Laptop for basic use, what cpu ?
- Thread starter dal
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Snag him a cheap as possibly i3 anything 4th gen or better with an ssd (make sure its 120gb or better not a emmc or what ever they are 30 to 60 gb jobbies).. There are some really dodgie laptop cpus available that are so junk they can slow down web browsing..
You should be able to grab an i3 for barely any more than a junk cpu.. There are other good cpus but laptops are a minefield it's easy to end up with a really slow machine.. Ideally i3 / must have ssd
You should be able to grab an i3 for barely any more than a junk cpu.. There are other good cpus but laptops are a minefield it's easy to end up with a really slow machine.. Ideally i3 / must have ssd
The world of new cheap laptops is an ultimately frustrating place to visit. Slow CPU, Slow HDD, limited RAM makes for a horrendous experience.
SSD makes all the difference - I've got a 9 year old Dell Latitude that still works great for the basics you mention.
I'd be looking for something that has SSD, 2 core/4 threads, 8 GB RAM. You could get something from ebay refurbished for a very low amount of money that would easily fit the bill.
SSD makes all the difference - I've got a 9 year old Dell Latitude that still works great for the basics you mention.
I'd be looking for something that has SSD, 2 core/4 threads, 8 GB RAM. You could get something from ebay refurbished for a very low amount of money that would easily fit the bill.
What for basic stuff, seems like overkill a bit
Not really, if you want it to do basic stuff for 5 years. You can get this for around £300-£350 new.. so how much are you looking to spend? I understand if you really are on a budget then pickup some thing used for cheaper.. but if you can afford to spend £300-£350 you'll get something with many years in it.
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Laptops are a bit pricey at the moment, with the working from home bump. I got a Ryzen 3, 256GB ssd, 8GB ram, 1080p screen, for £298 before Xmas, but the same laptop from the same retailer is now £500!
I'd agree with the suggestion that you should go for Ryzen 3 or recent i3. Unless the price difference is a lot.
I'd agree with the suggestion that you should go for Ryzen 3 or recent i3. Unless the price difference is a lot.
my gfs laptop is an old i3. Way older than 5 years. I think it's a 2112 vintage. This is what she uses hers for. Just browsing and a bit of word etc. She had the AMD version of the same laptop (lenovo x121) and it was crap. Both of them were POS until I put more RAM and an SSD in. But the AMD was still a bit crap. I think they cost about £200 about 5 years ago.
An i3 and 8GB with an SSD and it's fine. Anything less and it'll run like a 2 legged dog.
I expect to get another 5 years or so out of hers. So there is value. Just don't by ****.
Thinking about it. My mum still uses my old X61 which is from 2007 I think. Again, it has maxed out RAM (which I think I needed to use a 3rd party BIOS to get up to 4GB) and an SSD. I used it at Xmas and it was a joy
But it's still running win 7 so... But it will last forever. I did think about giving her a newer one and putting linux on it. It's a lovely thing.
There are loads of thinkpads on ebay that will be fine for general use and won't blow up or snap or complain about having tea spilt on them...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=lenovo+thinkpad&_sop=12
An i3 and 8GB with an SSD and it's fine. Anything less and it'll run like a 2 legged dog.
I expect to get another 5 years or so out of hers. So there is value. Just don't by ****.
Thinking about it. My mum still uses my old X61 which is from 2007 I think. Again, it has maxed out RAM (which I think I needed to use a 3rd party BIOS to get up to 4GB) and an SSD. I used it at Xmas and it was a joy
But it's still running win 7 so... But it will last forever. I did think about giving her a newer one and putting linux on it. It's a lovely thing.There are loads of thinkpads on ebay that will be fine for general use and won't blow up or snap or complain about having tea spilt on them...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=lenovo+thinkpad&_sop=12
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Well £350 is around the top end of budget but can't find a laptop with ryzen 3 / i3 WITH A SSD for that price.
Ive got to say that 8gb ram for web browsing is total overkill, my current pc only has 4gb ram and it's fine for web browsing and playing older games.
Ive got to say that 8gb ram for web browsing is total overkill, my current pc only has 4gb ram and it's fine for web browsing and playing older games.
Can you go used/refurbed ?
4 years ago I bought a 3 year old elitebook after someone here told me to look for ex business class refurbs because they get replaced every 3 years.
it's been absolutely fantastic until today when it seems to have finally given up (hence me being in this part of the forum
)
I even stuck a 4core 8 core i7 in it at some point which in benchmarks isn't that far behind an 8th gen i5 8250
I only use it for football manager and college work and browsing so the bad graphics have never mattered.
It's been such good value that I'm honestly considering just getting another one and sticking my hard drive and CPU in . But on the other hand I quite like ThinkPads...
4 years ago I bought a 3 year old elitebook after someone here told me to look for ex business class refurbs because they get replaced every 3 years.
it's been absolutely fantastic until today when it seems to have finally given up (hence me being in this part of the forum
)I even stuck a 4core 8 core i7 in it at some point which in benchmarks isn't that far behind an 8th gen i5 8250
I only use it for football manager and college work and browsing so the bad graphics have never mattered.
It's been such good value that I'm honestly considering just getting another one and sticking my hard drive and CPU in . But on the other hand I quite like ThinkPads...