Author Topic: New laptop advice  (Read 169616 times)

Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #920 on: March 22, 2021, 08:10:53 pm »
Helped my lad out with a new laptop as he was starting a new job and was needing to work from home.  Ended up with an Asus AMD Ryzen 5 machine which for about £550 has a 512GB NVMe drive so it boots up nice and quick and has 8GB of RAM so reasonably snappy switching between tasks.  Lenovo do a similar spec machine for the same money but it was out of stock at the time.

I looked at Intel i5 machines at the equivalent price point but most only seem to have 256 GB SSDs and these Ryzen 5 chips seems to do better with single and multi-threaded tasks on benchmark tests and I think the Ryzen integrated graphics are also superior to the Intel UHD graphics in some applications.

I find 256GB is too restrictive for the stuff I do and wouldn't think about getting less than 512 GB, and I need to check, but I think there may space to stick in a 2.5" SSD (500GB availlable for about £50). So with the RAM there are some decent upgrade paths.

Offline Phil M

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #921 on: March 23, 2021, 09:24:06 am »
Nice one for the replies.   :wave
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Offline Qston

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #922 on: March 23, 2021, 11:57:03 am »
Funnily enough I need to ask similar advice. My dad is after a basic laptop with a disc drive. He doesn`t really download any music or things like that. He doesn`t want to spend too much either. I have told him he needs something with good processor speed. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
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Offline Crimson

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #923 on: March 23, 2021, 05:16:24 pm »
Funnily enough I need to ask similar advice. My dad is after a basic laptop with a disc drive. He doesn`t really download any music or things like that. He doesn`t want to spend too much either. I have told him he needs something with good processor speed. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

With a disc drive? What about a portable disc drive that connects via USB? Had one a couple of years back to run some games of off. Worked a treat.

I don't think you will find a decent laptop with built-in disc drive these days.
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Offline AndyInVA

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #924 on: March 24, 2021, 12:04:31 pm »
Bump.

Dell al the way. Ive had HP and some other laptop and the Dells have always been the best. I use mine for work each and every day and get a new one every three years or so. Dell has always been the most reliable.

Offline Qston

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #925 on: March 24, 2021, 05:15:11 pm »
With a disc drive? What about a portable disc drive that connects via USB? Had one a couple of years back to run some games of off. Worked a treat.

I don't think you will find a decent laptop with built-in disc drive these days.

Thanks mate. I have been doing some digging for him. I don`t profess to be any sort of IT expert but clearly getting one with a disc is going to be difficult and unnecessary. I know about the portable drives and have now explained to him that he should think of downloading programmes in the same way as putting in a CD containing one. I think he gets it now.

I am going to make some recommendations to him that use SSD, which I am told are far better for speed than the standard hard drive on cheaper models. I think a few hours sitting with him going through everything will help. Really I just wanted to check with you guys on here who are far more IT savvy than me which reasonably priced laptops are best for him (so ideally less than £400).
"Just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream has just come true" Trent June 1st 2019

Offline Skeeve

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #926 on: March 25, 2021, 02:33:46 am »
What applications does he need to use, for many older users, a chromebook is actually well worth considering.

Offline ScouserAtHeart

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #927 on: March 25, 2021, 11:09:49 am »
Thanks mate. I have been doing some digging for him. I don`t profess to be any sort of IT expert but clearly getting one with a disc is going to be difficult and unnecessary. I know about the portable drives and have now explained to him that he should think of downloading programmes in the same way as putting in a CD containing one. I think he gets it now.

I am going to make some recommendations to him that use SSD, which I am told are far better for speed than the standard hard drive on cheaper models. I think a few hours sitting with him going through everything will help. Really I just wanted to check with you guys on here who are far more IT savvy than me which reasonably priced laptops are best for him (so ideally less than £400).

SSDs are faster for sure but obviously more expensive. See what works better for his needs, faster load times for programs or a larger storage.

