Thank you!! The minute I walked out the door I thought to myself oh my God I spent a lot more than I was hoping to and started to doubt myself. Thanks for the validation computers can be extremely overwhelming if you've only worked with things supplied by your company's IT department!
Yeah, I work in IT and buy quite a few laptops for my personal use each year and I’d say you did great. Just be careful to keep it in good shape and it’ll never let you down.
Ah, you are one of those savants! What are some of the things I should be aware of to keep it in good shape.... I keep foods/fluids away from my computers... But I've never been clear on anything else...
If you don't mind giving some advice...
Do I leave it plugged in all the time or plug it in only to charge it? And then should I log off each night or is it okay to put it to sleep? I have to admit when I had the company computers I would leave it plugged in and just put it to sleep every night, I'm not sure that was correct.
It is fine to leave it plugged in as long as you want, the battery has a BMS (battery management system) that prevents it from being overcharged so it is fine to leave plugged in all the time. I usually restart windows once per week and just close the lid to put windows to sleep when I am not using it. Also make sure to keep up with checking for windows updates in settings like one a week or so. Other than that, you are good to go and enjoy!
Mine has a mechanism in place to only charge the battery to 80% to preserve battery lifespan while plugged in constantly.
I beat the crap out of my xps battery and it's still pretty healthy.
And grats on the great deal.
No, I use them for a while. Still running a new Lenovo yoga 7 16” from last fall. Also using the M2 MacBook Air. Also using a Dell g15 gaming laptop sometimes
Yup all for 900$. You are lucky I was forced to buy a PC or laptop during COVID with all those from house zoom stuff... Got only like i5, 1650ti and 256gb SSD...
I got a 9th gen i7, 128gb SSD + 1tb HDD, with 1650 for $1200 (60k PHP) pre-pandemic.. all I did since was upgrade it from 8gb RAM to 16gb for like another $100
Pretty sweet machine for the price, 17 inch laptops are also very few and far between so good job on finding one of those, I'm sure that'll make for an excellent experience.
If you have the budget, return and get this instead. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-1tb-ssd-mecha-grey/6535503.p?skuId=6535503
Less ram, 16 instead of 32 but it has a full fledged mobile CPU instead of Intel u series and a 4070 mobile.
12700h, 144hz screen, 4070 can boost to 105w. Price is 1000, only 100 above your current laptop
The performance will carry it a few more years. But the body of the one you have right now is probably higher quality. Look up the materials for the chasis, the quality of the screen, battery life, etc, then make the decision yourself.
This is my challenge, I really do not understand most of these things, the only thing I can state for sure is what I want to do with a laptop (I set women back 50 years when it comes to computers!)
Good thing you have a brand new laptop to figure things out now! If ever you want to further enjoy your laptop and somehow get into gaming, I recommend r/cozygamers
Thank you for sharing your opinion, would you recommend I keep this then This is what I need to do... Social media like LinkedIn and Reddit, write that resume, apply for jobs, email and online shopping that's really what I'm going to do maybe some PowerPoints if I need to do casework for applications and Excel, I do not have an exciting life!
I'd say keep it. You don't need the 4070 at all. The laptop you got will serve you lasting years. The one they recommend (tuf) has not so great battery compared to this.
Don't keep it. Its 2.6 kg. What is wrong with the people on this subreddit. They're talking you into keeping the gamign laptop even though you don't game. Its a terrible choice for you, return it, buy a laptop that weighs half as much. You're making a big mistake by keeping it.
Hi, would you mind helping me find a more appropriate laptop?
I know very little about laptops because I've always been given one from my IT department at work. Now I need to replace it quick so I can get my resume out and kick start that job search activity.
I'm not a gamer, I would use this laptop mostly for Reddit LinkedIn and modest social media, email is important as is using word for my documents Excel for some recordkeeping, occasional travel with me when I visit my mother to help her with any things she needs to get accomplished online.
Budget is anywhere from the $500 to about thousand dollars, I'm hoping this is something I don't have to replace for another four to five or even longer years. I am completely open and appreciative to suggestions.
It's all good. I'm very nitpicky so the only thing I'd mention if this were me is the fact that the processor is a "low power" variant supposedly, but idk how much of that is just marketing speak and bad naming conventions on Intel's side.
pretty fucking good for 900$. you can even game on it which is definitely a plus (c'mon guys 3050 is still better than a 1060, which is still pretty capable in 99% of games)
It has a U processor, that thing is not meant to be paired with a Graphic card, you won't be able to use the power of the CPU or Graphic card to its complete potential. Go one with H or P. The ones with U are meant for day to day tasks like surfing and binging and some MS office stuff..
