'2in1' ultrabook

[ShivP]

Hi all

I am after an ultrabook of '2in1' type a la HP Envy/Spectre x360 and Dell XPS 7390 2in1.

My budget is around £800 (company is paying), happy to consider used. 13" screen size.
I ideally want an i7, 16GB RAM and 500GB SSD. However, I realise this is quite an ask.
I am upgrading from my XPS 9350 with i5 6200U/8GB RAM/250GB SSD.
Will primarily be used for uni work, my work work will be done on desktop but taking the opportunity to upgrade as they are paying. It will also be used on holidays etc to watch movies and things, hence the 2in1 would be a nice feature.

What options could I consider? I understand there is the previous gen XPS 13 2in1, however not sure whether this is as good as a regular XPS 13.

Thanks.

 

[Alexrose1uk]

What about the Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5 14" 2-in-1? Its available for 699 and has a 4700U/8GB RAM (soldered) and 512GB SSD, and quidco/topcashback on the top to another £40. It's 14", but the cooling does a reasonable job and the 4700U should smoke the i7 in that form factor.
The Ideapads in non metal are a little plasticy but beyond the RAM it seems to fit your requirements pretty well if the extra inch is acceptable. I realise the XPS may have a better screen.

There is a 16GB variant but this seems to be out of stock.

I would have suggested the 4800U as it adds the SMT for 16 threads, but the 4800U is almost impossible to get right now as demand is so high. It and the 4700U are faster than ANYTHING Intel in the 15W domain right now however.

I got my mother in law one of the plain Ideapad 5s with the 4800U when they were available, and she's had absolutely no complaints and she is picky as hell.

If you can, for productivity in a U form factor, I'd DEFINATELY be looking at Ryzen right now unless you need Thunderbolt, they absolutely dominate Intel's current U offerings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFYdHkvRs2c

 

[ShivP]

What about the Lenovo Ideapad Flex 5 14" 2-in-1? Its available for 699 and has a 4700U/8GB RAM (soldered) and 512GB SSD, and quidco/topcashback on the top to another £40. It's 14", but the cooling does a reasonable job and the 4700U should smoke the i7 in that form factor.
The Ideapads in non metal are a little plasticy but beyond the RAM it seems to fit your requirements pretty well if the extra inch is acceptable. I realise the XPS may have a better screen.

There is a 16GB variant but this seems to be out of stock.

I would have suggested the 4800U as it adds the SMT for 16 threads, but the 4800U is almost impossible to get right now as demand is so high. It and the 4700U are faster than ANYTHING Intel in the 15W domain right now however.

I got my mother in law one of the plain Ideapad 5s with the 4800U when they were available, and she's had absolutely no complaints and she is picky as hell.

If you can, for productivity in a U form factor, I'd DEFINATELY be looking at Ryzen right now unless you need Thunderbolt, they absolutely dominate Intel's current U offerings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFYdHkvRs2c

USB c with PD charging would be necessary, but the only thing I use through USB c is keyboard mouse etc and a HDMI 1080p monitor which is fine through regular USB c?

 

[Alexrose1uk]

As long as they do DP via USB-C, yes, they'll output video and I believe the Lenovo's do, or if you've got one of the hubs which has a USB->HDMI/DP converter built in then also not an issue.

Another good option would be HP ProBook x360 435 G7. It's about £925, but basically looks like it meets ALL your requirements - 13.3", 4700U (way better than 15W i7)/16GB RAM (3200MHz in dual channel)/512GB SSD so its plenty pokey again, and should make the U series i7s look last gen. Believe it also supports USB-C charging.

I compared the UK spec Envy to the Probook, and the Probook looked just that bit better, brighter screen plus metal chassis, and shorter lead times. It's basically the Envy, but with business tweaks.

Another thing that potentially make the Probook worth more, is unlike the Lenovo where the RAM is soldered, in the HP it's standard SODIMM so theoretically upgradeable, and NVME M.2 also so again easy to upgrade the storage.

