I am thinking about buying a second Computer(laptop) I have a Apple Mac,but would like a one to carry around. Because of the price involved it will have to be a Microsoft,but have read bad reports about Windows 10. Can any one advise please?
If that's all you are using it for and you don't like Windows 10 , buy a cheapo laptop off ebuyer or somewhere with no operating system and download Linux Mint which is great and comes pre-loaded with almost everything you'll need; doesn't cost anything and doesn't need any virus software.
Don’t be put off by what you hear about Windows 10 it will be perfectly fine for what you want to use it for. I doubt the Ancestry software you want to use will be compatible with Linux anyway, unless it’s all internet based.
Have a surface pro that is fantastic. Lightweight and really can work as a laptop as well as a tablet. Not that much cheaper than a MacBook though if you go high-end.
Lots of Windows 10 scare stories are from people who just liked older Windows versions and refuse to get used to the newer version. It’s actually far more secure and user friendly compared to older versions.
Without trying to get too techy (edit: looks like I wrote too much and probably got too techy), most laptops come with one of a few types of Intel processors: Pentium/Celeron, i3, i5 and i7.
Pentium/Celeron is cheapest but is barely worth bothering with, while i7 is likely too powerful and thus expensive for what you mentioned earlier in the topic.
I’d look for ‘Windows 10’ with an ‘Intel i3’ processor on Curry’s or Ebuyer or similar tech site of choice. If you can stretch your budget a little bit more and get an ‘Intel i5’, that would be great. Don’t worry if not because doesn’t sound like the bump from an i3 processor to i5 would be a necessity for web browsing and other similar tasks.
The only other tech spec area to consider are the hard drives. You can opt for the older technology of a HDD (hard disk drive) which is your traditional spinning disk that generates lots of heat. The alternative is an SSD (solid state drive) which has no moving parts inside and therefore does not generate the same heat but you’ll be paying more for the newer technology.
From there it’s mainly figuring out what screen size you want and what colour... :-)
Oops I think I got too techy....... here’s a couple of links to give you some idea of what I’m thinking:
Any advice / recommendations re Chromebook. Not going to be used for anything remotely heavy but just a bit of word processing and mostly internet. Any advice about is it worth getting or sticking with traditional OS ? TIA
The problem is that whilst Windows 10 is more secure, you don't see the security. It has some things that are better and some that are worse than other versions. But you get used to it. A cheap option is something like a Chuwi Hi 10 tablet/notebook - my wife bought one 6 months ago - it can be used as an android tablet or a notebook PC with windows 10 . You just chose on startup, and it is very well built and has a nice detachable keyboard. Would do all the things you want and is much cheaper than a new laptop.
Laptops are all about the specs to a certain extent. All the manufacturers offer their products with a range of specs. The more you pay the more you get. Take one with a Celeron CPU, for instance, and it will cost a lot less than one with Core i7, but will not perform anything like as well as the latter.
So difference between the manufacturers is down to things like case and keyboard design and construction. On this basis the best laptops going are Lenovo ThinkPads, and the T and P series in particular.
But not everybody needs high specs. most are fine for surfing the web and basic functions. Everybody has different needs. For mine - a lot of RAM is more important than the processor. I need a half decent processor of course, but it doesn't have to be the best.
But not everybody needs high specs. most are fine for surfing the web and basic functions. Everybody has different needs. For mine - a lot of RAM is more important than the processor. I need a half decent processor of course, but it doesn't have to be the best.
Quite so, but there's no substitute for a really good keyboard IMHO.
The only thing I would mention is that I tried PC laptops after Mac products. Both developed hardware defects just outside the warranty. My Apple kit seems to go on forever.
I'm in the market for a new laptop at the moment. Looking at a 2 in 1s in particular but not absolutely wedded to them.
