The hp business laptops I’ve had have been solid. I’ve had them on and off for the last 10 years. I have an elite dragonfly Chromebook right now that has been extremely solid. When I first had to switch from my MacBook Pro, I was skeptical, but it has been a champ.

Latitude 5xxx and 7xxx series laptops are great. We have about 800, I might warranty 3-4 a year. User damage is is own problem that depends on the user, but the things are reliable, I've seen multiple come back to us with obvious fall/drop damage and it keeps kicking. I had one 5420 from 2021 come back to me a few weeks ago and it had been "left soaking in the backpack overnight with a 2L partially open water container tipped upside down unknowingly"

The dang thing has an obviously damaged screen and the power ports did some weird shit until it was all dried out, tech took it apart, dried everything and put it back together, we made the department pay for a replacement, but it still technically works, although there is some weird water damage behind the LCD that shows on screen. 

The 2021s did have a weird Qualcomm chip that randomly likes to fuck off when a NIC update comes through, not sure why. Otherwise these machines are much better than the Lenovo's we used before. 

We are a Dell Shop. Precision laptops last forever. They become outdated tech before they die. Inspiron is a close 2nd on the line, just not as physically durable. Latitude is cost effective, but your get more for your money with Inspiron. Regardless what anyone says the internals are the same, just the presentation and shell are different.

Other Laptops I like as options are Lenovo ThinkPads, but their bloatware really messed with the hardware. But they are study and last as well.

I haven't had good luck with HP, 60% of laptops I had failed one way or another after 5 years.

For Tablet based PC, Microsoft Surface for Businesses hands down.

Most manufacturerss if you order a large enough amount will help with deployment options. Just ask about their services.

I highly suggest looking into Dell, they have the most bang for the buck and are quick to fix any issues for Business based laptop and PCs.

I've worked in organizations with thousands of Dell, HP, and Lenovo laptops ranging from public libraries, to courts, to healthcare providers, to car dealerships. I would recommend Lenovo overall, with HP second. Both are very reliable, and have solid support when problems do come up.

I've seen more issues with Dell L attitudes than any other model, so I'd avoid them like the plague. When I worked in the courts, roughly 90% of the laptops were HPs, which we then transitioned to Lenovo during our upgrade cycle. The HP Probooks were all in perfect working order. The Dell Latitudes made up roughly 10% of the laptops, and accounted for nearly all the laptop issues. Everything from dead USB ports, to batteries blowing up like balloons, to the docking interface simply dying.

The Lenovos we had were initially T480s and T490s, and then we got a masssive number of X1 Carbons. Some of their docking stations had a weird bug with monitors, but that was fixed with a firmware upgrade. At my current job I've had a Lenovo P14s for the last few years and it's been flawless. I don't think I've seen any issues with the Lenovos at my current job aside from those that were physically damaged, but you can't blame that on the manufacturer.

Aside from those, I worked for a healthcare provider that used Fujitsu Lifebooks. I found those to be both reliable and durable. Doctors there treated laptops like freaking hockey pucks, and those Fujitsu machines had a higher rate of surviving that mistreatment than the Dells we used at that job. Seriously, I got more beaten up laptops there than I get from mechanics in auto shops at my current job.

Small Healthcare IT here. We have almost exclusively been buying latitude 5420s for over a year now. You can get them refurbished for $300 16gb ram and windows pro. They are pretty durable and have a lot of modern features without random bs.

That was our go-to before an acquisition moved us to HP. Our new pricing is genuinely amaze-balls, but the hardware doesn’t compare in my opinion. I’ve got an Elitebook G9 and it’s not amazing, most others have Zbooks (either Firefly for the normies or Fury for the engineers) and they’re fine. The minute a new Lenovo comes in the door I’ll start scheming, big time.

I got this business laptop and it's pretty solid. It's got 32GB ram which is more than enough for office work, 1TB fast SSD, and a decent battery . Screen is nice and bright, and the keyboard feels good to type on.

at least in my location… T430 is easier to find than E6440/E7440 or 8460p, but… T430 is comparable to 8470p and E6430 (E6440 was T440p competitor, E7440 is rather being a T450s rival)

I have a ruggedized dell e6430 and a Lenovo T420.

Both are solid machines.

I use the dell more in the field because of the ruggedness of it

My use case may be unique as I'm a mobile IT technician and find myself all over the place from warehouses to server rooms to data centers.

