New Laptop?

[terrym]

My trusty 7 year old Samsung laptop sadly failed me yesterday. One of the plastic hinges between the lid and base sort of fell apart and is now held in place by Duck tape. It still works but I don't want to shut the lid very often which makes it a bit impractical to use.
So I'm thinking of getting another one. I am looking for a 15” screen and 2GHz plus processor speed, 4GB RAM and upwards of 500GB capacity, which isn't much more than what I have at present, and running W10. I also want one where I can replace the battery if required, which is not a feature on some laptops it seems. I don't do multitasking or gaming so a �£400 budget ceiling seems about right.
When I looked through the usual places on-line, Amazon, John Lewis (2 year guarantee), PC World I was surprised that prices are about the same as 7 years ago, processor speeds haven't gone up much, and although storage is now mostly in Terabytes, the CD/DVD drive has now gone. The reviews for all the manufacturers Lenovo, Asus, Acer, HP, Dell etc etc were OKish although some models seemed to attract more disparaging comments than others. One common criticism seems to be the laptop is slower than people expected, but I wonder whether there is bloatware running in the background like McAfee which can be stopped or better removed.
Anyway I just thought I would ask on here if anyone has recently bought a laptop and if so what they thought of it, or if anyone has any really bad experiences they would like to share.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
This is not directly an answer to your question, but my laptop's space bar is very iffy, sometimes working, mostly not. I tried to repair it without success so I now use it as a desktop with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. I set it to do nothing when the lid is shut.
This may not be convenient for you but it is one solution.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I have an Asus that has served me well its a couple of years old but came with 6GB ram and it does everything i need it to and its fast.

This review was posted today - http://www.techradar.com/news/mobile-computing/laptops/laptop-deals-cheap-laptops-1296090

.

 

[Gunge]

I've just got the kid a Lenovo laptop for Xmas which ticks all your boxes, except it has 1Tb! Cost £350 but I can't give you a review unless you're prepared to wait until after Xmas :lol:!

 

[dad_of_jon]

My trusty 7 year old Samsung laptop sadly failed me yesterday. One of the plastic hinges between the lid and base sort of fell apart and is now held in place by Duck tape. It still works but I don't want to shut the lid very often which makes it a bit impractical to use.
So I'm thinking of getting another one. I am looking for a 15” screen and 2GHz plus processor speed, 4GB RAM and upwards of 500GB capacity, which isn't much more than what I have at present, and running W10. I also want one where I can replace the battery if required, which is not a feature on some laptops it seems. I don't do multitasking or gaming so a ��£400 budget ceiling seems about right.
When I looked through the usual places on-line, Amazon, John Lewis (2 year guarantee), PC World I was surprised that prices are about the same as 7 years ago, processor speeds haven't gone up much, and although storage is now mostly in Terabytes, the CD/DVD drive has now gone. The reviews for all the manufacturers Lenovo, Asus, Acer, HP, Dell etc etc were OKish although some models seemed to attract more disparaging comments than others. One common criticism seems to be the laptop is slower than people expected, but I wonder whether there is bloatware running in the background like McAfee which can be stopped or better removed.
Anyway I just thought I would ask on here if anyone has recently bought a laptop and if so what they thought of it, or if anyone has any really bad experiences they would like to share.

I had to remove 2 screens worth of 'bloatware' off a dell system***. if you can see your model of laptop in store you can check it out. I found lenovo had less bloatware but they did have an issue with spyware...

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/...stslap_from_ftc_for_superfish_adware_debacle/

asus and acer are generally no-nonsense brands. I find for laptops asus build quality is better than acer**. Hp - the hardware is good although they are second only to dell in the bloatware stakes.

**I have 3 acer monitors in the house a toshiba & dell laptop and have a lenovo & asus laptop at work.

*** The dell business range comes without a shed full of consumer bloatware. I bought a £400 business laptop for my daughter for uni and it flies compared to the retail channel dells. - there's a thought - get a cheap small business laptop rather than go through the retail channel.

 

[Druncan]

I'm in the same boat. Starting the get blue screens of death on my Asus x555L (two years old)

Anyone using an Ubuntu or Linux based system?
I am totally sick of MS and it's updates freezing up my laptop,,,,,

 

[foxbat]

When I looked through the usual places on-line, Amazon, John Lewis (2 year guarantee), PC World I was surprised that prices are about the same as 7 years ago

There's big savings to be had by buying a refurb on ebay. Some of the major retailers have their refurb outlets there. For example this one is brand new: Currys PC World, ��£300, 12 month warranty.

 

[terrym]

Thanks to all who responded.
Some good things to think about in there. :thumb:

 

[motz]

I'm in the same boat. Starting the get blue screens of death on my Asus x555L (two years old)

Anyone using an Ubuntu or Linux based system?
I am totally sick of MS and it's updates freezing up my laptop,,,,,

I use Ubuntu on a refurbed Lenovo. I am happy with the results. All in I paid £100, and I even use it to run GIS software. No other costs, all free stuff.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[GlentoranMark]

A brewing forum is not the correct place to ask this question, just as you wouldn't ask a brewing question on a laptop forum.

