I'm looking for a new laptop; it's been a long time since I've had to shop for one. I am so lost.

Budget $1200 Looking to purchase one off the internet or box store.

I'll use it for emails and spreadsheets, maybe watch a movie on vacation, and possibly a video game now and then.

My wife said to get a tablet with a keyboard, but I'm not sure I will like those; I've only ever had a laptop.

chaca5151 said:

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I'm looking for a new laptop; it's been a long time since I've had to shop for one. I am so lost.

Budget $1200 Looking to purchase one off the internet or box store.

I'll use it for emails and spreadsheets, maybe watch a movie on vacation, and possibly a video game now and then.

My wife said to get a tablet with a keyboard, but I'm not sure I will like those; I've only ever had a laptop.

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I would recommend a Lenovo Idea Pad for a laptop and the Lenovo Yoga for a tablet.

I detest laptops so I got the smallest one our company offered which is actually a tablet. It's basically just a touch screen laptop with a detachable keyboard. I never use it without a docking station and regular keyboard/mouse/multiple monitors.

For personal use I have a beast of workstation but when traveling I have an Idea Pad with an AMD 5800 processor (because the equivalently equipped yoga was sold out). The workstation and Laptop both sync through my NAS so I always have access to the same files and like the work computer, I use it almost exclusively with a docking station.

What size screen are you looking for?

Example 17" with good specs and under budget.

2022 HP Newest 17 Laptop Notebook, 17.3" Full HD Anti-Glare Display, AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Processor, 32GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, Webcam, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, HDMI, Windows 11 Home, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJ9YQK7

I did look into this one

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/cart.html

[url=https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-gaming-laptops/IdeaPad-Gaming-3i-Gen-6-15-Intel/82K100LSUS][/url]IdeaPad Gaming 3i Intel (15")
[url=https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-gaming-laptops/IdeaPad-Gaming-3i-Gen-6-15-Intel/82K100LSUS][/url]Part Number 82K100LSUS
$888.24
Savings: $211.75 (19%)

System Specs (Edit)

• Processor: 11th Generation Intel Core i7-11370H Processor (3.30 GHz, up to 4.80 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 12 MB Cache)
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home 64
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB
• Memory: 8 GB DDR4 3200MHz
• Storage: 1 TB 5400 RPM HDD + 256 GB PCIe SSD
• Display: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare, 250 nits, 120Hz
• Camera: 720p HD
• Keyboard: Backlit - White - US English
• WLAN: 802.11AX (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 5.0
• Warranty: 1 Year Courier or Carry-in

I am very intrigued by this one; I like the big screen.

chaca5151 said:

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I am very intrigued by this one; I like the big screen.

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If you drop the ram down to 16gb (which will be plenty for what you described) you can save a little bit and get an extra 1TB of storage.

2022 HP Newest 17 Laptop Notebook, 17.3" Full HD Anti-Glare Display, AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD + 1TB HDD, Webcam, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, HDMI, Windows 11 Home, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08YJ1TD7G

chaca5151 said:

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I'm looking for a new laptop; it's been a long time since I've had to shop for one. I am so lost.

Budget $1200 Looking to purchase one off the internet or box store.

I'll use it for emails and spreadsheets, maybe watch a movie on vacation, and possibly a video game now and then.

My wife said to get a tablet with a keyboard, but I'm not sure I will like those; I've only ever had a laptop.

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A MacBook Air would work well for your needs and budget. It would be much more durable over the long term.

I'd also go MacBook Air for that budget unless you hate MacOS/really need to play games on it. Battery life is gonna be way better than something with a graphics card included.

Yea, I've never used them or currently have any Apple products; my daughter, on the other hand, has all Apple products.

chaca5151 said:

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I did look into this one

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/cart.html

[url=https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-gaming-laptops/IdeaPad-Gaming-3i-Gen-6-15-Intel/82K100LSUS][/url]IdeaPad Gaming 3i Intel (15")
[url=https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-gaming-laptops/IdeaPad-Gaming-3i-Gen-6-15-Intel/82K100LSUS][/url]Part Number 82K100LSUS
$888.24
Savings: $211.75 (19%)

System Specs (Edit)

• Processor: 11th Generation Intel Core i7-11370H Processor (3.30 GHz, up to 4.80 GHz with Turbo Boost, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 12 MB Cache)
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home 64
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB
• Memory: 8 GB DDR4 3200MHz
• Storage: 1 TB 5400 RPM HDD + 256 GB PCIe SSD
• Display: 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS, anti-glare, 250 nits, 120Hz
• Camera: 720p HD
• Keyboard: Backlit - White - US English
• WLAN: 802.11AX (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 5.0
• Warranty: 1 Year Courier or Carry-in

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With your budget, I would not get anything with less than 16GB of ram. Unless you're sure you can upgrade it yourself later.

Dang I totally over looked that one, yea I'm looking to stay above 16

It has a gamer aesthetic and needs another stick of ram but good price for what you get.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-gf65-15-6-144hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i5-nvidia-geforce-rtx3060-512gb-ssd-8gb-memory-black/6456144.p?skuId=6456144

Make sure whatever you get allows you to charge with a USB-C cable and not an oddly specific ac input cord. Easier to find a replacement or a travel charging cord, plus it lets you use a relatively inexpensive USB-C dock if you ever want to use it in a more stationary setting with a secondary monitor and full sized keyboard.

Something I would've never thought about.. Thank you!

Thirded on a MacBook Air, there's also an Apple event in a few weeks and we may see an updated model.

If your not in the apple ecosystem already, stay away from a Mac.

What do you yall think about this?

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/laptops/amd/spd/inspiron-15-5515-laptop/nn5515fbbqh

or

https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/victus-by-hp-laptop-16-e0097nr

I think I'd choose the dell unless you need gaming capabilities. It should have better battery life and you save $200. I haven't done any detailed research, though. I'd look at reviews for both on YouTube if possible.