[Budget €800] Office use; Windows 10 Pro laptop with SSD, min 8GB RAM & ~15" screen

edanto

Budget: ~€800

Intended use: Mainly browsing and office apps. Running a few light VMs in hyperV. Never any gaming, no need for any graphics oooomph.

Mobility: Doesn't need to be small or light but battery life very important.

Warranty: Don't need extended warranty. Prefer a well known brand to get firmware updates etc.

What Operating System do you use? Windows 10 Pro to be able to defer feature updates etc.

Essentials:

[*]Win 10 Pro (can purchase pro upgrade separately)
[*]i5 chip or equivalent
[*]8GB RAM
[*]250 GB SSD (I'm happy to purchase SSD and migrate OS etc if that works out better value)
[*]Screen of ~14-15”
[*]Long battery life
[*]M2 slot or similar to add HDD


Nice to have:

• Ability to expand RAM to 16GB
• Better chipset

Trying to improve on:

(1) https://www.laptopsdirect.ie/lenovo-thinkpad-e580-20ks-core-i5-8250u-8gb-256gb-ssd-15.6-inch-windows-10-20ks001juk/version.asp

This one doesn't appear to have an M2 slot or similar to add HDD

(2) https://www.currys.ie/ieen/s_action/compare/10180997-10182474-10180942-10181896.html

This set are all Windows 10 Home and I'd much prefer Pro

(3) https://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=WCE3KY20ETABU

Little expensive and don't think it has a M2 slot or similar to add HDD

(4) If I can find a good match which comes with a HDD & a M2 slot, I'm comfortable buying my own SSD and migrating to it. Haven't found one yet.

EDIT - adjusted requirements to remove Win 10 Pro

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Does your second link have four laptops, two are over 1k? But you mention your budget is ~800?

Also, you can pick up Windows 10 Pro for about 40 USD.

edanto

Elijah Gigantic Pooch wrote: »

Does your second link have four laptops, two are over 1k? But you mention your budget is ~800?

Also, you can pick up Windows 10 Pro for about 40 USD.

Yes; need to refine that Currys link; I included the more costly ones in the compare just to see what specs were just above budget.

Am I missing out on any other good sites to compare laptops? It's a long long time since I bought one.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

www.hotukdeals.com is great. You can sign up and set up an email notification for new posts with certain key words. You'd want "laptop" for example.

edanto

Thanks; with a little scrolling I've found one that's in the right ballpark; especially since I don't need the Windows Pro anymore (purchase separately)

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/dell-inspiron-15-5575-i7-laptop-8gb-ram-amd-radeon-256gb-ssd-156-full-hd-silver-67995-2yr-warranty-john-lewis-partners-3173937

edit: that particular one isn't available any longer. I'll browse through that site, thanks.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

Check out the Irish dell outlet site (www.dell.ie/outlet). It is not great but on the odd occasion they can have a bargain.

THe Dell UK outlet site is far better. www.dell.co.uk/outlet. You'll have to use a mail re-delivery service like ParcelMotel, AddressPal etc.
They currently have some special discounts on the UK outlet store. See here.

I wouldn't rule out an 7th gen i5 instead of 8th gen i7. e.g Intel-Core-i7-8550U-vs-Intel-Core-i5-7300HQ. Real world performance, there isn't much in the difference.

Try and get a laptop that has a NVMe SSD rather than a SATA SSD.

Edit: The odd time, you can pick up a good deal on adverts.ie

this is fairly priced at 600 if it's still available

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0501sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10184651-pdt.html

4-core i5, (not much benefit in the 4-core i7 over i5 - less than 10% perf diff, would go 4-core over 2 tho as in 7th gen as will be a fair difference on programs that can use 4 cores)
8gb (can expand to 16 with 1x16 sodimm)
256gb nvme ssd on m.2 stick (room for another storage option inside on 2.5 inch size so sata ssd or older storage hd)
full hd ips screen 14 inch (not really noticeable in use compared to 15 inch)
11 hours quoted battery - should get at least 8
relatively light at 1.6kg

the people on this thread who have bought it reported that they are happy with it

crucial page shows ssd upgrades. nvme stick comes in it. 2.5inch slot free - sata ssd 2.5 shown as upgrade
https://eu.crucial.com/eur/en/compatible-upgrade-for//pavilion-14-%28models-14-ce000---14-ce099%29#SSDFilters

looks like this. nice modern design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg_H3Wt2s2M

edanto

Thanks. Stock seems low on that one in Ireland atm but really grateful for you linking too it. Seems perfect

that has been on sale for a while - seems to be totally out of stock

this is the same laptop but in stock
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0501sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10184651-pdt.html

but 128gb ssd instead of 256gb

still the one to go for imo

you could add in another ssd as they are cheap enough now e.g. 48 sterling for a 480gb ssd on amazon.

