Asus vs HP vs Dell laptops for home working - reliability and robustness?

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timmmay

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#270309 3-May-2020 15:59

Looking for a new laptop for my wife. Will be working from home a bit (could be two weeks, could be a year), plus she uses it a lot in the evenings for web / netflix. Performance isn't really important, she uses a hosted desktop so it's a dumb terminal. Mostly looking for something reliable with a screen that doesn't suck, but for spreadsheets and a bit of TV doesn't need to be the best in the world.

Specs on these are all about the same, i5 CPU, 8GB RAM, 128 - 256GB disk. Don't care about SSD vs NVME for example.

Dell Latitude 5400 at $1722 (link)
HP G5 Elitebook at $2000 (link)
HP Probook at $1800 (link)
Asus Vivobook Flip $1400 (link)

Mostly interested in reliability - any thoughts? Her last Asus failed a few years ago, she's been using my old work Toshiba but that's acting wonky as well, the pointing system.

Is the $1400 Asus good enough? Or is it worth investing another $400 to get something a bit more robust?

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#2475886 3-May-2020 16:05

The EliteBook will have a 3 year next business day on site warranty. That says a lot about the build quality and how much they stand behind it. We sell only HP commercial gear for this very reason.

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Andib

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#2475888 3-May-2020 16:09

I’d personally go for the Elitebook, the build quality of the current latitude 5x00 series is lacking a bit imo compared with older generations.

HP & Dell are both really good with supporting their business ranges so you’ll have no issue with drivers etc.

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timmmay

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#2475890 3-May-2020 16:18

The cheaper HP has a one year warranty. You have to pay$300 more to get 3 year

I don't doubt the HP is better. Is it $400 better, in terms of reliability and durability?

Jase2985

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#2475897 3-May-2020 16:32

12 months local warranty *
* Warranty period is as stated above unless the manufacturer has chosen to specify a longer period.
All warranties are return to base unless otherwise specified.

timmmay

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#2475898 3-May-2020 16:34

Jase, I think you're just confirming it's a one year warranty? Or are you saying HP provide extra?

Handle9

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#2475905 3-May-2020 16:55

The Dell and HPs are business class machines. This means you get business build quality (they will have much better frames) and likely better keyboards. You also will have a different mix of ports.

Personally I would spend the extra and forget about it for 5 years.

You're also more likely to be able to get spares for the HP and Dell down the line.

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timmmay

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#2475918 3-May-2020 17:14

Drat, got my links wrong. The Probook is $1800 with a 1 year warranty, the Elitebook is $2000 with a 3 year warranty (only one in stock but $2050 for the one they have plenty of). I'm convinced about HP *book. Any further opinions on Probook vs Elitebook @Dynamic @Andib @Handle9?

Dynamic

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#2475923 3-May-2020 17:19

Ahhhhh.... you call the HP an EliteBook but you link to a ProBook. Yes the ProBook series have a 12 month warranty.

Consider model 9UQ44PA which is in stock at the distributor, or search for 455R or 455 for the Ryzen models.

The 1y to 3 year warranty upgrade is part UK703E for the majority of the ProBooks, and you should be able to get this for under $200. If you can't find the warranty upgrade at that price, I can sort it for you as long as the laptop is a NZ model and not parallel imported.

We well more ProBooks due to the solid construction and sharp price. The EliteBooks have more docking station options and things like Thunderbolt ports which your average SMB buyer doesn't care about.

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timmmay

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#2475926 3-May-2020 17:29

Yeah I've fixed the links now. Not really worried about warranty, consumer guarantees is good enough as its main use is home stuff. What's the difference between a Probook and an Elitebook?

13.3" HP Probook 430 G7 at $1400 is pretty good price, faster than the other one I was looking at, and good size for my wife. The 15" 455/R models look great as well, but a bit big I think. Any other suggestions in the 13 - 14" category thanks @Dynamic?

Dynamic

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#2475929 3-May-2020 17:33

timmmay: Any other suggestions in the 13 - 14" category thanks Dynamic?

No, that's it from me. Stocks are really sporadic still, so if you like the looks of that one, I'd grab it promptly. 21 in stock at the importer currently. Bugger all of anything else under $2k.

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timmmay

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#2475930 3-May-2020 17:37

Will do, thanks. Anyone know the difference between a probook and an elitebook? My reading suggests both are business grade, Elitebook are a bit thinner and lighter for the same size, and might be a bit more rigid.

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Andib

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#2475936 3-May-2020 17:50

The Elitebooks are the “premium” counterparts to the probooks. Generally a bit thinner, made of a full metal chassis vs a mix of plastic / metal and carry more premium features such as Intel vPro CPUs and thunderbolt. They also come with a 3 year NBD on-site warranty standard compared to 1 year on the probooks.

Both are business grade with the elitebooks slightly more enterprise focused. (The build to order options tend to better on the elite models)

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Handle9

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#2475945 3-May-2020 18:28

We'd had thousands of the Elitebooks (mix of 820s and 840s) and they are really good workhorses. Our users like them, they don't have many issues at all.

They also have real ethernet, USB and HDMI ports, which I like.

timmmay

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#2475950 3-May-2020 18:38

Looks like the Probook is the answer. Thanks all, especially @Dynamic for pointing out the smaller cheaper but great option! :)

Lias

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#2475956 3-May-2020 19:07

Late to the party, but +1 for Elitebooks they go forever.

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