cybershot
Well-Known Member
No idea but the spec's are dreadful even for that price.
Affordable laptop recommendations: budget £350-£450
- Thread starter psycherelic
- Start date
No idea but the spec's are dreadful even for that price.
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Chz
Stark Raving Sane
It's gonna be awful, but sometimes needs must when the budget isn't there. There aren't a lot of things much different in that price range. Though it should be against the law to sell a Windows machine with 2GB of RAM. People have had a lot of trouble with the 32GB eMMC machines not having space for patching Windows.
Edit: Though if I were desperate, the Acer Aspire at £200 (4GB/64GB) seems a better deal.
Acer Aspire 1 Pentium 4GB 64GB 14in Win10 Home Laptop | Ebuyer.com
Edit: Though if I were desperate, the Acer Aspire at £200 (4GB/64GB) seems a better deal.
Acer Aspire 1 Pentium 4GB 64GB 14in Win10 Home Laptop | Ebuyer.com
cybershot
Well-Known Member
New Win 10 Minimum requirements have been released, and the disk space is now 32GB (This is due to how Windows 10 will now be reserving disk space for updates, it's a catch 22 in order to provide for functional options to end users on how and when they choose to do feature updates)
Microsoft bumps minimum Windows 10 storage requirement to 32 Gigabytes - gHacks Tech News
So yeah, stay away from those 32GB eMMC machines going forward, and for people that have them, if possible, just save yourself the bother and get yourself a new machine, and/or turn the 32GB device into a Chromebook.
CloudReady Home Edition Free Download — Neverware
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Looks like I'll be doing that with, or selling, lil'Angel's HP Stream. It has, to be honest, been a bit shit from the get go. If I'd had anything about me I'd have returned it.
cybershot
Well-Known Member
My Mum's got one, The HP Stream's are officially supported by the CloudReady guys, I put it on her's about a year ago, and she said it's been running fine ever since. Haven't had to touch it in months.
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Cheers - that's encouraging
Riklet
procrastinación
Finally upgraded my x230 screen to an IPS panel. So much better than the TN basic one. 38 quid off ebay...
I've been sorting out Macbook Pros recently and installing SSDs for people, and I seriously think my machine blows most of them out of the water. And all for less than 300 quid. Samsung EVO 860 SSD plus a seperate mSATA SSD... it really flies. Just need to redo the thermal paste cos it's a bit noisy.
I've been sorting out Macbook Pros recently and installing SSDs for people, and I seriously think my machine blows most of them out of the water. And all for less than 300 quid. Samsung EVO 860 SSD plus a seperate mSATA SSD... it really flies. Just need to redo the thermal paste cos it's a bit noisy.
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Opinions sought please on old vs new
An older, sub £200, possibly refurbed Thinkpad from eBay, or, a new IdeaPad S130 (14") for £200, or an 11" screen from £180
For example, I could get this Thinkpad for £190. Lots of similar machines available that have been 'furbed, had Win 10 installed, can have the RAM upped, an SSD installed, some have new batteries, some don't (I would prefer a new battery tbh).
I essentially want to run Excel and Word and Scrivener [can get Office through work for a tenner using the Home Use Programme]
I reckon the older machine would have a better keyboard for doing a lot of typing. I'd be sat at a table and would probably therefore cable it to the router if I need the web.
An older, sub £200, possibly refurbed Thinkpad from eBay, or, a new IdeaPad S130 (14") for £200, or an 11" screen from £180
For example, I could get this Thinkpad for £190. Lots of similar machines available that have been 'furbed, had Win 10 installed, can have the RAM upped, an SSD installed, some have new batteries, some don't (I would prefer a new battery tbh).
I essentially want to run Excel and Word and Scrivener [can get Office through work for a tenner using the Home Use Programme]
I reckon the older machine would have a better keyboard for doing a lot of typing. I'd be sat at a table and would probably therefore cable it to the router if I need the web.
Riklet
procrastinación
Id get either a T430, X230 or X1 carbon (1st or 2nd gen) refurbed or second hand. Then fit more RAM and an SSD etc. Cheap and cheerful. IPS display is nice to have if possible. As you say, the keyboard on older ones is better. They are also excellent quality and very upgradable/repairable.
Seen lots of good deals on 2012 Macbook Pros too. If you dont mind Apple?
Seen lots of good deals on 2012 Macbook Pros too. If you dont mind Apple?
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Cheers Riklet - I have an iPad and have wondered about getting Scrivener on that, but I need (what I'll call) proper access to Word and Excel too so it kinda made sense to have it all on one machine. I generally use a Chromebook, but, whilst I can do most stuff on that, not being able to do that last 5% of 'stuff' means having to tweak stuff later on another machine or emailing it to work or someone else in a condition/format that isn't finished imho.
