Touchscreen 2in1 Laptop Advice?

[coskigirl]

Okay, I'm crowd sourcing my laptop research a bit here. I am in the market for a new laptop for school but can make a purchase anytime between now and mid-July. I think I want a 2 in 1 touchscreen laptop so that I can use it as a tablet when I travel and it will eventually replace my iPad when it is outdated at least until school is over.

I haven't shopped for a PC in many years but given the back and forth I'll have between work and school I don't need to have the added back and forth between a Mac and my work PC so I'll do a PC for school as well. I'm most familiar with Dell and not opposed to buying from them. I can get discounts on Dell, Lenova, and HP.

Budget is a bit of a concern but since I want to have something powerful enough to last me through 4 years of school I want to buy current/new generation technology with decent memory I realize I won't be in the low end market. School will give me access to Office 365 along with 5TB of cloud data storage. I can't imagine using 5TB of storage.

Other than that I'm a bit lost in trying to narrow down choices. Anyone have any suggestions on models either yay or nay? Or sources to compare features across brands? Other advice?

 

[scott43]

I can't get 5TB of data for projects at work without 3 authorizations, 2 budget requests, a business case and 2 Leaf tickets...

 

[scott43]

On topic..you can occasionally get sales on Microsoft Surface Pro's..and they're kinda nice...get SSD storage..makes them much faster and more durable.

 

[Corgski]

I would question going for a detachable keyboard convertible. A detachable keyboard means that everything needs be in the screen part as opposed to the keyboard part. You end up with a top heavy laptop. It is also an expensive configuration for the computer power you get. An alternative would be the full 360 hinge laptops, tablet mode is not as nice but laptop mode works better.

Modern laptops are so light and compact that I do not bother with tablets anymore. I would not compromise laptop functionality for tablet functionality.

 

[Uncle-A]

On topic..you can occasionally get sales on Microsoft Surface Pro's..and they're kinda nice...get SSD storage..makes them much faster and more durable.

I was an early adapter of the MS Surface and it was a fine machine. I used it more like a laptop than a tablet so when I updated I went with a HP Laptop that does have a touch screen but the keyboard does not come off to use like a tablet. It was a good choice for me and no complaints with Window 10, I got use to MS Edge after a short time.

 

[scott43]

Modern laptops are so light and compact that I do not bother with tablets anymore. I would not compromise laptop functionality for tablet functionality.

Yeah, that's how I feel about it generally. I have the option of Surface Pro/Book or your generic laptop and I've chosen the laptop route. For my work it's just more convenient and solid. I generally dislike touchscreen anyway. Not saying I'm right per se..just whatever works for each person.

 

[Jilly]

I have a tablet and really don't like it for general use. It was for travelling when I wasn't really on business and needed to keep in touch with the office. I have a Leveno laptop. I don't find it lighter than my old Toshiba, but it's thinner and more powerful.

 

[scott43]

I think some people like their Surface Pros/Books..the Book is probably a little more for me...but generally, Windows 10 kinda sucks in tablet mode anyway and I am either using my ultrabook with a tiny docking station and a 32" monitor at my desk or I'm typing notes and doing presentations at meetings. The tablet thing just never seems to be convenient for me. If I'm typing notes I want a keyboard..same with emails. I don't mind cracking open the notebook in meetings. I do some development work for tablets and they're nice for certain things, but I wouldn't want to use them for much besides very limited roles. If I didn't have a docking station setup I'd be going 15" or 17" laptop quite frankly. I need the real estate. However..to each their own..whatever seems to work best for you.

 

[coskigirl]

To be clear, just a tablet isn’t an option for school.

Here’s one that I’m looking at. https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/yoga-900-series/Yoga-920-13/p/88YG9000859

Or this. http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop...n-1-laptop/cax13nw10p7s1422?ref=414_prodImage

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I've had good luck with Dell laptops in the past and currently have a Lenovo laptop for work. Both make a good laptop IMO

 

[tromano]

Most people will be better off with the I5 vs the I7 CPU. Same performance for most users. Not worth paying the premium unless your doing lots of multi thread applications number crunching, data analysis, math, engineering, simulations, or software development. Will save you like $200 probably.

