Recommendations for a new lap top (1 Viewer)

[The Wino]

Sounds to me like you're better off buying in Spain how long are you over here for?

 

[Minxy]

Example of stickers

Spanish Español Castilian Opaque White Background Keyboard Stickers Labels | eBay

Our large range of keyboard stickers are designed to be applied on the keys of any keyboard to help change the language. For example, a German laptop keyboard can be easily changed to British by applying the English language stickers on the surface of each key and changing the computer settings.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[dna]

I have had a number of Dell laptops over the years - Ive upgraded to a newer one every so often and the previous ones have been handed on to family members.

Ive bought from the Dell Outlet with no problems - some bargains to be had there but as mentioned previously you need to be careful in understanding their grading system. Dell has a spanish website so presumably machines on there are configured with spanish keyboards! As I can't read Spanish, Ive not been able to compare prices between that and the UK site.

By the way, almost all laptops should be treated as sealed units - no user changeable parts. That probably wont bother you but can frustrate people like me who tinker with computers. A consequence of this is that some laptops can be difficult to get repaired due to a lack of spare parts.

 

[jerryz]

Not entirely true

Yes but limited to what they can do without internet and smaller memory

 

[jerryz]

I avoid Acer they are weak construction,HP are good but parts are very overpriced , Dell OK ASUS OK but my go to make is Lenovo ,,

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[Silver-Fox]

I like Apple products so that would be my recommendation.

They seem to go on forever.

Watch now that will be the death call for my Mac

 

[gus-lopez]

Sounds to me like you're better off buying in Spain how long are you over here for?

Yes I will be buying in spain. Gone now . Thanks to all especially for the amazon refurbs link. wife came up with some good offers on there.
On my original asus it was the keyboard that packed up from 4>7 diagonally down to the bottom. worn out.Last cheapie was ok but motherboard fried itself.

 

[Minxy]

On my original asus it was the keyboard that packed up from 4>7 diagonally down to the bottom. worn out.Last cheapie was ok but motherboard fried itself.

You need to stop hammering it when posting about annihilating people etc.

 

[Silver-Fox]

You need to stop hammering it when posting about annihilating people etc.

Maybe it’s got a built in nuke device

 

[Jon Stewart]

Yes but limited to what they can do without internet and smaller memory

What can't you do when not connected to the internet? I can't think of anything I can't do with mine, but I'm open to you enlightening me.

What can't you do with 16gb of memory, when you have an operating system that requires very little memory (unlike Windows)?

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[Jon Stewart]

I like Apple products so that would be my recommendation.

They seem to go on forever.

Watch now that will be the death call for my Mac

Doubt it!

My 2014 MBP 15 retina daily driver only needed a new battery last year.

(The slightly amusing story is that the bottom left of the trackpad was getting difficult to click.

Ordered new trackpad, removed case screws on one side to see the back panel pop up!

Trackpad fine. Battery was like a cushion! Dangerous!)

 

[jerryz]

What can't you do when not connected to the internet? I can't think of anything I can't do with mine, but I'm open to you enlightening me.

What can't you do with 16gb of memory, when you have an operating system that requires very little memory (unlike Windows)?

I tried a Chromebook but it was too limited for the tasks and programs i needed , especially when no internet offshore and i needed a big Harddrive /SSD memory for all the data etc

 

[Jon Stewart]

I tried a Chromebook but it was too limited for the tasks and programs i needed , especially when no internet offshore and i needed a big Harddrive /SSD memory for all the data etc

You're confusing memory with storage space.

Simple to fix, if you were happy with an external SSD.

You still haven't given me examples of 'tasks and programs' that can't be used when not connected to the internet (which was your original assertion).

I completely agree that many of the windows/Mac programs commonly used require the use of alternatives for chromeOS (or android, or Linux... You did see my post where I pointed out you can install and run Linux on newer chromebooks?)

