Business laptop recommendation?

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turtleattacks

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#2553078 31-Aug-2020 12:05

Lias:

turtleattacks:

I have an Elitebook 850. (one of the latest ones).

The keyboard completely failed when I was cleaning it and had to be replaced. Now the microphone is broken on it so I need to do my Teams calls on my phone.

Failures do happen, but 2 separate failures in one unit is definitely not ideal. In contrast the last smaller business I worked at that had a fleet of several dozen 1030's (which is the elite equivalent of what OP linked), and we only had 3 issues in the 3 years I was there, 2 of which were battery swell and the other turned out to be a dock fault rather than the notebook.

That aside, why not just get the microphone replaced, Elitebooks have onsite warranties and generally are next business day repairs.

I just had the keyboard replaced because I was cleaning it with wet wipes due to extra COVID cleaning standards, obviously the keyboard isn't moisture proof at all.

My company's IT company didn't charge our cost centre for the keyboard replacement and I didn't want to push my luck with the mic....

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dt

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#2553108 31-Aug-2020 12:56

elitebooks have a 3 years next business day warranty which which is mostly why they are a bit more expensive, great machines for enterprise.

Lenovo's x1's are mighty good machines too

timmmay

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#2554209 31-Aug-2020 16:14

Elitebooks don't have all the ports of a Probook. You have to pay for a dock to get Ethernet, for example, which I find really bizzare given the Probook has Ethernet.

Dynamic

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#2554576 1-Sep-2020 07:53

turtleattacks:

I just had the keyboard replaced because I was cleaning it with wet wipes due to extra COVID cleaning standards, obviously the keyboard isn't moisture proof at all.

My company's IT company didn't charge our cost centre for the keyboard replacement and I didn't want to push my luck with the mic....

The anti-spill 'feature' of keyboards in laptops has been removed in many models in the quest to make laptops thinner and lighter. On the very rare occasion I clean a laptop keyboard with something *very slightly* damp, I turn it upside down (which is kinda awkward) and leave it upside down on a tea towel or similar so gravity doesn't take moisture into the machine.

The Mic may have suffered the same fate if moisture was squeezed into the holes by the action of a wipe being rubbed across it.

You can contact HP directly https://support.hp.com/nz-en/contact-hp and they will come to you at no charge if you are near a major centre and in warranty. This is why companies pay the premium price for HP commercial computer equipment

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Dynamic

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#2554577 1-Sep-2020 07:57

Lias:

timmmay:

Choose from this list of Probooks rather than Elitebooks based on your RAM / specs you require. My understanding is there's not really much difference between the two, Elitebook just has a few more enterprise features. The Probook 14" my wife has is really good, really fast.

ProBooks don't have the 3 year warranty by default that the EliteBooks do, it's an optional extra upgrade via authorized HP resellers. Last I looked I'm pretty sure it was cheaper to buy an EliteBook than a similar Probook + 3 year HP warranty upgrade (proper HP warranty upgrade that is, not to be confused with "Extended Warranty" crud)

The ProBooks use product code UK703E for their upgrade to a 3Y on site warranty, up from the default 1 year.

A consumer laptop warranty will be 'return to the retailer and wait 1-6 weeks', and good luck battling the retailer with a CGA claim if the laptop is over a year old.

Plus... with rare exception, ProBooks and EliteBooks are much easier to upgrade RAM and drives.

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noroad

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#2554700 1-Sep-2020 10:29

gehenna:

Usual suspects. HP EliteBook/ProBook/x360/etc, Lenovo ThinkPad/X1/etc, Dell Inspiron/XPS/etc, Microsoft Surface Laptop/Book/etc.

I would go for the Lenovo, after all the issues I have had with the last HP x360 I bought and the total lack of interest in fixing the ongoing rubbing fan issues I would never buy another HP. I ended up buying parts on aliexpress and fixing it myself in frustration. All the Lenovo's and Microsoft Surface (I think the SL3 is a little out of the price range, otherwise that would be my recommendation as the SL3 is stunning) machines just work.

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