Suggest a laptop, please?

[swee'pea99]

My daughter's just been given a spec, but neither she nor I fully understands it, let alone know what would make a good choice. I know there are people hereabouts who know about such things, so I thought I'd ask.

WKH15 laptop (screen size 15.6, i5, 5th gen (Broadwell), any processor speed, 4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, Intel Graphics HD 4600, Windows 8.1 64bit, max weight 2.8Kg)

The only thing that strikes me about it straightaway is that from what I've heard she'd be better off avoiding Windows 8, but other than that....?

Any recommendations, handy hints & tips much appreciated.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

8.1 is ok

 

[gavroche]

I have always had Toshiba's. I found them reliable and long lasting.

 

[swee'pea99]

Thanks - that's worth knowing. Tho' looking around, most new ones seem to come with W10 now.

I forgot to mention, she also needs:

• Audio Notetaker
• Dragon Naturally Speaking Premium (with USB headset)
• Microsoft Office
• TextHelp Read&Write Gold

Found this, which seems a bit over-spec'd - but looks good value for the price. Any thoughts?

 

[swee'pea99]

Sorry Gavroche - wasn't ignoring you...you were posting as I was typing! Thanks.

 

[steve50]

pretty much any laptop you buy these days has the operating system and a trial antivirus and that is it. if you want extras you have to pay for them, office will set you back whatever microsoft are charging, dragon naturally speaking is old software and may or may not be compatible with windows 10 or 8.1.
Windows has its own built in voice recognition software, I personally supplied and set up a computer for a client who was paralysed from the neck down but she was able to use the computer to answer the phone as well as for everyday tasks like turning the lights on and off etc and general internet browsing all by using voice commands.
in the main menu select "Accessories", "Ease of access", "windows speech recognition", make sure you use a good quality microphone for best results.The Hp computer you have tagged looks to be a good spec and more importantly a good price for that specification, it will do all you want it to do and more comfortably.

 

[FrankCrank]

....not claiming to be a laptopologist, but they all seem much of a muchness these days. Difficult to choose a clear winner, at least at the budget level, and all made in the same factory in China or Taiwan I expect.

SSD upgrade is money well spent. I also look for it having a removable battery. We have a Lenovo U260 ultraportable from a few years back, and the battery started swelling up inside at less than 2 years old - pig of a job to remove the blighter, and running just off mains now.

Will be upgrading one of my laptops to W10 soon, just to see what all the fuss is about.........

 

[RichardB]

I have a Toshiba Satellite running Windows 7, and I am very happy with it. It's lasted me 3-4 years as a desktop substitute and apart form getting slower over time, nothing has gone wrong. I'd go for the same make next time. I have avoided the free W10 upgrade so far - W7 does everything I need it to, and I just CBA dealing with the inevitable issues of an upgrade.

 

[Bobby Mhor]

I have a Toshiba Satellite running Windows 7, and I am very happy with it. It's lasted me 3-4 years as a desktop substitute and apart form getting slower over time, nothing has gone wrong. I'd go for the same make next time. I have avoided the free W10 upgrade so far - W7 does everything I need it to, and I just CBA dealing with the inevitable issues of an upgrade.

I've an old (7 years) Toshiba Satelitte and Windows 10 has done it the world of good, its nippier but still not a whippet.granted.
I run only hobby software on the old girl and like I said 10 is a vast improvement..

Edited : I just found out its only 7 year old...

Sorry for side tracking...

It's just the processor Intel Core i5-**** and upwards (i7 available) you'll need to look for, the rest of the specs should fall in..
Have a wee shufty at Amazon laptop page, they give you options on left side bar....
I usually have a wee look at the reviews..
Good luck

 

[ColinJ]

My view is that I want a portable device to be as portable as possible. My old laptop weighs about 1.5 kg and there is a charger on top of that. That is not too bad, but it still feels heavy compared to a tablet. The laptop described above weighs almost double what mine does ...

Whether that would be a problem would depend on how often it gets carried from place to place.

 

[John the Monkey]

Techradar's Laptop Deals of the Week page might be worth bookmarking.

http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/laptop-deals-cheap-laptops-1296090

 

[Lisa21]

I have just bought the HP Envy 103 na, I5, 12gig ram, 2tb hard-drive. I LOVE it . Previously I had a Samsung R780 which was very reliable. And so far my impression of Windows 10 is good. Not that any of this is probably much help to you, but I'm certainly impressed with HP.