hey people!
My current Dell Latitude E7440 is well over 6 years old and I’m looking for a new high-end business grade laptop (nothing overly plasticy) with a built-in ethernet port, 9th/10th gen Intel, or latest Ryzen Pro CPU options and is in the 14" range.
I was waiting for Surface Book 3, hoping it will meet the requirements, but nope.
Then Dell announced new Latitude models, which have always had built-in ethernet ports, but these also no longer have it.
Is there a website of some sort where you can search for laptops by their features? Something PCPartpicker-like perhaps?
Have you looked at the Dell Vostro 3490 line? Those still have RJ-45 (even VGA) and come with 10th gen processors.
If you want more fancy (aluminum body) then go Vostro 5490. My fiance has a 5000 series Vostro and the build quality is superb for the money.
The 9th gen equipped Lattitude’s (5401) still have RJ-45, but i wouldn’t buy one, except if you need vPro and/or use smart cards in your business setting.
Thanks dude, I’ll get the Latitude.
Where I live, we use smart cards daily, as the national ID card is a smart card and we can use it for pretty much for anything. That and Mobile ID.
My experience with Vostros was about 8~9 years ago and back then the build “quality” was very poor. You seem to be content with the choice you made with your fiances laptop. How long have you had it?
Although I’m not getting it myself, I’m asking to determine whether I should update my dated opinion of the Vostro line and maybe recommend it to someone else, if necessary.
Update: Turned out the Latitude is covered with plastic, going with the Vostro 5490, if I get local keyboard, instead of ENG.
We have bought it almost 2 years ago, it held up pretty well. No problems to date (knock on wood) only a few scratches due to it being tossed from couch to coffee table and back, all the time. She has the 13" model. Would totally recommend for any use outside of compiling and rendering 
Aren’t all Lattitude’s?
You could always get a nicer one (maybe precision line) with TB3 or USB-C and a dongle?
My ancient 7440 is aluminium (bought in the end of 2013). Battery is still holding very well, structually looks like new, which why I loved the old Latitude’s. Bulky and strong. This one really isn’t that big, but the Latitude before that was fat and sturdy. It’s a bit slow, the mSATA drive is shit and without some sort of modification, you can’t add M.2, or ever a regular SATA there, there just aren’t any connectors. And it doesn’t have WiFi ac for those times where WiFi will do.
And no, dongles are not an option. Maybe for video output and whatever else, but not for ethernet.
How soon do you need this? Is it said that around 100 Ryzen 4000 laptops will be released by the end of the year. It’s pretty probably that one will suit your use case and still be inexpensive compared to the Intel counterpart.
I’m not in a terrible hurry, but end of the year is waaaay too far. Price is not an issue.
I just want the laptop to have the essential stuff I need.
If you were looking for a gaming laptop, don’t 
If not, nvmd.
I just want the latest CPU, 256GB fast storage, 16GB memory with option to add more (upgradeability), don’t care about GPU, FHD+ resolution, good build quality, 14" format and of course, built-in ethernet port.
Doesn’t have to be super beefed up, I’m more intested in longevity of the laptop. Like getting another 6-7 years out of it, like I have had with my current one.
I think it’s rather hard to find a 14" laptop with Ethernet that’s not overpriced or uses an inferior processor (lol) especially since (i feel) most manufacturers want to make a thin and light at that size.
I wasn’t looking for a gaming laptop (you can always turn rgb off), it was the first Renoir laptop I could find that had RJ45. Starting price seems decent too. And by being a “gaming” laptop, it probably has decent upgradibility i.e you can add in some extra ram as you please.
I think the Dell Vostro 5490 fits the bill quite nicely, if I can get it with my local keyboard.
The search continues as the Vostro 5490 cannot be ordered with a custom keyboard, unlike the Latitude line.