Author Topic: New laptop advice  (Read 168839 times)

Offline Cruiser

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #960 on: December 31, 2021, 12:09:44 pm »
Have you folks purchasing Dell ever paid for any of their 'support' options?
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Offline jonnypb

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #961 on: December 31, 2021, 02:50:03 pm »
Have you folks purchasing Dell ever paid for any of their 'support' options?

I have in the past when the extended warranties have been on offer, never had to use them myself tho, but did for a friend who had a dell laptop with next day on site support.  Have to say once that they agreed there was a fault someone turned up the next day to replace the part and the service was good.

Offline west_london_red

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #962 on: December 31, 2021, 10:34:11 pm »
Have you folks purchasing Dell ever paid for any of their 'support' options?

I generally don’t buy any support options on anything I buy but it really depends on what your using it for and how much your spending on the laptop. If it’s a high end laptop and it’s critical to your job then might be worth buying support. If you can pretty much work on any device and your buying a lower end device I wouldn’t bother, if anything goes wrong you can just run to Currys and buy a replacement.
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Offline Cruiser

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #963 on: January 2, 2022, 10:46:44 am »
Thanks both. I'm opting for a Dell Inspiron 15 (~£550) for work and crypto only. Not sure if that is high end or not (I'm not a techie) but edging for the support option just to be on the safe side.
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Offline west_london_red

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #964 on: January 2, 2022, 08:34:24 pm »
Thanks both. I'm opting for a Dell Inspiron 15 (~£550) for work and crypto only. Not sure if that is high end or not (I'm not a techie) but edging for the support option just to be on the safe side.

I don’t know a lot about crypto, but if you are looking at mining (and my technical knowledge is a couple of years out of date) its very GPU intensive and dependent, and laptops unless they are very high end tend to have quite weak GPUs. I quickly Googled the spec of the laptop your looking at and it comes with an integrated GPU which are low spec (fine for regular office work I should add unless your working in CAD or something like that), if you are looking at mining you might need to look at something with a discrete GPU. Unfortunately, the popularity of mining, semi-conductor shortages and good old fashioned greed has really pushed up the cost of high end equipment, especially GPUs which were already the most expensive unit in a decent PC or laptop.
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Offline Cruiser

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #965 on: January 3, 2022, 11:02:37 am »
Thanks mate. Its not for mining, just safe ledger access.
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Offline ScottScott

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #966 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

Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #967 on: February 1, 2022, 08:07:32 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
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.

Offline Riquende

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #968 on: February 1, 2022, 08:27:41 pm »
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).

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.
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Offline ScottScott

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #969 on: February 2, 2022, 09:25:44 am »
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.

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

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #970 on: February 2, 2022, 09:43:28 am »
First be warned that supply chains for computers are still fucked so at the moment everything is more expensive than it should be.

Is that mainly the chips which it seems could last throughout the year, or is it more the pandemic?
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Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #971 on: February 2, 2022, 10:12:40 am »
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
You are welcome. I am not a pro but I have been a home builder for many years and family and colleagues tend to ask advice so if I've been looking for someone else and a similar query pops up on here I don't mind sharing the research.

As Riquende said it is worth going down to your local Currys and having a bash on the keyboard and fiddle with the trackpad, check you like the screen (think it has a matt finish), try the weight etc. It will be quite different to your Dell. I saw on some Swift reviews the exhaust vent was facing upwards near the speakers rather than out of the side which so that might be worth asking about if you anticipate working it hard.

Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #972 on: February 2, 2022, 10:33:34 am »
Is that mainly the chips which it seems could last throughout the year, or is it more the pandemic?
There has been a global semiconductor shortage for some time now and it has a knock on effect on anything that uses chips from washing machines and cars to PCs. Causes include Covid and other supply disruptions. Crypto miners are also accused with buying up stocks of graphics cards and as this has driven up card prices they have moved onto processors creating fresh shortages.

There are various articles online looking at the causes, this is one from the BBC from last year: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58230388

At the moment there can be better value in pre-built machines as larger companies like PCSpecialist have more buying power than independent component retailers. Certainly worth looking at their offers but just check what components you are getting for your money. Prices for some things can be pretty fluid and occasionally retailers will land a batch of components at sensible prices but these don't hang around for long, particularly if the price gougers get in quickly.

My home set up is long overdue an upgrade and it is hard to predict when things will normalise so I am putting it off for the time being and just keeping half an eye on price histories.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #973 on: February 2, 2022, 10:34:17 am »
Is that mainly the chips which it seems could last throughout the year, or is it more the pandemic?

Bit of both, really. Demand has gone way up since people are spending more time indoors, and new outbreaks keep shutting down factories in China and south-east Asia.

