Laptop purchase advice needed

jbreckmckye

I'm going to be really blunt, because I think some posters here, despite being well-meaning, are going to make you spend a lot of money on something you don't actually want.

drew2k9 wrote: »

Why not try a netbook?

In practice, lots of reasons. Poor performance, even when just surfing, poor build quality, overheating, typically high price thanks to their SSDs. I have seen some low-cost machines, but they've always been a nightmare to work with. You may have had better experiences, though.

moonpie wrote: »

Given your level of knowledge and requirements an Ipad seems to be the best choice. Apples user interface is second to none and can be used quite easily by all experience levels.

iPads are expensive and have limited functionality. The UI, no matter how streamlined, has to be relearned. Blunt, but I think it's fair.

Surfing the internet - can be done on an iPad, and in many ways, is actually better on an iPad (and in some ways, worse);
Wordpad - just because it isn't called Wordpad (or isn't made by Microsoft) doesn't mean there aren't alternatives. Pages on the iPad could most likely do everything the poster requires it to do.

The lack of keyboard cripples it. I don't care how good the touchscreen is, you can't comfortably write much more than a paragraph without a physical keyboard. Bold thing to say, but I'll stick by it. Mind you, laptop keyboards aren't that great either.

If the machine you have is completely unserviceable, then you might reluctantly buy something else (notice I didn't say 'new'). It depends on what you want with your machine. I've some questions:

• Do you want to work on the move? Or will your machine sit at home?
• Do you really feel you need a laptop? They are typically more expensive, and harder to repair than desktop PCs.
• Will you be surfing the internet on this machine?
• Will you be writing documents on this machine?
• Will you be playing films or media on this machine?
• Are you happy going for a cheaper machine that only supports your current activities?
• Will you be using wireless internet? Will you need to use peripherals like MP3 players and printers?
• Do you want a machine that is low maintenance?
• Are any of your friends or family looking to get a new machine? Could they be willing to resell their old laptops to you?

whiskeygalore

jbreckmckye wrote: »

I'm going to be really blunt, because I think some posters here, despite being well-meaning, are going to make you spend a lot of money on something you don't actually want.



In practice, lots of reasons. Poor performance, even when just surfing, poor build quality, overheating, typically high price thanks to their SSDs. I have seen some low-cost machines, but they've always been a nightmare to work with. You may have had better experiences, though.



iPads are expensive and have limited functionality. The UI, no matter how streamlined, has to be relearned. Blunt, but I think it's fair.



The lack of keyboard cripples it. I don't care how good the touchscreen is, you can't comfortably write much more than a paragraph without a physical keyboard. Bold thing to say, but I'll stick by it. Mind you, laptop keyboards aren't that great either.

If the machine you have is completely unserviceable, then you might reluctantly buy something else (notice I didn't say 'new'). It depends on what you want with your machine. I've some questions:

• Do you want to work on the move? Or will your machine sit at home?
• Do you really feel you need a laptop? They are typically more expensive, and harder to repair than desktop PCs.
• Will you be surfing the internet on this machine?
• Will you be writing documents on this machine?
• Will you be playing films or media on this machine?
• Are you happy going for a cheaper machine that only supports your current activities?
• Will you be using wireless internet? Will you need to use peripherals like MP3 players and printers?
• Do you want a machine that is low maintenance?
• Are any of your friends or family looking to get a new machine? Could they be willing to resell their old laptops to you?

Hi Thanks, it is my wife who likes the laptop I personally detest it, I use a desktop, as regards above the laptop never leaves our home she uses it for writing documents and printing same surfing the net and playing games like suduto etc my desktop is hard wired while the laptop is wireless she does not use it for watching films.
As my wife enjoys her laptop I feel obliged to get a replacement ( a happy/content wife makes a happy home) I ideally would not like to spend any more than £350 hopefully less for a reasonable laptop.I am totally confused withh all the different processors 3i, 5i,dualcore,pentium,etc.

many thanks
mervyn

whiskeygalore

tonynw wrote: »

moving the power supply SHOULD NOT SHUT THE MACHINE DOWN you have a faulty power supply or a faulty dc jack socket on the laptop, if the plug is faulty on the power supply you can get a good replacement for about £25 but if the socket on the laptop is faulty ( is it loose ) then it is not worth doing on a 5 year old machine.

battery with a 12 month warranty would be about £55 depending on model it might even be a bit less.

1 thing with dell batterys the do suffer with internal contact problems 1 thing that works some times, if you take the battery out and bang it flat on a hard surface it does some times bring the thing back to life i have been sucsessfull on a couple doing this.


tonynw

Hi Thanks
Thats my problem got a new jack installed and bought a new power pack still cuts out will try banging the battery a few times nothing to loose.

thanks mervyn