Buying my first laptop

Minxy · 18 Jul 2020 at 08:07

The time has come that I’ve decided I need my own laptop and so we are going looking this weekend and I was hoping you might be able to offer some handy hints on what to look for or stay away from

I’m not someone who spends hours on a laptop. It needs to do a few simple tasks so it doesn’t need to be all singing all dancing. I want to be able to log into my email and get a full webpage rather than a mobile version. I want to be able to view my email and banking safely and I want to be able to keep a few photographs and files on it.

Any suggestions on an antivirus would be good as well please. I’m a complete novice. I have a work laptop but obviously the company have access to that so it’s time to get my own.

All help gratefully received as I’m a complete novice.
Thanks

paradigm · 18 Jul 2020 at 10:52

Honestly, if all you need is something to perform basic “small office” tasks rather than gaming, they are all much of a muchness.

Just get whatever you like the look of that is in budget, and comes with the best warranty and support package out of your shortlist. Personally I’d go with a bigger brand name like Dell, HP, Lenovo, because support (both official and discussion across the internet) will likely be better, but it’s not a huge concern.

As for AV, I personally don’t see the need to run more than the baked-in Microsoft Security these days, it’s virus/malware engine is just as good as the competition in terms of discovery and remediation of malware and attacks.

Minxy · 18 Jul 2020 at 18:13

Thanks for your guidance. That’s a good shout on the online support especially as I know very little.

andy_mk3 · 18 Jul 2020 at 18:23

It largely depends on budget. For £300 they're all pretty much the same with very low end components. Spend a bit more you get a much better experience. The Dell Inspiron range is pretty good.

Minxy · 19 Jul 2020 at 07:00

Thank you. It’s doubtful I would spend anymore than £300. It doesn’t need to be the fastest thing in the world and I wouldn’t benefit from anything too flash.

Snapshot · 22 Jul 2020 at 09:42

But it still has to be usable even if it isn't 'flash'. My wife bought a £300 HP 20 months ago and it was so slow it was unusable. The replacement we got in May was almost twice the price but a totally different experience to the point where even I enjoy using it. So you need to set minimum criteria such as 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, full HD (preferably IPS) screen and see where that gets you.

LiE · 22 Jul 2020 at 11:58

Sounds like a tablet may do the job. iPad would be my recommendation.

manic111 · 22 Jul 2020 at 12:25

Snapshot said:
But it still has to be usable even if it isn't 'flash'. My wife bought a £300 HP 20 months ago and it was so slow it was unusable. The replacement we got in May was almost twice the price but a totally different experience to the point where even I enjoy using it. So you need to set minimum criteria such as 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, full HD (preferably IPS) screen and see where that gets you.

I'm not sure that's true, particularly on a full HD IPS screen for £300.

A refurb Lenovo ThinkPad will come in under that budget and be very sufficient.

elrasho · 22 Jul 2020 at 16:18

LiE said:
Sounds like a tablet may do the job. iPad would be my recommendation.

Nah websites on tablet look naff and lose functionality if the devs havent bothered making it propper

OP stay away from i3 and Ryzen 3 based laptops, they are a waste of space. Look for i5 or Ryzen 5 CPU, 8GB RAM and at leasy 256GB SSD

That will last you years. Like others have said for your needs they are all the same really. Think of connectivity too, do you need a VGA port to connect to an external monitor or will HDMI on its own do? Also a 15.6" screen or 14" (latter tend to be more expensive). TBH you can get a nice Grade A refurbished one for £300

LiE · 22 Jul 2020 at 16:31

elrasho said:
Nah websites on tablet look naff and lose functionality if the devs havent bothered making it propper

iPadOS renders websites like a laptop, it comes with the desktop version of the browser now.

https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/features/

Desktop websites
Safari automatically presents a website’s desktop version for iPad. Touch input maps correctly when a website expects mouse or trackpad input. Website scaling takes advantage of the large iPad screen, so you’ll see websites at their optimal size. And scrolling within web pages is faster and more fluid.

elrasho · 22 Jul 2020 at 19:30

LiE said:
iPadOS renders websites like a laptop, it comes with the desktop version of the browser now.

https://www.apple.com/uk/ipados/features/

Ohhh didn't know that, nice

Minxy · 25 Jul 2020 at 18:46

Thanks all. There is lots to take on board there.

Benass · 26 Jul 2020 at 17:18

Ssd hard drive. Nothing else matters.
No ssd no point buying as it will be slow as fak.
And maybe 8gb ram.

elrasho · 26 Jul 2020 at 19:26

Benass said:
Ssd hard drive. Nothing else matters.
No ssd no point buying as it will be slow as fak.
And maybe 8gb ram.

i3 and Ryzen 3 are also a no go aswell as 4gb ram