Laptop Deals Master Thread

[DaasTora]

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1769192-REG/dell_kcr3d_13_3_latitude_5340_multi_touch.html
Seems like an amazing deal.

Soldered 8 GB RAM though…..

[mevinyavin]

A few random responses/facts for @searchingFire

I'm not totally following what you want or why you want it.

The laptop I have - which as mentioned is not exactly the same model - has some metal on it but is also mostly plastic.
I brought mine as a comparison not to convince you to buy it, but rather, to point out that it is almost the same model number yet is plastic. My experience has been that 1000 series ASUS models are plastic and 3000 series are metal.
There are dGPUs that run quiet when you aren't stressing them out. However, you have yet to explain what you are doing with the graphics, so I personally cannot asses whether a 780M system will be sufficient for you. Lacking that info, I noted that dedicated graphics can often run quieter than integrated, particularly if the former is not being stressed out and the latter is. This is the primary reason that I don't recommend 780M computers for gaming unless the person's use of 'gaming' refers to Rocket League or a Truck Simulator, which any computer can run but a 780M can run extremely well at the highest settings with less electricity. As an aside, a Vega 7 paired with an 8-core processor can also do this quite well... Just saying.
I own a Swift X with a similar processor (to the model in my house - a 5800U) and dedicated graphics. It runs quietly most of the time, especially when it is not on performance mode. The fans go on, whether the processor and integrated graphics are stressed, or the dedicated graphics are stressed. The same goes for my GalaxyBook with only integrated graphics - quiet most of the time and loud on load. (A lot depends on how efficient the cooling is on the motherboard. However, gaming laptops tend to be loud more often and loud is louder. Check out Notebookcheck's decibel level section on any computer they reviewed - it is listed under 'emissions.') I say this as anecdotal evidence that your assumption regarding integrated graphics may not be accurate.
By all means, test it out and let us know. Feedback is always helpful.

[Chuchum Ainer]

A few random responses/facts for @searchingFire
... unless the person's use of 'gaming' refers to Rocket League or a Truck Simulator...

In my book 'gaming' refers to pinball. Shkoyach

[Moshe Green]

In my book 'gaming' refers to pinball. Shkoyach

You still on Windows 95?

[mevinyavin]

In my book 'gaming' refers to pinball. Shkoyach

Like I said.
I've been running this computer advice gemach since 2006. I've heard 'gaming' as a requirement and I know it can mean serious requirements or none at all. You may be surprised, maybe not, but you can run Euro Truck Simulator 2 at 2K Ultra settings on some Vega 7 or Iris Xe systems. (You can run it on medium settings at 1080p on 11th gen G7 graphics, with stuttering every yovel or so.)
That's why I asked for more detailed explanation, just like I would anytime someone mentions gaming.

[mevinyavin]

@searchingFire
Here's a list of notebookcheck reviews that are capped at laptops under 25 decibels under load (15-17"). Maybe you should search from these models. You can also filter by loudness when idle.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Laptop-Search.8223.0.html?&manufacturer=&model=&lang=2&gpu=&gpu_manu=&gpu_architecture=&gpu_class=&cpu=&cpu_manu=&cpu_generation=&cpu_cores=&inch=&inch_from=15&inch_to=17&screen_ratio=&screen_resolution_x=&screen_resolution_y=&screen_glossy=&screen_panel_type=&screen_panel=&screen_refresh_rate=&class=&rating=&reviewcount=&dr_workmanship=&dr_display=&dr_emissions=&dr_ergonomy=&dr_performance=&dr_mobility=&dr_temperature=&dr_audio=&dr_camera=&age=&min_age=&year_from=&year_till=&weight=&size_width=&size_length=&size_depth=&price=&min_price=&min_list_price=&list_price=&ram=&battery_capacity=&battery_capacity_mah=&hdd_size=&hdd_type=&odd_type=&lan_type=&wlan_type=&brightness_center=&de2000_colorchecker=&percent_of_srgb=&pwm=&loudness_min=&loudness_load=25&battery_wlan=&os_type=&tag_type=&nbcReviews=&orderby=0&scatterplot_x=&scatterplot_y=&scatterplot_r=

