Hi Lifers,
My partner is struggling to get straight answers about how to choose a new laptop for her job. It seems that there is so much technical information out there, but without technical know-how we are struggling to get started.
So I told her that I know the perfect place to go for some guidance!
Basically, she is looking for a machine purely for running her medical secretarial company.
This can usually mean having 10 to 15 internet tabs open, of which 5 would be hospital systems, 5 email accounts plus a few others.
She doesn't use any graphics heavy programs, and doesn't use the machine for gaming, music, films etc. It's purely a work machine.
She'd need Microsoft Office and all the usual basic programs.
Can anybody offer guidance on brands, or the sorts of specifications that would be required ? Or if anyone knows of any companies that provide advice and sales, then we are happy to have their contact details.
Many thanks in advance,
Fattmatt and Crackling Jacqueline.
0
Comments
First, and oddly let's talk about ergonomics.
I have a few laptops and they are incredibly bad for you.
Working with one is a very bad idea. There is no way you can get the screen and keyboard set up to provide you with a comfortable and properly aligned working environment. In short a heavy use work laptop will bugger you up. Do an on-line search for all the gruesome details.
Second the keyboard is a compromise. Bashing away on a laptop keyboard all day is just a nasty thing to do.
In short, for what your other half wants to do, a desk-top (and a proper computer chair) sounds like a much better option.
Third, there is little need to shell out for the Microsoft office suite when, say, LibraOffice does the same stuff for free and probably better.
Others will be able to advise on a laptop model if you are really fixed on the idea. But I'd say something with a 512gb SSD, decent RAM and an i5 processor as a minimum. And check carefully on battery life. Some of the latest processors just chew through a battery charge in a couple of hours and run really, really hot.
I have a Dell XPS bought 3 years ago for my personal laptop and that is still going strong.
@cafcfan makes a great point though. Do you actually need the portability of a laptop, or would a desktop be good enough? Used to be you got more bang for your buck performance wise with a desktop and ergonomically one would be much better, although you can make a laptop effectively into a desktop with a good hub and external monitors, keyboard, mouse.
Just make sure you get enough RAM in there. 8GB isn't enough these days.
FWIW we get elite books at work, but at home I have mine plugged in via a docking station/switch to a 34" ultra widescreen monitor. Based on what you say about open windows/tabs etc I'd say if you can, that's the way to go (but not cheap).
This is the screen:
https://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/lg-ultrawide-34-uwqhd-75hz-led-monitor-34wn780p-b/version.asp?campaign_type=pmax&bucket=51-100&refsource=ldadwords&mkwid=_dc&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&slid=&pgrid=&ptaid=&cpgnid=18536188079&channel=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiIOmBhDjARIsAP6YhSWtafbroD8T4BQqjsR7Y16N_slTC3IZzN7iPKW5l0bTzKptNtjwDHIaAivKEALw_wcB
Go that way and you have portability but in essence also a desktop.
Get a wireless keyboard and mouse (logitech mx are good but pricey) along with an external monitor. Make sure the monitor and laptop are HDMI and you do away with the need for a hub.
Office now is either monthly sub or one off fee but you'll end up with outdated versions at some point with the latter.
I wouldn't worry about having the latest version of Office. They all work well enough to run a business from. If she wants to do it on a budget a reconditioned laptop i7 or above should be fine, to be honest even an i5 should be ok, with you paying extra to have the extra RAM and large SSD. The AMD equivalent to an i7 is a Ryzen 7.
Also think about the importance of your data. I would advise a solution that backs up to the cloud but also to an external hard drive to be safe if you can't afford to lose it due to some sort of failure. You can do all of this reasonably cheaply or quite expensively. But cheaply will work just as well.
The other thing to think about is the robustness of the laptop. If it is going to stay in one place all the time, most will be fine but if it is going to be carried about on the go then its toughness is a factor to consider.
On a budget, I'd probably go for something like this but paying a little bit more for a larger SSD. Most suppliers will do this when asked and it shouldn't cost much more. Most will add MS Office too not expensively. We got my son one of these to get him through Uni and it has been fine and feels well built.
https://www.pcrenewed.co.uk/products/refurbished-lenovo-thinkpad-p50-core-i76820hq-32gb-ram-512gb-windows-10-pro-hd-laptop?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiIOmBhDjARIsAP6YhSWAX_xK0KeeQGNatwqnCd3F1Yt9j-tNZiUsTGB_SOP55vX3lCRWQukaAjAHEALw_wcB.