Happy to have an amicable difference in this, btw!

(Life's too short, and the sun is actually out!)

Have a nice day.

 

[gus-lopez]

Thanks to all especially those recommending refurbs. Ordered an HP elitebook 840 8GB 256ssd with windows 10 pro installed. through amazon from a Portugese seller. comes with 2 year guarantee. ordered monday am for delivery between 16th & 21st. 213€
arrived yesterday using a 3rd party carrier. can't complain works perfectly & is as described ,excellent. So thanks to all again

 

[The Wino]

Thanks to all especially those recommending refurbs. Ordered an HP elitebook 840 8GB 256ssd with windows 10 pro installed. through amazon from a Portugese seller. comes with 2 year guarantee. ordered monday am for delivery between 16th & 21st. 213€
arrived yesterday using a 3rd party carrier. can't complain works perfectly & is as described ,excellent. So thanks to all again

If it does the job why pay more!

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[Gellyneck]

Thanks to all especially those recommending refurbs. Ordered an HP elitebook 840 8GB 256ssd with windows 10 pro installed. through amazon from a Portugese seller. comes with 2 year guarantee. ordered monday am for delivery between 16th & 21st. 213€
arrived yesterday using a 3rd party carrier. can't complain works perfectly & is as described ,excellent. So thanks to all again

One thing you'll need to think about is MS will stop supporting Win 10 soon, from memory, next year but cross that bridge when you come to it.

 

[jerryz]

Windows 11 is also even worse than window 10 ,,,as per the usual Microsoft rollout so they can retain their revenue stream into the next decade ....

 

[gus-lopez]

One thing you'll need to think about is MS will stop supporting Win 10 soon, from memory, next year but cross that bridge when you come to it.

sure this said it was ok for 11?

 

[Gellyneck]

sure this said it was ok for 11?

But will you have to pay to upgrade!
As I said wait and see and we'll get you loving Linux;

 

[barryd]

But will you have to pay to upgrade!
As I said wait and see and we'll get you loving Linux;

Don't think the op will have to pay. As long as it's compatible they can upgrade now or when they feel like it. W11 seems pretty stable to me now but as said earlier I always recommend the pro versions rather than home but you will only be able to upgrade like for like. As long as it's not ancient it should be fine. It's easy to check in updates.

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[Gellyneck]

Don't think the op will have to pay. As long as it's compatible they can upgrade now or when they feel like it. W11 seems pretty stable to me now but as said earlier I always recommend the pro versions rather than home but you will only be able to upgrade like for like. As long as it's not ancient it should be fine. It's easy to check in updates.

Upgrade would have to be via media creation route currently?
Not sure they will give a Windows update route when support ends?

 

[Folkranger]

Lap top has died whilst in the UK.
What would people recommend for a replacement ? I basically only use for web browsing, you tube, emails,occasional translating .Been using windows 10 on old one.
What is the difference between a lap top on android/windows & a chrome book?
Only thing fixed is that it must have a Spanish keyboard.
Thanks in advance

Based on your usage a tablet would be adequate and has many be efits over a laptop. You can get these with keyboard/stand covers. We have one each and use them for everything and no longer use the TV.

 

[Willieboy]

I have specified the laptops for our club for a few years and have found the Asus Vivobooks to be great value and fast etc. Last one was £469 for an i5 16GB and 512GB SSD

Another thumbs up for an ASUS VivoBook 16X Laptop, AMD Ryzen 7 Processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB . I've never had a lap top boot up so quickly, it boots up in less than 20 seconds from putting in my password. Very pleased with it

 

[jerryz]

Another thumbs up for an ASUS VivoBook 16X Laptop, AMD Ryzen 7 Processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB . I've never had a lap top boot up so quickly, it boots up in less than 20 seconds from putting in my password. Very pleased with it

Asus make great laptops

 

[barryd]

Upgrade would have to be via media creation route currently?
Not sure they will give a Windows update route when support ends?