You may be able to save some money if you go for slightly older models that still have HDDs
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Offline Qston

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #928 on: March 25, 2021, 11:35:28 am »
Thanks for all the replies. All helpful. I hadn`t thought about a chromebook and will look into that. I had said SSD because of my own experiences with a hard drive. Looking at the price differences it seems that an extra few quid is worth it for something he likely won`t replace for a good few years. With advice I actually managed to replace mine in my desktop (I was dead impressed with myself !).
"Just a normal lad from Liverpool whose dream has just come true" Trent June 1st 2019

Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #929 on: March 25, 2021, 03:22:11 pm »
Under £400 perhaps give the AMD Ryzen 3 laptops a look?  They are faster in the benchmark tests than most of the Intel Pentium (or the older Celeron/Core M) processors at this price point and you can get a 256GB SSD where Intel machines tend to palm you off with 128GB.

This pretty good for £370:
https://www.cclonline.com/product/asus-m509da-laptop-15-6-inch-1920-x-1080-amd-ryzen-3-3250u-4gb-256gb-ssd-radeon-vega-3-bluetooth-microsoft-windows-10-home-m509da-ej382t/

[edit: this also comes with W10 Home rather than the cut down Windows 10S that often ships with cheaper machines]


A USB optical drive, if you need it for CDs or DVDs, will be about £20 to £30 so you will still be within budget.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2021, 03:26:41 pm by Red Raw »

Offline Cruiser

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #930 on: April 2, 2021, 11:30:57 am »
How much are you folks forking out extra for the software packages (Microsoft 365/2019)?
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Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #931 on: April 2, 2021, 08:34:58 pm »
How much are you folks forking out extra for the software packages (Microsoft 365/2019)?
Unless you need it for a business I wouldn't bother at all - I get MS Office from work because the licence allows me to install on a few private computers.  For family and friends I usually install Libre Office which is free and very good.  It can open and save documents in Office formats.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

There is also Google Docs which are reasonable and can be good for sharing live documents.

Always worth checking open source alternatives, many are really good.

Offline reddebs

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #932 on: July 4, 2021, 09:00:55 pm »
I'm wanting a laptop to do stuff but not for anything in particular.

I'm not really sure what I need it to do as it's years since I've used anything other than my phone but it needs to be a laptop, not a tablet as I like to touch type and not a net book as they're too small.

I'll be browsing, emailing, creating docs and storing stuff like pics but it doesn't need a massive memory if it's got a usb to transfer onto a memory stick.

I don't want to spend a fortune but I'm open to suggestions.

Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #933 on: July 5, 2021, 01:14:44 pm »
I'm wanting a laptop to do stuff but not for anything in particular.

I'm not really sure what I need it to do as it's years since I've used anything other than my phone but it needs to be a laptop, not a tablet as I like to touch type and not a net book as they're too small.

I'll be browsing, emailing, creating docs and storing stuff like pics but it doesn't need a massive memory if it's got a usb to transfer onto a memory stick.

I don't want to spend a fortune but I'm open to suggestions.
Do you have an idea of how much you want to spend? Many supply lines for IT are still affected by Covid and the cost of some components is relatively high. This has a bit of a knock on effect for pre-built PCs and laptops in terms of cost and availability.

If you are looking at new, a good all rounder to last a few years can probably be had for a £400 to £500. This would give you a decent processor (most likely AMD Ryzen 3 or 10th/11th generation Intel i3), 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB solid state hard drive with either a 14" or 15.6" screen. If like me you expect to keep things for as long as possible, the machines with slower processors can be something of a false economy - although this would depend on how much use it gets. If you envisage using it most days it will soon drive you nuts if it takes ages to boot up and becomes unresponsive as it invevitably gets filled up.

Some might suggest Chromebooks if you will mostly be using email and internet. These can be cheaper (and Google docs is great) but personally I find them a little restrictive because I have lots of programs and utilities that won't run in Chrome.

If you are a touch typist I would go and have a play on some of the machines in your nearest PC World or similar to see which manufacturers do the keyboards/track pads you prefer. You can also see which screen size suits, and whether you prefer a matt/glossy finish. Use that as a basis to go looking online  or come back here.

There is not that much to choose between the major manufacturers, at a given price point most will have similar connections and ports, but like most things in life there are plenty trade offs you can make which will be easier once you have narrrowed the choices down a bit.

Offline reddebs

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #934 on: July 5, 2021, 03:44:46 pm »
Do you have an idea of how much you want to spend? Many supply lines for IT are still affected by Covid and the cost of some components is relatively high. This has a bit of a knock on effect for pre-built PCs and laptops in terms of cost and availability.

