The Liverpool FC Forum > Technology and Science
New laptop advice
Cruiser:
Thanks mate. Its not for mining, just safe ledger access.
ScottScott:
Anyone got any recommendations for laptops in the £500-600 region? My current Dell Latitude E7440 is ancient now so I want something that'll last me a good few years and not struggle to run. Basically use it for browsing and playing FM but could get into more PC (light) PC games as I have a decent office set-up at home so have 2 screens. Seems to be loads out there but no idea what is decent anymore
Red Raw:
--- Quote from: ScottScott on February 1, 2022, 03:25:50 pm ---Anyone got any recommendations for laptops in the £500-600 region? My current Dell Latitude E7440 is ancient now so I want something that'll last me a good few years and not struggle to run. Basically use it for browsing and playing FM but could get into more PC (light) PC games as I have a decent office set-up at home so have 2 screens. Seems to be loads out there but no idea what is decent anymore
--- End quote ---
First be warned that supply chains for computers are still fucked so at the moment everything is more expensive than it should be.
In that price range though you should be able to get an 11th Gen Intel i5, 10th Gen i7 or an AMD Ryzen 5 (4500 or 5500). The Ryzens tend to be quicker overall at multithread/multitasking and in in synthethic benchmarks while the i5 and i7s can be quicker on single threaded tasks.
If your Dell has a 4th Gen i5, the Ryzen 5 5500U is about 5 times quicker in CPU Passmark (https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i5-4310U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5500U/2207vs4141)
Most laptops still have 8 GB of DDR4 RAM so anything else is a bonus and as programs and media files are not getting smaller I tend to prefer a larger SSD (not less than 512 GB) - if you use cloud-based or external storage this might be less of an issue for you. Cheaper models will almost always mean older CPU and/or smaller SSD.
You may prefer the keyboards/trackpads of one manufacturer over another so it is always good to go into a store to give them a bit of a rattle. Many models are available with both 14" and 15.6" screens and you might want to check the ports on individual laptops to be sure you can plug in the peripherals you need (although ports and adapters are available for most things).
Currys can be a bit shite but this looks like a reasonable deal for the latest Ryzen 5 (5500U) and a 1 TB SSD:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-3-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-1-tb-ssd-silver-10225782-pdt.html
Haven't used an Acer for years but they used to have a reputation for being feature rich for the money even if the build quality might not have been as good as some other brands.
Riquende:
--- Quote ---You may prefer the keyboards/trackpads of one manufacturer over another so it is always good to go into a store to give them a bit of a rattle. Many models are available with both 14" and 15.6" screens and you might want to check the ports on individual laptops to be sure you can plug in the peripherals you need (although ports and adapters are available for most things).
--- End quote ---
This is the salient advice on all laptops and why I stopped involving myself with recommending them in my former role in IT. Outside of clearance deals, the specs of laptops don't really vary all that much at different price points (because there are hardly any manufacturers any more so it's easier to keep an eye on competitor pricing). BUT, laptops are more than that, and it's important to find something that suits the user ergonomically, in terms of comfort on the keyboard and trackpad, and has a high enough quality screen and speakers, and also any necessary ports. It's impossible for a third party to truly know what the user's requirements are here.
Sure, it's true that you can mitigate deficiencies in these areas using separate peripherals and adaptors, but then that sort of defeats the point of the portability of a laptop.
ScottScott:
--- Quote from: Red Raw on February 1, 2022, 08:07:32 pm ---First be warned that supply chains for computers are still fucked so at the moment everything is more expensive than it should be.
In that price range though you should be able to get an 11th Gen Intel i5, 10th Gen i7 or an AMD Ryzen 5 (4500 or 5500). The Ryzens tend to be quicker overall at multithread/multitasking and in in synthethic benchmarks while the i5 and i7s can be quicker on single threaded tasks.
If your Dell has a 4th Gen i5, the Ryzen 5 5500U is about 5 times quicker in CPU Passmark (https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i5-4310U-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-5500U/2207vs4141)
Most laptops still have 8 GB of DDR4 RAM so anything else is a bonus and as programs and media files are not getting smaller I tend to prefer a larger SSD (not less than 512 GB) - if you use cloud-based or external storage this might be less of an issue for you. Cheaper models will almost always mean older CPU and/or smaller SSD.
You may prefer the keyboards/trackpads of one manufacturer over another so it is always good to go into a store to give them a bit of a rattle. Many models are available with both 14" and 15.6" screens and you might want to check the ports on individual laptops to be sure you can plug in the peripherals you need (although ports and adapters are available for most things).
Currys can be a bit shite but this looks like a reasonable deal for the latest Ryzen 5 (5500U) and a 1 TB SSD:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-3-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-1-tb-ssd-silver-10225782-pdt.html
Haven't used an Acer for years but they used to have a reputation for being feature rich for the money even if the build quality might not have been as good as some other brands.
--- End quote ---
The Acer Swift 3 was one of the ones I was looking at initially. Think for that price with those specs it'd be worth the investment and should last me a few years at least. Thanks so much for your advice
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version