Laptop Recomendations

Tone71

I`m after laptop advice, the idea being to replace the bulky desktop that I currently use and free up space. Had a look in PC World at the weekend but wasn't convinced by the lackluster salesman who kind of agreed with anything but offered no real advice.

I really know nothing about processors etc in the laptop world, but have been using my sons Macbook which is pretty good but am not willing to spend that kind of money!!

I guess what Im looking for is as good as can be achieved for around £400, will be mainly used for browsing, you tube etc, nothing really demanding.

I`m also assuming spec wise:
14" Screen
8Gb RAM
128 SSD
i3 ? or AMD equivalent ?

Looking around I have a leaning towards Lenovo but PC World have a HP https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-bk052sa-14-laptop-silver-10164660-pdt.html ; which may well do but pretty unsure.

Cheers



 

revsorg

My friend has an HP laptop with an i3 processor and it is unacceptably slow.

Axe_meister

I would never touch an HP laptop. Have had many through work and at home. They all ended up dead due to inadequate cooling.
Dell XPS range is good.

notanon

At least core i5 check the limit on the ram. I always recommend b stock you will get more bang for your buck and 3 months gaurantee is sufficient to check okay. Distance selling is another failsafe.

For £400 b stock I'd expect a fairly healthy machine.

menamestom

My experience of £400  laptops, especially HP is constant issues.  They ship with enough bloatware to ensure the inadequately cooled plastic cases struggle to do the most basic tasks.

Spend a bit extra on a business class laptop, Dell are a good suggestion.  It’s not just about specs, look for machines where the series have good reviews.

Tone71

The other question is where to buy from? Are Laptops Direct any good?

Heartfeltdawn

Tone71 said:

The other question is where to buy from? Are Laptops Direct any good?

Yep, bought three from there for my mum and sister over the years. Delivered on time, didn't fuck up in any way. Ordered one last Wednesday, cost a little more for next day delivery to a Collect+ store, absolutely spot on. 

notanon

I'm not saying buy this as more research with reviews is needed but as an example:

https//rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F142742702601

Tone71

notanon said:

I'm not saying buy this as more research with reviews is needed but as an example:

https//rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F142742702601

Linky no worky.

Cheers all for the replies though, it is helping to clarify some things.


Another question, is 4Gb of RAM too little for basic sofa browsing?

equalsql

HP laptop = bag of shyte. Honestly stay away from them.
Windows 10 OS alone will gobble 4Gb in a heartbeat so go for 8Gb min.

Snags

HP always under-perform against the headline specs; you're paying for the name, and they've also got a really crap policy regarding firmware updates and similar once you're out of support (to try to hook you on paying for on-going extended support).

I don't really operate at the £400 mark (business provides support/procurement etc. to other businesses) but as a general rule of thumb Asus are "fair" at all price points (i.e. the corners they cut to keep prices down are reasonable).  Lenovo Think-branded stuff is generally good, but will be above budget. Lenovo own-brand is more likely to be in budget but a bit more variable.

Check the max RAM you can expand to. Some of the cheaper models come maxed out, and that can be a pain.

Similarly, don't worry too much about drive size, as at the budget end it's often cheaper to buy something with a small SSD and then buy a larger third party SSD and swap them out (not as daunting as it sounds as long as the drive is reasonably accessible). Or buy something with spinning rust and pop an SSD in 12 months down the line.

Personally I would avoid Acer like the plague*, and I have a long standing, deep rooted and justifiable prejudice against Dell (others don't).

*A shame, as they're one of the better ethical scoring companies, but the kit is often flimsy, wrong corners cut, and performs OK for 12 months then falls apart unless you're very careful with it.

{Edit to add} With RAM it can also often be cheaper to buy a model with not enough and add it yourself, rather than go up the range. Hence checking what the max it will take is.

Danny1969

This comes up all the time but it's worth saying again. When it comes to recommending you have to be machine specific, just blanket saying HP is bad, Lenova is good etc is pointless because HP, Dell, Lenovo etc all make some utter junk models and some superb models ..... actually more accurately they pay the likes of Compal, Quanta, Foxcon etc to make models that can be branded as HP, Dell etc

A Dell Latitude E6410 is a fantastic machine. A Dell Inspiron 5030 is a terrible laptop. So recommending Dell for example is pointless unless you state which model ... likewise with HP and Lenovo. 

From a repairers point of view I would avoid any AMD machines ... I write off far more AMD machines than Intel based machines, probably something like 10 AMD laptops for every Intel 

When it comes to ram be careful that the machine you buy is upgradable ... I can think of many current machines that have the ram soldered on the board with no SODIMM lot or an empty SODIMM slot on the other side of the motherboard which means taking out the motherboard to install it
Also bear in mind not all machines use standard 2.5" SATA drives ... mini PCIe slots are common place for harddrives now which makes upgrading not impossible but it does need more thought

In all honesty the only decent made machines nowday's in terms of build quality are the corporate 3 year onsite warranty types and Macbook pro's. Everything else is a lot cheaper but they are corners cut in the plastics and hinge designs because using alloy and other better materials is expensive 

Winny_Pooh

Buy a used Mac mini and use your existing screen etc.  Laptops are terrible and slower to use unless you absolutely have to. 

revsorg

A mac mini isn't suited to sofa browsing. 