As for Apple, I don't mind at all - haven't used a Macbook so have no opinion. They worth it (at that age)?
I mainly worry about things failing when looking at older machines - I like warranties but realise that this costs.
I'll have a look at those models of Thinkpad on ebay - cheers - I used to have an X2?? - can't recall the exact model - 12"or so, went into a tablet mode that you could use a pen on (not a proper touch screen). Liked that keyboard a lot as I remember.
Riklet
procrastinación
Well, I'd either go for an older Macbook Pro like 2012/2013, paying 300 quid or so... and then upgrade to SSD, or get one with.
Or more likely (cheaper, easier to work on) go for an X1 off ebay. SSD, IPS panel, 8gb RAM minimum. 14 inch and looks like it's touch screen too. Great for doing proper work on. This looks like a proper bargain to me. If you don't mind a few minor scrapes, anyway!
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Good price on some refurbed ThinkpadT440S touch screen here.
Lenovo Thinkpad T440S 14" Touch Laptop Core i5 8GB RAM 1TB HDD SSD Windows 10 | eBay
I specced it up with 8GB of RAM, 240GB SSD and Win 10 home, which should suffice for most people. £245.
Lenovo Thinkpad T440S 14" Touch Laptop Core i5 8GB RAM 1TB HDD SSD Windows 10 | eBay
I specced it up with 8GB of RAM, 240GB SSD and Win 10 home, which should suffice for most people. £245.
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
Riklet
procrastinación
Thanks cybershot , I'm currently have a calm down cup of tea in a cafe near john Lewis after having a nearbuying experience with a reduced price MacBook.
This or summat similar would be much better. Back down to earth now.
If you want cheap, get a 2012 Macbook Pro off gumtree or ebay that's in decent nic... and upgrade to an ssd and 8gb ram. You can usually get one for like 250 quid and it's honestly still a good machine and even better when upgraded. Retina ones even better and nice screen too.
You cant really upgrade the 2013 onwards Macbooks sadly.... what sort of specs/price were you just looking at??
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
Don't apple stop supporting their machines after a few years though?
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
If you want cheap, get a 2012 Macbook Pro off gumtree or ebay that's in decent nic... and upgrade to an ssd and 8gb ram. You can usually get one for like 250 quid and it's honestly still a good machine and even better when upgraded. Retina ones even better and nice screen too.
You cant really upgrade the 2013 onwards Macbooks sadly.... what sort of specs/price were you just looking at??
John Lewis and Currys have had the 2018 MacBook (not Pro, not Air) reduced for a week or so now, by £366!! to £799. Spec etc here:
Apple MacBook 12", Intel Core m3, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel HD Graphics 615, Gold at John Lewis & Partners
I was in Manchester to went into the Apple Store to try one out and got talking to a bloke in there - I liked the machine a fair bit, more than the Air (2017) mainly due to the keyboard being better in my view (larger keys) despite it being an inch smaller screen. Anyway, apple store said they'd price match and had a wider range of colours available as Currys and JLewis only had Gold units available.
My Chromebook's keyboard is playing up and I was thinking about giving MacOS a go. Anyway - as I say I walked away and now JL and Currys have sold out - so my wallet is safe!
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
What's 'a few'? Fewer than Microsoft?
cybershot
Well-Known Member
The current macOS for example is supported on 2012 models minimum. So I guess you can expect to get OS updates for approx 7 years.
So if you’re looking at a 2017 model then it’s probably got about 5 years worth of updates left. You need to ask yourself if price or longevity is of greater value to you.
Unlike phones vendors can get quite twitchy about you having quite up to date versions of macOS installed to get latest versions of their software so as the Mac goes out of support so does various software within 2/3 years after that.
In general it’s orobsbly about the same as Microsoft in the fact that you’ll probably get about 10 years out of a device that’s brand new.
Although Microsoft’s model has kind of changed and windows depending on the build is only supported for approx 18 months on home systems and 30 months on enterprise/pro editions.
E.g. nothing stopping you running the release of windows 10 that first came out but you won’t see any security updates for it anymore and again no guarantee all software will work but for the most part of it works on windows 7 (which support ends for in January after 11 years) then it will work on any build of 10.
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
So, similar to Windows then insomuch that stuff will keep working when unsupported - just riskier
You take your chances I suppose.
What's pissed me off recently is the subscription model for Word. It has stopped working on my Android phone and iPad and Chromebook (the app, not the online version). It is just very much easier to format stuff in a 'proper' word processor. Google Docs is great but doesn't do it all and there are a few formatting issues when saving to another format such as docx I have found. Nothing massive - just requires doing it again which fucks me right off. I was thinking of using Pages instead. Full stop. If i hadgone Mac. Plus Scrivener too.