If you are looking at new, a good all rounder to last a few years can probably be had for a £400 to £500. This would give you a decent processor (most likely AMD Ryzen 3 or 10th/11th generation Intel i3), 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB solid state hard drive with either a 14" or 15.6" screen. If like me you expect to keep things for as long as possible, the machines with slower processors can be something of a false economy - although this would depend on how much use it gets. If you envisage using it most days it will soon drive you nuts if it takes ages to boot up and becomes unresponsive as it invevitably gets filled up.

Some might suggest Chromebooks if you will mostly be using email and internet. These can be cheaper (and Google docs is great) but personally I find them a little restrictive because I have lots of programs and utilities that won't run in Chrome.

If you are a touch typist I would go and have a play on some of the machines in your nearest PC World or similar to see which manufacturers do the keyboards/track pads you prefer. You can also see which screen size suits, and whether you prefer a matt/glossy finish. Use that as a basis to go looking online  or come back here.

There is not that much to choose between the major manufacturers, at a given price point most will have similar connections and ports, but like most things in life there are plenty trade offs you can make which will be easier once you have narrrowed the choices down a bit.

Thanks for that mate I'll have to check where the nearest PC world is as I doubt there's one on the island but that's a good plan to try a few out if they still let us touch stuff.

Offline stevieG786

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #935 on: July 6, 2021, 12:31:56 pm »
anything decent for around £150?  :wave

Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #936 on: July 6, 2021, 02:25:12 pm »
anything decent for around £150?  :wave
Depends what you mean by decent - what sort of things would you like to do with it?

At £150 the best you will probably find will be a refurbished Chromebook or an older AMD laptop (4-5 years old). If you opt for a 'certifed refurbished' unit you should be able to get a 12 month warranty and it should arrive in a factory default state. Many of these may be unsold stock, items that were returned unwanted or developed minor faults before the initial warranty had expired. The very best should be hard to tell from new even if they don't have the original packaging.

They will be pretty basic but probably OK for email, internet an undemanding tasks like word processing. Expect them to be slow to boot and get slower if you are trying to do too much at once. Some will come with a cutdown version of Windows called Windows 10S which only allow you to run programs downloaded from the MS Store and forces you to use Bing and Edge for internet. I would avoid W10S like the plague, particularly if you anticpate running free or open source programs. You could install Linux which is excellent and much less scary than it used to be, but it might involve a bit of a learning curve (although if you are interested there is tons of help here and online).

If you can stretch to £250-£300 you will find there is a lot more choice including relatively new Intel i3/i5 or AMD Ryzen 3 processors - you might even get a small (128 GB) SSD. Most seem to have 4GB RAM which is at the low end of acceptable these days but this is often easy to upgrade. Expect these to be much nippier and able to cope well with multitasking.

Not ideal perhaps, but arguably a bit less risky than going second hand?

Offline stevieG786

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #937 on: July 6, 2021, 04:04:14 pm »
Thanks for the reply mate

it's for my little niece, she's only 10 but a brain box, she'll be using it for word/paint and internet mostly, preferably a brand new one over a second hand  :)
« Last Edit: July 6, 2021, 04:07:39 pm by stevieG786 »

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #938 on: July 6, 2021, 05:40:26 pm »
Thanks for the reply mate

it's for my little niece, she's only 10 but a brain box, she'll be using it for word/paint and internet mostly, preferably a brand new one over a second hand  :)

Decent/Cheap/New.

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Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #939 on: July 6, 2021, 06:03:39 pm »
Lucky girl! :)

If she is anything like mine at that age they will certainly want games - things like Minecraft (for instance) can be quite educational (they have a tie-in with some schools) but will have minimum system requirements. If that was the case you might want to find some others to chip and and get into the £250+ bracket where you will have more choice. For graphics performance (including 2D) at the lower end some of the AMD processors can fare better than their Intel equivalents.

You can compare relative performance for CPUs sand GPUs here:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/
https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/

The benchmarks are synthethic but it can give you something to go on if you are faced with a choice.

Might be worth adding that many manufacturer 'certified refurbished' products are essentially new i.e. previously sold but not actually used - but you need to check the descriptions.  I have bought phones and a camera that were refurbished that enabled me to get much improved specifications for my budget.

