Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Recommend a Windows Laptop for my Dad please!

Pilot Jones

Pilot Jones

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Oct 2, 2020
891
1,675
Would love your help since I'm a long time MacBook Pro user here and not very knowledgable about Windows machines. My dad's Lenovo Yoga 910 is utterly falling apart (keyboard freezes, malfunctioning SSD reader, etc.) so he really needs a new Windows PC soon.

He's sort of an enterprise user...lots of MS Office (especially Excel & Word), browsing, banking, document signings, data management, etc.

These are the key features/specs that would be present in an ideal machine. Could compromise on a few of these if the machine presents a good overall value.
  • Less than $800 in price
  • Preferably a thin & light Ultrabook, but a little bulkier than that is also fine
  • Bright screen
    • At least 350 Nits (his vision isn't great so he always cranks the brightness way up)
  • At least 16GB RAM
    • He's a browser + tab hoarder, often with 15+ tabs open across 4-5 different browsers each
    • Occasional light Photoshop use
    • If the laptop is good but minus 16GB RAM, we're down to upgrade it ourselves
  • SSD, no HDD
    • 1TB would be incredible, but least 512GB
  • Metal chassis
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • At least 1 USB-A port
  • Touchscreen would be a nice bonus but is absolutely not necessary
Looking forward to your recommendations!
 
Last edited:
Dell xps 13 or what ever screen size dad needs
the laptop is solid, had a great thermal process and the palm-rest is comfy fibered
mine is from 2019 and was chosen over the macbook that year.
i have no problems and if windows 10 is available, that is a plus.
or
mom has the acer yoga…..or something like that in an asian name.
the 16gb might break the bank tho
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pilot Jones
MBAir2010 said:
Dell xps 13 or what ever screen size dad needs
the laptop is solid, had a great thermal process and the palm-rest is comfy fibered
mine is from 2019 and was chosen over the macbook that year.
i have no problems and if windows 10 is available, that is a plus.
or
mom has the acer yoga…..or something like that in an asian name.
the 16gb might break the bank tho
Click to expand...

I was also thinking the XPS, I've heard it's just rock solid. Will check it out!

Regarding the Acer in our price range, I'm seeing laptops called Swift, Spin, Aspire & Enduro. Do any of these names sound familiar to you?
 
Pilot Jones said:
Thanks! These looks great, going to browse a bit and see if I can scope out a good deal somewhere.
Click to expand...
Think you should get $300 off on BF deal plus a good $100 trade in and a voucher for accessories with Samsung

Think the deal will even put the 15" within reach which is great for us older chaps with glasses :) and still ridiculously light

The 360 Pro is all metal and includes the ntrig pen, the Pro is plastic back but very light and good selection of ports.

The screen is great and the only weakness is speakers are a little quite, ok for personal use but not great for sharing
 
Pilot Jones said:
I was also thinking the XPS, I've heard it's just rock solid. Will check it out!

Regarding the Acer in our price range, I'm seeing laptops called Swift, Spin, Aspire & Enduro. Do any of these names sound familiar to you?
Click to expand...
Lenovo Yoga
sorry, PC names just don't sink in my infest brains!
which is a good practical laptop and great screen!
 
Pilot Jones said:
Would love your help since I'm a long time MacBook Pro user here and not very knowledgable about Windows machines. My dad's Lenovo Yoga 910 is utterly falling apart (keyboard freezes, malfunctioning SSD reader, etc.) so he really needs a new Windows PC soon.

He's sort of an enterprise user...lots of MS Office (especially Excel & Word), browsing, banking, document signings, data management, etc.

These are the key features/specs that would be present in an ideal machine. Could compromise on a few of these if the machine presents a good overall value.
  • Less than $800 in price
  • Preferably a thin & light Ultrabook, but a little bulkier than that is also fine
  • Bright screen
    • At least 350 Nits (his vision isn't great so he always cranks the brightness way up)
  • At least 16GB RAM
    • He's a browser + tab hoarder, often with 15+ tabs open across 4-5 different browsers each
    • Occasional light Photoshop use
    • If the laptop is good but minus 16GB RAM, we're down to upgrade it ourselves
  • SSD, no HDD
    • 1TB would be incredible, but least 512GB
  • Metal chassis
  • Backlit Keyboard
  • At least 1 USB-A port
  • Touchscreen would be a nice bonus but is absolutely not necessary
Looking forward to your recommendations!
Click to expand...
Which version of Lenovo Yoga 910 does your father have? How much storage and RAM? Is the screen Full HD or 4K?

Depending on the version your father currently has, it will be hard to buy a laptop for less than $800 with similar specs. And it has a 13.9-inch screen, which is larger than most ultrabooks (and which may be a plus for your father). Plus, the Yoga is a 2-in-1 and has a touchscreen, which, again, may be a plus for your father. These features make a laptop more expensive, and you should take that into account.

A larger, higher-resolution screen, with better colors, a more comfortable keyboard, and a good touchpad, may be more worth it than a faster processor.

Is it not possible to get the Yoga fixed? It is probably less than 5 years old now, it should last more than that.

A Dell XPS 13 with a 4K screen, 16 GB RAM, and 512 GB SSD storage, would cost $1249 on Dell's website.

I currently have an LG Gram 17, which I think is great with a large 17-inch screen with a 2560x1600 resolution, an 11th Core i7, 16 GB RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. But it costs around $1500.

You may also want to wait until the 12th gen Intel laptops hit the market. They are just around the corner and may bring improvements.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back