[DaasTora]

Anyone here used Dell.com price match program? I found some good deals that I wanted to match by them [for Amex BP purposes] and every time they respond that they don't have exact configurations.
Like these https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1762579-REG/lenovo_82y1001vus_16_ideapad_flex_5.html/quick-compare https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1769192-REG/dell_kcr3d_13_3_latitude_5340_multi_touch.html

[searchingFire]

A few random responses/facts for @searchingFire
The laptop I have - which as mentioned is not exactly the same model - has some metal on it but is also mostly plastic.
I brought mine as a comparison not to convince you to buy it, but rather, to point out that it is almost the same model number yet is plastic. My experience has been that 1000 series ASUS models are plastic and 3000 series are metal.
There are dGPUs that run quiet when you aren't stressing them out. However, you have yet to explain what you are doing with the graphics, so I personally cannot asses whether a 780M system will be sufficient for you. Lacking that info, I noted that dedicated graphics can often run quieter than integrated, particularly if the former is not being stressed out and the latter is. This is the primary reason that I don't recommend 780M computers for gaming unless the person's use of 'gaming' refers to Rocket League or a Truck Simulator, which any computer can run but a 780M can run extremely well at the highest settings with less electricity. As an aside, a Vega 7 paired with an 8-core processor can also do this quite well... Just saying.
I own a Swift X with a similar processor (to the model in my house - a 5800U) and dedicated graphics. It runs quietly most of the time, especially when it is not on performance mode. The fans go on, whether the processor and integrated graphics are stressed, or the dedicated graphics are stressed. The same goes for my GalaxyBook with only integrated graphics - quiet most of the time and loud on load. (A lot depends on how efficient the cooling is on the motherboard. However, gaming laptops tend to be loud more often and loud is louder. Check out Notebookcheck's decibel level section on any computer they reviewed - it is listed under 'emissions.') I say this as anecdotal evidence that your assumption regarding integrated graphics may not be accurate.
By all means, test it out and let us know. Feedback is always helpful.

Hello, thank you for all your help it is greatly appreciated. That being said, my use cases are being able to play games like GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and ~90%+ of ROBLOX games on high settings. Vega 7 can do it quite well but it's not as capable as the 780M which is inside the CPU of 7940HS. Here's what I saw when I looked at the laptop reviews for Acer X, it looks like the fan is always on. I have an issue with this, prefer fan to be off under normal usage which is basically low usage for purposes like coding and word document plus design (bits of image editing like using Paint in Windows 11).

I had the Acer Helios Neo 16 RTX 4050 and it has comparable dB levels to the Acer X that you have. When I was in possession of it, the fan was never off. Even during low usage or normal it would spin at 1800 RPM and was not adjustable. I just don't find that acceptable especially during high focus tasks like coding. By default, I never had integrated gpu cpuS that would run fans 24-7. My current is a Dell with the Intel Xe Iris graphics and the fans are 80% of the time off during normal usage (or at 500 RPM very low low low noise).

The Vivobook (similar model to the one I should be receiving soon) looks like the fans turn off at low usage:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-VivoBook-S15-D533UA-Review-Ryzen-7-all-rounder-with-good-battery-runtimes.551186.0.html

Search for "emissions" and look for the footnote where it says the fans actually turn off during low usage.

This is not the case with the Acer X that you have:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Swift-X-14-laptop-review-with-RTX-3050-Underchallenged-i5-1240P.666658.0.html

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Predator-Helios-Neo-16-laptop-review-Acer-has-created-a-gaming-chimera.765436.0.html

Said to be one of the quietest laptop on the gaming market segment but I don't think that's true because fans are always on no matter what.

And from some user reviews of gaming laptops in general, I found out they tried it under quiet library environments and the noise was definitely audible.

