Another "which laptop" question.

[Dave7]

Situation is.......
I will be 77 years old in Feb (relevant to my needs).
I have had my present Toshiba one for a long time. Its heavy. Its dying. The battery is virtually dead.
I use my phone for general stuff but need/want a lap top for other stuff as I like a big screen.......this one is 15".
So..........
I want simple.
At my age I don't want to pay silly money
OTOH I don't want cheap rubbish.
Any suggestions much appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[wafter]

I'd advise you avoid anything "consumer grade" as IME it's all made from tinfoil and margarine tubs, and as such will be unpleasant to use and rapidly fall to bits.

My favoured brands are Dell and Lenovo, and given how hard tech depreciates I'd recommend getting something at least a couple of years old to avoid getting reamed too hard. Be aware that Dell can be quite unscrupulous and seem to cycle model names throughout their brand heirachy - for example ten years ago a Vostro was a decent-spec business model; now it's entry-level tat.

I'd advise you avoid the more budget-centric brands - HP, Acer, Asus... as again they don't seem to last as long.

Also, be aware that it's becoming quite common for RAM to be soldered directly to the motherboard; making upgrades impossible and further limiting potential lifespan. This seems to be the preserve of cheaper machines and higher-end ultra compact offerings typically of 12-13" screen size so might not be an issue for you anyway. If buying something non-upgradeable you want to get something that has a lot of RAM to begin with (16Gb min IMO) or you want to look for something that can be upgraded in future.

FWIW I run a five-ish year old Lenovo Thinkpad X280 which does all I could ask and could be picked up for circa £200-250 last time I looked. New it was probably 5-6 times this..

 

[Bonefish Blues]

I have no idea, but I'd like to thank you for asking 'which?' as opposed to the more prevalent 'what?'

 

[Dave7]

I have no idea, but I'd like to thank you for asking 'which?' as opposed to the more prevalent 'what?'

I said which as I can't spell wat

 

[Dave7]

I'd advise you avoid anything "consumer grade" as IME it's all made from tinfoil and margarine tubs, and as such will be unpleasant to use and rapidly fall to bits.

My favoured brands are Dell and Lenovo, and given how hard tech depreciates I'd recommend getting something at least a couple of years old to avoid getting reamed too hard. Be aware that Dell can be quite unscrupulous and seem to cycle model names throughout their brand heirachy - for example ten years ago a Vostro was a decent-spec business model; now it's entry-level tat.

I'd advise you avoid the more budget-centric brands - HP, Acer, Asus... as again they don't seem to last as long.

Also, be aware that it's becoming quite common for RAM to be soldered directly to the motherboard; making upgrades impossible and further limiting potential lifespan. This seems to be the preserve of cheaper machines and higher-end ultra compact offerings typically of 12-13" screen size so might not be an issue for you anyway. If buying something non-upgradeable you want to get something that has a lot of RAM to begin with (16Gb min IMO) or you want to look for something that can be upgraded in future.

FWIW I run a five-ish year old Lenovo Thinkpad X280 which does all I could ask and could be picked up for circa £200-250 last time I looked. New it was probably 5-6 times this..

Thank you.

I want "new" (cos I'm an old fart)
IYO will, say, £400 get me something decent ?
Incidentally do they still copy CDs ?

 

[vickster]

What will you use it for? Chromebooks get good press unless you need to use things like Excel, Word, PowerPoint to their full potential. Don’t know if they come with bigger screens?
I’d probably just take myself off to John Lewis or Currys and see what they have with the larger screen. HP always work decently, I’d make sure it’s an i5 processor and a 256SSD minimum

eg will be fine for light leisure use (I’ve not had Lenovo or Asus but are decent)
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/l...p-intel-core-i5-256-gb-ssd-blue-10250690.html
or https://www.currys.co.uk/products/a...intel-core-i5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10239515.html
or https://www.currys.co.uk/products/a...-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-black-10240161.html
or https://www.currys.co.uk/products/h...intel-core-i5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10250738.html

or better with 2 year warranty (same spec to #3 above) https://www.johnlewis.com/asus-vivo...512gb-ssd-15-6-inch-full-hd-silver/p109521944

They don’t come with build in CD drives now but you can buy one to add via a USB port

 

[wafter]

Thank you.

I want "new" (cos I'm an old fart)
IYO will, say, £400 get me something decent ?
Incidentally do they still copy CDs ?

No worries

While I understand your desire for something new, unfortunately I think your budget would put you squarely in the "consumer" price bracket that I'd personally be desperate to avoid.

You won't get a laptop with any sort of optical drive now; I guess you could pick up an external one for not a lot of money. If you use them for generic data storage there are far better options, if for music then depending on your setup you might be able to get around it another way.

Bit different but my desktop is just plugged into my stereo and I stream stuff off the net through that; although if it's on your machine you could always just play directly from that, of course.

 

[Jameshow]

Thank you.

I want "new" (cos I'm an old fart)
IYO will, say, £400 get me something decent ?
Incidentally do they still copy CDs ?

I would go for Lenovo over a dell. I have both and the Lenovo feels much better built, starts up faster and runs just as well despite being older and abused more

 

[Dave7]

What will you use it for? Chromebooks get good press unless you need to use things like Excel, Word, PowerPoint to their full potential. Don’t know if they come with bigger screens?
I’d probably just take myself off to John Lewis or Currys and see what they have with the larger screen. HP always work decently, I’d make sure it’s an i5 processor and a 256SSD minimum

eg will be fine for light leisure use (I’ve not had Lenovo or Asus but are decent)
https://www.currys.co.uk/products/l...p-intel-core-i5-256-gb-ssd-blue-10250690.html
or https://www.currys.co.uk/products/a...intel-core-i5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10239515.html
or https://www.currys.co.uk/products/a...-intel-core-i5-512-gb-ssd-black-10240161.html
or https://www.currys.co.uk/products/h...intel-core-i5-256-gb-ssd-silver-10250738.html

or better with 2 year warranty (same spec to #3 above) https://www.johnlewis.com/asus-vivo...512gb-ssd-15-6-inch-full-hd-silver/p109521944

They don’t come with build in CD drives now but you can buy one to add via a USB port

Thank you.
My days of needing Excel and PowerPoint are well gone.
Some interesting links there, much appreciated

 

[wafter]

I would go for Lenovo over a dell. I have both and the Lenovo feels much better built, starts up faster and runs just as well despite being older and abused more

Which Lenovo, out of interest? We've had a few Ideapads pass through at work - probably better than the equivalent consumer Dells, but still not as nice as the higher-end models from either brand.

 

[MontyVeda]

just make sure you get one that'll fit in the air-fryer

 

[vickster]

Thank you.
My days of needing Excel and PowerPoint are well gone.
Some interesting links there, much appreciated

No worries, plenty of reviews to look through. I tend to avoid any whingy outliers!

 

[Jameshow]

Which Lenovo, out of interest? We've had a few Ideapads pass through at work - probably better than the equivalent consumer Dells, but still not as nice as the higher-end models from either brand.

320s I think...

Deffo not as good as the old T and X series!

 

[wafter]

320s I think...

Deffo not as good as the old T and X series!

Ahh, so an Ideapad according to Google.

Probably not terrible as you suggest, but when you've got both infront of you it's shocking how different consumer and pro grade stuff is, in ways that would never be apparent when viewing images and specs online.

The consumer grade Dells seem particularly grotty; but there's probably worse..

 

[Dave7]

I tend to avoid any whingy outliers!

Sorry ??