Offline stevieG786

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #940 on: July 7, 2021, 09:50:56 am »
perfect, thanks for that, i'll have a look into it now  :wave

Offline ToneLa

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #941 on: July 7, 2021, 10:13:45 am »
The Thinkpad T14s is brilliant and oh so light

Offline CornerFlag

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #942 on: July 31, 2021, 04:10:10 pm »
So, on the same lines, I've started a new job and I'm able to claim back some expenses for some items, namely:

(Wired) Keyboard and mouse (£40)
Chair (£80)
Monitor (£100)
Desk (£120)

In terms of the monitor, it's just going to be office-type tools so response time isn't an issue at all, and I'm willing to go over that budget (somewhat) to have a set-up that will work in the long run.  As I'm using spreadsheets for it, would the wider-shaped ones be decent to have?  I can't find the page now, but there was a 27" one with a 21:9 ratio that I liked the look of.
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Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #943 on: August 1, 2021, 12:37:04 pm »
So, on the same lines, I've started a new job and I'm able to claim back some expenses for some items, namely:

(Wired) Keyboard and mouse (£40)
Chair (£80)
Monitor (£100)
Desk (£120)

In terms of the monitor, it's just going to be office-type tools so response time isn't an issue at all, and I'm willing to go over that budget (somewhat) to have a set-up that will work in the long run.  As I'm using spreadsheets for it, would the wider-shaped ones be decent to have?  I can't find the page now, but there was a 27" one with a 21:9 ratio that I liked the look of.
I recently got a 27" for homeworking and I love it, although it cost rather more than £100. Cheaper 27" monitors (under £200) will probably be 1920 x 1080 (HD) while more expensive ones will be 2560 x 1440 (QHD). Higher resolution will give nice crisp text but support will depend on your PC/laptop graphics driver and outputs (VGA, HDMI, DisplayPort etc.)

With an HDMI connection I belive the maximum resolution supported is 1920 x 1080 for most PCs while DisplayPort will allow 2560 x 1440 (if your graphics supports it). If you are limited to 1080p obviously there is no point forking out for a 1440p monitor.

Like TVs there is a lot of tosh spoken about dynamic ratios etc. which are impossible to compare because each manufacturer uses their own metrics.

Fast response times are often associated TN panels which are generally cheaper while IPS panels tend to give better colour reproduction and viewing angles which might be more important in a non-gaming context (outside of hard core gaming, I am not sure that this is even an issue with modern IPS panels).

I generally avoid built in speakers (usually rubbish) but would spend a bit extra for a stand with height, swivel and tilt adjustment (important for comfort in a homeworking set up). Annoyingly few manufacturers offer this - Dell and Benq are among the exceptions. I also have built in USB hub which is great if you are short of USB ports on your laptop/PC and don't want a separate powered external hub.

Some of my colleagues have moved on to two screen set ups which can improve productivity (depending on your workflow). If this is likely you will want narrow bezels and probably a better known brand if you want to be able to find an identical second screen a few months down the line.

Offline CornerFlag

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #944 on: August 1, 2021, 10:26:48 pm »
Cheers for all that, really helped with a few decisions, especially the realisation that it's only going to be running through an HDMI cable, so 1080p is pretty much going to be the top.

Saw one for £150 I like the look of, I don't know if I'm being greedy but the reviews seem fine, https://www.ebuyer.com/859939-lg-29um59-p-29-ultrawide-21-9-full-hd-screen-29um59-p
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Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #945 on: August 2, 2021, 06:07:15 pm »
Cheers for all that, really helped with a few decisions, especially the realisation that it's only going to be running through an HDMI cable, so 1080p is pretty much going to be the top.

Saw one for £150 I like the look of, I don't know if I'm being greedy but the reviews seem fine, https://www.ebuyer.com/859939-lg-29um59-p-29-ultrawide-21-9-full-hd-screen-29um59-p
I have bought lots of computer stuff off Ebuyer before and have generally found them to be pretty good (I also use CCL and Scan).

Ultrawide (21:9) format is like a hybrid between HD (1080 height) and QHD (2560 width) and I've not used it before but you might want to check whether your PC/laptop graphics supports that resolution. If it is not listed in your display menu perhaps look up the specification for your graphics processor from AMD/Intel - it should give the maximum resolution for each type of connection (subject to latest driver updates).