I do like how easy the T420 is to upgrade though you don't have to take the entire thing apart to do simple task like upgrade the hard drive or memory.

E6440 are very reliable but bulky. E7440 are decent but they tend to have battery bloat issues (probably not an issue if you buy a new battery for it).

I would always go for a T430. The "30s" are in my opinion the best ThinkPads ever. They still have genuine processors (for their time) and have not fallen under the trend of making everything thin and light. The T430 is built like a tank but still easily serviceable.

Of course, the hardware is getting old now but I use my T430 for university and except for CAD work (for which I use the W530) it handles everything well.

I can only remember some Dell and HP Laptops from that time (not sure which models) but non of them could compete with a ThinkPad. After a few years, they would just fall apart, and opening them was hell.

i have the 8460p and i really like it, but theres no usb 3, and it is hard to remove the bios password if you do not know it, but you can do it, and i think one of the docks you can get can add usb 3? it has a little light at the top of the screen like a thinkpad does, and a trackpoint too, i personally like the trackpad on the HP more than the thinkpad ones, and i really like how easy it is to take off the bottom cover and remove the battery and things. i would recommend whichever is cheaper, as they are both very nice laptops even still after all these years

For this task I vote Lenovo. Dropped a T490 on asphalt twice and it kept running with no issues.

Have an Elitebook now and I don't think it could survive the same.

The USB-A and HDMI ports on my Latitude stopped working.  IT said it’s a known issue.

Also, Dells apparently don’t play well with Apple.  I tried to hook mine up to a Thunderbolt Display (with adapter) and it simply wouldn’t work.  I read that Dell specifically de-activated part of their Thunderbolt compatibility.  

My Dell XPS 13 was always finicky, and the XPS 15 I got to replace it was so wonky that I returned it and got an HP Spectre that was on clearance.  I’ve had zero trouble with the Spectre doing office work.

I’m currently trying to decide between a new Framework (for the better screen aspect ratio) or an older T480 or T480s (cheap, and I want a TrackPoint).  I don’t want a new ThinkPad due to China reasons.

I have used the current Dell Rugged Extreme for about a year now, though I only use the Thunderbolt ports for charging.  So far no issues.

In fact, a major consideration is that both Thunderbolt ports are on their individual daughter boards, so should one or both fail I do not need to worry myself with soldering.

That said, I normally remove the factory overclocks as most thinner laptops have cooling systems designed for base TDP rather than maximum.

EliteBooks and T-Series ThinkPads are both good for the occasional drop and don't experience hinge related problems. Be mindful of the type-c charging ports though, they can fail with use.

The P-series ThinkPads and ZBooks are absolute tanks and can take some pretty hefty amounts of punishment. They are mechanically overbuilt and extremely solid.

Dell's Latitudes have unfortunately fallen behind in terms of both quality and durability outside of the specifically ruggedized ones. Lots of cheap plastic on everything below the 7000/9000 series Latitudes and even those use pretty thin aluminum.

Thinkpad bro

• Linux compatibility?
  • Equal on all 3 generally.
• Hinges that break less?
  • Equal on all 3.
• Easier to service?
  • Lenovo wins this. Easy to find HMM for almost every business model, while HP and Dell has them, much harder to find.
• Lighter weight? Thinner?
  • Depends on the exact models you're comparing. X1C vs. 5000 series, you bet. L14 vs. 7000 series, I don't think so...
• Longer battery life?
  • Depends on the exact models, as they each have some modles htat have impressive battery sizes, and some that don't.
• Display (higher res, brighter)
  • Depends on the exact models, for hte most part outside the X1 line Lenovo still has pretty underwhelming to downright garbage stock panels...but generally, so does Dell and HP.
• Trackpoint
  • Yes.

I like ThinkPads (currently own 4 waiting on the E14 G7 to be released in US to get another), Elitebooks (own 1, but really 2 since the Zbook Firefly is just the Elitebook with a different BIOS), and Probooks (own 1). Not a fan of Latitudes recently since they never kept up with the CPU manufacturers and offered good CPU's in that lineup of laptops since like 2019. With Intel becoming competitive again, that might change in the next year or so, though.

For home, I would go Dell. More upgradable (eg no whitelist for wifi cards, although I am not sure if Lenovo still does that), more serviceable (the dells just seem to react better to amateur surgery, the Lenovos need a more skilled surgeon…), etc.