Here's a Dell with integrated graphics that I have used before:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Inspiron-15-3000-3511-laptop-review-Making-cheaper-better.593398.0.html

Extremely quiet experience, I never heard the fan turn on unless I had a game going which is fantastic. I'm OKAY with hearing fans turn on when gaming but I don't like when it's always on even during low usage tasks, I just think that's the bare minimum and it's incredibly inefficient (and I think it's definitely a design flaw).

To date there are only 2 gaming laptops that I have heard have the ability for the fans to be off during normal usage : the Dell G15 which turns fan on around 65 celsius according to some users and the Lenovo Legion which is preferred, it doesn't have official support for turning fans off but some clever developer was able to take control of the fan. You can turn fans off in Legion Fan Control software (when temps are below 50 celsius or so) you can turn fans to 0 rpm, I believe. However these two laptops i.m.o don't really have a deal going for them and they do sport the 15.6 in screen compared to the Vivobook that I ordered which has 16 inches.

I have yet to test the Vivobook. There was someone that noted that Vivobooks have failed in the past (malfunctioned) but I think this happens with a lot of models and you take a chance regardless. For instance, when I did research on the Lenovo Legoon laptop, I saw that it is possible for it to fail even though it had a reputation of great build quality some users were reporting issues with it after around a year or so. At that price point, it is costly for a failure to happen so I did not want to take a chance because if it failed a bit out of warranty I'd be out my money when I could have had 2 laptops totaling 1k$ ish after tax.

@searchingFire
Here's a list of notebookcheck reviews that are capped at laptops under 25 decibels under load (15-17"). Maybe you should search from these models. You can also filter by loudness when idle.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Laptop-Search.8223.0.html?&manufacturer=&model=&lang=2&gpu=&gpu_manu=&gpu_architecture=&gpu_class=&cpu=&cpu_manu=&cpu_generation=&cpu_cores=&inch=&inch_from=15&inch_to=17&screen_ratio=&screen_resolution_x=&screen_resolution_y=&screen_glossy=&screen_panel_type=&screen_panel=&screen_refresh_rate=&class=&rating=&reviewcount=&dr_workmanship=&dr_display=&dr_emissions=&dr_ergonomy=&dr_performance=&dr_mobility=&dr_temperature=&dr_audio=&dr_camera=&age=&min_age=&year_from=&year_till=&weight=&size_width=&size_length=&size_depth=&price=&min_price=&min_list_price=&list_price=&ram=&battery_capacity=&battery_capacity_mah=&hdd_size=&hdd_type=&odd_type=&lan_type=&wlan_type=&brightness_center=&de2000_colorchecker=&percent_of_srgb=&pwm=&loudness_min=&loudness_load=25&battery_wlan=&os_type=&tag_type=&nbcReviews=&orderby=0&scatterplot_x=&scatterplot_y=&scatterplot_r=

Will look into that looks great!

Thanks for all your help!

Hopefully I can post an update soon regarding the Vivobook.

[mevinyavin]

Hello, thank you for all your help it is greatly appreciated. That being said, my use cases are being able to play games like GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2, and ~90%+ of ROBLOX games on high settings. Vega 7 can do it quite well but it's not as capable as the 780M which is inside the CPU of 7940HS.
So decent gaming but not too terrible. Do you not want to do any future proofing at all? RDR2 in particular can benefit from better specs than a 780M.

Here's what I saw when I looked at the laptop reviews for Acer X, it looks like the fan is always on. I have an issue with this, prefer fan to be off under normal usage which is basically low usage for purposes like coding and word document plus design (bits of image editing like using Paint in Windows 11).
Your post has you conflating models all over the place. 1. I didn't say you should buy the Swift X. 2. You were looking at a different Swift X.

I had the Acer Helios Neo 16 RTX 4050 and it has comparable dB levels to the Acer X that you have. When I was in possession of it, the fan was never off. Even during low usage or normal it would spin at 1800 RPM and was not adjustable. I just don't find that acceptable especially during high focus tasks like coding. By default, I never had integrated gpu cpuS that would run fans 24-7. My current is a Dell with the Intel Xe Iris graphics and the fans are 80% of the time off during normal usage (or at 500 RPM very low low low noise).
Okay. It is clear that you don't mind fans when stressing the system but want quiet when you won't be.