I was reading a little more about HDMI compatibility as people's experience seems to be so mixed. The format has always been a bit of a nightmare because the standards keep changing, but it seems that a horizontal resolution of 2560 pixels was supported from HDMI 1.2 at 30Hz and at 60Hz from HDMI 1.3 onwards so you would need to check your PC/laptop spec to see which version HDMI port you have - it may also list the maximum resolution, refresh rate and colour bit depth supported. If that isn't enough hassle, you will need a compatible HDMI cable - cables marked 'High Speed' or '4K compatible' will be at least HDMI 2.0 and should provide sufficient bandwidth if everything else is in place.

The other thing to be aware of is that the 29" is measured across the diagonal so while you would be getting more pixels, the physical height of the screen will be less than a standard 16:9 27" 1920 x 1080 panel (probably around 11.4" as opposed to 13.2" by my quick calcs) so it may look a bit 'skinny' out of the box.

Offline pazcom

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #946 on: September 1, 2021, 09:10:21 am »
getting my daughter a new laptop today. Nothing really expensive but just a starter to help her with Year 11 and hopefully A levels. I'm getting Microsoft 365 through work (employee benefit although not as good as the old days when you could get office for £10....) question is:

Should I put additional security software on or is O365 sufficient. I can get Virgin Media Internet Security powered by F-Secure for £3 a month - is that worth it.

I reckon she'll be using the laptop mainly for school stuff, transfer photos from phone and camera but she'll probably be on the usual sites teenagers go on these days too.
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Online Elmo!

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #947 on: September 1, 2021, 01:07:38 pm »
getting my daughter a new laptop today. Nothing really expensive but just a starter to help her with Year 11 and hopefully A levels. I'm getting Microsoft 365 through work (employee benefit although not as good as the old days when you could get office for £10....) question is:

Should I put additional security software on or is O365 sufficient. I can get Virgin Media Internet Security powered by F-Secure for £3 a month - is that worth it.

I reckon she'll be using the laptop mainly for school stuff, transfer photos from phone and camera but she'll probably be on the usual sites teenagers go on these days too.

I haven't run any security software on my computer other than the default WIndows Defender, for years. IMO it is completely unnecessary as long as you are sensible. I've never paid for any security software in my life.

I doubt you are getting any O365 security products through your employer on a 3rd part laptop - it will presumably just be an Office installation?

Offline pazcom

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #948 on: September 1, 2021, 01:24:10 pm »
I haven't run any security software on my computer other than the default WIndows Defender, for years. IMO it is completely unnecessary as long as you are sensible. I've never paid for any security software in my life.

I doubt you are getting any O365 security products through your employer on a 3rd part laptop - it will presumably just be an Office installation?

I dont think she'll be doing anything she shouldn't so 'should' be safe - I'll have a chat with her. Heard Windows Defender should be suitble for nomal things.

Yep just the office products (word, excel, powerpoint outlook etc).
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Offline WhereAngelsPlay

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #949 on: September 1, 2021, 04:25:07 pm »
I dont think she'll be doing anything she shouldn't so 'should' be safe - I'll have a chat with her. Heard Windows Defender should be suitble for nomal things.

Yep just the office products (word, excel, powerpoint outlook etc).

Free Avast picks up any sites without a valid safety certificate,I sometimes have to turn it off when my poker client updates (for installation) but Avast hasn't recognised the cert.

Works alongside defender fine.
« Last Edit: September 1, 2021, 04:34:48 pm by WhereAngelsPlay »
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Offline evanz89

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #950 on: November 26, 2021, 09:27:38 pm »
Thought I’d post in here see if could get any help as I’m not tech savvy at all  ;D After a laptop but literally all I’ll probably do on it is play football manager and browse the web but want it to be able to handle the game smoothly. Don’t really want to spend more than 500. My mate said it’s cyber Monday or something soon any deals to be had there?

Cheers

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #951 on: November 27, 2021, 09:55:07 am »
Thought I’d post in here see if could get any help as I’m not tech savvy at all  ;D After a laptop but literally all I’ll probably do on it is play football manager and browse the web but want it to be able to handle the game smoothly. Don’t really want to spend more than 500. My mate said it’s cyber Monday or something soon any deals to be had there?

