Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:**
~1000 GBP ideal, 2000 hard maximum. Would like to keep it as low as possible but also see the value of investing to not have to buy more low quality stuff again in the near future.
UK
* **Are you open to refurbs/used?**
New only please - I have had some recent bad experience with refurb and cheaping out and so would like something with a warranty!
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?**
Performance is the most important thing. I'm using a ten year old MacBook currently and it's a nightmare - freezing when doing really basic office stuff. I want this machine primarily for office work (spreadsheets, emails, working on shared documents) but I'd also like it to be fast and as future proofed as possible e.g. I don't care about things like touchscreens or turning it into a tablet, but I am interested in squeezing the budget to increase RAM and processor power to keep it working well in a few years time.
Happy for it to be cheap and plasticy assuming the insides work well. Happier if it's nicer of course.
Battery life is important in that I don't want it to be awful, but I have to plug in constantly at the moment so anything will be an upgrade.
**How important is weight and thinness to you?**
A priority - lots of work on trains and outside of offices
**Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.**
14 inches
**Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.**
Some light video and photo editing in the future but not a deal breaker if it's a huge increase in cost to have a dedicated GPU
**If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?**
No gaming
*Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?*
All of this is a bonus, I am just interested in a reliable machine and do not need bells and whistles
*Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.**
Windows please!
I have been signposted to Lenovo ThinkPads for their durability and relative value for money but am finding it slightly overwhelming to navigate their website. Also to note - the ThinkPad X1 carbon gen 12 with 16gb RAM and 512gb SSD is on sale for £1000 and I am drawn to it - thoughts?
Thanks very much!