Elderly relative has asked me to buy a new laptop - help!

EveryWhere

I think that no one should buy a 'new' laptop these days if it does not have a solid state drive. Though certainly not an eMMC.

Advice on the Tech forum should go beyond using a price filter at Argos.

The relative wants things to happen quickly, even if his needs are simple. That means SSD.

EveryWhere

Cisco001 wrote: »

Lenovo IdeaPad 330S 81FB00DCUK Laptop, AMD Ryzen R3 Processor, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, 15.6", Platinum Grey
John Lewis

https://www.johnlewis.com/lenovo-ideapad-330s-81fb00dcuk-laptop-amd-ryzen-r3-processor-4gb-ram-128gb-ssd-15-6-inch-platinum-grey/p4005388

Lenovo IdeaPad 330s 15.6 Inch Ryzen 3 4GB 1TB Laptop - Grey864/8945
Argos

Fit the criteria of bricks and mortar. Though the first has standard HD screen and the second has the same screen and no SSD.

Link for specification; https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8648945

Whilst they fit the criteria, I wouldn't.

Better to just refurb the device that he has now, if it has a dual core CPU. For perhaps £30, than to spend £300 on a substandard device.

stanleyman

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

A couple of things to clarify - I appreciate that his current laptop could be refurbed/upgraded, but to be honest he just wants to buy something off the shelf which will give him what he needs instantly. It might be an interesting project for someone, but not really in this case.

He's all about a quiet life, so would happily spend money to avoid any hassle. I appreciate that's not really in the spirit of this forum, but I was posting for techy help rather than moneysaving help.

The online vs bricks & mortar thing is his personal preference, and isn't necessarily logical. It's partly because he doesn't trust delivery companies not to drop it (even though the Argos driver could have dropped it on his way to the store), partly because he feels his money is not supporting the local economy (too many local stores, including branches of national companies, shutting down because of online shopping) and partly because he's impatient so he doesn't want to wait for delivery (but is happy to wait for a store to get a product from head office - again, not logical). Not necessarily the best way to shop, but he's in his 80s and is not going to change now. I'm just trying to make this as easy as possible for me and him.

Ultimately my question is just what do I need to look out for when comparing laptops. EveryWhere's reply about SSD is great, that's exactly what I needed. If there's anything else I should keep an eye out for (eg processor?) then it'd be appreciated.

EveryWhere

stanleyman wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

A couple of things to clarify - I appreciate that his current laptop could be refurbed/upgraded, but to be honest he just wants to buy something off the shelf which will give him what he needs instantly. It might be an interesting project for someone, but not really in this case.

He's all about a quiet life, so would happily spend money to avoid any hassle. I appreciate that's not really in the spirit of this forum, but I was posting for techy help rather than moneysaving help.

The online vs bricks & mortar thing is his personal preference, and isn't necessarily logical. It's partly because he doesn't trust delivery companies not to drop it (even though the Argos driver could have dropped it on his way to the store), partly because he feels his money is not supporting the local economy (too many local stores, including branches of national companies, shutting down because of online shopping) and partly because he's impatient so he doesn't want to wait for delivery (but is happy to wait for a store to get a product from head office - again, not logical). Not necessarily the best way to shop, but he's in his 80s and is not going to change now. I'm just trying to make this as easy as possible for me and him.

Ultimately my question is just what do I need to look out for when comparing laptops. EveryWhere's reply about SSD is great, that's exactly what I needed. If there's anything else I should keep an eye out for (eg processor?) then it'd be appreciated.

The only one that fits most of the criteria is Cisco001's John Lewis choice. but that isn't local either.

I was rather expecting you to do the upgrade for him. After all, what's the point of having younger relatives?

If you come back with the model number, we'll know if the choice will be any better than what he has now.
That Argos device that I critiqued, is not better than my ten year old Toshiba laptop. In fact my ten year old laptop is better, as it has an SSD fitted.

Argos and Currys also sell online, so what has local store to do with it?

The difference with buying online, it that you have more protection. Any problem on delivery or within a reasonable time and you can return it for a full refund.
Try doing that with a machine bought off the shelf at Currys.

This is why he should take some advice or just learn from his own mistakes.

Trains

This one: https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8791201

No dvd player, but ok specs and SSD.

Only 128GB storage but i bet he doesn't need all that.

4GB Ram.


Lenovo IdeaPad 330S 15.6 Inch AMD A6 4GB 128GB Laptop - Grey

£299



AMD A6 9225 processor.
Dual core processor.
2.6GHz processor speed.
4GB RAM DDR4.
128GB SSD storage.
Microsoft Windows 10 S.

15.6 inch screen.
High definition display.
Resolution 1366 x 768 pixels.
Up to 5 hours battery life.

AMD Radeon R4 .
Shared graphics card.