For work, ThinkPad all the way. Great reliability, great support (Lenovo premier support in North Carolina is outstanding), great looks, great durability (most of our T470s/T480ses are still kicking just fine), etc. Not so great hinges, though, at least not on the T14s G2 which is prone to catastrophic hinge failure.

I don’t even consider HP; in my view in Canada they are a distant third player in business laptops.

Latitude in between? They are ugly as shit, bro. Honestly, never owned neither Latitude nor Elitebook, but there is a lot of complains about HP bios updates, sometimes it might even brick device. That`s what i know about how they differ, i think everything else is pretty similar.

I’ve had all three. They’re all about the same. What I don’t like on some of the newer HPs and Dells though is the lack of hard buttons for the touchpad/pointing stick. I don’t understand why all of these brands try to emulate Apple.

Main reason to get a Thinkpad nowadays is the design and the keyboard tbh. I really dislike laptops that try to look like a MacBook, and Thinkpads are pretty much the only ones left who don't do that. Also, I hate aluminium in tech.

Business use is Latitude

A plastic laptop is less expensive to make and less sturdy. A laptop with a metal case or frame is more sturdy and appeals to businesses where employees travel with them quite often. A business laptop is more likely to have Windows Pro - although Pro is also available on some of the products on the home side of the store.

Check Windows version

build quality, although that depends. some Home ones have pretty nice build.

windows version. usually Home comes with WinHome the business with Pro.

XPS series is considered both For home and For business , so.....

on some Business models you can get some fancy stuff that cannot be found in Home laptops in terms of hardware such as Quadro gpu.

For business you can get 4 hour on site support, depending on your area of living of course

ThinkPads are the business equivalent for Lenovo and are often highly regarded in the business tech field.

I would consider more the CPU than the brand, generally old Intel are like small furnace, Always hot and consume a lot of Power, what you should be looking for are : Low price ryzen 7 7840/8840 High price Intel ultra 200 series the One ending in v for more battery Life, the h One for more Power or go amd ryzen ai 9 365/370

Here goes the equivalent series names for each major manufacturer. You may need to get acquainted with how they're divided price-wise.

HP: ProBook and EliteBook

Lenovo: ThinkPad

Acer: TravelMate

Asus: ExpertBook

Lenovo Thinkpad. I have a workstation laptop 128gb DDR4 3200 ECC RTX 5000 for quite long time, no single issue. The only complain mine is quite heavy.

ProBook competes at the same price point as Vostro (Budget business), but is generally more on par with modern latitudes. E-Series/L-Series ThinkPads would be the Lenovo equivalent.

EliteBooks are competitors/twins to T-Series ThinkPads and are generally better than the current crop of Latitudes.

Zbooks are Dell Precision/P-Series ThinkPad competitors and tend to outmatch both in regards to sheer longevity and modularity.

They are a good buy business laptops hold up much better than regular consumer laptops do.

It really depends on the seller. I bought a Asus ROG Zephyrus in excellent condition for $779. The battery is only 16% low after 3.5 years. These high-end models are usually really well cared for. The Intel NVME had 126 starts and 5600 hours. Thats pretty low for its age.

I got it here > ItsWorthMore | eBay Stores

Professional used laptops are usually in decent condition. They were company property and actually quite expensive. Also the worst ones get stripped for refurb parts for the better ones, before those are sold. So: generally safe Stay away from used consumer laptops.

If it’s always plugged in, go for it!

If you're mostly using it plugged in, battery life isn't a dealbreaker especially for business laptops.

I bought a refurb Dell Latitude off eBay last year and it's been rock solid. The battery only lasts 2 hours but the build quality and performance for the price made it 100% worth it.

ThinkPads all the way. Not other Lenovo stuff. Only ThinkPads. Avoid E series. That's the lowest of the lowest ThinkPads. The rest is very good. Even the L budget series (that's only a small up from E series) is a built to last and very serviceable, but a bit bulky.

I'm overwhelmed by the HP 17; you definitely get the most bang for your buck.

You say you currently use Dell with pro support but you never stated which model(s). I’ve worked with Dell Latitude & Precision laptops for 25 years and never had any issues with build quality.

I see the X1 ranked all over online as the best option for business. However, the X series only comes in 14" and I need bigger. Only the T and P series go up to a 16" screen. Are they a step down from the X series?

That's the only reason we have been moving away from Lenovo laptops. I'm sad that this will be my last X1 Carbon but I'm hopeful I'll like my next Precision just as much.