Spec me a new Laptop People!

If you touch your software enough does it become hardware?

Moderator: Forum Moderators

The Shutting Downs
Ninja Pirate
Ninja Pirate
Posts: 1520
Joined: December 3rd, 2008, 21:36
Location: Derby

Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by The Shutting Downs »

So Mrs TSD's lap top is on the way out, and she is looking at a new one, any recommendations.

300-400 quid
Not Dell.
Needs to stand up to a lot of typing.

Cheers.
Dr. kitteny berk
Morbo
Morbo
Posts: 19676
Joined: December 10th, 2004, 21:53
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Dr. kitteny berk »

I had an Asus somethingorother before it died, stood up to a shitload of abuse* and was relatively cheap.


*2 pints of koppaberg and being ripped off various desks by the power cable.
fabyak
Home-made Big Daddy
Home-made Big Daddy
Posts: 5681
Joined: October 14th, 2004, 14:02
Location: Oxford, England

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by fabyak »

Misco do decent refurbs for not much money
HereComesPete
Throbbing Cupcake
Throbbing Cupcake
Posts: 10249
Joined: February 17th, 2007, 23:05
Location: The maleboge

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by HereComesPete »

Why not dell?
Dog Pants
Site Moderator
Site Moderator
Posts: 21653
Joined: April 29th, 2005, 13:39
Location: Surrey, UK
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Dog Pants »

HereComesPete wrote:Why not dell?
I was wondering that. For desktops I would agree, but I've had my Dell for 8 years and it's fine (apart from having Fista on it). Not that I want to sway your opinion particularly.
deject
Berk
Berk
Posts: 10353
Joined: December 7th, 2004, 17:02
Location: Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by deject »

I have a cheapy Asus touchscreen "ultrabook" and it's been quite great. I got it over a year ago for under $700 USD so I would hope you could get something similar around your price range.
The Shutting Downs
Ninja Pirate
Ninja Pirate
Posts: 1520
Joined: December 3rd, 2008, 21:36
Location: Derby

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by The Shutting Downs »

She has had...Issues... with Dell computers in the past, and the lack of abuse they have taken.
ProfHawking
Zombie
Zombie
Posts: 2101
Joined: February 20th, 2005, 21:31

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by ProfHawking »

Trick with dell laptops is to go for the lattitude range, not the el-cheapo mass-market grade inspirons. Lattitudes are built v solid in my experience.
Grimmie
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Posts: 7672
Joined: February 5th, 2005, 19:00
Location: Birming-humm, England
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Grimmie »

Thread resurrect!

Dell Latitudes no longer seem to be on sale. How do the Inspirons stand up?

I'm just looking for a utility laptop, as my ageing Samsung NC10 just isn't cutting it any more, and I could use some more screen real-estate. Looking for something that runs Win 7 rather than 8, but Dell doesn't seem to have an option for that.

Ebuyer seem to be selling laptops that have 7 and a license for 8 installed on them, which is more appealing - but I have no idea what I'm looking for. I've heard bad things about he bloatware that comes pre-installed on HP laptops, should I be concerned? (http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Computer/ca ... 2B+8.1+Pro)

Thanks, tech-heads!
Joose
Turret
Turret
Posts: 8090
Joined: October 13th, 2004, 14:13
Location: The house of Un-Earthly horrors

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Joose »

Grimmie wrote:Looking for something that runs Win 7 rather than 8, but Dell doesn't seem to have an option for that.
I would suggest dropping this requirement. Win 8 certainly isn't good enough to warrant seeking it out over 7, but its also not bad enough that actively avoiding it makes any kind of sense. Ive been using it for ages now, and 99% of the time you won't even notice the difference.

Inspirons are pretty good in my experience. Always seemed a bit on the heavy side, but that may have just been the particular one I was using, I don't know.

HP laptops can eat a dick. I have never had good times with HP laptops.
HereComesPete
Throbbing Cupcake
Throbbing Cupcake
Posts: 10249
Joined: February 17th, 2007, 23:05
Location: The maleboge

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by HereComesPete »

:above: My work laptop is HP and it sucks.

Also the upgrade to 10 is free for 7 and 8 users right?
Dr. kitteny berk
Morbo
Morbo
Posts: 19676
Joined: December 10th, 2004, 21:53
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Dr. kitteny berk »

thirded, my dad had/has a HP laptop that started to fall apart a week after he got it and never improved.
Grimmie
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Posts: 7672
Joined: February 5th, 2005, 19:00
Location: Birming-humm, England
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Grimmie »

Joose wrote:Win 8 certainly isn't good enough to warrant seeking it out over 7, but its also not bad enough that actively avoiding it makes any kind of sense. Ive been using it for ages now, and 99% of the time you won't even notice the difference.
I had a really crappy experience trying to troubleshoot problems on my parents' Win 8 laptop, I just don't like how much they've cut things down. If I can find something decent with Win 7 on it, then I'd prefer that over the Dell with 8.
Dog Pants
Site Moderator
Site Moderator
Posts: 21653
Joined: April 29th, 2005, 13:39
Location: Surrey, UK
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Dog Pants »

Is it maybe worth waiting for Win 10 then? I'm not sure when that's out.
Grimmie
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Posts: 7672
Joined: February 5th, 2005, 19:00
Location: Birming-humm, England
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Grimmie »

5punk consensus is "Dell or Bust" then?
Dog Pants
Site Moderator
Site Moderator
Posts: 21653
Joined: April 29th, 2005, 13:39
Location: Surrey, UK
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Dog Pants »

My Dell's served me well for about 8 years of occasional use now, but I'm not sure I'd say it was Dell or nothing. Just not HP. I've got a HP laptop with work too, but I'm not sure if it's shit because of the hardware or the customer's OS build on it. Which was most likely designed by HP too, actually. Personally I'm waiting for one of those hybrid laptop/tablets with Win 10 on.
Dr. kitteny berk
Morbo
Morbo
Posts: 19676
Joined: December 10th, 2004, 21:53
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Dr. kitteny berk »

I seem to remember hearing a lot of good about lenovo, so that's also possibly an option.
HereComesPete
Throbbing Cupcake
Throbbing Cupcake
Posts: 10249
Joined: February 17th, 2007, 23:05
Location: The maleboge

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by HereComesPete »

I've never had a bad experience with the toshiba laptops I've had.

Alternative possibly a windows surface?
Grimmie
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Master of Soviet Propaganda
Posts: 7672
Joined: February 5th, 2005, 19:00
Location: Birming-humm, England
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Grimmie »

I was gawping at http://www.ebuyer.com/660265-lenovo-ess ... op-mcc2huk - which has £50 of cashback on it too. Anyone technically minded want to have a quick nose at the specs and tell me if I'd be throwing money away?

Edit: Christ, there's three versions of that laptop with the same name, but different processors and optical drives. My head hurts.
Dr. kitteny berk
Morbo
Morbo
Posts: 19676
Joined: December 10th, 2004, 21:53
Contact:

Re: Spec me a new Laptop People!

Post by Dr. kitteny berk »

Looks alright to me, probably no good for any real gaming (as you'd expect with a £275 laptop) but should do nicely for a general purpose computing device.
Post Reply