I may just get an old Thinkpad refurb and use old install-able M$ office or Libreor Apache Office. The x1 carbon that's been mentioned and linked to above looks great for under £300.
A n y w a y As you can see, my space bar isplaying up a bit on this Chromebook [see emboldened stuff] - still under warranty but they don't sell this model any more and I feel upgrading isn't worth it. I don't think over £500 for a Chromebook that does most things is worth it. I'd rather have a cheaper Cbook and summat else. That Cbook needs to work full and properly, though.
You take your chances I suppose.
What's pissed me off recently is the subscription model for Word. It has stopped working on my Android phone and iPad and Chromebook (the app, not the online version). It is just very much easier to format stuff in a 'proper' word processor. Google Docs is great but doesn't do it all and there are a few formatting issues when saving to another format such as docx I have found. Nothing massive - just requires doing it again which fucks me right off. I was thinking of using Pages instead. Full stop. If i hadgone Mac. Plus Scrivener too.
I may just get an old Thinkpad refurb and use old install-able M$ office or Libreor Apache Office. The x1 carbon that's been mentioned and linked to above looks great for under £300.
A n y w a y As you can see, my space bar isplaying up a bit on this Chromebook [see emboldened stuff] - still under warranty but they don't sell this model any more and I feel upgrading isn't worth it. I don't think over £500 for a Chromebook that does most things is worth it. I'd rather have a cheaper Cbook and summat else. That Cbook needs to work full and properly, though.
Macbook maybe? I am not sure you can get the new one but I prefer this kind of laptops
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Decent laptop for £170 here for basic stuff. No OS so you’ll need to install windows yourself which could see the price rise but worth a punt with a cheap key of eBay.
15.6" HP 255 G6 Laptop 1TB HDD FreeDOS Laptop
15.6" HP 255 G6 Laptop 1TB HDD FreeDOS Laptop
UnderOpenSky
baseline neural therapy
My other half has a laptop with an A6 and spinning rust. Still running 8.1. It's just grim to use. She mostly uses my desktop or Chromebook now.
Very cheap though!
Chz
Stark Raving Sane
Yeah, I mean it is a proper laptop and very cheap but things have moved on and you can get some very appealing stuff in the £3-400 range these days. Slim and light, Full HD touchscreen, SSD, far better battery life... It's well worth doubling your budget if you can afford it.
Though every once in a while someone comes in and asks for something with a CD/DVD writer - there it is!
Though every once in a while someone comes in and asks for something with a CD/DVD writer - there it is!
Throbbing Angel
this is no longer a place of honour
They've been selling this machine with FreeDos on it for ages. Depends on your needs, innit.
Riklet
procrastinación
I wouldnt waste 170 on that. Nothing special about it. much better used and refurbished options out there or decent new stuff for a bit more, as mentioned.
Also I bet it's quite big, heavy and 4 hours battery life allegedly... why bother!
I just got a Macbook Pro Retina 2013 that was a bit battered and needed some love for £160 off gumtree.. nice bit of kit now that Ive replaced the battery (groan) etc.
Also I bet it's quite big, heavy and 4 hours battery life allegedly... why bother!
I just got a Macbook Pro Retina 2013 that was a bit battered and needed some love for £160 off gumtree.. nice bit of kit now that Ive replaced the battery (groan) etc.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
Its dawned on me that when I leave this job I'll be losing my beloved 2015 macbook pro....... I have a 2012 macbook pro, but they're chunky and I'm scared of it getting knocked around for every day use as its my DJ laptop (although to be fair its been glitching mid set lately).
So I'm trying to decide if I should save up and buy a second hand model of the macbook pro I'll be losing, or go cheap and cheerful and get a non mac laptop I can chuck ubuntu on.
So I'm trying to decide if I should save up and buy a second hand model of the macbook pro I'll be losing, or go cheap and cheerful and get a non mac laptop I can chuck ubuntu on.
Libertad
Sparking up a rollie in the Reichstag
cybershot
Well-Known Member
Save. Drop a grand a bit on a new one and know it’s going to do you proud for 8 years or more which makes it a sound investment. You can get interest free loans still directly from apple store if that helps. You’ll be credit checked mind.
Abviously that’s not advice that fits in with the theme of this thread.
sim667
All aboard the 303 bus.
I think I've decided to do that, my partner has the shittiest old laptop she got free from work, but has never used, so she said I can have that and I'll stick ubuntu on it..... then i'll get something new when I've got the cash to splash. It will have to go on my list, as I want new decks, new diving kit first...... I dont *need* a new laptop, I'm just scared of not having the laptop I've had for the last five years from work.
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