a faster nvme drive also

envy is well built and decent screen also

Excellent cheers Glasso! Really helpful.

Bhail · 20-06-2021 5:43pm

Opinions appreciated and hopefully last question. I have 3 options.

Use:
General plus light photo and video editing. I'd like touchscreen and 16gb ram to future proof a bit.

Shortlist

Refurbished Dell XPS 13 (11th gen) - Good spec and better colour accuracy, but integrated graphics. Since the Hp Envy is not really powerful either, will there be a really noticeable difference?
Hp Envy - Great spec but seems to be least colour accurate
Mac M1 - M1 chip seems good, colour accurate, great battery but apple drawback, small memory. Also a bit ugly. I'd have to pay for icloud storage AND google drive.

Here's a breakdown of each laptop.

20-06-2021 6:21pm

the xe graphics in the 11th gen intels are a big step up for integrated graphics - same as mx350 level so it's well capable especially if the cpu is running at full power in a laptop (28W level)

https://store.acer.com/en-ie/acer-swift-3-ultra-thin-laptop-sf314-59-silver-nx-a0mek-005

this acer swift 3 has a very colour accurate screen, 16gb ram, 1tb ssd

metal build,
cpu runs at a high power level (full 28w) in it. it runs better than the i7's from other manufacturers as from review below. i7 over i5 in intel mobile is usually only 5% more,
100% sRGB colour accurate screen.

get a 15% discount with student beans or unidays. a 2nd level or 3rd level email should work to register.

so 999 - 15% = 850

https://www.ultrabookreview.com/42008-acer-swift-3-14-sf314-59-review/

you don't need anymore than this.

tbh touchscreen on a laptop is bit useless imo

only work well on things like the surface pro

Bhail · 20-06-2021 6:38pm

glasso wrote: »

the xe graphics in the 11th gen intels are a big step up for integrated graphics - same as mx350 level so it's well capable especially if the cpu is running at full power in a laptop (28W level)

https://store.acer.com/en-ie/acer-swift-3-ultra-thin-laptop-sf314-59-silver-nx-a0mek-005

this acer swift 3 has a very colour accurate screen, 16gb ram, 1tb ssd

metal build,
cpu runs at a high power level (full 28w) in it. it runs better than the i7's from other manufacturers as from review below. i7 over i5 in intel mobile is usually only 5% more,
100% sRGB colour accurate screen.

get a 15% discount with student beans or unidays. a 2nd level or 3rd level email should work to register.

so 999 - 15% = 850

https://www.ultrabookreview.com/42008-acer-swift-3-14-sf314-59-review/

you don't need anymore than this.

tbh touchscreen on a laptop is bit useless imo

only work well on things like the surface pro

Thanks again for the feedback!

BrokenArrows · 21-06-2021 4:18pm

My wife is looking for a new combo business/gaming laptop.

Gaming is on the low end of the spectrum. She mainly just wants it to be able to smoothly play Sims 5 when its released.

Weight should be less than 2kg. Ideally closer to the 1.5kg range.

She would like something aesthetically pleasing in white or silver.

Budget: We are in the UK so £1000.00 but thats flexible.

21-06-2021 4:29pm

Gaming and thin / viusally pleasing plus lightweight is usually a mutually exclusive situation except for pretty much this one laptop

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Zephyrus-GA401IU-GeForce-Lighting/dp/B093WZ49H9/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=asus+g14&qid=1624292801&sr=8-3

1.7kg, nice magnesium build and powerful cpu and gpu. long battery life. 16gb ram.

(no webcam but not a big downer imo as most webcams in laptops are rubbish - but an autofocus and wide-angle one usb one on Amazon)

the lcd matrix on the case in the pics is only on the most expensive models - not on the one linked.

