Is the laptop worth buying?

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HappyHippyDad

HappyHippyDad

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This is kind of electrical, so I hope it's ok in this section. Apologies @westward10 if not, I'm sure it will be moved very quickly :)

My laptop has had it's day. There is such a huge range of laptops out there that I am getting overloaded. Also, I don't understand half of the spec. AMD athlov vs ryzen 7 ??!! Intel i3??!! No idea which is better or what it really means.

basically, I want a laptop that can handle web browsing and writing up certificates on a pdf, that's it. Is this reasonably priced laptop worth buying... https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3110973?istCompanyId=a74d8886-5df9-4baa-b776-166b3bf9111c&istFeedId=30f62ea9-9626-4cac-97c8-9ff3921f8558&istItemId=rrmatraqw&istBid=t&&cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157|acid:804-627-9544|cid:20264799336|agid:|tid:|crid:|nw:x|rnd:7182686531165566896|dvc:c|adp:|mt:|loc:9045578&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20264799336&utm_term=3110973&utm_content=shopping&utm_custom1=&utm_custom2=804-627-9544&GPDP=true&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtamlBhD3ARIsAARoaExC4aiXOoZ8bgZUUybTpf7DNMZOS_DaXRiSWabRqGsoNRbA9fB9moAaAs26EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks all.
 
I've bought one of these a couple of months back for the same purpose, has so far survived being thrown around in the van and has saved me so much time filling out paperwork on site. its refurbished but they were several thousands new so great value. Battery life has been more than enough and it boots up really quickly and has virtually no moving parts...touchscreen too on the model I have so filling in certs is a breeze..

www.ebay.co.uk

Panasonic Toughbook CF54 Mk2 Rugged Laptop 16 GB 1Tb SSD Win 10 Or 11 Pro Touch | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Panasonic Toughbook CF54 Mk2 Rugged Laptop 16 GB 1Tb SSD Win 10 Or 11 Pro Touch at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.
www.ebay.co.uk
 
I normally buy in the £300 range for my work laptops, keep them about 5 years
 
rewireIT said:
Honestly if that's all you want it for, get a used Lenovo Thinkpad on ebay.

Personally i'd wipe Window$ off it and put Linux on it because i don't like being spied on by my equipment, but each to their own.
Click to expand...
I'm writing this on exactly that (my personal machine not used for work but my previous work laptop was also a used Thinkpad) and have been flirting with Linux on another old laptop.
As you probably know, they are nearly all time expired commercial contract machines as are the Toughbooks and often have had a fairly easy life and were very well built in the first place unlike the budget new laptops available like the one linked by the OP
 
grumpyjohn01 said:
I'm writing this on exactly that (my personal machine not used for work but my previous work laptop was also a used Thinkpad) and have been flirting with Linux on another old laptop.
As you probably know, they are nearly all time expired commercial contract machines as are the Toughbooks and often have had a fairly easy life and were very well built in the first place unlike the budget new laptops available like the one linked by the OP
Click to expand...
Yep, i'm writing this on an ex business Lenovo X250 which is 5 years old and still going strong. Running Fedora.

My other laptop is a 2013 X1 Carbon ex business, running Arch linux and it runs like a new machine. I use it for surfing the internet, reading emails, that's about it. The X1 Carbon i once dropped down the stairs and the only thing that got damaged was my wooden floor.
 
@HappyHippyDad
This laptop will comfortably do what you need and little bit more. Is it reasonably priced, probably is, considering you will have some warranty with it, and you can be sure battery will be 100% unlike with used laptops, also you will be sure how much crumb, coffe and all sort of saliva was spilled on that brand new laptop compared to used one. Since your tasks does not demand powerfull hardware i would focus on the screen as that's what you will be looking at all the time
 
kropaske said:
@HappyHippyDad
This laptop will comfortably do what you need and little bit more. Is it reasonably priced, probably is, considering you will have some warranty with it, and you can be sure battery will be 100% unlike with used laptops, also you will be sure how much crumb, coffe and all sort of saliva was spilled on that brand new laptop compared to used one. Since your tasks does not demand powerfull hardware i would focus on the screen as that's what you will be looking at all the time
Click to expand...
A lot of the Thinkpads actually have a coffee drain built in...just saying..
 
