It’s that lovely time when several expensive possessions begin failing at the same time! Yay! In the market for a new laptop. What’s out there is always changing and I haven’t seen any threads about it recently, so I thought it’d be okay to ask.
So far my hunt is telling me that Dell has the most reasonable prices for quality, but I’ve had Dells in the past and I was never overly thrilled with them. Checked HP and everything looks considerably overpriced. Had a bad experience with Lenovo years ago and vowed never to use them again…
Today I went to a PC store near my house and noticed they only sell Iiyama brand stuff. They seem comparable in price to Dell’s Japanese prices/specs, but I have no idea about the quality. Was wondering if anyone here has any advice?
EDIT: I ended up buying from Asus. I got a ROG Strix G17 for 13万円 after tax, discounted from 18万. It’s got a 3050 TI, 17.3″ monitor, Ryzen 7 4800H, and 512GB SSD. Not crazy specs but I think that’s pretty okay for the price, especially in Japan. I’ll let you know how it goes in an update.
13 comments
MacBook Air and dell xps are the generic answers here for a mid to high end 13 inch laptop. Unless you have a weird use case pretty good points to start.
iiyama was an old company specializing in LCD monitors that got bought by mouse computer around 16 years ago, and any laptops they sell now are just your generic clevo/china rebrands. The quality is ok for a non-brand device. Not sure why you’re seeing overpriced HP, but you didn’t mention what specs/size/etc you’re looking for, 10-15 is not enough for a quality ultrabook but is definitely enough for a daily beater with standard specs
Why not buy a gaming laptop? Even though you will not use it for gaming it should last a while. Dell and apple products are kind of expensive for the the specs they offer.
Just like the other user said check out dospara and ill add some other options like pc ark, mouse, pc koubou. Find the model you like and also check it out on amazon, sometimes amazon is cheaper on the same model.
I got an Iiyama GPU workstation and so far I like it a lot.
Look at asus online. Much more reasonable prices for product.
I’ve had good experiences with the Dell XPS and HP Elitebooks for normal everyday ultrabooks. I haven’t been a big fan of Lenevo for a number of years and can’t really recommend them.
Although I still prefer the Surface line up. I switched back to the Surface Pro last year (from Surface Book) and couldn’t be happier with the power I get in such a small and lightweight unit. I pair it with an Anker 65W PD charger and the combo weights almost nothing in my bag. The plus is you can easily change keyboards if you don’t want to stick with the J-keyboard (I use both US and UK keyboards depending on which work I’m doing — I don’t like the crowded J-keyboard layouts).
I’ve only been burned by off brands. The Dells and HPs might seem overpriced, but laptops are commodities these days (outside of Apple), so their premium is really going into their quality, specs and warranties.
I have a ASUS TUF gaming laptop that I’ve had for three years and it runs great.
I find ASUS to be affordable (I spent 100,000k on my laptop three years back,)
Next laptop I get is another ASUS. They’re pretty badass.
Had one in the past, will
Not have another one in the future.
It was garbage and I won’t risk 250,000¥ again.
Look at Lenovo brand laptops. You can find a decent one in your price range.
Those prices sound insane. I got a huuuge discount when I ordered my laptop online from yodobashi camera. Can you check online too? I just checked and the laptop I got is no longer for sale. It was 40 percent cheaper than Amazon and yahoo. Even cheaper than kakakus cheapest price because I got points back.
Wait for a deal?
I don’t know about Iiyama, but I have a Dell XPS 13 at home and use an HP Elitebook at work.
I can say that what is ‘best’ and what I’d recommend would depend on what you’re looking for.
The XPS’ screen and speakers are miles ahead of everything else I’ve seen except macbooks. However, the wifi module etc tends to be soldered to the motherboard, so they’re impossible to replace if you have issues. The faux “carbon-fibre” (rubberised plastic) finish feels awful and the hinge is too stiff to open with one hand. It also runs quite hot.
The Elitebook has far and away the best build quality with the aluminium shell and hinge. It feels really solid, it is quiet and runs cool. But the screen isn’t great and the keyboard, which is prone to issues, is completely non-replaceable. That said, the keyboard is above average overall. The port selection is also better than the XPS’.
Both of these are leagues ahead of anything you’ll find for cheaper – you really do get what you pay for with laptops. I strongly recommend spending more money on a laptop which will last longer than saving and having to replace it or getting stuck with a slow CPU.
If I were trying to buy a new laptop today, I’d probably import a Framework from abroad… or get another XPS, because that screen is so nice. But I do often think to myself while I’m at work that the experience of using the Elitebook is better than the XPS thanks to the superior materials used – aluminium over plastic.
I think if you’re going to work on this computer, or hook it up to an external display etc then the Elitebook is the best choice. If you’re consuming media though, the XPS is better – just do yourself a favour and get a skin for the palmrest.
HP Aero 13. If you don’t need a lot of power and want portability, I’m happy with mine
They are Clevo laptops. Iiyama just makes badges.
Think of them as a Japanese Sager, but with less support.