Apparently a 400nit screen in the direct from HP option so will be brighter than the Lenovo.

There is a Ryzen 5 cheaper Probook, but it seems completely out of stock at the moment, the demand for these chips is pretty huge.

They're not quite as good for gamers as the top end i7/i9 due to latency/Zen 2, but for most productivity and general workflow, these Ryzen's are incredible. The 15/25, 35 and 45W variants genuinely give the i9-10980HK a hard time at points (or WIN!). For the price you can't knock them, I am trying to find something small and business-y for the wife, and I won't consider a Ryzen 3000 or Intel in the vast majority of the time, as the for the price, the 4000 series units are just so much better.

It gets a bit more interesting at 45W/gaming laptops, but in these 15/25W chassis... no brainer.
I can't link as HP sell gaming laptops also so would compete with OCUK there, but this is a business grade machine.

One other thing to like. 3 year warranty upgrade should only be £60-100.

 

[ShivP]

As long as they do DP via USB-C, yes, they'll output video and I believe the Lenovo's do, or if you've got one of the hubs which has a USB->HDMI/DP converter built in then also not an issue.

Another good option would be HP ProBook x360 435 G7. It's about £925, but basically looks like it meets ALL your requirements - 13.3", 4700U (way better than 15W i7)/16GB RAM (3200MHz in dual channel)/512GB SSD so its plenty pokey again, and should make the U series i7s look last gen. Believe it also supports USB-C charging.

I compared the UK spec Envy to the Probook, and the Probook looked just that bit better, brighter screen plus metal chassis, and shorter lead times. It's basically the Envy, but with business tweaks.

Another thing that potentially make the Probook worth more, is unlike the Lenovo where the RAM is soldered, in the HP it's standard SODIMM so theoretically upgradeable, and NVME M.2 also so again easy to upgrade the storage.

Apparently a 400nit screen in the direct from HP option so will be brighter than the Lenovo.

There is a Ryzen 5 cheaper Probook, but it seems completely out of stock at the moment, the demand for these chips is pretty huge.

They're not quite as good for gamers as the top end i7/i9 due to latency/Zen 2, but for most productivity and general workflow, these Ryzen's are incredible. The 15/35 and 45W variants genuinely give the i9-10980HK a hard time at points (or WIN!). For the price you can't knock them, I am trying to find something small and business-y for the wife, and I won't consider a Ryzen 3000 or Intel in the vast majority of the time, as the for the price, the 4000 series units are just so much better.

It gets a bit more interesting at 45W/gaming laptops, but in these 15/25W chassis... no brainer.
I can't link as HP sell gaming laptops also so would compete with OCUK there, but this is a business grade machine.

One other thing to like. 3 year warranty upgrade should only be £60-100.

The probook sounds the ticket... I will definitely have a look at those

 

[ShivP]

As long as they do DP via USB-C, yes, they'll output video and I believe the Lenovo's do, or if you've got one of the hubs which has a USB->HDMI/DP converter built in then also not an issue.

Another good option would be HP ProBook x360 435 G7. It's about £925, but basically looks like it meets ALL your requirements - 13.3", 4700U (way better than 15W i7)/16GB RAM (3200MHz in dual channel)/512GB SSD so its plenty pokey again, and should make the U series i7s look last gen. Believe it also supports USB-C charging.

I compared the UK spec Envy to the Probook, and the Probook looked just that bit better, brighter screen plus metal chassis, and shorter lead times. It's basically the Envy, but with business tweaks.

Another thing that potentially make the Probook worth more, is unlike the Lenovo where the RAM is soldered, in the HP it's standard SODIMM so theoretically upgradeable, and NVME M.2 also so again easy to upgrade the storage.

Apparently a 400nit screen in the direct from HP option so will be brighter than the Lenovo.

There is a Ryzen 5 cheaper Probook, but it seems completely out of stock at the moment, the demand for these chips is pretty huge.