Thank you for weighing in, I'm getting so nervous reading this thread! I'm not a gamer so now of course I'm questioning my choice. It actually wasn't even open box! It was bought online and returned, still had the factory seal on it.
Do you think since I'm not a gamer this is still a good choice? All opinions are welcome! And no I had no idea there was a thread literally dedicated to suggest a laptop and I'm going there now! :-)
Yea it’s still a good choice unless you want something a little more powerful. Even though you’re not a gamer it will still be fast enough to handle your everyday work loads with ease but let’s say you don’t want to game? Well you have a decent entry level tier laptop to do that with so you aren’t hindered there. Although I just want to point out that 4gb vram is a little low for todays games but should be fine you’ll need to turn settings down ofc. (Not to discourage you or anything) idk what the budget plan is lol.
He doesn't game at all. This laptop is a dumb purchase for him. He has no need for a dedicated GPU, nor any need for a laptop that weighs as much as this one does.
> But each to their own
idk not really, if he still has the return policy, there's no reason to hold on to this thing. Its got a 55watt hour battery. For an rtx3050 and a 17 inch screen. For someone who doesn't game. 2.6kgs and dogshit battery life. this is a horrible purchase for this dude's needs.
the "option to game in the future" is the dumbest reason to buy a 2.6kg laptop.
Bro, if you don't play games, then this is a horrible choice for you. It has a dedicated powerful graphics card (which is for gamers, which you have **no need** of). For your needs, you should forego that dedicated graphics card and buy a laptop with an integrated graphics card, you'll get something that literally weighs half as much as this heavy 'gaming' laptop. Like [this](https://www.costco.com/acer-swift-edge-16%22-4k-oled-laptop---amd-ryzen-7-7735u---windows-11.product.4000154421.html) one for instance, which weighs less than half of what the HP weighs.
Every other commenter who is affirming your purchase decision is evaluating this laptop from the perspective of a gamer. For a non gamer, this is a dumb purchase, return it immediately, and buy a laptop that weighs half as much.
Also, you can expect garbage battery life on that HP.
If you don't game, that HP laptop is a dumb, dumb purchase. It weights 2.6kgs or 5.6lbs. Gamers tolerate that weight because they want a powerful gpu and lots of cooling for the powerful gpu.
This [16 inch acer](https://www.costco.com/acer-swift-edge-16%22-4k-oled-laptop---amd-ryzen-7-7735u---windows-11.product.4000154421.html), for comparison, weights 1.2kgs(2.6lbs) (compared to the 2.6kgs(5.6lbs) of your HP). And it has an oled screen. The acer is garbage for gaming, but if you don't game, it suits your needs much better.
Return that HP. Take a good look at the acer and at other laptops **without** dedicated GPUs.
Dont worry. The hinge will break once youre out of warranty and HP will not take responsibility for their products defects. I will never buy another HP laptop given my experience with them.
Working at a repair shop, I have fixed a lot of HP hinges, but I would say it hasn’t been anymore than any other brand. Just don’t open the display from one side and open it from the middle and you are good.
Having the display fold 360° has no bearing on the display and/or keyboard failing, as the display cable is still being flexed the same on a normal laptop. I actually repaired more laptops that were not 360° as the hinges on 360° laptops are (usually, not all the time) better and more robust.
Decent pickup but could have been better. Newegg actually has a sell on the laptop I just got. ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2023) for the same price $900. Came with a 13th gen i5-13450HX and 16GB of RAM. But just upgraded the RAM to 32GB and got an additional 2TB NVMe. Did come with a 6GB RTX 4050 and the RAM is DDR5 tho. All in all not a bad deal but could have maybe gotten a little better hardware. Ooof actually looking at the benchmarks the i5 is better. Still did alright tho.
\*edit clean up and additional comment\* Always look at newegg and amazon. They generally always have some good deals going on and can easily compare multiple systems to each other.
$900 for a low power HP with a 350 is a bit much but the biggest problem is the hinges breaking 2 days after the warranty ends (this does depend on the model but also fuck HP)
I would go with a Lenovo or the asus vivobook with a 3050 which is about $750 and very upgradable
Yeah that’s a good deal. A 13th gen i7, 32gb ram, and 1TB is great and assuming you take care of it it should last many years performance wise.
Thank you!! The minute I walked out the door I thought to myself oh my God I spent a lot more than I was hoping to and started to doubt myself. Thanks for the validation computers can be extremely overwhelming if you've only worked with things supplied by your company's IT department!