just open it up when you get it to confirm what slot is free (I think that it's the 2.5inch sata slot that's free but just open up to make sure)

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

The 256gb is available in most stores in the North if that's any good to you.

edanto

Ah nice one; a branch in the North might work out well. I have a pal passing through Newry on Thurs night and the Currys is open til 9 there so that could be a winner for the 256GB option. Plus it's ~€30 cheaper in Newry than in the Irish stores.

Odd that Currys are charging the same amount for the 128GB model - https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0002sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10180755-pdt.html

Can I ask where in the specs do ye see that this model has the option to fit a second HDD drive? I'm not doubting ye, just trying to learn what to look out for on the tech specs or what to google. I can't see anything related to it on the Currys tech specs tab.

look at the crucial link that I posted above

currys ireland had the 256gb one in stock but it's now out of stock - only 128gb one there now - other one was marked as a sale item before

shows m.2 and 2.5 inch items being suitable so one of those will be free.

I'm fairly sure that it's an m.2 stick inside leaving the 2.5 inch bay free so you could put in a 2.5 inch sata ssd or a 2.5 inch old-style spinning hard drive

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

What did you go for in the end edanto?

edanto

Ah - I missed the notification of a reply hence the long delay. In any case, I went for the one recommended above and it's working great.

Minor tweak; a pal was able to buy a very similar model through the HP friends & family store for about the same price (€600); delivery took a bit longer but no harm.

HP Pavilion Laptop 14-ce1005na
8th Gen Core i5-8265U
256GB SSD
8GB RAM
Win 10
14"

I've checked on Crucial to confirm I can do the same upgrades (16GB RAM & SATA SSD if needed in future) and that all seems to be fine.
https://eu.crucial.com/eur/en/scanview/224EAC5931D926C3

All in all, very happy.

Thanks to everyone in the thread for the advice.

just one thing as another user wanted to install a sata in the 2.5 inch space in that laptop.

the space is there but HP have made it awkward in that they omit a cable and/or housing if it was not originally provided with both drives (m.2. and 2.5 ) occupied.

edanto

Very helpful, thanks glasso.

I found a thread on the HP customer forum where someone listed the exact part numbers for housing/cable, so now I just need to source them and maybe find a video with how to open the case properly. I took a stab at it and it seemed like there was a concealed centre fixing that I couldn't figure out. I was reluctant to force it.

There's no rush on me finding these answers; I mainly wanted to put the link to the HP thread in here should anyone else be looking for the part numbers. If I find the other ingredients I'll post here too.

edanto

edanto wrote: »

Very helpful, thanks glasso.

I found a thread on the HP customer forum where someone listed the exact part numbers for housing/cable, so now I just need to source them and maybe find a video with how to open the case properly. I took a stab at it and it seemed like there was a concealed centre fixing that I couldn't figure out. I was reluctant to force it.

There's no rush on me finding these answers; I mainly wanted to put the link to the HP thread in here should anyone else be looking for the part numbers. If I find the other ingredients I'll post here too.

They don't seem to sell the parts tho weirdly.

Only ones were on eBay from people who got them out of laptops sold.

Chefjom

There are screws under the rubber "feet" as well

edanto

And very much in demand they seem to be on ebay.

The total price for the caddy & cable would be €160 or so from an ebay seller, before the price of the hard drive!!! That's a bit of a surprise.

HP Partsurfer only sells the parts in the US, they aren't listed in the Ireland/UK version. They're about $85 total with Partsurfer.

Still, no major problem. Reckon I can ask a US based friend for help to source the caddy & cable and get the upgrade done.

Also; I've found the service manual for the Pavilion which should sort out the problem of getting the back off without damage. http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05527168

probably just cheaper just to buy a bigger m.2 ssd - about 65 euro

forget about installing a second drive.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Timetec-Enterprise-Micron-Internal-MTFDDAV480MBF/dp/B07G843R6V/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1551655643&sr=8-4&keywords=m.2+480gb+ssd

really stupid by HP not to provide the laptop with the ability to add a second drive without hassle like this tho.

edanto

Good call, that is a much better way to solve it thanks.

Just pop in a new M.2 drive (I might wait a few months and go for the 1TB one) and then do a bare metal restore from Veeam Endpoint; nice and easy.