There's also issues with ships waiting for weeks at ports before they can offload cargo because there's not enough dock workers around, and even if they manage to offload their cargo there aren't enough trucks and truck drivers around to free up the crates and storage spaces in those ports.

Basically a clusterfuck
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #974 on: June 30, 2022, 09:39:00 pm »
I'm looking at a laptop with an Intel i5 -11300H processor but struggling to find anything online about its performance. Could anybody help? Just looking for something to handle everyday office multi-tasking.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #975 on: June 30, 2022, 09:41:15 pm »
I'm looking at a laptop with an Intel i5 -11300H processor but struggling to find anything online about its performance. Could anybody help? Just looking for something to handle everyday office multi-tasking.

Have you checked laptops directs ?

https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/ct/laptops-and-netbooks/laptops/intel-core-i5
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #976 on: June 30, 2022, 09:56:58 pm »

Offline WhereAngelsPlay

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #977 on: June 30, 2022, 09:57:52 pm »
Thanks mate, this is very helpful!!!


A good place to start,then get searching for the best deal.
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #978 on: June 30, 2022, 10:03:58 pm »

A good place to start,then get searching for the best deal.

Absolutely, I tend to flip flop when buying a new laptop and it ends up taking me weeks to make a decision!

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #979 on: June 30, 2022, 10:07:34 pm »
Absolutely, I tend to flip flop when buying a new laptop and it ends up taking me weeks to make a decision!

If you are just looking for something to handle everyday office multi-tasking,it might be a bit of overkill.

Somebody will be around who knows more about them than me though.

Oh and remember that it's Prime Day on the 12th (deals up now though),loads of other shops do deals as well,I would wait.
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #980 on: June 30, 2022, 10:19:14 pm »
If you are just looking for something to handle everyday office multi-tasking,it might be a bit of overkill.

Somebody will be around who knows more about them than me though.

Oh and remember that it's Prime Day on the 12th (deals up now though),loads of other shops do deals as well,I would wait.

Very good point, I'll hold fire. You've helped loads. Thanks again!!

Offline ScottScott

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #981 on: August 16, 2022, 10:20:27 am »
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/acer-swift-3-14-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-1-tb-ssd-silver-10230199.html

Ended up picking this up after some deliberation. Gets me a 1tb NVME, 8gb RAM, and a Ryzen 7 5500U. Upgrading from a laptop that must be coming up to a decade old now so the difference is great. Spent last night doing the obligatory updates whenever you get some new tech and then updating to Windows 11. So far very happy with it

Offline ToneLa

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #982 on: September 11, 2022, 05:02:49 pm »
thinkpads are supreme

Offline owens_2k

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #983 on: October 20, 2022, 01:29:17 pm »
My 8 year old wants a laptop for christmas so Im looking for some advice.

She'll only use it for youtube, tiktok and playing Roblox so it doesnt need a super spec. I know that she'll get frustrated though if it runs slow or things start to take ages to open etc.

What are the specs I need to keep an eye out for? Processor speed? Ram? Is there a minimum spec I should not go below? Do SSD hard drives make things faster?

Offline ChaChaMooMoo

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #984 on: October 20, 2022, 02:46:33 pm »
 Check out chromebooks basically from any brand.
They use chromeOS, from google.

They are pretty cheap and affordable. And is insanely quicker than windows. Apple definitely beats it but I assume you probably dont want to go that far.

Offline owens_2k

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #985 on: October 20, 2022, 05:01:58 pm »
Check out chromebooks basically from any brand.
They use chromeOS, from google.

They are pretty cheap and affordable. And is insanely quicker than windows. Apple definitely beats it but I assume you probably dont want to go that far.
Defo wont be going down the Apple route.

what is chromeOS like for installing things etc? I only have experience of using windows really.

Offline ChaChaMooMoo

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #986 on: October 20, 2022, 07:10:25 pm »
ChromeOS offers pretty much every basic necessary apps.

Like, google drive, youtube, spreadsheet, docs etc.

If you go to your google homepage (either on your phone or through your account) and see an app there, it will come on chromeOS.

Its basically google's version of an ecosystem built for laptop-phone-tablet, similar to iOS for apple.

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Offline MBL?

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #987 on: October 20, 2022, 09:31:33 pm »
A tablet sounds like the best option here, laptops are ancient when it comes to media consumption. What are you looking to spend max?

Nearly everything can be done on a tablet these days as long as a lot of typing isn’t needed. I know you just said you wouldn’t but the base iPad is great value and will last years and quicker than any budget laptop within 400 quid of it. The Android ones seem to be getting much better these days but there are cheap ones out there that won’t be great.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2022, 09:35:54 pm by MBL? »

Offline ChaChaMooMoo

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #988 on: October 21, 2022, 08:23:20 am »
I completely second MBL's suggestion. A base ipad, with 128gb and a wireless keyboard is probably the best option.

