Author Topic: New laptop advice  (Read 168848 times)

Offline Claire.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #840 on: November 26, 2018, 11:04:14 am »
the above post is yet another reason why I only buy apple stuff, who can be fuckin arsed with all that research 🤯

Offline WhoHe

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #841 on: November 26, 2018, 11:38:42 am »
I think if money was no object then we would all have Apple products, I would.
Windows is shit and has been since the start, adding more stuff to a shit OS in the first place has not worked but they have the massive market share so we are stuck with cheap windows or expensive apple (dunno about Unix based stuff). Suppose gaming is an area for windows but dont play them so this has limited appeal.
Got an ipad which has been solid (speakers gone now) but it was very expensive for a tablet.

Offline Claire.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #842 on: November 26, 2018, 02:28:07 pm »
I don't think it's a question of money not being an object, apple products can be more expensive but I find I'll have that laptop for a long time - and even after 4 or 5 years you can still sell them and get a return.

Offline Nobby Reserve

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #843 on: November 27, 2018, 04:56:25 pm »
I don't think it's a question of money not being an object, apple products can be more expensive but I find I'll have that laptop for a long time - and even after 4 or 5 years you can still sell them and get a return.

I got my last laptop in 2010, a core i3 which still works fine once up and running.

But it takes an age to load (HDD), overheats because the fan's knackered, and a clump of keys in the bottom left corner no longer work. Apart from that, though...

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #844 on: November 28, 2018, 11:02:30 am »
My macbook is a 2011 model - still working fine.
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Offline CraigDS

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #845 on: November 28, 2018, 11:24:34 am »
My macbook is a 2011 model - still working fine.

As is my Mac Mini from the same year. Had an iMac for nearly 10 years before that which only broke because I fucked the screen when moving.

Apple may be shite in some ways, but they make products that work and last (from my experience).

Offline McSquared

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #846 on: November 28, 2018, 11:11:27 pm »
My Macbook pro 2017 model (£2.5k) has a dodgy keyboard, so apple is not the panacea. Suppose I will be arsed to take it back to them at some point as it is a known issue and they extended the warranty for the keyboard to 4 years

Offline richiedouglas

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #847 on: June 18, 2019, 04:45:17 pm »
Sorry to resurrect an old thread.

I'm struggling to play console games now I'm a bit older as my wife and kids want the tv at different times. I was considering a 'gaming laptop' but wondered whether there's actually such a thing. Are the ones in Curry's for example just powerful laptops?

I've historically bought macbooks, but haven't had one since about 2011. It never had the spec to play decent games, so I instantly thought I'd need to look elsewhere.

Offline richiedouglas

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #848 on: June 18, 2019, 09:02:41 pm »
Can you give us an idea of what you want to play Richie? Are you happy with graphics that you'd have got on an original Xbox One (1080p & 30-45 fps), or are you thinking something super modern that will give you 2019 desktop, 4k performance?

Have you got a budget in mind?

Thank you for the reply.

Im ok with it being good rather than 4k. For budget i could live with spending on a laptop as an investment, but if theres a compromise option at a lower price Id probably go for it.

In terms of games Id certainly go for the Total War series and then maybe things like battlefield and assassins creed. I am very much out of the loop in pc games and games in general though.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #849 on: June 18, 2019, 10:35:10 pm »
With gaming, unless you absolutely need the portability of a laptop, you should go desktop every time. Modern games running 3d games at decent settings put a great demand on the GPU etc, and they generate a lot of heat. Now a desktop PC built properly won't struggle here, the case fans will blow a decent amount of cool air through and the component fans will deal with local hotspots.

But laptops just physically don't have the airflow to match, and as a result, to stop your chips literally melting, the components that manufacturers put into laptops are low power versions which can run at far slower clock speeds as the 'same' item in a desktop.
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Offline richiedouglas

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #850 on: June 19, 2019, 10:02:27 am »
It’s not that easy for Richie I suspect. I know his pain (maybe you will too) - young family and certain priorities of care mean that the sofa is where it’s at for him of an evening and weekend. In a perfect world we would obviously advocate a desktop. It’ll always win in value and performance, but sadly, you can’t sit with one on your lap whilst the missus watches Corrie on one side of you and the little one is trying to break something expensive on the other.

