3 votes

Suggestions for a tablet or a light laptop

Posted by guissmo
Tags: ask.recommendations, hardware, laptops, tablets

Hello, my friend recently lost their laptop (long story) and has kindly asked me to help them out to find a replacement.

I've had success asking here before, so I would be very grateful for any help or direction.

Here are the main criteria, based on what we've discussed.

  • Can compile LaTeX.
  • Can run Jupyter notebooks, Python, and the like.
  • Can play non-AAA games like Binding of Isaac, Balatro, Dofus.
  • Can play YouTube videos, and Twitch streams. (Not picky about screen quality.)
  • Maximum 13" screen, can be smaller I think?
  • As light as possible (a tablet + keyboard combo might be worth it).
  • USB port for transferring files (to their institution's ancient printers)
  • Ports to connect a mouse, gamepad, etc.
  • Bluetooth, wifi, webcam
  • Lasts at least four hours on battery (if not gaming)
  • Under 1000 euros preferably (willing to make exceptions if you think it is worth it)

Here are the nice-to-haves:

  • HDMI slot
  • Long-lasting battery
  • Nice mic and webcam
  • Nice screen quality
  • Repairable

Don't care about:

  • Stylus
  • SD card reader

My friend is mostly used to Windows but I think if I could make a strong case for Ubuntu then they might be open to it if that's relevant.

Thanks for reading!

4 comments

  1. vord
    Link
    The AMD Thinkpad P14 is the update of what I loved, does well with Windows or Linux. No touchscreen. 14 inches, but only 1.3 kg. I ended up upgrading to a slightly larger Ideapad, with a...

    The AMD Thinkpad P14 is the update of what I loved, does well with Windows or Linux. No touchscreen. 14 inches, but only 1.3 kg.

    I ended up upgrading to a slightly larger Ideapad, with a touchscreen, because I was able to get it for under $500, but I miss the nipple, how light it was, and a functional fingerprint sensor on Linux.

    1 vote
  2. [3]
    the-boy-sebastian
    Link
    not sure where you're based but refurbished X1 Carbons and XPS 13s go for about 350-500 GBP for an i7 model on eBay. they'll be a few generations old but I'm sure will be able to blitz through all...

    not sure where you're based but refurbished X1 Carbons and XPS 13s go for about 350-500 GBP for an i7 model on eBay. they'll be a few generations old but I'm sure will be able to blitz through all the requirements listed. I've had a couple laptops and a tower server off eBay and all came well-packaged and as sold.

    1. [2]
      guissmo
      Link Parent
      Hmm. Never thought of that. I'll look into that. We're based in France.

      Hmm. Never thought of that. I'll look into that. We're based in France.

      1. the-boy-sebastian
        Link Parent
        the most recent laptop I got off eBay was a Latitude 7300 for £120 to use as a Linux machine (I daily drive an M2 Air because of the work I do which limits my dual-booting abilities). 8th gen i5,...

        the most recent laptop I got off eBay was a Latitude 7300 for £120 to use as a Linux machine (I daily drive an M2 Air because of the work I do which limits my dual-booting abilities). 8th gen i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVME storage, 13" FHD IPS display, fingerprint sensor (that works in Linux!), absolutely no complaints. the only reason I wouldn't recommend it for your friend is it's probably slightly thicker and heavier than they want -- I was looking at an XPS 13/X1 Carbon but went with the 7300 because it was way cheaper for pretty similar specs