The Vivobook (similar model to the one I should be receiving soon) looks like the fans turn off at low usage:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-VivoBook-S15-D533UA-Review-Ryzen-7-all-rounder-with-good-battery-runtimes.551186.0.html
Search for "emissions" and look for the footnote where it says the fans actually turn off during low usage.
This 2021 model has nothing to do with the one you ordered. Perhaps the only thing it has in common is the name Vivobook and the name Ryzen 7 (and we know what that is worth) - unlike my model, which has a single letter off in the model number. Not saying you are wrong regarding the computer you bought, just saying it has nothing to do with this review.


This is not the case with the Acer X that you have:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Swift-X-14-laptop-review-with-RTX-3050-Underchallenged-i5-1240P.666658.0.html
As mentioned, this is not the model I have. Comparing the noise of a 15W Ryzen 7 (Zen 3) with a 28W i7 (12th gen) is laughable.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Predator-Helios-Neo-16-laptop-review-Acer-has-created-a-gaming-chimera.765436.0.html

Said to be one of the quietest laptop on the gaming market segment but I don't think that's true because fans are always on no matter what.
I believe that your computer was audible when on low usage, but are you sure this is the same model?

And from some user reviews of gaming laptops in general, I found out they tried it under quiet library environments and the noise was definitely audible.

Here's a Dell with integrated graphics that I have used before:

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Inspiron-15-3000-3511-laptop-review-Making-cheaper-better.593398.0.html

Extremely quiet experience, I never heard the fan turn on unless I had a game going which is fantastic. I'm OKAY with hearing fans turn on when gaming but I don't like when it's always on even during low usage tasks, I just think that's the bare minimum and it's incredibly inefficient (and I think it's definitely a design flaw).

To date there are only 2 gaming laptops that I have heard have the ability for the fans to be off during normal usage : the Dell G15 which turns fan on around 65 celsius according to some users and the Lenovo Legion which is preferred, it doesn't have official support for turning fans off but some clever developer was able to take control of the fan. You can turn fans off in Legion Fan Control software (when temps are below 50 celsius or so) you can turn fans to 0 rpm, I believe. However these two laptops i.m.o don't really have a deal going for them and they do sport the 15.6 in screen compared to the Vivobook that I ordered which has 16 inches.

I have yet to test the Vivobook. There was someone that noted that Vivobooks have failed in the past (malfunctioned) but I think this happens with a lot of models and you take a chance regardless. For instance, when I did research on the Lenovo Legoon laptop, I saw that it is possible for it to fail even though it had a reputation of great build quality some users were reporting issues with it after around a year or so. At that price point, it is costly for a failure to happen so I did not want to take a chance because if it failed a bit out of warranty I'd be out my money when I could have had 2 laptops totaling 1k$ ish after tax.
Every computer on the market has some lemons (except maybe Apple?).
Will look into that looks great!

Thanks for all your help!

Hopefully I can post an update soon regarding the Vivobook.
You ordered it, you may as well see if it fits your needs.

Comments in bold above.

[mevinyavin]

Inspiron 15 3xxx with 12th gen i5 now $320. Decent price.
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3520-laptop/nn3520gmqch?ref=variantstack

[mevinyavin]

@searchingFire
This is a "feature review" in case you haven't seen it. Also decide if worth returning to BB and buying for $100 less at Amazon.

ASUS VivoBook 16 Laptop, 16” WUXGA (1920 x 1200) 16:10 Display, AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS CPU, AMD Radeon™ Graphics, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11 Home, Cool Silver, M1605XA-EB96 ($799.99 )

[Jason1]

Hi all, 
I'm looking to buy a new laptop 15"- 16" for light home/office work, would prefer min 8GB RAM 512GB, Touchscreen would be a plus, and strong build (had a few issues with Lenovo Ideapad hinges), looking for up to ~$600 range. I would appreciate your input.
p.s. if there any good deals now on 14" that would also be fine.
Thanks all!

