Best slim laptop?

Kit

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Nov 2, 2019
163
75
I thought I would ask here as I am getting bamboozled by the sheer amount of laptops on the market at the moment!

I am looking for a small/light laptop for my MBA course which im starting in January next year, I just need it for uni work so lightness/battery life and durability/build quality are the most important factors for me as I am going to use my SFF rig for any heavy lifting/gaming.

I'm not a brand snob but equally I wouldn't mind buying an Apple product for a premium if it fit my above requirements.

Any suggestions for ideally sub $1K?
 

Frenzy

Trash Compacter
Feb 14, 2020
47
18
Hiya, was half looking for a new worklaptop myself.

Two options I settled on. Thin/Light/small rugged:

1. Sub $1k Lenovo X13 with AMD processors.

2. Little over $1k (~1400) Dell XPS 13. I really like the design and the build quality is solid.
 
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biopunk

Airflow Optimizer
Sep 24, 2020
248
359
If you don't need Windows I strongly recommend looking at the new 13" MacBook Air and Pro. With Apple Silicon, Apple is now years ahead of competition when it comes to performance and battery life.
 
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Kit

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Nov 2, 2019
163
75
Hiya, was half looking for a new worklaptop myself.

Two options I settled on. Thin/Light/small rugged:

1. Sub $1k Lenovo X13 with AMD processors.

2. Little over $1k (~1400) Dell XPS 13. I really like the design and the build quality is solid.

Thanks for the suggestions, will have a look!

If you don't need Windows I strongly recommend looking at the new 13" MacBook Air and Pro. With Apple Silicon, Apple is now years ahead of competition when it comes to performance and battery life.

Is that the Apple M1 chip?

Leaning toward the Air, do you think the Pro is work the 30% uplift?
 

biopunk

Airflow Optimizer
Sep 24, 2020
248
359
Thanks for the suggestions, will have a look!



Is that the Apple M1 chip?

Leaning toward the Air, do you think the Pro is work the 30% uplift?
Yep Apple M1.

Pro is worth the extra cost only if you plan on running sustained multi-core workloads, which doesn't seem to be your use case.
I think the completely silent and lighter Air would be better for you.
 
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Kit

Cable-Tie Ninja
Original poster
Nov 2, 2019
163
75
Gawd buying my first apple product since an ipod shuffle when I was a kid :D

Does Apple ever participate in January sales, wondering if I might be better off waiting until after Christmas to buy one?
 

biopunk

Airflow Optimizer
Sep 24, 2020
248
359
I don't think Apple's new products get discounted so soon. But you might be eligible for a student discount.
 
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DrLeroy

Noob Saibot
May 15, 2020
186
117
XPS13 has been my go too laptop for years, still rocking a 9350 for my personal laptop, 4k 13" touch screen in the form of a 12" laptop. good battery life, good track pad. . keyboard is 'okay' but more than liveable. but spec with what you need, as they are not upgradeable beyond a bigger nvme.
I've transitioned to a precision 5540 for work now(essentially an xps 15" but with a Quadro T2000 instead of a 1650) as I am back into CAD tool administration, but I swear by the XPS13, by far the best laptops i have ever owned.

Above said, I do miss OSX, ive had the 21013 trash can mac pro (still regret selling that!) and 13" macbook pro's and for basic daily email, document creation and research tasks OSX is a much more pleasant experience than Windows, I have a 2014 mac mini i use to home media sharing to my apple TV's as every time i log into it it reminds me how crappy windows is.

Once Hackintosh on Ryzen is more stable with full functionality ill probably go back that path.

Bottom line, I second the recommendations above for an Macbook Air (apple Silicon should make this better than ever) or the ever faithful XPS 13" (opt for the 1080 non-touch screen if you want more battery life and do not care for the touch, you gain a decent amount back from the 4k to 1080 resolution drop, around an hour or so of battery life)
 
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Frenzy

Trash Compacter
Feb 14, 2020
47
18
Gawd buying my first apple product since an ipod shuffle when I was a kid :D

Does Apple ever participate in January sales, wondering if I might be better off waiting until after Christmas to buy one?

If both Win10 or Apple OS are ok for you. I had an Air several years ago, thought i could adapt to Apple OS, I really tried, but just had to install bootcamp after a while (windows ). Found OS quite impossibe to use tbh

But if you can live with OSX, i'd say Apply Air m1 is a pretty compelling package for Uni work (if your class doesnt need win10 software).
Only go for the M1 Pro if you need sustained loads for +20 minutes, still, the air better bang for buck
 
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