21-06-2021 6:23pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTO7959ySss

BrokenArrows · 21-06-2021 7:28pm

glasso wrote: »

Gaming and thin / viusally pleasing plus lightweight is usually a mutually exclusive situation except for pretty much this one laptop

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-Zephyrus-GA401IU-GeForce-Lighting/dp/B093WZ49H9/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=asus+g14&qid=1624292801&sr=8-3

1.7kg, nice magnesium build and powerful cpu and gpu. long battery life. 16gb ram.

(no webcam but not a big downer imo as most webcams in laptops are rubbish - but an autofocus and wide-angle one usb one on Amazon)

the lcd matrix on the case in the pics is only on the most expensive models - not on the one linked.

That looks almost perfect, was about to buy and realised it doesn't have a webcam.

Unfortunately that's also a requirement as it will be used for work too. Didn't realise anyone made laptops without webcams these days.

21-06-2021 7:34pm

BrokenArrows wrote: »

That looks almost perfect, was about to buy and realised it doesn't have a webcam.

Unfortunately that's also a requirement as it will be used for work too. Didn't realise anyone made laptops without webcams these days.

as said laptop webcams are crap and not up to standard for the increased amount of zoom time-wasting etc

a usb webcam is small, clips onto laptop and can have what a laptop doesn't

- autofocus

- wide angle

- higher resolution

- better lens

the only other "similar" laptops are the dell xps 15 (upper model with discrete game card) or dell thinkpad extreme

both way above your budget

but if it's really just sims then a laptop with an 11th gen i5 from intel with XE graphics will run that fine

see acer swift 3 in other threads - make sure that it's the 11th gen cpu - 11 in the number of the cpu at the start

gjtonysoprano17 · 23-06-2021 7:28pm

Hi all,

Looking for recommendations on something that is mainly for internet browsing, excel, accounting software, powerpoint, youtube etc...Would need to be

Light
Bright
Touchscreen (just like the novelty)
14" ideally

Thanks

masterboy123 · 23-06-2021 8:46pm

Check out Huawei mayebook 14.

gjtonysoprano17 wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking for recommendations on something that is mainly for internet browsing, excel, accounting software, powerpoint, youtube etc...Would need to be

Light
Bright
Touchscreen (just like the novelty)
14" ideally

Thanks

24-06-2021 3:29pm

gjtonysoprano17 wrote: »

Hi all,

Looking for recommendations on something that is mainly for internet browsing, excel, accounting software, powerpoint, youtube etc...Would need to be

Light
Bright
Touchscreen (just like the novelty)
14" ideally

Thanks

max budget?

should be stated to avoid wasting time on suggestions out of range?

touchscreen on a laptop is largely useless and limits choice

only worth it on a tablet with detachable keyboard e.g. surface pro type device

a laptop with keyboard is too heavy to use as a tablet

masterboy123 · 25-06-2021 3:05pm

I ordered Huawei Matebook 14 AMD Ryzen 5 4600 from the Amazon Prime deal.

Got it today and happy with it. The display is fantastic, and the feel is premium. Thanks @Glasso

Irish Steve · 25-06-2021 4:55pm

If anyone is looking for a machine that they plan to run Windows on, be VERY careful indeed, as Microsoft have released the spec for their planned update to Windows 11 later this year, and the number of CPU's that will be capable of running this new version is very small, and AMD have just chopped support for a significant number of CPU's that will effectively not be supported in future versions of Win 10, let alone Win 11.

There is a new release of the health check utility that can check if your machine will run Win 11, and I anticipate that there will be a very large number of systems that will NOT be capable of running this new (Free to current up to date Win 10 users) update, due later this year. Win 10 will be killed off in 2025, so that could mean a short life for many systems that are currently on offer, even in main line retail.

I have a laptop here that is less than 3 years old, and AMD are no longer supporting the chip set for it, so that's effectively killed it. Yes, it should continue to work, but if anything goes wrong with a Microsoft update, it's dead, and won't be capable of being upgraded to Win 11.

Suffice to say I won't be buying anything with an AMD label on it going forward.

