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From: Paul <nospam@needed.invalid>
Newsgroups: comp.misc,uk.d-i-y
Subject: Re: Laptop replacement
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 14:40:22 -0400
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On Wed, 3/26/2025 7:41 PM, Paul wrote:
> On Wed, 3/26/2025 1:34 PM, Theo wrote:
>> FYI there was a typo in the uk.d-i-y in the newsgroup line of your post:
>>
>> Chris J Dixon <chris@cdixon.me.uk> wrote:
>>> Most of my computing is done on my desktop PC, but I have a
>>> laptop which is handy for occasional use, and also as a fallback
>>> in case of failures.
>>>
>>> My Lenovo Thinkpad T450, which I bought refurbished 5 years ago,
>>> now has a bulging removable battery pack, which has been taken to
>>> a safe place. Additionally, the fan is making noises, which I
>>> hope I have addressed by cleaning. It will run on the internal
>>> battery.
>>>
>>> It seems that Lenovo do not support Windows 11 on this machine,
>>> so its safe life is limited in any case. Apparently there are
>>> ways to get round this, but each new Windows update could
>>> introduce fresh issues.
>>>
>>> In this context, and accepting that I want to remain in the
>>> Windows environment, I am unsure that spending money on
>>> replacement parts is justifiable, and am considering a new
>>> laptop.
>>>
>>> My use is mainly MS office applications, no gaming, and I do not
>>> anticipate removing it from the home. Therefore I want something
>>> which is OK with Windows 11, and has appropriate capability.
>>> However, size, weight and battery life are much less important.
>>> Reasonable warranty is desirable.
>>>
>>> I would welcome any pointers and recommendations.
>>>
>>> Chris
> 

> intel-core-ultra-9-processor-275hx
> intel-core-ultra-7-processor-265
> 
> ai-300-series/amd-ryzen-ai-9-hx-370
> ai-300-series/amd-ryzen-ai-9-hx-pro-375

I took a look at my local computer store inventory, to see what
selling tricks to look out for. While the 7th and 8th gen are
"new old stock", they're not particularly good Windows 11 choices.
Intel processors went up to 14th gen, before ditching the "gen" label.

There were still 7th and 8th gen laptops, for about                     $500
They ranged up to about 13th gen processors, getting up to             $1000
Finally, I was seeing mention of the NPU equipped W11 material...  for $1700

The staff at your computer store, might tell you about the
caveats of the $500 items (not real W11 material, just older
W10 stock). I'm sure the stock that is in-range (plus or minus
the NPU) will be labeled as W11 materials. Leaving the
more expensive kit to speak for itself.

There is not going to be much visible hardware inside
the $1700 one, because the graphics are done by an iGPU
tile inside the CPU. That price does not include an
NVidia gaming graphics GPU (an actual gamer laptop).

There has even been a laptop where the RAM is fixed and is loaded
inside the CPU package as well. Might be 16GB of stacked RAM die inside
the CPU. This makes for some amount of air space underneath
the keyboard. Since these are now slightly older stock, there is
a price drop from the airy level.

(Example of highly integrated laptop with "fixed" RAM quantity)

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-demos-meteor-lake-cpu-with-on-package-lpddr5x

https://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-500/ideapad-slim-5i-gen-9-16-inch-intel/83fw0005us

   Paul