I need help deciding on a new laptop brand

[martinkr]

Hi all, my 2017 era Acer is even slower than usual and I think it's time for an upgrade. I mostly use my laptop for Web browsing, YouTube, Audacity & MS Office.

It's a must for my new laptop to have at least 8GB RAM, 15.6" screen and its processor to be able to run Windows 11.
I'm a bit out of the loop, I don't know what are the lastest good brands. :smile:
I see HP's are popular as always but I have bad memories of BSODs with them. I liked Toshiba despite some keyboard/fan issues but they're out of the laptop business & I'm not sure that new Toshiba-like Dynabook brand is that good. I'll never buy another Acer product as my current one is utter rubbish.

At work I use a Dell Latitude 5420 laptop and it seems quite nice, its screen displays text and graphics more crisp compared to any laptop I've ever had but they seem overprised. Can you please suggest some nice, current brands with no BSOD issues & Win 11 support? Thanks!

 

[interlocutor1980]

I suggest you to go in for Dell XPS & Inspiron are good options to consider... See the link below for further details...

https://www.windowscentral.com/best-dell-laptops-under-500

 

[RTGent]

I have gone with Surface devices for almost a decade now, because I've always valued compactness/light weight and battery life in all portable devices. But a friend asked me to suggest options for a larger laptop recently, and adding a couple of brands to your listing, I like and suggest the following for your consideration. Note that all of these brands are likely manufactured by one of a few manufacturers anyway, even if with the companies' "own specs". See "List of laptop brands and manufacturers" in Wikipedia (and consider supporting Wikipedia while you're there ). Note that new laptops may already come with Windows 11, and it may be that Win 10 offerings may be priced attractively these days, while all of them are most likely to be upgradable when you so choose. Anyway, here's two bigger though lighter ones I like:

Amazon.com: LG gram Laptop - 15.6" Full HD Display, Intel 8th Gen Core I5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 21.5 HRs Battery - 15Z990-U.AAS5U1 (2019), Dark Silver : Everything Else
Amazon.com: SAMSUNG Galaxy Book Pro Intel Evo Platform Laptop Computer 15.6" AMOLED Screen 11th Gen Intel Core i5 Processor 8GB Memory 512GB SSD Long-Lasting Battery, Mystic Blue : Everything Else

Take your time shopping, reading reviews, weighing preferences, etc., and enjoy your eventual choice.

 

[korab84]

Lenovo ThinkPad laptops, the X1 Yoga + T series, if you can afford them are really nice laptops

 

[martinkr]

^Thanks guys, but we do not have most of these models on offer here or they cost too much considering a typical salary here is just $745 per month.
Can you imagine that in many stores they still offer 4GB computers! In my experience Win 10 works slowly even with 6GB RAM on my double core Toshiba. It's not usable on my 4GB RAM Acer so I downgraded to Win 8.1 but even that is so slow. We almost have no new computers with Win 11 on offer and it's been two months since it was released, most are with Windows 10 or no OS. I'm just saying this to show you we're not a market that gets things fast.

We have the likes of:
Dell Vostro 3500 - I like this one as I can order it with 16GB from a small retailer for the price of an 8GB RAM at large retailers.
Dell Vostro 3515 ) it's even better value than the above as a 16GB version costs the same here as an 8GB Vostro 3500 but the hinges/cover of the 3515 looks flimsy and easily breakable:


Asus VivoBook 17, 17.3", HD+, Ryzen 3 - I like that it has 17.3" inch display but I don't know how good it is compared to the Dell? I hope ASUS are better quality than Acer, I'm afraid I saw this model has similar patterns on the case as my Acer.
A third option is some Lenovo like Lenovo IdeaPad 3 15ALC6

I use a Dell Latitude 5420 at work and while the screen is just 13" I've never seen such a sharp image on any laptop before so I'm almost decided on the Vostro 3500 as I have unpleasant BSOD memories with HP and Lenovo screens might not be as sharp. Is it any good? And what about the Asus VivoBook 17?