CoBo55 · 25-06-2021 5:29pm

What are the required specs? I thought they were moving away from that model and doing half yearly changes similar to the Linux distro.

AlmightyCushion · 25-06-2021 5:38pm

Irish Steve wrote: »

If anyone is looking for a machine that they plan to run Windows on, be VERY careful indeed, as Microsoft have released the spec for their planned update to Windows 11 later this year, and the number of CPU's that will be capable of running this new version is very small, and AMD have just chopped support for a significant number of CPU's that will effectively not be supported in future versions of Win 10, let alone Win 11.

There is a new release of the health check utility that can check if your machine will run Win 11, and I anticipate that there will be a very large number of systems that will NOT be capable of running this new (Free to current up to date Win 10 users) update, due later this year. Win 10 will be killed off in 2025, so that could mean a short life for many systems that are currently on offer, even in main line retail.

I have a laptop here that is less than 3 years old, and AMD are no longer supporting the chip set for it, so that's effectively killed it. Yes, it should continue to work, but if anything goes wrong with a Microsoft update, it's dead, and won't be capable of being upgraded to Win 11.

Suffice to say I won't be buying anything with an AMD label on it going forward.

I'm not sure if this is a concern for someone buying a new laptop. It won't support Intel 8th gen or older and Ryzen 1st Gen or older. No new laptops should be using those. Sucks for people with older laptops that will run it perfectly being excluded but not a concern for people buying new.

Irish Steve · 25-06-2021 8:26pm

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

I'm not sure if this is a concern for someone buying a new laptop. It won't support Intel 8th gen or older and Ryzen 1st Gen or older. No new laptops should be using those. Sucks for people with older laptops that will run it perfectly being excluded but not a concern for people buying new.

The area of concern would be that some of the budget laptops were using things like the AMD A series, and they've been chopped from support a few days ago, the area that would be most risky would be companies that sell refurbished machines, or things like Amazon returns, and companies selling remaindered stock that might be that bit older.

While they will still run Win 10, they may well not be capable of running Win 11, and at this point, while Microsoft may say that Win 10 will be supported for some time, that could very easily change, and AMD have chopped upgrade support for some chips, so that might be an issue if something in a Windows update breaks the driver, and that's not too uncommon unfortunately.

dublinman1990 · 25-06-2021 9:34pm

Well said. This news about AMD chopping support for chip sets has sadly very likely happened to me.

The machine that I have previously ordered from my reseller was a brand new Asus Vivobook laptop with an AMD Ryzen 3 3250U chip set & a 1TB HDD included with it. This machine was ordered by me sometime back during the May BH weekend earlier this year. An email from my supplier was giving me the news that the distrubution dept involved in the business had told the guy selling it to me that the machine that I had ordered in May had been put into EOL. I have been told from this reseller that I now have to purchase an alternative laptop instead if I contact him. I'm pretty gutted about that because I had paid a lot of money, up to €680 for it, to get this new machine into my hand. But now it's not coming at all since I got that email last week. All this uncertainty is being heightened now as Windows 11 was officially unveiled by Microsoft yesterday.

The full specs for my initial laptop order are listed here.

ASUS VivoBook 17 M712DA-AU487T notebook DDR4-SDRAM 43.2 cm (17")
AMD Ryzen 3 3250 U
8 GB RAM
1000 GB HDD
Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
Windows 10 Home Edition

At the time; I was kind of being put off with the prices being offered for laptops with the large SSD's as they were quite expensive. I was actually considering to put off or delay myself buying a laptop preferably until the Autumn when the Sun Valley Update for Windows 10 was being released at that point. I am now thinking that I should have stuck with the decision to not buy one yet until then now that Windows 11 is now going to be included in the mix for new devices. It's great news for the people who are considering to delay the option to buy a new machine until later in the year; but it now has to be done with a bit of caution thrown into the wind.