DLM

Danny1969 said:

 corporate 3 year onsite warranty types

Could you give an example of one of those available to private punters please, @Danny1969 ?

Snags

DLM said:

Danny1969 said:

 corporate 3 year onsite warranty types

Could you give an example of one of those available to private punters please, @Danny1969 ?

All of them - they're available retail, but generally start at a higher price point. So Lenovo Thinkpad L, T, X series, or the high end Asus, or ... well, any brand. But including VAT and new you're going to.be looking at £700++++ all the way up to as high as you want to go.

notanon

Tone71 said:

notanon said:

I'm not saying buy this as more research with reviews is needed but as an example:

https//rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F142742702601

Linky no worky.

Cheers all for the replies though, it is helping to clarify some things.


Another question, is 4Gb of RAM too little for basic sofa browsing?

Sorry I posted that from my mobile - copy and paste nightmare in chrome. Another example or similar for £299 Don't buy this one. Until somebody else confirms a good laptop but gives you an example

16GB RAM (Future proofs) - the more the merrier. Check limit but 16GB is pretty good.

256GB SSD - Price dropping all the time but need to check how easy to replace but 256GB is OK

Mini display port useful for external monitor

HDMI useful for connecting to external monitor e.g. when staying in a hotel you can use TV for Netflix etc

Note battery is probably low powered by comparison to today's standards.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Latitude-E7240-12-5-Laptop-Core-i5-2-0GHz-16GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-Win-10/323158259206?hash=item4b3dbbb606:g:UfQAAOSw-b9asOcc

Specs:

Type:	Notebook/Laptop	Storage Type:	SSD (Solid State Drive)
Brand:	Dell	Operating System:	Windows 10
Product Line:	Latitude	Operating System Edition:	Professional
Model:	e7240	Graphics Processing Type:	Integrated/On-Board Graphics
MPN:	Does Not Apply	Hardware Connectivity:	Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.0
Screen Size:	14"	Features:	Built-in Webcam
Memory:	16GB	Manufacturer warranty:	None
Processor Type:	Intel Core i5 4th Gen.	SSD Capacity:	256GB
Processor Speed:	2.0GHz	Colour:	Silver

notanon

Shed loads out there:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Latitude-e6440-core-i7-4th-Gen-4600M-2-9ghz-16gb-256gb-SSD-Windows-10-Pro/253212794854?epid=219497715&hash=item3af4a89fe6:g:JawAAOSwBt5ZIGLe

Compare the specs 16GB RAM corei7 256GB SSD

You have buyer protection with the likes of eBay but I would still purchase from a company. For example people like maplin (or something similar) used ebay at one point. 1600 x 900 screen is fairly good for a laptop.

Not sure what other people think on TFB maybe call Laptop Direct and give them a budget and specify:
Not below i5 processor and preferably i7 processor
Not below 256GB
Has Windows 10 installed (For you I'm guessing that is best)
Has camera (your choice)
Has HDMI output at least but better with HDMI + Dataport
Has at least 1 USB 3 port but minimum of 3 usb ports in total
Battery power - for me the min is 4 hours but you can get up to 10 hours+ (you will pay for it)


HTH - good luck

Winny_Pooh

revsorg said:

A mac mini isn't suited to sofa browsing. 

Tablets are

ThePrettyDamned

notanon said:

Shed loads out there:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-Latitude-e6440-core-i7-4th-Gen-4600M-2-9ghz-16gb-256gb-SSD-Windows-10-Pro/253212794854?epid=219497715&hash=item3af4a89fe6:g:JawAAOSwBt5ZIGLe

Compare the specs 16GB RAM corei7 256GB SSD

You have buyer protection with the likes of eBay but I would still purchase from a company. For example people like maplin (or something similar) used ebay at one point. 1600 x 900 screen is fairly good for a laptop.

Not sure what other people think on TFB maybe call Laptop Direct and give them a budget and specify:
Not below i5 processor and preferably i7 processor
Not below 256GB
Has Windows 10 installed (For you I'm guessing that is best)
Has camera (your choice)
Has HDMI output at least but better with HDMI + Dataport
Has at least 1 USB 3 port but minimum of 3 usb ports in total
Battery power - for me the min is 4 hours but you can get up to 10 hours+ (you will pay for it)


HTH - good luck

A newer i3 may outperform an older i5 for sofa browsing - and may consume less battery, stay cooler etc. 

May cost a bit more though...

Tone71

Winny_Pooh said:

revsorg said:

A mac mini isn't suited to sofa browsing. 

Tablets are

This was plan B!

Cheers all, lots to look at now