If Richie just wants to play total war, a couple of the older AC games and maybe things like GTA V, Overwatch and Battlefield, then you’ll get pretty pleasing performance out of a mid-range gaming laptop at 1080p low/medium. My Dell gets toasty when I hammer it for a couple of hours but it’s not disgustingly hot and as long as you don’t aim for the stars with the graphics settings, it doesn’t noticeably throttle.

Brilliant. Thank you.

Yeah I've looked at a desktop, but I really don't have anywhere to put it. As you say, the sofa is where it's at for me.

I was reckoning a budget of £500-£800 for a mid ranger? I realise this could be optimistic. I've seen some £1500+ but that might not be what I'm in the game for.

Offline Graeme

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #851 on: June 19, 2019, 10:39:20 am »
Have a look at Dell Outlet. Some are refurbs, some are brand new and still sealed returns. The odd one is categorised as ‘Scratch or dent’ but in most cases are barely visible and you can save a decent amount of cash. There an i5 with Dedicated 2GB Graphics on there at the minute for about £400

Offline XabiGerrard

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #852 on: July 27, 2019, 09:44:47 pm »
Thinking of getting a new laptop, mainly for playing Football Manager on comfortably without being slow. My technical knowledge is very limited so not sure what sort of processors etc I should be looking for. Budget is around £350. Found this one but not sure how good it would be?

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/hp-255-g7-amd-ryzen-3-2200u-8gb-1tb-hdd-15.6-inch-windows-10-pro-laptop-6bn14ea/version.asp

Offline Crimson

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #853 on: July 31, 2019, 06:50:05 am »
Thinking of getting a new laptop, mainly for playing Football Manager on comfortably without being slow. My technical knowledge is very limited so not sure what sort of processors etc I should be looking for. Budget is around £350. Found this one but not sure how good it would be?

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/hp-255-g7-amd-ryzen-3-2200u-8gb-1tb-hdd-15.6-inch-windows-10-pro-laptop-6bn14ea/version.asp

Looks ok, but I wouldnt buy it for gaming in general. BUT if the only gaming you will be doing is current gen FM, I think it should suffice. But might try and see if you can get a better processor. 

FM might be a having less graphical demands than other titles,  but processing power is always important for gaming. The processor in this machine is a 2200U, the "U" means it is underclocked, which again means it is designed to run slower than a standard 2200 to save battery.

The RAM  in your machine is 8gb. I think one should always aim for at least 16gb, especially considering "future proofing" your setup. 8gb should be fine for FM though (and you can always add more later).

Same for the harddrive. This one has a HDD, which is ok. Most new laptops comes with SSD which is alot faster. But for FM I think you're good with a HDD.

If you're planning to do other GPU heavy work while gaming (I keep FM windowed) or would want to test out AAA-gaming titles (such as Battlefield 5 etc.), I would not recommend this laptop. Notice your GPU is integrated. This means your machine is using the RAM on your computer. For heavier titles, try and look for one with a dedicated GPU, as this will have it's own RAM.

But again, it might be ok for FM.
« Last Edit: July 31, 2019, 06:59:13 am by Crimson »
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Offline ChaChaMooMoo

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #854 on: August 20, 2019, 02:22:39 pm »
Just ordered the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Series-7590

- 9th Generation Intel Core i5-9300H (8MB Cache, up to 4.1 GHz, 4 cores)
- Windows 10 Home (64 Bit)
- 3 GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
- 15,6 Inch Display, FHD (1.920 x 1.080), LED Backlight, No Touchfunktion, WVA-Display
- 8 GB, 1 x 8 GB, DDR4, 2.666 MHz
- M.2-PCIe-NVMe-SSD 256 GB
- 3-Cell 56 Wh, Integrated battery
- PLMRST for Abyss cover with finger print (I have no idea what this is)

I think it is similar to the Vostro 7590 series.

Costed me €820 altogether.