Will be used mostly for web surfing with a bit of home admin (word/excel), and streaming/watching downloaded movies. Maybe some light gaming, likely more Football manger or Civilisation type stuff than Call of Duty or whatever. Not interested in 4K but will need to handle 1080p. The missus will also use it with some design software for her hobby craft, the software for which is only windows/mac compatible so chrome books are out. We have a caravan that we'll be touring around Alberta and BC in as much as we can next year. Plan is to take this with us so we can watch movies of an evening so portability and battery life would be considerations, but I'd prefer to keep a decent screen size - probably minimum 14". We have an old desktop with a large HDD drive that I can use to store photos etc so shouldn't need a massive hdd on this
I've been looking at systems with an i5, 8 mb ram, and 256 gb ssd. Does that sound sufficient for our needs? I've seem some deals where I can get a an i7, 16 gb ram, 512 gb ssd for around 10 to 20% more. I'm tempted by that as I want some longevity to this system, but would that be over kill?
Can I get by with the integrated graphics, or is a dedicated graphics card a must?
As usual on these threads we get a lot of people saying buy a Mac, but without a lot of justification. Can someone give me an honest balanced sales pitch on why I should consider paying up to double for a Mac. What do I really get for my money that I don't with a Windows system?
Long shot, but if anyone has a laptop at work or whatever that works nicely but is old/would just be chucked out/WEEED etc, I'm looking for something to just play old Championship Manager games on (http://www.champman0102.co.uk) so it's not worth me spending much!
Happy to send a bit of money over to charity etc if anyone does have one!
Comments
Or get a chromebook.
Without trying to get too techy (edit: looks like I wrote too much and probably got too techy), most laptops come with one of a few types of Intel processors: Pentium/Celeron, i3, i5 and i7.
Pentium/Celeron is cheapest but is barely worth bothering with, while i7 is likely too powerful and thus expensive for what you mentioned earlier in the topic.
I’d look for ‘Windows 10’ with an ‘Intel i3’ processor on Curry’s or Ebuyer or similar tech site of choice. If you can stretch your budget a little bit more and get an ‘Intel i5’, that would be great. Don’t worry if not because doesn’t sound like the bump from an i3 processor to i5 would be a necessity for web browsing and other similar tasks.
The only other tech spec area to consider are the hard drives. You can opt for the older technology of a HDD (hard disk drive) which is your traditional spinning disk that generates lots of heat. The alternative is an SSD (solid state drive) which has no moving parts inside and therefore does not generate the same heat but you’ll be paying more for the newer technology.
From there it’s mainly figuring out what screen size you want and what colour... :-)
Oops I think I got too techy....... here’s a couple of links to give you some idea of what I’m thinking:
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0504sa-14-intel-core-i3-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10180946-pdt.html
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10180959-pdt.html
Spot on for those uses. Just you'll have the option of using Google Docs which is free instead of word.
Loads videos well, runs quick enough. Doesn't handle multiple tasks too well, but my work one is very budget.
Will be investing in a decent personal one next year.
It does have good reviews too.
So difference between the manufacturers is down to things like case and keyboard design and construction. On this basis the best laptops going are Lenovo ThinkPads, and the T and P series in particular.
Will be used mostly for web surfing with a bit of home admin (word/excel), and streaming/watching downloaded movies. Maybe some light gaming, likely more Football manger or Civilisation type stuff than Call of Duty or whatever. Not interested in 4K but will need to handle 1080p. The missus will also use it with some design software for her hobby craft, the software for which is only windows/mac compatible so chrome books are out. We have a caravan that we'll be touring around Alberta and BC in as much as we can next year. Plan is to take this with us so we can watch movies of an evening so portability and battery life would be considerations, but I'd prefer to keep a decent screen size - probably minimum 14". We have an old desktop with a large HDD drive that I can use to store photos etc so shouldn't need a massive hdd on this
I've been looking at systems with an i5, 8 mb ram, and 256 gb ssd. Does that sound sufficient for our needs? I've seem some deals where I can get a an i7, 16 gb ram, 512 gb ssd for around 10 to 20% more. I'm tempted by that as I want some longevity to this system, but would that be over kill?
Can I get by with the integrated graphics, or is a dedicated graphics card a must?
As usual on these threads we get a lot of people saying buy a Mac, but without a lot of justification. Can someone give me an honest balanced sales pitch on why I should consider paying up to double for a Mac. What do I really get for my money that I don't with a Windows system?
Happy to send a bit of money over to charity etc if anyone does have one!