[Chuchum Ainer]

Just a recap of some deals posted here which are still available.

$250 in store https://www.microcenter.com/product/671050/lenovo-ideapad-1-14-laptop-computer-cloud-grey?storeid=115

$300 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-IdeaPad-Flex-5-14-WUXGA-Multi-Touch-Intel-Core-i3-1215U-8GB-RAM-UHD-Graphics-256GB-SSD-Win-11-Home-S-Mode-Storm-Grey-82R7003WUS/2542512382

$330 refurbished in store https://www.microcenter.com/product/675666/acer-aspire-vero-av14-51-58xz-14-laptop-computer-(refurbished)-cobblestone-gray

$400 https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3525-laptop/nn3525ghhvs

$500 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-Ideapad-5-15-6-FHD-IPS-Laptop-AMD-Ryzen-7-5825U-16GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-Abyss-Blue-Windows-11-Home-82SG00BLUS/1147612552

$500 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1772712-REG/lenovo_82xf0065us_16_ideapad_slim_5i.html/specs

$600 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BTQWR77M

$680 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-2-in-1-14-full-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-ssd-natural-silver/6535747.p?skuId=6535747

[mevinyavin]

Hi all, 
I'm looking to buy a new laptop 15"- 16" for light home/office work, would prefer min 8GB RAM 512GB, Touchscreen would be a plus, and strong build (had a few issues with Lenovo Ideapad hinges), looking for up to ~$600 range. I would appreciate your input.
p.s. if there any good deals now on 14" that would also be fine.
Thanks all!

Any of these qualify as strong build:

Just a recap of some deals posted here which are still available.

$500 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-Ideapad-5-15-6-FHD-IPS-Laptop-AMD-Ryzen-7-5825U-16GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-Abyss-Blue-Windows-11-Home-82SG00BLUS/1147612552

$500 https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1772712-REG/lenovo_82xf0065us_16_ideapad_slim_5i.html/specs

$600 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BTQWR77M

$680 https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-2-in-1-14-full-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-ssd-natural-silver/6535747.p?skuId=6535747

Which Ideapad hinges gave you trouble?

[mevinyavin]

Woot: Acer laptops today:
old... overpriced... both... yawn...

[NTorch]

Best Buy One Day special - Lenovo Ideapad 1 15.6" Laptop - Ryzen 7 5700U with 16GB Memory - AMD Radeon Graphics - 512GB SSD - Cloud Gray $399 (reg $799)

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-ideapad-1-15-6-laptop-ryzen-7-5700u-with-16gb-memory-amd-radeon-graphics-512gb-ssd-cloud-gray/6555683.p?skuId=6555683

[mevinyavin]

Aspire 5 (metal) with 13th gen i7, 16GB RAM for $550. Decent price.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Laptop-Aspire-5-Intel-Core-i7-13th-Gen-1355U-1-70GHz-16-GB-LPDDR5-Memory-512-PCIe-SSD-Iris-Xe-Graphics-15-6-Windows-11-Home-64-bit-A515-58M-78JL/2500743558?

[mevinyavin]

$350 - HP Elitebook 14 with Ryzen 5 Pro 5650U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, at Micro Center. Shipping is available ($). @jj1000
I had my hands on the 13" version last week. This thing is built like a tank. Note that some reviews mention the advertised "1000-nit" screen that killed battery life (when on high brightness), but you don't have the right to great battery life at this price anyways. Model is about three years old but the computer is new, and plenty powerful for office work.
https://www.microcenter.com/product/676967/hp-elitebook-845-g8-14-laptop-computer

[Chuchum Ainer]

$350 - HP Elitebook 14 with Ryzen 5 Pro 5650U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD,

Some of the reviews say it's a refurb

[DaasTora]

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-14-2-in-1-laptop/spd/inspiron-14-7430-2-in-1-laptop/usi2hbts7430gghh
$700