I've been thinking for some time about getting a smaller and more compact device, and thought it'd be worth checking if I'm on the right track.
My goal is to get something that's not very expensive (preferably <= $300), has good battery life, and still has a numpad keyboard and at least 15'' display. I'm not afraid of an ARM architecture, if it's available and is the best option. Reliability and easy repair, although not absolutely critical, are major pluses. I use my current computer for coding minimalistic websites, writing, music/video streaming, and occasionally light graphics design. Due to the energy requirements, integrated graphics is better in this case. Windows 10 would be preferable. As a brand, so far I like HP the most, because they are said to be ethical (for a large tech company). My experience with their tower has been all right as well. (On the other side, I'm especially wary of Chinese brands.)
I know that I'm not going to find anything remotely near the specs my HP Z420 tower (with RX 570 graphics upgrade) has, at anything like the price point I'm looking at. But my Raspberry Pi 4 a while back was almost good enough for me, so "better than a Pi 4" would be a minimum starting point.
I've been looking mostly at used devices (on eBay and such) and of those it seems like EliteBooks are an attractive option; I don't know about the battery/power consumption... but otherwise they seem to match all of the above requirements and preferences. Would you say this is a good fit (and that I should keep looking in that vein), or is there another series or model I should look into?
While we're on the subject, is 8GB enough? That seems like the most usual 'high' configuration for mid-aged laptops. I have 24GB now and it seems like my tower is regularly running near or over 8, but I know some operating systems use more RAM when it's available (and could get by on less), so it's possible not all of that is necessary. If I had to, I could open the tower up and take the RAM out to see how 8 performs, but someone else's anecdotal evidence would be easier.
My goal is to get something that's not very expensive (preferably <= $300), has good battery life, and still has a numpad keyboard and at least 15'' display. I'm not afraid of an ARM architecture, if it's available and is the best option. Reliability and easy repair, although not absolutely critical, are major pluses. I use my current computer for coding minimalistic websites, writing, music/video streaming, and occasionally light graphics design. Due to the energy requirements, integrated graphics is better in this case. Windows 10 would be preferable. As a brand, so far I like HP the most, because they are said to be ethical (for a large tech company). My experience with their tower has been all right as well. (On the other side, I'm especially wary of Chinese brands.)
I know that I'm not going to find anything remotely near the specs my HP Z420 tower (with RX 570 graphics upgrade) has, at anything like the price point I'm looking at. But my Raspberry Pi 4 a while back was almost good enough for me, so "better than a Pi 4" would be a minimum starting point.
I've been looking mostly at used devices (on eBay and such) and of those it seems like EliteBooks are an attractive option; I don't know about the battery/power consumption... but otherwise they seem to match all of the above requirements and preferences. Would you say this is a good fit (and that I should keep looking in that vein), or is there another series or model I should look into?
While we're on the subject, is 8GB enough? That seems like the most usual 'high' configuration for mid-aged laptops. I have 24GB now and it seems like my tower is regularly running near or over 8, but I know some operating systems use more RAM when it's available (and could get by on less), so it's possible not all of that is necessary. If I had to, I could open the tower up and take the RAM out to see how 8 performs, but someone else's anecdotal evidence would be easier.