You can get a 1TB or higher external hard drive for backing up data on ebay quite cheaply. Around £30 to £40.
I've been a Macbook Pro 14 user (M1 Max, 32gb, 24 core Gfx chip), bought it to do my photography on. Its brilliant for photoshop, lightroom. Its brilliant how it ties in with my iPhone, iWatch and iPad BUT I find it so bloody frustrating for day to day windows explorer/finder and excel use. It really does take some getting used to but is worth taking the time to learn its little tricks.
My wife loves her Macbook Air, which is good value for money.
What I would say though, if using for WFH, invest in an external monitor and a proper full size keyboard and mouse (I use a 32" 4k monitor and the Logitech MX range)
And on laptops generally, what's with the offset touchpad on many models? It's horrible if you are right-handed.
These days I buy a Macbook because they last so much longer, even though I don't really like the OS.
I've been using my current MacBook for eight years without an issue.
You can do this yourself but I take mine to a local bloke. It's a bit like servicing your car. I do have a problem in that my computer is 10 years old and I have it just how I like it. He tellls me I should change it and I know I could get quicker and probably should but for what I use it for it still does everything fine. I have pinball arcage loaded and there is no slowdown. I also play jackbox games with the family and retro games using retroarch, it was fine for adobe illustrator and photoshop before I retired and surfing the net is smooth. Also I link it to my TV via a hdmi cable to watch Charlton TV. I know I should get an newer one but it is just easier keeping this one until it starts playing up as I have just how I want it or I notice it not being able to do what I want it to.
I was told a few years back that servicing is important for long life and it seems to be the case with mine. A couple of years ago, I had it on the parcel shelf on my car and when I opened the tailgate it fell on the floor and I thought, oh well new computer but it must have fallen well as it carried on working. I have changed the keyboard myself once but it being a cheap laptop originally this was easy and cheap to do thanks to a youtube tutorial. I did upgrade my RAM to 16GB when I went self employed to help with adobe packages but I think I have developed a sort of love for the old thing. Oh and I bought a replacement battery last year. Some laptops have batteries that are not easy to change, I suppose a bit like newer mobile phones. I don't like this.
Only keep software on the internal HDD or SSD.
Keep everything else on external drives, like your files, lightroom catalogues, all stuff like that. It will keep your machine running quicker!
Secondly asking someone to go from a product they probably know how to use in MS Office to one where you probably need to learn how to use again is odd advice?
Thats my 14" Macbook Pro with my 32" 4k monitor. You can easily have a webpage and excel open at the same time.
MX Keyboard and Mouse connect via Bluetooth.
Monitor, ethernet and SSD drives connects via the USB-C hub which costs about £30-40. You can buy more expensive ones but this does the job perfectly.
Shame once the Ashes is done, I'll turn the desk back 90 degrees clockwise against the wall!
If you're WFH, invest in the best monitor you can get.
And dont skimp on SSDs. If your data is critical, buy proper branded SSDs like Samsung, SanDisk etc. I learnt the hard way about 15-16 years ago when I had an old HDD go on me.
I wasn't asking, merely suggesting. In any event it's free so no harm done if you don't like it is there? But if you can't use LibraOffice straight out of the download, you should probably steer well clear of doing work stuff on computers. It is totally compatible with Microsoft document formats. (And the fruit based things.) The only thing that may be boring is that a lot of the add-ons and templates are held in a separate source and need to be downloaded if you need them.
So often I hear people complaining that Macbooks are way more reliable over the years than their old Windows laptop, only for them to then reveal they spent 400 quid on the windows machine and 1500 quid on the macbook.
Provided it has enough ports you can, if you choose, run external monitors, hard drives, voip headsets, wired keyboards/mice, etc. from the laptop to help set up a decent work station.
It really makes plugging back in after taking the laptop away really easy, and using a larger monitor is essential.
They certainly have a place at the pricepoints they start at but can be grossly overpriced without specs improving much at all.
We have a Samsung Chromebook 4 for when we're doing food shops, watching videos etc and I have a PC in my home office (Ryzen 7 5800 X3D, RX 6800XT OC, 32GB Ram, 2tb SSD) and the Mrs has a 2013 27" iMac and we seem to get on just fine.
(I also use my clients laptop for when I am travelling to their sites, but never for home stuff - battery life is awful so it's pretty ineffective of a device.)