Read some reviews.

 

[oldschoolskier]

Future proofing in computers......well the moment you thing you selected the right one a new better model is on the way.

Sounds like you are doing mostly office type applications, if so speed is not the issue however for future proofing, memory is (primarily in usable vs storage).

Second thing is warranty, particularly extend coverage both damage and manufacturers. Spend some money here so if you have an issue, call the manufacture at worst your without a machine for a month at no extra cost for repair or replacement.

For simple word type stuff I use a cheap machine.

 

[SKI-3PO]

Get a SSD for storage.

 

[coskigirl]

Most people will be better off with the I5 vs the I7 CPU. Same performance for most users. Not worth paying the premium unless your doing lots of multi thread applications number crunching, data analysis, math, engineering, simulations, or software development. Will save you like $200 probably.

Read some reviews.

Oh that’s really good to hear! It saves about $100 and I’m not a number cruncher, developer, or gamer so not needed it sounds like.

Future proofing in computers......well the moment you thing you selected the right one a new better model is on the way.

Sounds like you are doing mostly office type applications, if so speed is not the issue however for future proofing, memory is (primarily in usable vs storage).

Second thing is warranty, particularly extend coverage both damage and manufacturers. Spend some money here so if you have an issue, call the manufacture at worst your without a machine for a month at no extra cost for repair or replacement.

For simple word type stuff I use a cheap machine.

Yep, definitely doing an extended warranty. I’ll throw the savings from the processor into memory and go for the 16G.

 

[coskigirl]

Get a SSD for storage.

Everything I’m looking at is only SSD.

 

[Doug Briggs]

To be clear, just a tablet isn’t an option for school.

Here’s one that I’m looking at. https://www3.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/yoga-900-series/Yoga-920-13/p/88YG9000859

Or this. http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop...n-1-laptop/cax13nw10p7s1422?ref=414_prodImage

I just set up an XPS 13 for a client this week. It is a screamer. The one she got had a M.2 256GB SSD (uber-fast flash drive) and 8 GB (?) of RAM. It came in delivered under $700.

 

[oldschoolskier]

Throw a microsd card in for everyday use (storage of files) as SSD does degrade over time on read/write. Use the SSD as your OS/app storage for fastest access.

 

[Dwight]

Surface Pro 4 works very well. https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Su...&qid=1521121980&sr=8-1&keywords=surface+pro+4

At home add a nice 30" monitor and keyboard and you are set.

 

[JohnnyG]

My job for the last few years has been to compare, configure and deploy tablets, including Surface Pro, Surface Book, HP ElitePad, Dell Venue and others.

My favourite's are the Microsoft devices, they work very well. Although on the Surface Pro 3's, the SSD's tend to cook themselves, so go for a Pro 4 or new Pro. We have a user base of roughly 300 Pro 3 devices. I've never been a fan of the HP devices, They seem to have made too many compromises, although my department received 1300 of them. Things (peripherals) just didn't work seamlessly. We really wanted the Dell Venue's, I worked with the Venue 11, and the keyboard makes it as solid as a laptop, but you get the tablet option. We also tried a Fujitsu, which was a nice device, but hinge design was too complicated.

I'm a big fan of the Surface Books as well, but they can get very pricey very quickly.

The problem with the Pro 3's is down to the design of the case, and the CPU they used. It was a desktop class CPU, in a very small case, which creates a lot of heat. The new Pro 4 and later have a newer processor (Intel 6th gen and newer), which are a much better thermal managed design.

Windows Hello is very nice too, but it may not be available on all machines.

 

[David Chaus]

I use an iPad Pro with the Apple Smart Keyboard. I use it for everything. I’m handwriting notes in therapy sessions, the Apple Pencil stylus is amazing to write with, then typing up notes in my EMR portal, writing reports; etc. I haven’t felt the need to use anything else.