If it comes up as an available update you can just go ahead and do it. No need to wait until it's no longer supported and even then there is usually still a way to do it. They said the W10 update would not be free once w7 was out of support but it always was. Still is!

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[Jon Stewart]

sure this said it was ok for 11?

Originally, Microsoft had a spec list and and a requirement for a TPM module, but they dropped that when very few people upgraded to Windows 11.

If your Win 10 is 'official' (aka legal!), you should be able to download an official copy of win 11 if you can't directly update from settings.

I've upgraded my 10 year old desktop (which wasn't compatible) by creating the correct installer on a thumbdrive using (think it was ) media creator tool (it might have been RUFUS).

The only concern I have with yours is the 8Gb memory. That's a bit of a struggle when you start having processes that run all the time.

As for Win 11, I find it marginally faster on some things, but not significantly so.

(I run both Windows 10 and Windows 11 through an (Oracle) Virtualbox as guest on an Ubuntu Budgie system.

I swear windows 11 runs faster virtually, than on its separate partition! (Except for gaming and Photoshop, of course, which are significantly graphically intensive, so don't do well on virtualization)

 

[gus-lopez]

Originally, Microsoft had a spec list and and a requirement for a TPM module, but they dropped that when very few people upgraded to Windows 11.

If your Win 10 is 'official' (aka legal!), you should be able to download an official copy of win 11 if you can't directly update from settings.

I've upgraded my 10 year old desktop (which wasn't compatible) by creating the correct installer on a thumbdrive using (think it was ) media creator tool (it might have been RUFUS).

The only concern I have with yours is the 8Gb memory. That's a bit of a struggle when you start having processes that run all the time.

As for Win 11, I find it marginally faster on some things, but not significantly so.

(I run both Windows 10 and Windows 11 through an (Oracle) Virtualbox as guest on an Ubuntu Budgie system.

I swear windows 11 runs faster virtually, than on its separate partition! (Except for gaming and Photoshop, of course, which are significantly graphically intensive, so don't do well on virtualization)

Having looked it states mine cannot be done until I sort the TPM + the processor is not of the correct type?

 

[Jon Stewart]

Having looked it states mine cannot be done until I sort the TPM + the processor is not of the correct type?

It's not the processor. It's a separate hardware module on the motherboard to stop people using 'unpaid for' copies of win 11. (Theoretically, it's to maintain the integrity of the system- I mean, this is Windows were talking about!)

The easiest way around it is to download an official iso from Microsoft

Download Windows 11

Note: download the iso, not the windows media creation tool version!

I used a different program/method, but you'll see win boot mate mentioned in the following.

Help Needed: Install Windows 11 Without TPM on My PC

I am trying to upgrade my Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 as Microsoft asks me to do that from time to time. I downloaded the Windows 11 Installation Assistance..

techcommunity.microsoft.com

When installed and working, make sure you have a comprehensive antivirus and anti malware software installed. Is Comodo Internet Security still free?

(I use Linux, so not au fait with current state of windows software. Have my win11 running in a Virtualbox which simulates TPM)

Edit: sorry for repeating myself.

 

[Mohawk Mo]

Not being techy, can anyone recommend a tablet? I'm happy with my Samsung Galaxy phone and have been looking at tablets but Samsung have so many versions it means nothing to me. Don't mind new or second hand and looked at CeX as suggested by Pukka they seem fine for what I need, watching films, Internet, photo storage, but no idea what I should look for. Any suggestions welcomed

 

[MichaelT]

Not being techy, can anyone recommend a tablet? I'm happy with my Samsung Galaxy phone and have been looking at tablets but Samsung have so many versions it means nothing to me. Don't mind new or second hand and looked at CeX as suggested by Pukka they seem fine for what I need, watching films, Internet, photo storage, but no idea what I should look for. Any suggestions welcomed

We have galaxy tab 6 lites

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