3 ms·

This has been a source of much consternation. Basically want a 15" x1 Carbon without any of the complications of the dual GPU laptops. But no one seems to make

This has been a source of much consternation. Basically want a 15" x1 Carbon without any of the complications of the dual GPU laptops. But no one seems to make it. I guess to push margins up they force higher prices on larger laptops as they become more "niche"

smichel17 6y ago
I ran into the same issue when I was in the market for a laptop a year or two ago. In particular, it's difficult to find a 15" laptop with a 1920x1080 matte screen that doesn't have a dual gpu setup. I was also looking for something that wouldn't break the bank. I ended up getting an ASUS f510ua (cheap variant with a 1TB 5200rpm hdd) and adding a 256GB m.2 ssd for my boot drive. 8GB ram and an i5 8250U. Found a deal on the laptop so the total cost ended up ~$600 USD, although I think m.2 ssds are cheaper now. I've been pretty happy with the performance; it's just enough to comfortably do Android dev (I use vim though, not Android Studio). The aspect I had to compromise on was build quality. The body is plastic and especially the screen has little reinforcement to bending specifically. It's not completely flimsy but I don't like carrying it around open in crowded/public spaces where it's more likely I'll bump into something and I wouldn't bet on it surviving a fall unscathed (my previous laptop, a Dell XPS 14, did exactly that, from college dorm bed to uncarpeted floor). It has also grown a single dead pixel, that I don't notice in regular use. I expected the build quality going in, and overall I'm pretty happy with the purchase. I used it for 8+ hours daily for 9 months when I was separated from my desktop.
- easytiger 6y ago
  Interesting. I was considering a more budget end laptop but was worried about the build quality. When I try most laptops in shops they feel terrible to be honest. My first laptop was an Asus. To be fair it was as well speced as laptops 2 years later but the screen bowed in the middle. How's the keyboard on those Asus laptops?

smichel17 6y ago

I ran into the same issue when I was in the market for a laptop a year or two ago. In particular, it's difficult to find a 15" laptop with a 1920x1080 matte screen that doesn't have a dual gpu setup. I was also looking for something that wouldn't break the bank. I ended up getting an ASUS f510ua (cheap variant with a 1TB 5200rpm hdd) and adding a 256GB m.2 ssd for my boot drive. 8GB ram and an i5 8250U. Found a deal on the laptop so the total cost ended up ~$600 USD, although I think m.2 ssds are cheaper now. I've been pretty happy with the performance; it's just enough to comfortably do Android dev (I use vim though, not Android Studio). The aspect I had to compromise on was build quality. The body is plastic and especially the screen has little reinforcement to bending specifically. It's not completely flimsy but I don't like carrying it around open in crowded/public spaces where it's more likely I'll bump into something and I wouldn't bet on it surviving a fall unscathed (my previous laptop, a Dell XPS 14, did exactly that, from college dorm bed to uncarpeted floor). It has also grown a single dead pixel, that I don't notice in regular use. I expected the build quality going in, and overall I'm pretty happy with the purchase. I used it for 8+ hours daily for 9 months when I was separated from my desktop.

easytiger 6y ago
Interesting. I was considering a more budget end laptop but was worried about the build quality. When I try most laptops in shops they feel terrible to be honest. My first laptop was an Asus. To be fair it was as well speced as laptops 2 years later but the screen bowed in the middle. How's the keyboard on those Asus laptops?