Offline Roughie Scouse

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #855 on: September 16, 2019, 08:28:11 pm »
I  am after a new laptop for my mum, she's 67, a budget of £400 and need the laptop for general use - storing pictures, general office type stuff. No gaming or downloading anything. She just uses it for general stuff like banking and shopping. ANy recommendations?
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Offline WhereAngelsPlay

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #856 on: September 17, 2019, 01:29:19 am »
I  am after a new laptop for my mum, she's 67, a budget of £400 and need the laptop for general use - storing pictures, general office type stuff. No gaming or downloading anything. She just uses it for general stuff like banking and shopping. ANy recommendations?

A Lenovo ideapad 320S would be spot on for what you need (£320'ish),depends what size screen you want though.
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Offline Roughie Scouse

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #857 on: September 17, 2019, 06:26:32 am »
A Lenovo ideapad 320S would be spot on for what you need (£320'ish),depends what size screen you want though.

Thanks
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Offline FaitAccompli

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #858 on: October 7, 2019, 10:24:18 pm »
Rather than a laptop, I'm looking for a desktop PC for work. I've apparently got around £1500 to play with, though it's flexible to a degree (will need to get a monitor and possibly a keyboard as well). The faster the processor the better, and I need 8 cores as a minimum really. As it's for work, it will be connected to my university's servers, so I don't need a large amount of hard drive memory.

Any recommendations?

Offline Claire.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #859 on: October 8, 2019, 07:31:38 am »
okay well, reserve a good amount for an ace monitor like this: https://www.ebuyer.com/862205-dell-ultrasharp-27-qhd-infinityedge-monitor-dell-u2719d

(I'm a mac user, I can't actually recommend anything)

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #860 on: October 8, 2019, 08:12:51 am »
Rather than a laptop, I'm looking for a desktop PC for work. I've apparently got around £1500 to play with, though it's flexible to a degree (will need to get a monitor and possibly a keyboard as well). The faster the processor the better, and I need 8 cores as a minimum really. As it's for work, it will be connected to my university's servers, so I don't need a large amount of hard drive memory.

Any recommendations?

Finally a sensible question from someone buying a proper computer!

What will it be used for? A lot here is going to hinge on how much cash you need to put into the GPU (they aren't just for the latest games, if you're doing a lot of work with any sort of 3D modelling/CAD then you'll need a solid one).
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Offline FaitAccompli

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #861 on: October 8, 2019, 08:48:46 am »
Finally a sensible question from someone buying a proper computer!

What will it be used for? A lot here is going to hinge on how much cash you need to put into the GPU (they aren't just for the latest games, if you're doing a lot of work with any sort of 3D modelling/CAD then you'll need a solid one).

Haha, indeed! I create numerical computer models of climates on ancient Earth, they're quite simple, nowhere near as complex as climate models by the Met Office, but I do a lot of model runs with different conditions at once with a parallel computing toolbox. So, with my 4 cores and I think an i3 processor, at the moment it takes ~12 hours to do 1000 runs, which isn't ideal, especially as I want to build some more complex stuff.

I make figures from this as well, so need a decent GPU, but don't do any CAD-style modelling, so the GPU doesn't need to be the best one around, I think, though obviously the better I can get for my budget is great.

Cheers for your help mate.

Offline FaitAccompli

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #862 on: October 8, 2019, 08:50:13 am »
okay well, reserve a good amount for an ace monitor like this: https://www.ebuyer.com/862205-dell-ultrasharp-27-qhd-infinityedge-monitor-dell-u2719d

(I'm a mac user, I can't actually recommend anything)

That is a thing of beauty! Now just to convince my future boss to outlay that much on a monitor alone...

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #863 on: October 9, 2019, 09:35:46 am »
If you're thinking of a surface pro. Don't, awful, wish i could send mine back.
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Offline Crimson

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #864 on: October 9, 2019, 05:56:40 pm »
That is a thing of beauty! Now just to convince my future boss to outlay that much on a monitor alone...

I've got the DELL S2719DC in my home "office". A subtle difference in name (note the "S" before 27), but it has better build quality, looks and screen brightness. The U-version have more adjustability, but it's not something I've missed.
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Offline FaitAccompli

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #865 on: October 10, 2019, 11:45:04 am »
I've got the DELL S2719DC in my home "office". A subtle difference in name (note the "S" before 27), but it has better build quality, looks and screen brightness. The U-version have more adjustability, but it's not something I've missed.

Thanks, but really I'm more interested in tower specs rather than monitors, as it may be the case that the IT department will insist on a monitor they have floating about.

