Help me choose a laptop please.

waveydavey48

Hi, our chromebook is dying after 4 years good service. 

We would be happy with another except I would like to be able to load my CD's onto a computer so I can transfer them onto an MP3 player. That's not possible with a chromebook I believe, so I guess I need a laptop with disc drive (I'm not interested in streaming services). 

Won't be used for gaming or anything "advanced", just want say 15" screen, decent build quality, reasonable speed and able to do basics like online banking etc. Hoping to spend around £500 as we don't need anything fancy. Thanks.   

Any advice gratefully received.

Dave

Neil_Jones

The lack of CD ripping is a limitation of chrome OS.

Many Windows laptops do not come with CD units now.  Where they do is at a higher price point.  It will probably be cheaper to buy a standard one without a drive and purchase a USB unit later.

waveydavey48

Neil_Jones said:

The lack of CD ripping is a limitation of chrome OS.

Many Windows laptops do not come with CD units now.  Where they do is at a higher price point.  It will probably be cheaper to buy a standard one without a drive and purchase a USB unit later.

Thanks Neil, something like this? 

 https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components--upgrades/cd-dvd-and-blu-ray-drives/cd-dvd--blu-ray-drives/sandstrom-ultra-slim-sedvdbk22-external-cd/dvd-writer-black-10227258-pdt.html

Any recommendations on laptop to go with it please?

Dave

Withbellson

If you have a ChromeBook, then you have relatively low expectations. £500 will get you something fancy.

Narrow your choices by deciding on what is important. If you like viewing photos and videos on the laptop, then it might be worth paying for a good screen; high resolution with good colour reproduction.

If you aren't interested in anything like that, then there is no need to spend as much as £500.

Think about how you will use it and let that guide you. For instance, if the laptop may be used outside, on the balcony, in the garden... anywhere that might get bright sunlight, you might want a laptop with a brighter screen, say 300 nit, as opposed to the 220 to 250 nit we see at the lower end.

Sound? Do you want one with good sound for listening to your CDs or will you use external speakers? Think and then add some more criteria to your post. Otherwise you'll just get any old iron.
This part of the forum is falling apart as it is. Techie? Not any more

waveydavey48

Thanks for those helpful posts folks.

I will check out other forums but would still welcome any recommendations. As regards my requirements, I just need reliability, reasonable processing speed, and minimum 14" screen. I'm not into gaming, don't need a particularly bright screen, not bothered about sound quality, just a decent all-rounder really.

Would this external disc drive allow me to transfer my cd's to mp3 (via laptop of course)?  https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/components--upgrades/cd-dvd-and-blu-ray-drives/cd-dvd--blu-ray-drives/sandstrom-ultra-slim-sedvdbk22-external-cd/dvd-writer-black-10227258-pdt.html

Thanks again.

Dave

   

Withbellson

No one can tell whether a new model is going to be reliable or not. Maybe you can spend some of your budget on an extended warranty.

£500 moves you into a kind of mid-priced category with a more 'premium' feel. Aluminium body for example. 
There's just too much out there to recommend a particular model. The only recommendations one can make are bang for buck for your budget. 
To narrow it down a bit, look at; https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/laptop and tell us what you like there.

Withbellson

If you don't mind a customer return with a twelve month warranty; this; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194536734974 is what you get for £340 these days.
Since you have a ChromeBook, you obviously have little need for a lot on onboard storage.

That should cover the basics.

Though don't forget little things like a Backlit keyboard. Try to think of everything you might want before making a decision.