New laptop spec advice

adidas

Hello all
I work for the NHS and with the coronavirus now need to consider remote consulting. I'm looking to buy a new laptop that I can use with this in my mind. I would like a good screen resolution, ability to render video consults well (not sure if I need a good graphics card), decent camera/mic and has a decent run speed. Will need to run microsoft apps - such as MS teams on it. Have 530gb free on my hard drive at the moment - so will need at least 200gb on new one - not sure if windows 10 takes a lot of space on the drive.

Current one is 9 years old, HP 700gb hdd, 8gb ram, running windows 7, i5 processor (cost about £350) - now the support has gone for updates and the screen has started flickering (gets better when bend it forward). Had a few blue screen of deaths lately so think it's on the way out. I can claim part of the cost back as a business expense so looking for something value for money (budget flexible) that will meet the above requirements. I had a look at the Dell XPS that have good spec tho seems expensive compared to what I already have.

naf123

1. always make sure you get a solid state hard drive. (SSD). it will be quick. 
2. graphics cards etc more for video games rather than simple video calls.
3. Video quality is more dependent on the SPEED of the internet - do you have laptop near router? Plug it into a ethernet socket rather than relying on wifi. So make sure new laptop has ethernet (rj45) socket.
4. Why do you need so much hard drive? 256GB to 512GB is more than enough if not storing much photos and documents and movies.
5. your current laptop has pretty good spec but  it is 9 years old putting it at high risk of failure, for example the screen is flickering -it will go eventually.

cranford

If you are happy with HP have a look at the HP Envy range.
I have had various makes of laptops and am very happy with the HP ENVY 13-aq0000na which at 13.3 inch is touch screen and very portable. £750 at Argos so you can normally get it next day https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2208721 
(£850 at Amazon today)

WaywardDriver

How portable does the computer have to be? If to be used in more than 1 location then consider 13 inch laptop (DELL XPS is Which Best Buy but expensive) with good quality external monitor and docking station for main location. If only 1 location then consider desktop with good monitor as a cheaper option.
For the purpose you describe, security seems important particularly if you want to connect into NHS networks so maybe a word with their technical staff is called for.

adidas

WaywardDriver said:

 good quality external monitor and docking station for main location

Thanks Wayward - can you explain what you mean by docking station?

WaywardDriver

adidas said:

WaywardDriver said:

 good quality external monitor and docking station for main location

Thanks Wayward - can you explain what you mean by docking station?

It's a piece of hardware with connections to various devices - mouse, external keyboard if used, external monitor, network connection, printer - which the laptop attaches to. So when you go to your main location, you simply locate the laptop into the station avoiding any need to connect numerous cables. The docking station is usually specific to the laptop model. e.g. for Dell XPS see here.

stragglebod

Have a look at Lenovo Thinkpads. They're designed for corporate use including video conferencing so should easily handle what you need. You always used to be able to get really cheap but good condition refurbished ex-corporate Thinkpads on ebay though with the recent surge in demand you have to look a bit harder. There are a range of docking stations available too.

adidas

WaywardDriver said:

adidas said:

WaywardDriver said:

 good quality external monitor and docking station for main location

Thanks Wayward - can you explain what you mean by docking station?

It's a piece of hardware with connections to various devices - mouse, external keyboard if used, external monitor, network connection, printer - which the laptop attaches to. So when you go to your main location, you simply locate the laptop into the station avoiding any need to connect numerous cables. The docking station is usually specific to the laptop model. e.g. for Dell XPS see here.

Thanks for explaining this, not heard of this before tho sounds useful, will look into it

Frozen_up_north

Most manage with a standard “office spec” laptop, typically an i5 (or AMD equivalent), 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, long battery run time, lightweight & slim, 15.6” screen. HP, Dell, Lenovo, take your pick. Cost around £500. For example, Argos item: 502/9976 (HP, £499.99)

TheRightOne

https://mcscom.co.uk/product/dell-latitude-14-5400-i5-8365u-1-60ghz-8gb-256gb-nvme-ssd-wwan-14-fhd-touchscreen-win-10-pro-1yr-rtb-wty-mll204/

Full HD Touchscreen
4G WWAN Card
USB Type C™ 3.1 Gen 2
Backlit keyboard
Windows 10 Pro