That Argos laptop linked by @HappyHippyDad is basic but adequate for most things. The screen looks decent, but it won't be fast (dual core CPU) and 128GB of storage is not a lot once Windows bloats up with updates and whatever gets installed. But for limited use for work it should be fine.

If you think RFC versus Radial gets "religious" just don't get started on operating system choices !

I also run Linux on most machines for all sorts of reasons, but a lot of my work-related software is also on that OS so it makes sense for me. If you use web-browser based applications like electraform.co.uk for certificates, or Zoom or Teams using a chromium-based web browser, it works on practically any system so no issues. Also there are free alternatives to MS Office such as LibreOffice that are good enough for most things and Thunderbird as an email client is cross-platform (available Apple, Linux, Windows) and subject to far less security issues than Outlook.

But there are cases when you need Windows-only software, either some special utility for poking a UPS settings, or you have existing certificate software, or you use features of Word/Excel/etc that are not duplicated (or as easy to use) and so on. In these cases you need Windows in some way so your choices are:
  • Use a laptop as-supplied with Windows (easy)
  • Dual-boot a laptop so you can select either Windows or Linux when starting (requires effort to set up, but more importantly you need a decent sized disk such as 512GB to make it viable long-term)
  • Run a Windows virtual machine (VM) inside Linux (again effort & space, more so plenty of RAM, but you can do both OS at once)
The VM option also allows Windows on Apple computers, etc, but I am guessing few here want the cost / liability of that kicking around their van!
 
Been using desktops and laptops for over 30 years, used to build my own in the good old days, now i buy custom made ones now. I have a very short fuse when it comes to slow computers, what does not appear to have changed is the pathetic amount of RAM installed which just about runs on day one but try and do some real work and it immediately goes into virtual RAM mode (using the HD) which is painful to even work with. Its like asking your mate / apprentice to get a screwdriver from the van and waiting 20 minutes before it arrives.. lol
I have two - a Lenovo P14S custom build by Lenovo 4 cores, 2.8Ghz, 32G Ram, its currently using 12G just sitting here, running win10 - Gen purpose, run business on it.
Second is a proper custom build 12 Cores, 3.2Ghz, 64G ram (runs win10 OS and about 8 Vms) its really light and use it for field work. (PCSpecialists.co.uk)

Seriously would not even both with an 8G RAM machine running win10 or 11 unless you have a gun handy to shoot yourself in the head when you try and open quickbooks :)
 
Screenshot 2023-07-10 174927.png
 
I bought the laptop...... It is painfully slow! I am taking it back.

Could I ask if this one will be quicker (see link bbelow)? Or, if anyone has a recommendation for a laptop around the £500 mark that is speedy. I don't really understand chrome books, ipads, tough pad etc etc, so want to stick with laptop, as i am familiar with the layout, controls etc. I'll pop in a cheeky link to you @pc1966 as you were spot on with your foresight about the speed of the original one. Will this one be faster?


It does get confusing! The above laptop has 16GB RAM and is £500 (approx). The laptop below (swift 3) has 8GB RAM and is 50% more expensive??!!

 
If I was in the position of wanting a laptop at that price point (which admittedly I'm not), this is probably the sort of thing I'd go for.

Downside is plastic chassis and hinges, but treated with manners there's no reason why you shouldn't get many years of use from it.

RAM might not seem impressive, but combined with the installed processor it'll boot in seconds and handle much more than you're likely to ask of it. Strip out unnecessary bloatware, block all but essential browser scripts and you should be good.

Linux would be better again, but I assume you'd like something that just works from the box.

 
HappyHippyDad said:
I bought the laptop...... It is painfully slow! I am taking it back.

Could I ask if this one will be quicker (see link bbelow)? Or, if anyone has a recommendation for a laptop around the £500 mark that is speedy. I don't really understand chrome books, ipads, tough pad etc etc, so want to stick with laptop, as i am familiar with the layout, controls etc. I'll pop in a cheeky link to you @pc1966 as you were spot on with your foresight about the speed of the original one. Will this one be faster?


It does get confusing! The above laptop has 16GB RAM and is £500 (approx). The laptop below (swift 3) has 8GB RAM and is 50% more expensive??!!

Click to expand...
The Acer Aspire 3 in your first link has a better processor, a bigger SSD, more memory, and a bigger screen. That's the one I would go for between these two and the one recommended by nicebutdim.
 
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