Laptops are cumbersome to carry and become obsolete in 4 or 5 years - the hardware. Thats the sad truth.

Tablets on the other hand are more portable and offer updates for a longer period of time. My dad's sis still uses an ipad from 2014 and she uses it for just youtube, TV and video calls to his son and daughter.

But if you are keen on a laptop, chromebook FTW.
« Last Edit: October 21, 2022, 08:28:51 am by ChaChaMooMoo »

Offline ScottScott

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #989 on: October 21, 2022, 08:38:52 am »
Chromebook would be better IMO. Also allows the ability to easily be used for homework and so on and will last a good few years

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #990 on: October 21, 2022, 02:21:18 pm »
Is an RTX 3060 good enough to play everything out there at 1080p?

I am not a massive gamer, but I do have a few high end games that I like to play.



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Offline MBL?

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #991 on: October 24, 2022, 10:14:26 pm »
I completely second MBL's suggestion. A base ipad, with 128gb and a wireless keyboard is probably the best option.

Laptops are cumbersome to carry and become obsolete in 4 or 5 years - the hardware. Thats the sad truth.

Tablets on the other hand are more portable and offer updates for a longer period of time. My dad's sis still uses an ipad from 2014 and she uses it for just youtube, TV and video calls to his son and daughter.

But if you are keen on a laptop, chromebook FTW.
By the sounds of things a keyboard isn’t even needed. A tablet is perfect and it will almost certainly be what their friends will be using. They are also far better for travelling with, like on a long car journey etc.

Offline ChaChaMooMoo

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #992 on: October 25, 2022, 10:25:53 am »
Keyboards are not mandatory of course. iPads are good in that aspect.
Just ensure that you get a proper cover and tempered glass.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #993 on: October 25, 2022, 07:06:06 pm »
Ipads are shit.

Don't waste your money. Get a surface pro instead.
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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #994 on: October 25, 2022, 07:17:02 pm »
Ipads are shit.

Don't waste your money. Get a surface pro instead.

They’re not shit at all, in any way.

Offline "21C or 70F?" SchizoidWeatherMan!

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #995 on: October 25, 2022, 07:21:05 pm »
Let me..

There is sooooooo much more you can do on a Surface Pro than an ipad, its not even comparable.

A full fledged computer OS against a gimped mobile OS which is basically a blown up ios.

You cannot even manage your files properly.

Better spend on a macbook air or something.
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Offline Elmo!

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #996 on: October 25, 2022, 07:23:24 pm »
Just from an educational point of view, having a full blown OS that you can tinker around with and actually work out how things work on comptuers is extremely valuable.

Offline Red Raw

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #997 on: October 25, 2022, 07:24:10 pm »
My 8 year old wants a laptop for christmas so Im looking for some advice.

She'll only use it for youtube, tiktok and playing Roblox so it doesnt need a super spec. I know that she'll get frustrated though if it runs slow or things start to take ages to open etc.
...
Can't really comment on Chromebooks because they don't work for me personally as the environment is too restrictive.

However you might be interested in this programme on R4 this evening at 20:00 which discusses some of the  potential downsides to Roblox (exploitation, grooming etc.)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001ddtn

Probably fine, but might be of interest if you have any concerns about the platform.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #998 on: October 25, 2022, 07:29:30 pm »
Let me..

There is sooooooo much more you can do on a Surface Pro than an ipad, its not even comparable.

A full fledged computer OS against a gimped mobile OS which is basically a blown up ios.

You cannot even manage your files properly.

Better spend on a macbook air or something.

That may be true, but calling iPads ‘shit’ is frankly ludicrous.  They’re absolutely perfect for certain situations.  The base iPad 9 is around £320, much cheaper than a Surface Pro let alone a MacBook.  The chap wants it for his 8 year old daughter for media consumption and you’re recommending £1000 devices.  A second hand iPad 7 or something would be more than enough to play Roblox and YouTube.

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Re: New laptop advice
« Reply #999 on: October 25, 2022, 07:33:32 pm »
That may be true, but calling iPads ‘shit’ is frankly ludicrous.  They’re absolutely perfect for certain situations.  The base iPad 9 is around £320, much cheaper than a Surface Pro let alone a MacBook.  The chap wants it for his 8 year old daughter for media consumption and you’re recommending £1000 devices.  A second hand iPad 7 or something would be more than enough to play Roblox and YouTube.

She can learn how to code on a surface. She can use hundreds of free apps/software to draw, sketch and practice writing, things which you have to pay for in an ipad.

Don't just look at purchase cost of the hardware. Ipad apps cost a bit, very few are free.

On windows, you don't need to spend a penny apart from MS office suite.



Phuk yoo