Cheers

I was just browsing yesterday for "Best laptop to play football manager on" and due to the sites looking like adverts thought I'd come here and ask!
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Offline jonnypb

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #952 on: November 27, 2021, 12:36:49 pm »
Thought I’d post in here see if could get any help as I’m not tech savvy at all  ;D After a laptop but literally all I’ll probably do on it is play football manager and browse the web but want it to be able to handle the game smoothly. Don’t really want to spend more than 500. My mate said it’s cyber Monday or something soon any deals to be had there?

Cheers

Have a search on hotukdeals as there’s always laptop deals coming up on there. Seemed to be a few decent ones yesterday on BF, so I’d imagine there will be more on Monday aka Cyber Monday.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #953 on: November 28, 2021, 10:06:41 am »
I found this laptop:

Medion Crawler E10 15.6" Intel Core I5-10300H 8GB 512SSD FHD GTX 1650 Gaming Laptop

At £599 says it’s discounted on Amazon through Black Friday but never sure if it’s a myth to be honest. That deal ends in a day but will wait till tomorrow to see any more come up. I imagine that laptop would be fine for my needs plus more if I’m right in thinking?


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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #954 on: November 28, 2021, 10:53:19 am »
Yeah that would be more than enough for FM.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #955 on: November 28, 2021, 10:55:40 pm »
I found this laptop:

Medion Crawler E10 15.6" Intel Core I5-10300H 8GB 512SSD FHD GTX 1650 Gaming Laptop

At £599 says it’s discounted on Amazon through Black Friday but never sure if it’s a myth to be honest. That deal ends in a day but will wait till tomorrow to see any more come up. I imagine that laptop would be fine for my needs plus more if I’m right in thinking?

You can get this for £399

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TECLAST-Tbolt-20-Pro-1920%C3%971080/dp/B09DFWSSJJ/ref=pd_lpo_4?pd_rd_i=B09DFWSSJJ&psc=1
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #956 on: November 30, 2021, 12:13:12 am »
You can get this for £399

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TECLAST-Tbolt-20-Pro-1920%C3%971080/dp/B09DFWSSJJ/ref=pd_lpo_4?pd_rd_i=B09DFWSSJJ&psc=1

I get that for such a popular game, Football Manager has an incredibly low recommended spec, but that is not a product I think should be recommended to anybody. The reviews and 'answers' look dodgy as anything. 29% of the reviews are 1 star, the rest talk about how fast and powerful it is, as a budget machine. Yes it's a cheap laptop, but it's still £400!

Having said that, I'm sure that Medion machines were some store's own-brand thing back in the day and I would have no faith in the build quality of anything from them. It might get you a year or so of 'gaming' but won't last.
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #957 on: November 30, 2021, 01:38:35 pm »
I get that for such a popular game, Football Manager has an incredibly low recommended spec, but that is not a product I think should be recommended to anybody. The reviews and 'answers' look dodgy as anything. 29% of the reviews are 1 star, the rest talk about how fast and powerful it is, as a budget machine. Yes it's a cheap laptop, but it's still £400!

Having said that, I'm sure that Medion machines were some store's own-brand thing back in the day and I would have no faith in the build quality of anything from them. It might get you a year or so of 'gaming' but won't last.

Video review I watched showed the guy playing a fps,not sure which one it was but it will have been far more taxing than FM
My cup, it runneth over, I'll never get my fill

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #958 on: November 30, 2021, 01:41:29 pm »
I've got a 20 year old Dell that you can have for £2,500,281
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #959 on: November 30, 2021, 08:56:28 pm »
I get that for such a popular game, Football Manager has an incredibly low recommended spec, but that is not a product I think should be recommended to anybody. The reviews and 'answers' look dodgy as anything. 29% of the reviews are 1 star, the rest talk about how fast and powerful it is, as a budget machine. Yes it's a cheap laptop, but it's still £400!

Having said that, I'm sure that Medion machines were some store's own-brand thing back in the day and I would have no faith in the build quality of anything from them. It might get you a year or so of 'gaming' but won't last.
*Looks at his Medion Akoya running two screens with Football Manager on one of them*

To be fair, I've increased the memory to 16GB but I think I'll be getting an upgrade when I can afford one.
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