They're not quite as good for gamers as the top end i7/i9 due to latency/Zen 2, but for most productivity and general workflow, these Ryzen's are incredible. The 15/25, 35 and 45W variants genuinely give the i9-10980HK a hard time at points (or WIN!). For the price you can't knock them, I am trying to find something small and business-y for the wife, and I won't consider a Ryzen 3000 or Intel in the vast majority of the time, as the for the price, the 4000 series units are just so much better.

It gets a bit more interesting at 45W/gaming laptops, but in these 15/25W chassis... no brainer.
I can't link as HP sell gaming laptops also so would compete with OCUK there, but this is a business grade machine.

One other thing to like. 3 year warranty upgrade should only be £60-100.

Went to see an envy today at John Lewis... Quite liked it.
However struggling to find any probook 435 g7 anywhere even to buy?

 

[mjt]

I’m very happy with my Asus Zenbook Flip UX463. Comes with a wide range of spec. Mine has the i7 with 16GB and 512 SSD.

My only complaint is how tight the HDMI port is. I’m connecting the laptop to an external monitor multiple times a day so it’s a bit of a pain.

Other than that, typical Asus quality.

 

[Alexrose1uk]

Went to see an envy today at John Lewis... Quite liked it.
However struggling to find any probook 435 g7 anywhere even to buy?

They sell direct all I can say.

It's a new model, and there is massive overdemand for Ryzen 4000 chips hence the 4800u being MIA but it is available to order.

HP ProBook x360 435 G7 13.3" FHD Touchscreen Convertible Laptop with Ryzen™ 7

It's basically an Envy but with a 400nit screen and a metal chassis (not saying its ALL metal but metal exterior I believe, suspect the palmrest is plastic or they'd start to run out of things to differentiate the Elitebook with

 

[ShivP]

I might order one of those ProBooks then and make use of the 14 day returns with HP. If I don't like it I will probably return and order the Envy instead. Only problem is the Envy with the R7 and 16GB RAM/512GB SSD is out of stock everywhere

 

[ShivP]

Despite your best efforts @Alexrose1uk I have just found a Ryzen 7 4700U, 16GB 512SSD Envy x360 "refurbished" for £799, £200 saving off new listed price which was too good to ignore.

If it turns out to be a dog, 30 days returns and I will be ordering the ProBook 435 G7

 

[Vince]

Despite your best efforts @Alexrose1uk I have just found a Ryzen 7 4700U, 16GB 512SSD Envy x360 "refurbished" for £799, £200 saving off new listed price which was too good to ignore.

If it turns out to be a dog, 30 days returns and I will be ordering the ProBook 435 G7

You going to love it - Im rocking the Envy x360 13 and love it more than I did the Spectre x360 that was my daily laptop prior.

 

[ShivP]

You going to love it - Im rocking the Envy x360 13 and love it more than I did the Spectre x360 that was my daily laptop prior.

Good to hear

 

[Vince]

Good to hear

I said it in another thread but the envy line this gen is really the pick of the bunch and if you can find a better all round package than the envy x360 13" id be surprised. Mines had 3 bios updates (delivered over windows update) so make sure you run all the updates to get that latest bios. I noticed an issue with the machine detecting the charger on launch bios but the latest update fixes all those issues.

 

[Alexrose1uk]

Hope you really enjoy it, the Envy and the Probook are virtually identical as far as I can tell, just slightly brighter screen and metal chassis on the Probook, so can't go wrong with it for 799

Looks a very nice little machine; I wouldn't have ordered the Probook for the wife otherwise! Saw the Envy whilst showing her the options, and they're nice little machines.

If I could have found a 4800U version in stock I'd have had it, as the 4800U I managed to get hold of for the Mother in Law is an absolute beast for the form factor (15" thin and light), the 4700U isn't quite as good but it's still excellent, the two processors along with the 4500/4600U really do change what you can expect from this size of machine!

