Question Advice for work laptop

[ashic]

I'm looking to buy a laptop for my mum, who's a retired professor. She's not tech savvy at all, and is used to Windows. She's looking in the 13-14 range, and she'll mostly be using Word, Excel, and a browser. Main thing for her is longevity and battery life. After a bit of searching, I've narrowed it down to the Surface Laptop 7 with the X-Plus and 16GB ram (13.8 inch) and the Asus Zenbook S14 with the Core Ultra 200 series 226V (lowest model), 16GB ram. A few notes:

1. Both are the exact same price with black friday offers.
2. The Zenbook has a gorgeous screen that's 3k, but 16:10.
3. The surface has a nice screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio (better for Word?).
4. Gaming is just not an issue. It'll never be used for that.
5. She's currently using a near 10 year old terrible machine, so anything is a MASSIVE upgrade for her.

At the exact same price point, which would you recommend for a retired person mostly needing Office (she write papers, reports, etc still).

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

If they are both Intel driven, I'd pick either one. The way you've outlined it in your thread seems to portray you have found your finalists. I would get something with AMD on it, without a discrete GPU, that way the heat is manageable.

At the exact same price point, which would you recommend for a retired person mostly needing Office (she write papers, reports, etc still).
Please provide links to both laptops you've narrowed down to. Could you elaborate the etc part of your sentence(pseudo question)?

Something to read into for the Surface you mentioned above.

 

[ashic]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

If they are both Intel driven, I'd pick either one. The way you've outlined it in your thread seems to portray you have found your finalists. I would get something with AMD on it, without a discrete GPU, that way the heat is manageable.

At the exact same price point, which would you recommend for a retired person mostly needing Office (she write papers, reports, etc still).
Please provide links to both laptops you've narrowed down to. Could you elaborate the etc part of your sentence(pseudo question)?

Something to read into for the Surface you mentioned above.

Thanks for the response. Here's more details:

1. Surface Laptop 7: Snapdragon X-Plus processor (ARM64), 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/store/configure/surface-laptop-7th-edition/8tq2hq5xxkj9
2. Zenbook S14: Intel Core Ultra 5 226V (200 series), 16GB RAM, 512 GB SSD.

ASUS Zenbook S 14 (UX5406) | AI PCs | ASUS UK - Specifications

Experience AI power with the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 ultra-slim laptop, a Copilot+ PC with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, 3K OLED display and 72Wh battery.

www.asus.com

Both are the lowest processor spec of the corresponding options.

 

[Lutfij]

You didn't answer my question.

Regardless, you could pick either one. I'd get the Asus laptop if I was in the market to buy one.

 

[Lingaraj m]

I'd go with the Asus Zenbook S14 for your mum. The high-resolution 3K screen will make text incredibly sharp, which is great for reading and working in Word or Excel, and the 16:10 ratio gives just a bit more vertical space for documents—super handy when writing or reading longer reports. Plus, the Zenbook line is known for solid battery life, and the build quality tends to hold up well over the years. Both machines would be an impressive upgrade, but the Zenbook’s display is a standout at the same price point. She’ll love the clarity and comfort for her daily tasks, and it’s a laptop that can last. Go for the Zenbook—she deserves it! If you are still open to recommendations i have great options for you .