Laptop recommendations please

[stephec]

I'm looking at a laptop for Mrs stephec at the moment but a lot of places have hardly any stock, have they become the new toilet rolls?

 

[vickster]

I'm looking at a laptop for Mrs stephec at the moment but a lot of places have hardly any stock, have they become the new toilet rolls?

They sold out after the lockdown for people and students now stuck at home. There are enough around though it seems
On a plus point, the shops are now full of loo rolls

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Thanks I’ll pass on. Is there a 14” equivalent?
This maybe?
https://www.ebuyer.com/919576-lenov...8gb-256gb-ssd-14-win10-home-laptop-20rv00auuk

A 10th gen i5 vs 8 gen...friend did ask if that was important

That looks very similar albeit slightly smaller.

PS: I should've mentioned the backlit keyboard too - nice feature in lowlight conditions.

 

[Pale Rider]

Seems to me no consensus can be reached on what is decent laptop brand.

One poster's brilliant machine is always another's pile of cack.

I quite like Asus, they seem better made than some.

Acer look cheap and cheerful to me.

Are there still 'business class' laptops?

They ought to be better quality, but no doubt at a cost.

Going back years, I recall a couple of users of Toshiba(?) Toughbooks rated them highly.

 

[vickster]

Seems to me no consensus can be reached on what is decent laptop brand.

One poster's brilliant machine is always another's pile of cack.

I quite like Asus, they seem better made than some.

Acer look cheap and cheerful to me.

Are there still 'business class' laptops?

They ought to be better quality, but no doubt at a cost.

Going back years, I recall a couple of users of Toshiba(?) Toughbooks rated them highly.

Indeed, that’s the issue.
She won’t be a heavy user, but is job hunting so needs to be able to produce PPT for interviews and have a good webcam for vid interviews
The Acer at Currys is a good price but it would be better if she could look at it which isn’t possible obviously.
Ultimateky, it’ll come down to whether she want to spend £500 or £600-700 on the machine as she’ll need another £100 or so for software and peripherals

 

[vickster]

Think she’s decided on this, thanks for help
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/compu...l-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-silver-10203359-pdt.html

 

[flake99please]

Tell your friend to save a few quid on the MS Office suite, and install Open Office for free

 

[vickster]

Tell your friend to save a few quid on the MS Office suite, and install Open Office for free

She’s ordered the official software, lifetime for £50

 

[ColinJ]

+1 for the Lenovo Ideapad, cheap and cheerful, and serving me well. My only complaint, and this goes for all modern laptops, is battery not removable by user.

I like my Ideapad but I went up the range. It was 3.5 years ago and I paid £799 then for the 13" ultralight device which weighs just 1.1 kg and is only around 1.4 cm at its thickest, so not much room there for a removable battery.

I just ran the battery checker... The battery is rated at 46 Wh but a full charge now is only giving it 41.64 Wh so it has lost about 10% of its capacity. I won't mind if it carries on degrading at that rate so it were still at about 70% capacity in 7 years time. I will be a bit peeved if it suddenly flakes out in just another year or two though.

PS I just found a battery conservation mode setting. Most of the time I am happy to run with the laptop plugged in. This mode reduces maximum charge to 55-60% which reduces the stress on the battery. If I am ever going to be travelling with the laptop I will give it a full charge before setting off. Mind you, most trains have power sockets these days anyway.

 

[FrankCrank]

I like my Ideapad but I went up the range. It was 3.5 years ago and I paid £799 then for the 13" ultralight device which weighs just 1.1 kg and is only around 1.4 cm at its thickest, so not much room there for a removable battery.

I just ran the battery checker... The battery is rated at 46 Wh but a full charge now is only giving it 41.64 Wh so it has lost about 10% of its capacity. I won't mind if it carries on degrading at that rate so it were still at about 70% capacity in 7 years time. I will be a bit peeved if it suddenly flakes out in just another year or two though.

PS I just found a battery conservation mode setting. Most of the time I am happy to run with the laptop plugged in. This mode reduces maximum charge to 55-60% which reduces the stress on the battery. If I am ever going to be travelling with the laptop I will give it a full charge before setting off. Mind you, most trains have power sockets these days anyway.

My previous Ideapad from quite a few years back had a short lived battery, less than 2 years as I recall. It had swollen up inside and was deforming the case quite noticeably. Had no choice but do a stripdown and remove the battery. Been running it since just on mains only, still useful as a backup machine. Hoping the newer one fairs better

 

[ColinJ]

My previous Ideapad from quite a few years back had a short lived battery, less than 2 years as I recall. It had swollen up inside and was deforming the case quite noticeably. Had no choice but do a stripdown and remove the battery. Been running it since just on mains only, still useful as a backup machine. Hoping the newer one fairs better

I definitely would NOT have been happy! There was a 2 year warranty on this machine though so I would have had it fixed under that.

I fixed the backlight on my old Dell laptop. That was a bit tricky to get to. Hopefully, the battery on this one would be easier to get at...

PS I found this video on YouTube. The laptop looks really easy to get into once you know about the 2 screws hidden under the rubber strip! I won't have any problem changing the battery as long as I can buy a replacement when I need one. Upgrading the SSD looks simple too, but the RAM is soldered in so I am stuck with the current 8GB. Love the antic-static precautions observed by the man in the video...

I just checked the battery conservation feature. It has charged up to 60% now and has switched to running from the mains.

 

[FrankCrank]

I initially took it to the main Lenovo/IBM repair shop in BKK, they said it could take 6 weeks for repair, and additional costs may arise if further damage found. Wasn't going to be a lamb to the slaughter for that malarkey, so decided to take the battery out myself, utube vid was a great help. It took 2 goes, first attempt only half the keys worked, had to take apart again and reconnect the keyboard ribbon for it to work. Some time later I added an SSD, so 3rd time taken apart. Taking it apart not too difficult really, just gotta be in the right frame of mind. This new Ideapad already has SSD, so let's see how the battery behaves eh.

Some folks really splash out on a computer, with the hope it will perform faultlessly for a good few years. I buy cheap, and kinda expect it not to last too long before a problem occurs. Anyways, it's a tool like any other.....

 

[vickster]

Her HP was delivered yesterday, job done 👍

 

[Mo1959]

On a plus point, the shops are now full of loo rolls

I got a pack of 24 yesterday. Should do me till the virus comes back next winter!

 

[Pale Rider]

I definitely would NOT have been happy! There was a 2 year warranty on this machine though so I would have had it fixed under that.

I fixed the backlight on my old Dell laptop. That was a bit tricky to get to. Hopefully, the battery on this one would be easier to get at...

PS I found this video on YouTube. The laptop looks really easy to get into once you know about the 2 screws hidden under the rubber strip! I won't have any problem changing the battery as long as I can buy a replacement when I need one. Upgrading the SSD looks simple too, but the RAM is soldered in so I am stuck with the current 8GB. Love the antic-static precautions observed by the man in the video...

I just checked the battery conservation feature. It has charged up to 60% now and has switched to running from the mains.

If you are nearly always on the mains, I believe it's better for the battery to run with it disconnected.

What I would do is discharge it to about 70 percent then take it out.

Then put it back in for a charge every couple of months.

Her HP was delivered yesterday, job done 👍

As good as any.

We had HPs before IT moved to Chromebooks.

The HPs were nicely built, having an aluminium chassis.