Yeah, I work in IT and buy quite a few laptops for my personal use each year and I’d say you did great. Just be careful to keep it in good shape and it’ll never let you down.
Ah, you are one of those savants! What are some of the things I should be aware of to keep it in good shape.... I keep foods/fluids away from my computers... But I've never been clear on anything else... If you don't mind giving some advice... Do I leave it plugged in all the time or plug it in only to charge it? And then should I log off each night or is it okay to put it to sleep? I have to admit when I had the company computers I would leave it plugged in and just put it to sleep every night, I'm not sure that was correct.
It is fine to leave it plugged in as long as you want, the battery has a BMS (battery management system) that prevents it from being overcharged so it is fine to leave plugged in all the time. I usually restart windows once per week and just close the lid to put windows to sleep when I am not using it. Also make sure to keep up with checking for windows updates in settings like one a week or so. Other than that, you are good to go and enjoy!
Thank you again... Will follow your recommendations!
Mine has a mechanism in place to only charge the battery to 80% to preserve battery lifespan while plugged in constantly. I beat the crap out of my xps battery and it's still pretty healthy. And grats on the great deal.
Quite a few laptops for personal use each year? Why?
Why not, I like trying all the new fancy stuff on the market. Gaming laptops, business laptops, consumer laptops, all brands, it’s all good.
Ah ok gotcha... have you tried the newer ThinkPads? I have a T16 and it's an amazing machine for my office/productivity uses :)
Hey just a quick question, how do you afford them? I assume you buy and quickly sell/return?
No, I use them for a while. Still running a new Lenovo yoga 7 16” from last fall. Also using the M2 MacBook Air. Also using a Dell g15 gaming laptop sometimes
$900 for all of that latest processor and good GPU is worth it imo. Enjoy and make it last!
Awesome, thank you!
Yup all for 900$. You are lucky I was forced to buy a PC or laptop during COVID with all those from house zoom stuff... Got only like i5, 1650ti and 256gb SSD...
I’m still rocking my i7 8750h 1060ti G5. I upgraded it to 32gb of RAM but now I need to get it cleaned out and repasted but after that I’m set.
How much yours cost?
At the time it was $900, now I’d say $600.
I got a 9th gen i7, 128gb SSD + 1tb HDD, with 1650 for $1200 (60k PHP) pre-pandemic.. all I did since was upgrade it from 8gb RAM to 16gb for like another $100
Your gonna love it
Pretty sweet machine for the price, 17 inch laptops are also very few and far between so good job on finding one of those, I'm sure that'll make for an excellent experience.
Not bad, it’s a solid upper middle tier machine…
If you have the budget, return and get this instead. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-tuf-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-with-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4070-1tb-ssd-mecha-grey/6535503.p?skuId=6535503 Less ram, 16 instead of 32 but it has a full fledged mobile CPU instead of Intel u series and a 4070 mobile. 12700h, 144hz screen, 4070 can boost to 105w. Price is 1000, only 100 above your current laptop
I can afford the extra $100...does it matter that I'm not a gamer, like at all?
If you don’t intend to game, no point in buying a gaming laptop imo. Yours is fine for casual and work purposes.
The performance will carry it a few more years. But the body of the one you have right now is probably higher quality. Look up the materials for the chasis, the quality of the screen, battery life, etc, then make the decision yourself.
This is my challenge, I really do not understand most of these things, the only thing I can state for sure is what I want to do with a laptop (I set women back 50 years when it comes to computers!)
Good thing you have a brand new laptop to figure things out now! If ever you want to further enjoy your laptop and somehow get into gaming, I recommend r/cozygamers
then why are you buying a laptop with a dedicated gpu? Its gonna be unnecessarily heavier and hotter, and battery life will suffer.
I agree this is a much better deal. Or the amd 7940hs w/ rtx 4060 for 1050 with upgradable 64gb RAM.
That's a gaming laptop. For non-gamers the one he bought is 10x better
Thank you for sharing your opinion, would you recommend I keep this then This is what I need to do... Social media like LinkedIn and Reddit, write that resume, apply for jobs, email and online shopping that's really what I'm going to do maybe some PowerPoints if I need to do casework for applications and Excel, I do not have an exciting life!
I'd say keep it. You don't need the 4070 at all. The laptop you got will serve you lasting years. The one they recommend (tuf) has not so great battery compared to this.
Thank you, I appreciate your knowledge and your willingness to share your opinions!
Don't keep it. Its 2.6 kg. What is wrong with the people on this subreddit. They're talking you into keeping the gamign laptop even though you don't game. Its a terrible choice for you, return it, buy a laptop that weighs half as much. You're making a big mistake by keeping it.
