Needing a new Laptop

[Clickem]

Can anyone recommend/point me in the direction of a new Windows Laptop that I would try to source in the New Year sales

I currently have a Toshiba Satellite with 3Gb RAM running Windows 10 Home Version 2004. It has an inadequate 228Gb of storage and an OK 40cms screen. This has been a fantastic machine and I would buy another Toshiba tomorrow (well next month), but they no longer make home PC’s

It is short on storage, the screen colours are faulty due to a poor the connections in the screen hinges and the sound is also faulty, but I limp along

I need a CD/DVD player to be able to load some of my existing software through. I currently run Office 2003, using Word and Excel. I also use Google Chrome, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Movie Maker and Personal Ancestry File Version 5. My version of Windows was an upgrade from Windows 7. An upgrade, which I think is no longer available, but presume that a new PC would come with a new version of Windows installed

From my software list you can see that I mainly create movies, of grandkids, and research Family History and general Browsing – never play games

Apart from more and better of what my current laptop does the one thing that I would like is to be able to use it to watch live TV, either via a TV Tuner and Ariel or over the Internet, but assume that this kit can be bought separate rather than being integral in the laptop. I like a mouse, but is a touch screen also a consideration?

I don’t have a price in mind. Current machine was about £800, about 14 years ago, so probably expect/hoping to pay a bit less. Any advice please?

 

[Peter and Julie]

Bought my mum this!
Broken Link Removed
She's not a gamer!!!

 

[nicholsong]

Look at the Acer range. Mine was bought 8 years ago on the recommendation of a computer consultant and is still going strong. I cannot suggest a model but tjey will have onr to suit your needs. They are not the cheapest nor the dearest, but seem good quality to me.

Geoff

 

[MattR]

Can anyone recommend/point me in the direction of a new Windows Laptop that I would try to source in the New Year sales

I currently have a Toshiba Satellite with 3Gb RAM running Windows 10 Home Version 2004. It has an inadequate 228Gb of storage and an OK 40cms screen. This has been a fantastic machine and I would buy another Toshiba tomorrow (well next month), but they no longer make home PC’s

It is short on storage, the screen colours are faulty due to a poor the connections in the screen hinges and the sound is also faulty, but I limp along

I need a CD/DVD player to be able to load some of my existing software through. I currently run Office 2003, using Word and Excel. I also use Google Chrome, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Microsoft Movie Maker and Personal Ancestry File Version 5. My version of Windows was an upgrade from Windows 7. An upgrade, which I think is no longer available, but presume that a new PC would come with a new version of Windows installed

From my software list you can see that I mainly create movies, of grandkids, and research Family History and general Browsing – never play games

Apart from more and better of what my current laptop does the one thing that I would like is to be able to use it to watch live TV, either via a TV Tuner and Ariel or over the Internet, but assume that this kit can be bought separate rather than being integral in the laptop. I like a mouse, but is a touch screen also a consideration?

I don’t have a price in mind. Current machine was about £800, about 14 years ago, so probably expect/hoping to pay a bit less. Any advice please?

Do you need laptop mobility or would w desktop be suitable?

For the short term, external storage and a tv connected via HDMI could help.

 

[Clickem]

Look at the Acer range. Mine was bought 8 years ago on the recommendation of a computer consultant and is still going strong. I cannot suggest a model but tjey will have onr to suit your needs. They are not the cheapest nor the dearest, but seem good quality to me.

Geoff

Yes, Liking the look of the Acer Swift 3

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[TerryL]

Question - does it need to be a laptop i.e. needs to be transportable - I'd guess so given this is a motorhome forum but the question should be considered. Desktops do have advantages in certain circumstances.

Everybody will have their own favourite brands but in all honesty they're all made from the same sourced components now and it's the name on the lid that defines the cost. There are dozens of different options of course but I'd go for the fastest processor that you deem a reasonable cost. Pretty well everything now comes with SSD storage and 1TB is a usual spec. but you can get more. If possible the latest Nvme SSDs are incrediby fast and really worth having for little extra cost although a normal SSD is probably going to be fast enough for what you do. Avoid the older "spinning disk" storage, at least for actually working, although they can be useful as backup or extra storage. As for RAM, many modern applications need lots of it - I have a programme (on my desktop with 64GB RAM) that won't even startup with less than 16 GB! Thankfully 8GB is pretty well standard but 16GB is nice and should "future-proof" you. If a DVD or CD player is a must you may find your options limited as they seem to be phasing them out, so check before you decide. You could of course invest in an external drive for not a lot.

Like it or not, everything seems to come with Windows 10 - if you don't try to mess about with it I've found it very reliable, but you'll get recommendations for other operating systems. If you're used to Windows, stick with it; I use my machine to do things, not play around learning new tricks, but I'm not going to offer an opinion, don't know enough about the others.

I can't get on with touch screens for regular work and even the touch pad never gets used - a decent mouse for me is a no brainer and is not at all expensive. Just make sure you have enough USB slots, 3 is the norm although you could buy a USN hub as long as you aren't using an accessory that needs a USB3 connection.

I've always found our local Currys/PC World very helpful, just take along with you a list of your needs and they'll point you to something that works for you. They'll probably show you something with a higher spec than you need but if you put a financial limit on they'll "adapt". I've also found their after-sales service very good, their in-house experts happily sorted me out even when I tried to upgrade a new machine which didn't go quite to plan............... Of course that's not quite so easy at the moment but their website offers quite a lot of advice for those of us who are decidedly "non-tech".

There'll be lots of good deals around after the holiday break I've no doubt and it can be a minefield with everything being upgraded all the time. But for what you need you ought to be able to get away with £500-600. £800 14 years ago was A LOT of money, even for a Toshiba which I agree were the brand to go for - not so much now though.

As for streamed TV etc. you don't necessarily need any add-ons as there are countless apps available, although do make sure they're "legal" - there are reports of clamp-downs and police visiting issuing warnings and even issuing summons!

Just a last warning - make sure you've got a good internet connection when starting up for the first time. Unless you quickly stop it, Windows will try to update itself straight away and it'll probably take a while unless you've got superfast broadband. Retail machines don't tend to come with the very latest versions but should run quite happily without the upgrades until you're ready.

Now sit back, grab a coffee and wait for lots of other recommendations from people who are undoubtedly far more knowledgable then me! (My opinions just come from personal experience, I'm not an expert )

 

[Clickem]

Do you need laptop mobility or would w desktop be suitable?

For the short term, external storage and a tv connected via HDMI could help.

Use it on the kitchen table, so Desktop would be too large and obtrusive and would also like to carry it in the van as a source of TV. Left Desktops many years ago and do not expect to ever go back

 

[NicandJay]

I got a 10th generation i5 processor in a Lenovo laptop with 8GB Ram and 512gb SSD from argos for £499 back in September and am amazed how fast it is over my old i3 processor in an Hp laptop. Wasnt prepared to pay the extra £200 for a new HP of similar spec. I cannot fault the Lenovo so far.

So shop wisely.....

 

[emjaiuk]

I realise it's not everybody's cup of tea, but I'm a great believer in refurbished/second user electronic items. Nearly all are ex business machines and are very high spec. Our last 3 laptops came from Morgan Computers, I've just bough a Dell workstation with a 512Gb SSD and high end graphics car amongst other thins for £400, and a iPhone 8plus for my wife which is immaculate.

 

[kevenh]

You can create your ideal desktop with these guys: https://www.chillblast.com/
They do laptops too but I haven't used them for those...

I was going to build my own desktop but the price for ChilliBlast to build the same was comparable.
You can also take the spec you want direct to them - i.e. go outside their online tools.

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