4-in-1 media card reader.
2 USB 3.1 ports.
1 USB Type-C port.
1 HDMI port.
Bluetooth.
Wi-Fi enabled.

Built-in webcam.
Built-in mic.
HD Audio sound system.

spadoosh

EveryWhere wrote: »

Do you think that the OP is incapable of using the price filter? What a ridiculous and insulting post.

Are you happy to recommend a device with specification such as this to someone?



There are no stipulations imposed unless you allow yourself to be corralled by them.
I think it best you stay away from the Techie forum if that is what you have to offer

I think its insulting to go outside the remit of what is very clearly displayed.

I dont know the capabilities of the OP.

Perfectly happy to recommend such a specification for the deatils provided by the OP, why what do you think isnt going to work?

I tend to avoid the techy forums. As usual within them people get all hett up with optimal specifications and value for money instead of actually answering the questions posed.

The OP has said a lot of times now that those are the limits. Youre welcome to keep offering something that the OP doesnt want by all means, i have to wonder how helpful that is though.

My link gave 4 laptops that are capable of doing exactly what the OP asked for. And your butt hurt because i wont corall them in to something theyve expressly stated they dont want. Ok fair enough.

Fact is OP spends £300 on pretty much any new laptop in a shop that has the appropriate screen size and it will be capable of shopping online, email and using excel and word.

Feel free to keep badgering the OP to go for a recon laptop though even though theyve told you specifically several times they want a new machine.

Youre right maybe i shouldnt stick around the tech boards if the idea of them is to convince people to go for things theyve stated they dont want.

Frozen_up_north

There are “slow as an old dog” new laptops from the likes of Argos for around £300. Yes they will suffice for spreadsheets and word processing, but like others suggested, a good 2nd user business grade laptop for the same money (and in some cases the same warranty) can really fly.

For example my OH had a company supplied Thinkpad that was feather light, ran 9 hours on a charge and booted in a few seconds. The only gripe was the trackpad, but you would get used to it, or buy a mouse to solve that.

An example is eBay item: 222681737713
The above included Win 10 Pro, which can encrypt the whole drive using Bitlocker... assuming the person doing work for the charity cares about data protection on a stolen/lost laptop.

EveryWhere

This is the kind of spec that would make for a super snappy device;



Also this would be acceptable if the screen size was suitable. https://mcscom.co.uk/product/dell-latitude-3480-i3-7100u-2-40ghz-8gb-128gb-ssd-14-fhd-win-10-pro-1yr-rtb-wty-mll591/ The CPU is acceptable and it has a solid state drive fitted. So it should be fast out of the box.
Also has a Full HD screen.

So you have ideas about the spec. But you'd be hard pushed to find the same new at anywhere near that price.
The closest is what Cisco001 has posted. Lenovo have the Full HD version with IPS screen for £30 more; https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/ideapad/300-series/Ideapad-330S-15-AMD/p/88IP30S0992

EveryWhere

spadoosh wrote: »

I think its insulting to go outside the remit of what is very clearly displayed.

I dont know the capabilities of the OP.

Perfectly happy to recommend such a specification for the deatils provided by the OP, why what do you think isnt going to work?

I tend to avoid the techy forums. As usual within them people get all hett up with optimal specifications and value for money instead of actually answering the questions posed.

The OP has said a lot of times now that those are the limits. Youre welcome to keep offering something that the OP doesnt want by all means, i have to wonder how helpful that is though.

My link gave 4 laptops that are capable of doing exactly what the OP asked for. And your butt hurt because i wont corall them in to something theyve expressly stated they dont want. Ok fair enough.

Fact is OP spends £300 on pretty much any new laptop in a shop that has the appropriate screen size and it will be capable of shopping online, email and using excel and word.

Feel free to keep badgering the OP to go for a recon laptop though even though theyve told you specifically several times they want a new machine.

Youre right maybe i shouldnt stick around the tech boards if the idea of them is to convince people to go for things theyve stated they dont want.

Missing you already. Best you stay away if you don't have a clue.
Some of us still have some integrity and refuse to push people towards crud. You obviously don't care.

spadoosh

EveryWhere wrote: »

This is the kind of spec that would make for a super snappy device;



Also this would be acceptable if the screen size was suitable. https://mcscom.co.uk/product/dell-latitude-3480-i3-7100u-2-40ghz-8gb-128gb-ssd-14-fhd-win-10-pro-1yr-rtb-wty-mll591/ The CPU is acceptable and it has a solid state drive fitted. So it should be fast out of the box.
Also has a Full HD screen.

So you have ideas about the spec. But you'd be hard pushed to find the same new at anywhere near that price.
The closest is what Cisco001 has posted. Lenovo have the Full HD version with IPS screen for £30 more; https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/ideapad/300-series/Ideapad-330S-15-AMD/p/88IP30S0992

Just in case you missed it, theyre both recon laptops. The op doesnt want a recon laptop.