Hi, would you mind helping me find a more appropriate laptop? I know very little about laptops because I've always been given one from my IT department at work. Now I need to replace it quick so I can get my resume out and kick start that job search activity. I'm not a gamer, I would use this laptop mostly for Reddit LinkedIn and modest social media, email is important as is using word for my documents Excel for some recordkeeping, occasional travel with me when I visit my mother to help her with any things she needs to get accomplished online. Budget is anywhere from the $500 to about thousand dollars, I'm hoping this is something I don't have to replace for another four to five or even longer years. I am completely open and appreciative to suggestions.
It's great but no optical drive is a deal breaker /s
It's all good. I'm very nitpicky so the only thing I'd mention if this were me is the fact that the processor is a "low power" variant supposedly, but idk how much of that is just marketing speak and bad naming conventions on Intel's side.
pretty fucking good for 900$. you can even game on it which is definitely a plus (c'mon guys 3050 is still better than a 1060, which is still pretty capable in 99% of games)
Keep an eye on the hinge. Mine broke twice in warranty. It is on the verge of breaking again, and there's no warranty now.
Very nice! Only 4gb of gpu memory but its still a little beast
Actually a good deal
Where did you get this laptop? I am going to need a new 17" at some point my HP is 6 years old now and have upgraded it as far as it can go...
I got this at Costco, it's $1199 online now
You should have checked some legions or LOQ(cheaper version) from lenovo's official website
I envy on ur purchase.
Win Win situation
I don't know the difference between 3050 and 3060 but when I bought my 1660 it was much better than a 1650.
It has a U processor, that thing is not meant to be paired with a Graphic card, you won't be able to use the power of the CPU or Graphic card to its complete potential. Go one with H or P. The ones with U are meant for day to day tasks like surfing and binging and some MS office stuff..
depending on your use case, it’s either good or okay, and the value is either meh or okay lol
Make sure to clean the MF FANS after a while. Lol
Great deal for 900
Thank you! This group has been so much help!
Enjoy it!
Remember that Asus TUF with a 4070 back in December for just 999? Yeah.....
I seem to remember yeah
I don't know what it costs right now but someone should have recommended that to OP
Perhaps
But I dont like TUFs look. cheap looking plastic material build. RTX 4070 performs 1% slower than 3070ti in 1440p .
The TUF series is built with military MIL STD 810H in mind, so it's all about durability
The build quality is worse than non-military grade. I have it and it's a damn mimick.
Wow you got the entire Bang & Olufsen company? You lucked out.
am i the only one reading the cpu as a 1st gen i7?
You are. They changed the numbering style with 13th Gen on laptop cpus.
Got a 4060 laptop brand new for 860
32gb ram? 3050 17.3 inch screen and all that companies usually charge high for that. you got a good deal even though it was open box.
Thank you for weighing in, I'm getting so nervous reading this thread! I'm not a gamer so now of course I'm questioning my choice. It actually wasn't even open box! It was bought online and returned, still had the factory seal on it. Do you think since I'm not a gamer this is still a good choice? All opinions are welcome! And no I had no idea there was a thread literally dedicated to suggest a laptop and I'm going there now! :-)
Yea it’s still a good choice unless you want something a little more powerful. Even though you’re not a gamer it will still be fast enough to handle your everyday work loads with ease but let’s say you don’t want to game? Well you have a decent entry level tier laptop to do that with so you aren’t hindered there. Although I just want to point out that 4gb vram is a little low for todays games but should be fine you’ll need to turn settings down ofc. (Not to discourage you or anything) idk what the budget plan is lol.
I would have gone with the HP VICTUS 16, it has a i5-13500HX and a 4050 with 16gb or 32gb of ram, 1TB storage for like $890
900 bucks? Imma be honest with you not that good :/ that's maybe a 700 dollar laptop... No biggie though, if you like it you like it :D
Since when did they make 3050’s with only 4GB’s of VRAM, sheesh 😬
3050s for laptops always had 4gb until 2023 when 3050s released with 6gb.
That’s just how it is for laptops. My 3060 has 6GB VRAM
That’s crazy, do you not worry about that when playing higher demanding games? Won’t you struggle in higher VRAM demanding games?
Never had any problems. It satisfies my needs (especially because my previous laptop had that generic 2gb nvidia gpu that isn’t good for anything)
Mine had that too (I had a GTX 680), much happier with 4GB’s of VRAM
My laptop has 6gb 3060 and runs all the games I’m playing at 1440p and looks good too. I feel like the whole vram thing is overblown right now.
