Business Laptop

Does anyone have any recommendations for business laptops? Nothing too fancy, but I work through the computer quite a bit and my current laptop is absolute garbage.

I figured with the big black Friday sales, maybe I could find something decent for relatively cheap, but I don’t really understand all that much about laptops and their various components (namely the different generations of shit and whether they matter at all). All I know is I want an SSD.

I’m trying to keep the price under 700 dollars, but would spend 800 for something that seems really nice. I’ve had Lenovo thinkpads in the past, and like them quite a bit, but the last Lenovo laptop I bought (not thinkpad) sucked complete ass so I am a bit wary of the company now.

Any recommendations would be great.

As far as getting actual work done, reliability is the most important IMHO. That means things like build quality, durability, spill resistance, etc. A good keyboard and screen resolution are also essential.

Performance wise it highly depends on what you want to do on that laptop. I guess you could maximise what performance you can get for ~800 USD while keeping with the quality/reliability requirements noted above.

Check for how long the battery would last and how long it takes to recharge. Others factors to consider:

  • Is it Windows 11 compliant or not? Win 10 support will end in 2025 I think.
  • Do you need to work outdoor or not? Anti-reflection screen might be interesting.
  • Do you need to work in the dark? Look for blacklit keyboard.
  • Do you want something light and easy to carry? Total weight of the laptop + the battery + power charger.
  • How many USB ports and how many of them are USB 3.0, USB-C, etc?
  • etc…

This is one of the website I check for laptops: https://www.notebookcheck.net/

If you’re looking for a good business laptop under $800, check out the Lenovo ThinkPad E14 or E15. They’re reliable, have a nice keyboard, and usually come with an SSD. Another solid choice is the HP ProBook 450 G8. Both should be on sale during Black Friday. Just make sure you’re getting at least an Intel i5 or Ryzen 5 for decent performance.