Howdy Ags!

I just started working from home full-time, doing 100% online telemedicine. Yay. My current laptop, a Surface Pro 7, is not cutting it. It's *fine* but trying to multitask with Zoom, Slack, multiple tabs open in my browser and other things running in the background just uses up all my RAM (only have 8GB). I'm strongly considering a new machine and pretty quickly so can't wait for major sales. Of note, I am a 1099 worker, so my company does not provide the hardware and yes, this will be a tax write-off.

I've been trying to do research but admit I'm not super techy and my mind is just overwhelmed with options. Cru suggested I ask yall. The Surface Laptop 7 is my frontrunner, but am open to other suggestions. I found one on Amazon with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $750-800. https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Surface-Windows-Touchscreen-Snapdragon/dp/B0DZBK6QCY/ref=abl_lv_ov_lig?colid=2GXOOF8RZJANE&coliid=IFPWD2OHBHKNG&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&th=1
I will NOT use a Mac, don't even suggest it. I'm pretty anti-Apple except for my kids' ipads.

(found this form on r/suggestalaptop)

• Total budget: Unfortunately, my budget is not great. Ideally under $700, but can go up to $800 if necessary.
• Are you open to refurbs/used? meh, if I have to.
• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? performance and build quality is most important to me. I want this to last a while. I will need to dock and add extra monitors, webcam, stuff like that eventually. But for now, just a laptop with plenty of ports. I already have another (portable) monitor.
• How important is weight and thinness to you? not really. I won't carry it around much.
• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. n/a
• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which /games you desire to run. nope. I mostly run Zoom, Slack, Google workspace, Chrome or Brave browser (currently trialing Brave to see if it saves RAM much) with multiple tabs open in the browser.
• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? reliable build quality. touchscreen is nice to have but not necessary. At least 16GB RAM. Good webcam.

Thank you!

https://a.co/d/6hDAiO7

Try one of the big retailers, especially ones that sell to small businesses. Costco is great if they have what you are looking for. They have limited selections but what they have is typically a good price for what it is

Online Costco has a some potential matches. Acer Aspire 14" AI Copilot+ PC Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 288V WUXGA (1920 x 1200) Touchscreen 32GB for $750

It has a basic HD monitor so that's where you are saving a little. The other area savings come from is that it has an integrated graphics card. If you are not doing any gaming or serious video editing, 3D modeling or other GPU heavy tasks it should be ok.

It has two thunderbolt ports which is perfect if you use a docking station

There's obviously the deal sites, but the last few laptops I've purchased have come from deals on this subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LaptopDeals/

I've tried different Windows-based brands and keep going back to Lenovo. The build quality just seems a lot better than most others.

In my case, I'm sorta partial to the legion series. I have a legion 5 pro and it's been amazing. My issue with a lot of the Dell and Acer and HP laptops and so forth is after 2 years, something always goes wrong, but in my experience these have been really solid, great build quality, zero issues for me.

Somewhat agreed on macs but mostly because I can't justify the 2x markup they have on their products. Paying $2400 for what you get for $1200 with Lenovo is a no brainer imo.

thank y'all for the information! It was helpful!