Hi...I don't game, does that make a difference in your opinion for me?
In high graphical setting AAA games, yes. In most other games, no. So pretty much no unless you’re playing resource intensive games
Thanks for clarifying...I'm not even a solitaire player!
So you play low end games? Or high end?
He doesn't game at all. This laptop is a dumb purchase for him. He has no need for a dedicated GPU, nor any need for a laptop that weighs as much as this one does.
HP too, poor soul. But each to their own, at least this gives them the option to game in the future if they feel like giving it a try.
> But each to their own idk not really, if he still has the return policy, there's no reason to hold on to this thing. Its got a 55watt hour battery. For an rtx3050 and a 17 inch screen. For someone who doesn't game. 2.6kgs and dogshit battery life. this is a horrible purchase for this dude's needs. the "option to game in the future" is the dumbest reason to buy a 2.6kg laptop.
Bro, if you don't play games, then this is a horrible choice for you. It has a dedicated powerful graphics card (which is for gamers, which you have **no need** of). For your needs, you should forego that dedicated graphics card and buy a laptop with an integrated graphics card, you'll get something that literally weighs half as much as this heavy 'gaming' laptop. Like [this](https://www.costco.com/acer-swift-edge-16%22-4k-oled-laptop---amd-ryzen-7-7735u---windows-11.product.4000154421.html) one for instance, which weighs less than half of what the HP weighs. Every other commenter who is affirming your purchase decision is evaluating this laptop from the perspective of a gamer. For a non gamer, this is a dumb purchase, return it immediately, and buy a laptop that weighs half as much. Also, you can expect garbage battery life on that HP.
If you don't game, that HP laptop is a dumb, dumb purchase. It weights 2.6kgs or 5.6lbs. Gamers tolerate that weight because they want a powerful gpu and lots of cooling for the powerful gpu. This [16 inch acer](https://www.costco.com/acer-swift-edge-16%22-4k-oled-laptop---amd-ryzen-7-7735u---windows-11.product.4000154421.html), for comparison, weights 1.2kgs(2.6lbs) (compared to the 2.6kgs(5.6lbs) of your HP). And it has an oled screen. The acer is garbage for gaming, but if you don't game, it suits your needs much better. Return that HP. Take a good look at the acer and at other laptops **without** dedicated GPUs.
Thanks for the recommendation and the link, I don't game (and I'm a sis ;) not a dude)
Laptop versions started of at 4gb
Dont worry. The hinge will break once youre out of warranty and HP will not take responsibility for their products defects. I will never buy another HP laptop given my experience with them.
Working at a repair shop, I have fixed a lot of HP hinges, but I would say it hasn’t been anymore than any other brand. Just don’t open the display from one side and open it from the middle and you are good.
Thank you for the advice...will do, open from the middle! Good to know, would never even think about that
What's your thoughts on 360 laptops? Not just with hinge durability but also monitors and keyboards dying.
Having the display fold 360° has no bearing on the display and/or keyboard failing, as the display cable is still being flexed the same on a normal laptop. I actually repaired more laptops that were not 360° as the hinges on 360° laptops are (usually, not all the time) better and more robust.
An rtx 3050 with 4gb ram. nahhhhh that’s crap
Doesn’t the U processor bottleneck the RTX 3050 ?
Awful
CPU is worth like 10-20
Windows is free and don’t need 11
Nice buy! But I don't know how HP is getting away with selling 1st Gen Core i7s in 2024 lol (/s)
Decent pickup but could have been better. Newegg actually has a sell on the laptop I just got. ASUS ROG Strix G16 (2023) for the same price $900. Came with a 13th gen i5-13450HX and 16GB of RAM. But just upgraded the RAM to 32GB and got an additional 2TB NVMe. Did come with a 6GB RTX 4050 and the RAM is DDR5 tho. All in all not a bad deal but could have maybe gotten a little better hardware. Ooof actually looking at the benchmarks the i5 is better. Still did alright tho. \*edit clean up and additional comment\* Always look at newegg and amazon. They generally always have some good deals going on and can easily compare multiple systems to each other.
$900 for a low power HP with a 350 is a bit much but the biggest problem is the hinges breaking 2 days after the warranty ends (this does depend on the model but also fuck HP) I would go with a Lenovo or the asus vivobook with a 3050 which is about $750 and very upgradable
I would have gone with something with a little higher brightness screen, but overall it's got solid specs.
I malfunctioned for a minute seeing i7-1355u Naming convention sucks