In saying that I think you know most of what you need and you could easily get your requirements on that budget.

One of my homepages is set to Hotukdeals. When I'm after something in particular or I just spot a bargain, it's my first port of call.

I notice an expired Ebuyer deal for £299 on that site. If your patient, something similar will turn up. Also, there will be deals on Boxing Day if you can hold off until then.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

A brewing forum is not the correct place to ask this question, just as you wouldn't ask a brewing question on a laptop forum.

Terry asked -

"Anyway I just thought I would ask on here if anyone has recently bought a laptop and if so what they thought of it, or if anyone has any really bad experiences they would like to share"

i imagine most of us use (or have used) a laptop so i don't see why he shouldn't get good advice here in fact the site i linked to above has some great reviews with prices.

.

 

[simon12]

A long time ago I used to sell second hand laptops. Unlike a desktop PC where you can get the keyboard and monitor you want your stuck with what you get and the quality of these can very massively and its hard to tell what there like before you use them (sorry this isn't that helpful as I have no idea what would be good these days). Also many people seem to buy one of the cheapest laptops thinking well all I do is send a few emails etc but the problem is it can barely run windows so a few years and windows updates later its not up to anything when if they spent another £100 it would be fine for 10 years+.
Another option to consider is there is a company near you called stock asset management, there in Barns court industrial estate drive to the bottom then down the track to the right. They sell loads of second hand laptops, most of what they sell is 5+ years old with limited warranty but they tend to have a few newer machines all setup ready to go. The plus side is for £250ish you will get a machine that would have cost £1500+ a few years ago and the build quality and screen keyboard etc. would be much higher quality than a cheap laptop but the warranty will be 30 days. If you can live with than there on 01342 714900 there technically trade only but I have referred people in the past and its been alright, you can ask for Chris and say Simon from comquip said to call if you want. Years ago someone I sent there got 2 free spare batteries.
If you don't like this idea I am happy to give you feedback on anything you are considering.

 

[terrym]

Thanks again folks. More food for thought. :thumb:

 

[GerritT]

<>
So I'm thinking of getting another one. I am looking for a 15” screen and 2GHz plus processor speed, 4GB RAM and upwards of 500GB capacity, which isn't much more than what I have at present, and running W10. I also want one where I can replace the battery if required, which is not a feature on some laptops it seems. I don't do multitasking or gaming so a ��£400 budget ceiling seems about right.<>
Anyway I just thought I would ask on here if anyone has recently bought a laptop and if so what they thought of it, or if anyone has any really bad experiences they would like to share.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077Q82B8V/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Haven't bought one, so no experience. But specs (it's the AZERTY model but that's not important for the specs) are nice, Lenovo is okay, worth a look I'd say. And 5 years warranty.

 

[Pirate_Pete]

I'm in the same boat. Starting the get blue screens of death on my Asus x555L (two years old)

Anyone using an Ubuntu or Linux based system?
I am totally sick of MS and it's updates freezing up my laptop,,,,,

Linux is OK, I use it a bit. But if I were you I'd copy everything off of that laptop that you want to keep and reformat it. My missus has an Asus desktop. That got some blue screens after only a couple of months. Reformatted it and it's been sound for a couple of years now.

 

[GerritT]

I'm in the same boat. Starting the get blue screens of death on my Asus x555L (two years old)

Anyone using an Ubuntu or Linux based system?
I am totally sick of MS and it's updates freezing up my laptop,,,,,

Linux Debian Mint has been the standard for quite some years now.
Works like a charm and once you know your way around in the Terminal, OSX is very accessible too.
Try a bootable dvd or usb thumb drive, give it a spin.

 

[Clint]

I think it's a great idea asking about laptops (or anything else!)on here....in the snug..I wouldn't mind a new laptop but like a lot I know sod all about them!
What's bloat ware?

 

[DoctorMick]

PCSpecialist.co.uk is my go to place when I need a new laptop, as you can configure exactly to your requirements you get exactly what you need without paying for things you don't need.

 

[geigercntr]

Linux Debian Mint has been the standard for quite some years now.
Works like a charm and once you know your way around in the Terminal, OSX is very accessible too.
Try a bootable dvd or usb thumb drive, give it a spin.

[OffTopic] I'm currently running Ubuntu 16.04. Is there a huge difference between that and Debian Mint?

 

[GerritT]

[OffTopic] I'm currently running Ubuntu 16.04. Is there a huge difference between that and Debian Mint?

A lot of people got p!ssed of because of the Amazon Web App. There aren't many differences, I personally find Mint more snappy.