Offline tinner777

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #866 on: October 24, 2019, 04:02:47 pm »
anything wrong with this for the price?

https://www.adverts.ie/laptops/hp-elitebook-840-g2-14-intel-core-i5-processor-256gb-ssd-8gb-ram-windows-10-professional/19100237

My 12 year old wants something to play games etc.. However he can be a little rough so was thinking this might be a little more robust.

Thanks for looking.

Offline Graeme

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #867 on: October 24, 2019, 05:56:36 pm »
It has no dedicated video card so will only be able to play games on very low settings. With Black Friday only a few weeks away I’d hold off until you see what deals there are.

Offline tinner777

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #868 on: October 24, 2019, 06:01:44 pm »
It has no dedicated video card so will only be able to play games on very low settings. With Black Friday only a few weeks away I’d hold off until you see what deals there are.
thanks, they have a xbox, switch etc for big games. I'd say he'll be using it for fortnite and minecraft plus web based games..

Offline tinner777

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #869 on: October 28, 2019, 10:20:47 pm »
how about this

https://www.box.co.uk/81V50004UK-Lenovo-V155-15API_2597612.html

or would the one above be better?? Again it is not for gaming. you tube, internet games etc..

Offline Roy Cropper

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #870 on: November 4, 2019, 02:44:23 pm »
Hi all. Im looking for a new laptop for work and need one that has the following spec. any help will be much appreciated

Operating System: Windows 10 Professional 64bit (Includes BitLocker)
Encryption: Must include Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to support BitLocker
CPU: i5 Quad Core (Gen 6)
RAM: 8Gb
Hard Drive: 256gb - 512gb
Warranty Support: Min 12mths (recommend 3yrs)
Software: Office 365 Subscription or equivalent with Office 2016 installed local
Technical Support: e.g. PC Know-How @ PCWorld/Currys

Offline Claire.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #871 on: November 6, 2019, 06:45:52 pm »
Try Dell.


Offline rebel23

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #873 on: August 25, 2020, 09:06:32 pm »
I really like the Lenovo ideapad range.  I've been using one for 6 months and it has been fantastic. Less than £300 and the insurance on it is £6/month (AO dot com).

I'm thinking of upgrading to a higher end model but at the moment feel no need as this cheapo one does everything I need.

Anyone else dig the Lenovo range?
 

Offline ToneLa

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #874 on: August 25, 2020, 09:14:30 pm »
Lenovo are boss. I've had a Thinkpad (IBM stopped making em over a decade back) for years. If I ever get a new lappy it'll be one of the Carbon range. They're a fantastic brand.

Offline rebel23

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #875 on: August 25, 2020, 09:25:47 pm »
I'm impressed with them Tone, considering how much it is and not a problem for 6 months..

Also if I have a problem AO say they will pick it up and fix or replace .. even accidental damage for 6quid/month

That is pretty good and a weight off your mind

Offline Claire.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #876 on: August 26, 2020, 08:53:30 am »
6 months? how long do you normally expect to get out of a laptop?

Offline Crimson

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #877 on: August 26, 2020, 09:51:31 am »
Lenovo are boss. I've had a Thinkpad (IBM stopped making em over a decade back) for years. If I ever get a new lappy it'll be one of the Carbon range. They're a fantastic brand.

I love the look of the Lenovo Yogs Slim 7 with AMD 4800U. Power in a slim package and costs a fraction of a Macbook Pro. I don’t need a laptop as per now, but otherwise I'd be all over this.

Bought my neighbour an Ideapad as it seems quite robust and future proof (spec wise)
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Offline FlashGordon

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #878 on: August 29, 2020, 10:50:31 am »
Trying to decide between the Ideapad 3 and Ideapad 5i. Don't use the laptop for much other than browsing or streaming, will be doing a bit of college work on it as well but nothing hectic. 230 euro difference in price, is it worth it at that difference to go for the higher end Ideapad 5i? Any advice greatly appreciated.
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Offline FlashGordon

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #879 on: September 9, 2020, 11:59:37 pm »
Shameless bump for this. Still at a loss as to what to go for, again any advice would be greatly appreciated.
So bloody what? If you watch football to be absolutely miserable then go watch cricket.