suggestions for a new laptop

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stuck
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suggestions for a new laptop

Post by stuck »

stuckling2's Acer laptop is seven years old. At some point it's been dropped and is now showing signs of hardware failure. It's also running Win 7. Equals, time to invest in a new bit of kit.

Any suggestions starting from:
min CPU: Core i5
min RAM: 8Gb
min SSD: 256GB

His current laptop also has a built-in DVD drive and I think it also has a dedicated graphics card (I'll find out).

I'd like to hear your 'price not important ' ideas as well as your 'more realistic price' options.

Thanks,

Ken

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StuartR
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by StuartR »

If you really need a DVD drive then I suggest getting an external one. There is very little call for them now, other than for watching old TV series and films that aren't available on streaming services.

I am very happy with my current DELL laptop, and looking on their website they have this one for £779
StuartR


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HansV
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by HansV »

If you want to go all out, the Dell XPS 15-inch Laptop would do nicely. Stuart's suggestion looks like a good 'realistic' option.

(I myself have a two-and-a-half years old Dell XPS 13; it is not a particularly powerful laptop, but with a weight of just 1.2 kg/2.7 lb and a long battery life, it is an ideal companion for trips)
Best wishes,
Hans

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StuartR
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by StuartR »

My current laptop is a DELL XPS15, with Core i9, 32GB memory, 1TB SSD etc. It's a delight to use, but it wasn't cheap!
StuartR


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HansV
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by HansV »

The upper-echelon XPS 15 laptops are real powerhouses. A good friend of mine uses one to run SQL Server and all kinds of 'heavy' software. But it's definitely not cheap!
Best wishes,
Hans

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stuck
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by stuck »

I'd a feeling the XPS 15 would be one of the 'money no object suggestions' and if money were no object...

Meanwhile back in the real world, the Dell Outlet site has an Inspiron 17” 3000 (3793) for only £560: Core i7 (10th gen), 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, dedicated graphics card, DVD drive. That looks tempting except the battery is 'integrated'. Presumably that means once the battery is done the whole thing is bin fodder?

Ken

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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by HansV »

I guess the laptop could still be used while connected to a power outlet.
Best wishes,
Hans

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stuck
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by stuck »

True but he does want portability and the longest extension lead I can find is only 50m :grin:

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RonH
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by RonH »

Lenovo have a wide range of laptops and are currently No 1 in the market with HP 2nd. We have two based upon i5 and its significantly faster than my prior HP (ageing) i7, partly due to SSD distinct HD. I purchased a model which included NVDIA graphics ... not a top end graphics card but it adequately handles such as PowerDirector video software from Cyberlink. As you will know, video editing challenges software abilities.

As with all pc's, there is an amount of crapware but not as intrusive as that which I experienced with HP. I had been an HP user long term but a change to Lenovo seems to be OK ... for us at least. A failing battery does require opening the cabinet to replace but there is advice on the web on 'how to'. Obviously a cost saving (+ space saving) by so many manufacturers but with the drive on 'enviromental issues' one can only be hopeful they will make this more user friendly.

It looks as if you will be choosing Dell but this is my tuppence worth :cheers:

Meant to include ... no dvd drive so I happily use an external device together with Ashampoo burner where needed.
Last edited by RonH on 29 Jan 2020, 15:27, edited 1 time in total.
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HansV
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by HansV »

stuck wrote:True but he does want portability and the longest extension lead I can find is only 50m :grin:
That would be a problem if he wants to use it on Roseberry Topping.... :laugh:
Best wishes,
Hans

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Doc.AElstein
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by Doc.AElstein »

Dell do have a good reputation here in recent years.
My father in law has near to the 'price not important ' philosophy, and a few of his last machines were Dell. ( One of my Windows 7 machines is a Dell “hand me down” from him. )

But wow, the price. …
My just purchased “New” Windows 10 machine was 65 euros inclusive a Operating system disc and guarantee that I could re install with it.. ( https://imgur.com/QZ2EN9C" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; https://imgur.com/u1QOc9M" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )
But the Specs don’t compare with anything mentioned so far here so its not worth me mentioning them… ( wasn’t a lap top either )

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stuck wrote:True but he does want portability and the ....longest extension lead I can find is only 50m :grin:
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by ChrisGreaves »

stuck wrote:... time to invest in a new bit of kit.
My only 2c-worth: If anyone is thinking of programming on the laptop, make sure it has a "Break/Pause" key.
That was my one mistake in buying the DELL some seven years ago.
Cheers
Chris
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stuck
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by stuck »

RonH wrote:...It looks as if you will be choosing Dell...
By no means. Given how well his Acer has done and the fact I have an Acer notebook that's also done sterling job since 2012, I'll be checking out the Acer Aspire 5 series to see what's available there.

Ken

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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by jonwallace »

I haven't knowingly bought a laptop (or anything else) from Mesh https://www.meshcomputers.com/, but they keep sending me emails. I see they currently have a sale on with a variety of branded laptops. I see that AMD Ryzen processors are popular...
John

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John Gray
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by John Gray »

A few months ago we bought 20 of these second-hand Lenovo T440 laptops. Many more Lenovos available at various specs and prices. :smile:
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stuck
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by stuck »

Bit of a left field question here but does anybody know anything about stuff made by the Australian PC manufacturer Leader Computers:
https://leader-online.com.au/

Ken
PS I've added a post to Scuttlebutt that points to this thread as Geoff is more likely to see this question there than here.

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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by GeoffW »

Thanks - but I don't know anything about them. I have had very little to do with computer hardware in recent years.

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stuck
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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by stuck »

OK, it was worth asking.

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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by JoeP »

See Dell XPS-13 for $784 USD. Only 128GB SSD but does have an SD card slot.

Also, an XPS-13 with 256GB SSD for $833 USD.
Joe

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Re: suggestions for a new laptop

Post by ChrisGreaves »

IMG_20200202_121546267.jpg
I add that I have found the blue-lettering on the keyboard of the Tecra difficult to read at times; blue symbols on a black background.
Cheers
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