The reseller for my new laptop is Digicom which is based in Ballymount in Dublin 12. They recently had their webstore opened as a new venture on their website over six months ago. The guy selling me the laptop said to me they have had about 90% of the devices sold from the store to be used for devices intended for home use. I hope that whatever outcome that I get from them will be something that is positive for my situation in getting a laptop that is suitable for Windows 11 in the future. It will be great news for me if I get a good outcome for it soon.

Irish Steve · 25-06-2021 9:54pm

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/supported/windows-11-supported-amd-processors

According to this page, which is pretty comprehensive, you should be OK with the Ryzen 3 3250 U, that is a supported chipset for Win 11, but be very careful, as there is a whole range of AMD CPU's and GPU's that have only been dropped from support this week, on Win 10, so I can only suggest that you need to get a confirmation IN WRITING that whatever machine you get now IS compatible with Win 11.

The page before it

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/minimum/windows-processor-requirements

lists the required processors for all the recent operating systems, and includes any changes that have happened during the evolution of Win 10, so it's easy to see what can or can not run the different versions.

25-06-2021 10:46pm

that HDD is really slowing up that laptop

even the most basic sata SSD is literally 5 to 10 times faster.

I'd be more worried about that than windows 11

being a 17 inch laptop may well have an m.2 slot free which you could put an m.2 shape ssd into and swap windows over to

CoBo55 · 26-06-2021 4:44pm

Just got my email from the windows insider program about windows 11, looking forward to having a gander.

Adamcp898 · 24-07-2021 2:09pm

Anybody got an opinion of the Asus laptop below and whether it’s good value or not?

Looking to get something for general use as well as some light gaming. Seems to be a real lack of supply in the Matebooks the past couple of months so they don’t seem to be as much of an option as they were before. Not looking to spend more than €4-600 unless something is really good value

https://www.littlewoodsireland.ie/asus-vivobook-14nbspx413ja-eb249t-laptop-14in-fhdnbspintel-core-i5nbsp8gb-ramnbsp256gb-ssd/1600619385.prd

dublinman1990 · 25-07-2021 8:54pm

Unfortunately; I got an email this week to say that my laptop is not being delivered to me because of a supply issue with the hardware. I was told by the reseller that I have to obtain a refund via Paypal to get my money back on my purchase. It's not the worst thing to hear when I read it but there is a 3% surcharge if I originally ordered it via Paypal.

Adamcp898 · 01-08-2021 7:11pm

Anybody able to tell me if an 11th gen i7 is worth £100 more than an 11th gen i5?

Specifically considering one of these three Asus laptops from Amazon. Just looking for something which will be able to handle some everyday work and use for the next few years along with some light non-AAA gaming.

£650 - Vivobook S435EA Intel i7-1165G7, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 32GB Intel Optane

or

£550 - Vivobook S435EA Intel i5-1135G7, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 32GB Intel Optane

or

£600 - Zenbook UM425 Ryzen 5-4500U, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD

07-08-2021 8:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117720950#Comment_117720950

Spanish keyboard layouts maybe unless you're Spainish.

CrowdedHouse · 10-08-2021 1:28pm

Rather than start a new thread, has anyone here purchased a Dell Outlet 'Scratch and Dent' laptop, what are they like? Are they badly mauled

Mike Litoris · 10-08-2021 4:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117733249#Comment_117733249

Literally that, a scratch or a dent. Could be a tiny scratch, a big dent or at worse a piece of the case broken off but nothing is sold that is malfunctioning plus the standard warranty still stands. They're usually units rejected by customers because of cosmetic damage that happened in transit....or so the other half tells me! 🙂

themacdaddy · 12-08-2021 8:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117733249#Comment_117733249

I took a risk on a scratch and dent XPS 13 this year and it was perfect. Not one blemish I could see on it. Performs well, can run a little hot if on it for hours but I rarely use it for hours.

smacl · 12-08-2021 9:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117656005#Comment_117656005

Looks like a decent enough spec for the money. Was shopping around last week for a new college laptop for my daughter and went for a similar ASUS Zenbook here; https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0953XHQM1?ref_=pe_27063361_487360311_302_E_DDE_dt_1 which arrived yesterday. Ryzen 5-3500U instead of i5 and twice the size of SSD though a bit more expensive.

smacl · 12-08-2021 9:07am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117741388#Comment_117741388

Got a refurb Dell i5 laptop last year for my youngest for school, worked out very well and a good performer if slightly heavier than the newer equivalent. School was recommending MS Surface laptops which were underspecced and way overpriced by comparison.

