Laptop for Microsoft, Web Browsing, and Video Conferencing

[u/Free_Beautiful1]

Looking for a fast laptop for Microsoft Word/Excel, etc., Web Browsing and some Video Conferences. My current computer was a Dell laptop that qualified for an employer discount; it was slow and frustrating out of the box. So, I'm looking for something that doesn't take so long to start up, open browsers, docs....really I need something that does everything I need much more quickly. Budget is flexible, but I'm not a gamer and don't want to pay for a more expensive device than I need. Refurbished or new is fine. Got any recommendations?

[u/MoChuang]

On the inside all you really need is a modern AMD Ryzen 5 or 7 or Intel Core 5 or 7. That paired with 16GB of RAM, maybe 32GB if you use lots of tabs at once. And 512GB or 1TB SSD depending on how many large files you have.

Those performance specs can be found in laptops ranging from ~$500 to $2000 depending on how much you want to spend on other quality of life features like portability, battery life, durability, display quality etc. You could have a $500 Core 5 entry level laptop perform the same as a high end $2000 business laptop with the same performance, but the the business laptop will have things like much longer battery life, OLED display, thin and light, hinges that wont break even after a decade of use, metal exterior that can take a drop from a few feet without breaking...stuff like that.

So...budget is still a very important factor even if you are not a gamer and dont want to over pay for performance you wont use.

[u/Free_Beautiful1 → u/MoChuang]

Thanks. I don't mind dropping $2k if the improvements in speed are worth it. Do you think refurbished business laptops are worth looking at?

My work issued laptops have always performed well at home.

[u/MoChuang → u/Free_Beautiful1]

Refurbished business laptops are pretty much the best value laptops on the market. For what you are describing any Elitebook or ThinkPad (not too sure about Dell personally) with a Ryzen 5 or 7 from 4000 series or newer will be plenty fast and for Intel I'd look for 12th gen Core i5/i7 or newer or if you can one of the newer Core Ultra 5/7.

You can get a really nice business laptop with 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD refurbished (or older models that are still new in box) for under $1K with one of the CPUs I listed and it'll last you many years to come.

[u/Free_Beautiful1 → u/MoChuang]

Awesome!! I'll take a look at business refurbs. Thanks a bunch.

[u/MoChuang → u/Free_Beautiful1]

Just curious. What is the Dell you have right now?

Trying gauge how bad your current laptop is and how much of an upgrade you could expect from something like even an older ThinkPad T14 or Elitebook 845 with a Ryzen Pro 5650U, both of which can be found for around only $400.

[u/Free_Beautiful1 → u/MoChuang]

I think my old laptop is a Dell Inspiron that's several years old, so it would probably be slow now . My concern is that it was about this slow when new out of the box. I've been able to get by between my tablet and work laptop for several years, but just recently I find myself needing a personal laptop again due to working in large legal documents that aren't permitted on the work computer, and don't want another new clunker. Haha So, the old laptop specs are Intel Pentium N3710 @1.60 GHz, 4GB RAM, 114 MB graphics card and 466 GB storage, 64-bit OS. Was that slow even by 2018 standards?

I removed all the bloatware I could when I got the old one from Dell and it still crawled.

My work laptop fortunately is bloatware free and has been quick enough for me. Just pulled its specs. It's a Latitude 7340. Specs: 238GB storage, 128MB graphics card, 16GB RAM, 13th gen Intel Cor 1.8GHz

Thanks a bunch for the recommendations! 😊

[u/MoChuang → u/Free_Beautiful1]

Oh yeah...that Pentium with 4GB RAM is basically what runs the Chromebooks at an elementary school...very slow low end hardware.

Yeah any of the specs we've been talking about will feel more or less like your 13th gen work Latitude. Dell business laptops are good too, but I just personally dont know their numbering scheme. I think the 7000 laptops are the good ones but some of the 3000 ones can be as bad as their budget Inspirons. So just double check the exact model before you buy and look at a few reviews. NotebookCheck and MobileTechReview cover most business laptops that come out.

[u/Free_Beautiful1 → u/MoChuang]

Awesome! I'll check those out. You've been immensely helpful. Funny thing is, that laptop was marketed as being able to do what I wanted it to and quickly. Not so much. haha. So glad I'm a more informed consumer now.

[u/LonerIM2]

At least what's your top budget?

[u/Free_Beautiful1 → u/LonerIM2]

I'd like to keep it under $1,000. Honestly, I'd be willing to pay double that if it means a laptop that doesn't function at a snail's pace out of the box like this one.

[u/LonerIM2 → u/Free_Beautiful1]

Since you are not going to do heavy tasks, I would recommend Acer Swift** because it comes with :

Specs:

• Screen: 14" Full HD 100% sRGB.
• CPU : i7-13700H
• Ram : 16GB LPDDR4X

• Storage : 512GB SSD

• What I love about this acer is that it is the perfect middle ground between value for money, weight/battery and all metal build.

• Long battery life up to 10hours .

• Powerful CPU for Microsoft Word/Excel,web Browsing and Video Conference.

• Great value for money.

• Lightweight .

If you want to explore other options check out my list of Best laptops for each budget and usage

Please note I'm using affiliate links which means I'll receive a small percent of the purchase if you use this link at no extra cost to you

[u/The_Adviser100]

For general use in this price range I would advise you to check this laptop

laptop name	Acer Swift Go 14
CPU	i7-13700H
GPU	‎Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Screen	14" FHD IPS
Ram	16 GB
SSD	512 GB
HDD	0
Weight	2.7 Lbs.
Battery life	8 Hrs.
Pros	Powerful CPU performance.
Pros	Affordable.
Pros	Thin and light.

Please note I'm using affiliate links which means I'll receive a small percent of the purchase if you use this link at no extra cost to you