KneesUp
Guru
I've been thinking about replacing my laptop for a while because it's a bit tatty and heavy, but it also does the job I want of it, albeit sometimes it's now a little slow when I use the really badly made software work have me use, and the trackpad is slightly sketchy since a recent incident with a glass of wine and a zoom quiz.
I currently have a HP Elitebook 8470p with an i5 3320m (from 2012 according to Intel) 8Gb Ram, a 256Gb SSD and a 1Tb spinny-platter drive - it's dual boot so the operating systems are on the SSD and all the data is on the spinny-platter drive (which, seems as you ask, is not backed up, no ...)
What I like about the current laptop is
1) it's built like a brick outhouse. You could probably knock nails in with it.
2) It has a proper dock that all the peripherals connect to. When I get to my desk all I have to do is drop it on the dock and it has power, mouse, two monitors, pen tablet, webcam, headphone and mic all connected without ever having to fish around for any cables at all. It also puts the keyboard at a nice sloped angle.
3) I was able to swap the optical drive for another HDD so I can keep the OS and the data separate
4) It's pretty tough (see 1) so I don't worry about dumping it in a pannier in a padded bag.
5) It has a display port connector and a VGA connection which means I can plug it straight into the displays at work
What I don't like about the current laptop
1) It weighs a ton. Because it built so that you can knock nails in with it
2) The battery life has never been amazing
3) It's not HD, and the screen in general is a bit dull and the colours are rubbish
4) It can get a bit slow when I have everything running at once (6 or 7 bits of software I use throughout the day plus multiple tabs)
5) It's Windows 8, and even though Windows has the bigger part of the SSD, it's still running out of room. I don't know if 10 is more compact (MS always seem to think the next version is better, and they always seem to fill all the space available) or if I just need a bigger SSD
6) It has not got an HDMI connector so I have to use a dongle to connect it to any screen other than the weird-ass ones at work
I use the laptop for contracted work (education) and self-employed work - which involves spreadsheets and some graphics stuff (mainly vector drawings) - I've sometimes thought that a discrete video card might be good. I also take photos as a hobby, so I use various photo editing tools.
I have a budet of £1,000-ish that ideally I will spend before the end of the month. Suggestions please - I'm going round in circles trying to work out what specs mean! I have no aversion to getting a refurb one if it's a better performance per pound - this one was a refurb and has been faultless.
Thanks, hive mind!
I currently have a HP Elitebook 8470p with an i5 3320m (from 2012 according to Intel) 8Gb Ram, a 256Gb SSD and a 1Tb spinny-platter drive - it's dual boot so the operating systems are on the SSD and all the data is on the spinny-platter drive (which, seems as you ask, is not backed up, no ...)
What I like about the current laptop is
1) it's built like a brick outhouse. You could probably knock nails in with it.
2) It has a proper dock that all the peripherals connect to. When I get to my desk all I have to do is drop it on the dock and it has power, mouse, two monitors, pen tablet, webcam, headphone and mic all connected without ever having to fish around for any cables at all. It also puts the keyboard at a nice sloped angle.
3) I was able to swap the optical drive for another HDD so I can keep the OS and the data separate
4) It's pretty tough (see 1) so I don't worry about dumping it in a pannier in a padded bag.
5) It has a display port connector and a VGA connection which means I can plug it straight into the displays at work
What I don't like about the current laptop
1) It weighs a ton. Because it built so that you can knock nails in with it
2) The battery life has never been amazing
3) It's not HD, and the screen in general is a bit dull and the colours are rubbish
4) It can get a bit slow when I have everything running at once (6 or 7 bits of software I use throughout the day plus multiple tabs)
5) It's Windows 8, and even though Windows has the bigger part of the SSD, it's still running out of room. I don't know if 10 is more compact (MS always seem to think the next version is better, and they always seem to fill all the space available) or if I just need a bigger SSD
6) It has not got an HDMI connector so I have to use a dongle to connect it to any screen other than the weird-ass ones at work
I use the laptop for contracted work (education) and self-employed work - which involves spreadsheets and some graphics stuff (mainly vector drawings) - I've sometimes thought that a discrete video card might be good. I also take photos as a hobby, so I use various photo editing tools.
I have a budet of £1,000-ish that ideally I will spend before the end of the month. Suggestions please - I'm going round in circles trying to work out what specs mean! I have no aversion to getting a refurb one if it's a better performance per pound - this one was a refurb and has been faultless.
Thanks, hive mind!