 

[Vince]

Hope you really enjoy it, the Envy and the Probook are virtually identical as far as I can tell, just slightly brighter screen and metal chassis on the Probook, so can't go wrong with it for 799

Looks a very nice little machine; I wouldn't have ordered the Probook for the wife otherwise! Saw the Envy whilst showing her the options, and they're nice little machines.

If I could have found a 4800U version in stock I'd have had it, as the 4800U I managed to get hold of for the Mother in Law is an absolute beast for the form factor (15" thin and light), the 4700U isn't quite as good but it's still excellent, the two processors along with the 4500/4600U really do change what you can expect from this size of machine!

The envy has an all alloy design:



Along with the top end spectre it sits in the premium range whereas the probook sits in the business range alongside the elitebooks. Id say the envy and probooks are pretty similar and are along the same lines with the envy having a slightly better build quality than the probooks and more inline with the elitebooks but with a weaker software stack/io options. All pretty much the same at the end of the day, I just like the dark look of the current envy line.

I have a spectre as well and thats on another level for the looks. I do love my spectre but it's intel so not really worth looking at when my little envy 13 machine out performs it, has a better battery life and is as nice for half the money. To be honest there are a lot of nice machines in the range anything ryzen 4000 based in the pro/elite/envy/spectre range are all really nice machines. In fact I unboxed a couple of probooks earlier today and vs the previous gen they are much nicer!

And your right these ryzen 4000 chips are pretty stunning for what they are all of a sudden you have all this performance in a tiny little machine, it is great.

 

[Brummies]

I can also vouch for the Envy x360. Have had it for about a week now (13 inch, 4700u 16gb ram) and it’s brilliant. These Ryzen chips are something else and the overall construction just feels very premium.

 

[Alexrose1uk]

The envy has an all alloy design:



Along with the top end spectre it sits in the premium range whereas the probook sits in the business range alongside the elitebooks. Id say the envy and probooks are pretty similar and are along the same lines with the envy having a slightly better build quality than the probooks and more inline with the elitebooks but with a weaker software stack/io options. All pretty much the same at the end of the day, I just like the dark look of the current envy line.

I have a spectre as well and thats on another level for the looks. I do love my spectre but it's intel so not really worth looking at when my little envy 13 machine out performs it, has a better battery life and is as nice for half the money. To be honest there are a lot of nice machines in the range anything ryzen 4000 based in the pro/elite/envy/spectre range are all really nice machines. In fact I unboxed a couple of probooks earlier today and vs the previous gen they are much nicer!

And your right these ryzen 4000 chips are pretty stunning for what they are all of a sudden you have all this performance in a tiny little machine, it is great.

Even better then They did look very nice when I saw them in person, but hadn't realised they were all metal. Not what I want for my day to day/gaming, but ideal for my wife and work, she is much smaller than me so 15/17" would just be unmanageable, but 13" is perfect!
The performance in these form factors for day to day is just unmatched. She wanted silver over black which made the decision, that and the option for next day onsite warranty upgrade at a reasonable price; which as she intends to use for future business endeavours just makes a lot of sense.

I have the misfortune to have a 15" Dell Latitude with an 8th gen for work, and the thing literally cooks itself to submission, and can't hold a candle to these new Ryzen's in performance either. It's just completely changed the amount of power for day to day that is usably available in this form factor and I very much wish my company realised how much of a useless hotplate these current things are, when there is SO MUCH better available in the market now. It's almost embarassing.

I am looking forward to seeing what battery life the 13.3" 4700U probook gets; HP quotes it as a almost silly 'up to 17 hours'. Incredible if it gets anywhere near that for day to day light or work usage.

 

[ShivP]

Looks like I hit the 'jackpot'. No marks etc on the laptop at all and 9 months HP warranty remaining. I'll take that for £200 off list price!!

It's great so far, I think I will keep it
The only really annoying thing is the AMD Radeon and Ryzen 7 stickers have been put on wonky so they might have to come off

 

[Alexrose1uk]

Glad you are happy.
Now grab a carepack for 99 quid and get yourself another two plus years warranty hahah