Need some guidance on a laptop purchase

Hello! I've fallen into a horrible laptop researching hole and I feel that I've become too close to my problem, so I'm looking to you fine people to provide me with some amount of perspective.

My desktop PC finally started dying after years and years of use so, when I thought about getting a replacement, I realized a laptop might actually be better. The mobility of a laptop appeals to me, the freedom of movement and reduced clutter sounds great. In addition to that, my needs are not significant, I mostly write and browse the Internet, never do video editing or games, but I do want something snappy for what I do do.

All of this lead me in the direction of a 17 inch laptop, the upside of sreen size outweighed the downsides of less convenient portability. Since I would be mostly transporting it between desks I don't care about having a super sleek machine.

After spending a lot of time researching laptops, the HP probook 470 G3 came out a favorite. It's made for business so it's sturdy, it has a nice FHD display (if notebookcheck.com is to be believed) and it has an SSD option. Thorough maintenance hatches and a good keyboard also factored in. With the options I would get it would cost $1,030 which is about what my budget can handle. So, after this grand preamble my question; Did I fuck up somewhere? If you were in my position would you get that laptop? Would you just get a desktop? Burn all your electronics and move to the wilderness? I'm curious to hear any and all perspectives.

I've been using a laptop for gaming and work for the past couple years. Gaming has its issues (overheating and nvidia optimus problems, mostly), and so has working on a decidedly smaller screen (15 inch in my case) than your usual pc monitor, but I still prefer the overall experience. If you plan to use it stationary at a couple different places (which is why I bought mine, too) it's definitely a good choice. Can't say anything about the model you're getting or the specs, but there are definitely far more foolish things you could do than switching to a laptop.

@hans_maulwurf: Thanks for the reply! Since I've never used a laptop as my only computer before, it's definitely good to hear that you've had a good experience doing that

We use Probooks as our main corporate-provided asset and I do some of the imaging/provisioning. I can't say they're bad machines, never had too many problems. We used the 640's and 650's (only difference was a 10-key on the KB) and we had one bad batch of about 5 come in but otherwise they've been really good. I personally use a Macbook with a VM for anything I might need that is Windows-based and I get some sideways looks at the office since most of our folks are PC-only or very heavy. The only thing I can say I don't love about the Probooks is weight - and that's only because I've handled a few of them and compare them to my Macbook Pro or something in the Lenovo X1 or Dell XPS line that's designed to be lightweight. I underestimated how much weight factored in but mostly because my job requires me to be able to tear down and set up quickly, as well as throw everything into my bag quickly and might have to walk around a site or something (less so about true portability, more about slinging the bag over the shoulder and not having sweet mother momentum take me down).

I use a Macbook Pro with a VM for anything I might need that is Windows-based and I get some sideways looks at the office since most of our folks are PC-only or very heavy. But spec wise they're pretty close - I got the mac as a result of my previous Mac knowledge combined with Windows and a certification the company paid for so I'm not going to say no. Plus it forces me to work in both environments and learn a lot on top of my already fairly strong Windows knowledge.

Without the weight of video production and gaming, you'll probably find a lot of good stuff in the under $1100 range. MacBook, XPS, and Surface Pro's. Something fairly small, light, and with enough oomf to get basic stuff done.

I took my Surface Pro 3 (i5) with me on vacation, did a bit of work in Lightroom in the evenings, and best of all never had to remove it for TSA inspection because of its form factor/size.

Machines feel pretty zippy nowadays with even low clock i5's when paired with SSDs.

If you're a student, I believe you'll get a 10% discount at the Microsoft store, if you go the Windows route. All the computers they sell there are third party bloat free.

Saying this as someone sitting about 3 feet from a 55 inch TV (who very much appreciates extravagant screen sizes), I always kind of regretted getting a 17 inch laptop. Personally I didn't find the difference over a 15 inch screen that noticeable, but I definitely noticed how much heavier it is, and it seems to kill my battery quicker (especially now that my battery is old). The only time I really appreciate it is when I'm using it to watch movies with other people, which is very rare. Just something to consider.

@hunter5024: yeah, I have a 17" too and I also ask myself the 17 vs. 15 question regularly.

Still mixed feelings to the point that I'm convinced that it's a "grass is always greener" scenario regardless of which way you go.