Adamcp898 · 12-08-2021 7:00pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117741465#Comment_117741465

I take forever to make a decision. Thinking about going for a Matebook D14 now with a 10th gen i5, 8GB RAM & a MX250 - £580 - just for the extra casual gaming performance. Build quality seems to be good as well.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HUAWEI-Ultrabook-Multi-screen-Collaboration-Fingerprint/dp/B091649MP4/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=matebook+d14&qid=1628794820&sr=8-2

12-08-2021 10:27pm

an mx250 isn't up to that much really anymore - it's 2.5 years old

an 11th gen i5 would have a decent bit more gpu power than it (same as mx350 if not a bit better than that) as the 11th gen intels have upped the gpu power a lot with iris xe

amd ryzen 5000 series cpus are decent also if it's a cpu with RDNA2 in the integrated graphics

smacl · 13-08-2021 8:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117745392#Comment_117745392

I think getting an 11th gen i5 at ~€600 (int VAT) price point could be difficult, mostly 10th gen and Ryzen 5-4500u from what I'm seeing. As you pointed out with the Spanish sites, buying from Germany is also a problem with QWERTZ keyboards. I get most of my gear from Amazon.de these days but not worth it with laptops. Should really look around for other reputable mainland Europe sellers that include QWRTY options but am buying laptops rarely enough. Not a gamer myself, so no idea whether the Vega on Ryzen 5 is beefy enough for light gaming.

13-08-2021 8:28am

Lenovo. Ie with 10% newsletter sign up discount and search and should find an 11th gen i5 in that budget range

Won't be fully metal build tho.

Acer swift 3 on acer. Ie is metal tho with 11th gen i5 and better screen than older matebook

With student discount of 15% (any student email using student beans signup) similar enough price to the 580 sterling mentioned above - 799 less 15% is 680 euro

the acer swift 3 is a better bet than the older matebook

Adamcp898 · 13-08-2021 7:15pm

The Matebook D 14 I linked jumped £100 in price today so looks like I’m back to the drawing board again. What are the Acer laptops like for build quality, see it mentioned from time to time that they’re not designed to last but no idea how true that is.

13-08-2021 8:20pm

you take each model on its merits

going by brand on big windows laptop manufacturers is pointless as they all make super low-end 300 euro stuff to ones costing over 10 times that

the swift 3 with 11th gen intel is very good

build quality is as good as the matebook d but better screen

runs the cpu at good TDP (power wattage level) to get the most out of it

has the backlit keyboard

review

https://www.ultrabookreview.com/42008-acer-swift-3-14-sf314-59-review/

smacl · 16-08-2021 9:31am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117749740#Comment_117749740

Nice looking laptop, though with the typical Irish rip off prices, it appears to be hard to get for less than €800 delivered to Ireland (e.g. €861 in laptops direct)

16-08-2021 9:36am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117760847#Comment_117760847

acer.ie 800 euro and with 15% discount on studentbeans or unidays = 680

(didn't I post this above?)

i5 11th gen cpu model, 8gb ram. listed at 799

unless gone from stock now - a good few bought from there in the last while

seems like the 799 i5 11th gen acer swift 3 model is all out - well it was a great deal with the discount on top

https://store.acer.com/en-ie/catalogsearch/result/index/?graphics_controller_filter=10515%2C10170&q=acer+swift+3&product_list_order=price_asc

Buying a Laptop: The current Generation

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