View Full Version : Which Laptop?
My brother is wanting to buy his first computer. (He is 60!)
Basicly he wants it for surfing the net, (he has an old Vincent motorbike and would like to follow what goes on on their website). He has a vague interest in photography and with two new granddaughters, I feel that this could grow.
Can you suggest a Laptop (he doesn't want a PC) that would be suitable for his requirements.
I don't really know much about Laptops as I have never owned one.
Obviously he doesn't want to be struggling for processing speed or RAM.
Although money is not really an issue, I don't think he wants to be throwing it away unnessarily.
He had looked at John Lewis and had seen them around £500+ which he felt was more than he wanted to pay, bearing in mind his lack of knowledge at this stage.
So, something for surfing and doing pics, probably just for personal use.
Any ideas would be very helpful.
Thanks in anticipation.
coupekid
23-07-08, 09:23 PM
Hi Audrey,
To be honest, if that is all he wants it for, and I cant see he would want to start using a program like Photoshop. He really shouldnt struggle for RAM.
The obvious solution is to maybe buy a used or refurbed laptop, in doing so, the upside would be that it would be very much cheaper, the downside is that you wont know the history, and may want to reinstall the operating system.
If you dont want to take risks, Dell do some reasonably priced laptops. It will almost certainly have Vista as the operating system, so I wouldnt drop below 2megs of RAM.
Dell also have some great deals iin the Outlet. I have done a search with the filters I would choose:
http://outlet.dell.com/Emea_Dfo/EuDispatcher?target=InventoryPage&action=filter&lob=INSP&unique=1216843947928&sessionID=2g6xLHQL!-150059124!-1286141860!1216843947881
there is one there for around 369, but you may want to check on whether that includes VAT.
The other I would consider would the HP Ntebooks.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/uk/en/ho/WF25a/321957-321957-3329744-64354-64354-3466363.html
You will always pay a little more (though, not quite a big a deifference as a year or so ago) for a same spec laptop, as you would a base unit.
Hope that helps!
:)
This looks to be quite a bargain:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143366
Regards. Barr1e
Hi -
This link is from a company I use for discs that arrived here this morning. Quite a choice.
http://www.ukdvdr.co.uk/shop/Notebooks-Laptop-Computers-c-492.html
Regards. Barr1e
coupekid
24-07-08, 09:28 AM
This looks to be quite a bargain:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/143366
Regards. Barr1e
That ony has 1gig of ram, and I wouldnt want to run Vista on that, so if you go for that laptop, you may want to consider more.
DennisP
24-07-08, 10:52 AM
As a matter of interest I have a laptop purchased just over a year ago which runs Vista Home Premium in 1 Gig of ram with no problems. It is a Fujitsu Siemens with a Core 2 Duo processor and I am running a Beta version of Lightroom 2 with no trouble so far.
devilgas
24-07-08, 11:26 AM
when spec'ing laptops for vista, i consider 2gig to be the minimum. given that most laptops used shared memory for the graphics, you're losing a fair chunk straight away. add to that the OS footprint, security software etc and you're left with little change from a 1gig system.
As a matter of interest I have a laptop purchased just over a year ago which runs Vista Home Premium in 1 Gig of ram with no problems. It is a Fujitsu Siemens with a Core 2 Duo processor and I am running a Beta version of Lightroom 2 with no trouble so far.
Thanks for posting that. A friend recently ordered a laptop for her daughter running Vista Home Premium with 1GB RAM. Having not used Vista and only know what I've read, when I heard about the 1Gig and Vista Home Premium the warning bells of "will it be enough?" began ringing.
I don't think the laptop's ever going to be overused or pushed to the limits, but it's reassuring to know what Vista Home Premium can work okay with just 1Gig.
The amount of memory these things need today is astounding isn't it? I occasionally use a second hand very ancient laptop - running Windows 98. It has just 16MB of RAM, a 120MHz processor, and a paltry hard disk of just 1GB (yes, less than the average compact flash card). Yet, at over 13 years old, it still does the basics - it handles old Word documents fine, etc.
Thanks for all that interesting information.
I have followed quite a few links and it is a minefield. Such a vast difference in price!
I will pass the information to him.
StuartR
24-07-08, 09:40 PM
I've bought two laptops in the last 18 months (for family members) and they both came straight off the shelf at the local Tescos! Both machines are Gateways and neither, as far as we can recall, have required support from yours truly (which is great as I get enough of that at work). I didn't bother to do too much research, the spec looked good as did the price and I had fond memories of my Gateway desktop from a few years back. Plus Tescos is only 5 minutes away and I hate shopping so, decision made easy! :D.
One's used primarily for internet access but my son's is worked hard with MS Office apps, several games and his camera software - in addition to the hours he spends on the net. I reckon it's been on 8 hours a day every day since we bought it! And done a few hundred miles in his backpack.
I've been logged on using it for an hour and a half and there's 68% (1hr 50min) battery life left - which, based on my experience at work, is pretty good for the original, well used, battery.
Worth a look in my view.
My nephew is planning to take his father (my brother) into Sheffield on Saturday.
Although I realise that Internet prices are often the cheapest, sometimes it is a good idea if you can pop back with the offending object if it goes wrong, particularly if you live by yourself and have absolutely no knowledge.
We have a Tesco 5 minutes away also, so it might be a good idea for him to check that out, along with PC World and Staples.
Thanks.
Patrick
24-07-08, 10:09 PM
My nephew is planning to take his father (my brother) into Sheffield on Saturday.
Although I realise that Internet prices are often the cheapest, sometimes it is a good idea if you can pop back with the offending object if it goes wrong, particularly if you live by yourself and have absolutely no knowledge.
We have a Tesco 5 minutes away also, so it might be a good idea for him to check that out, along with PC World and Staples.
Thanks.
Sainsbury's have or had some good deals on Acer laptops, might be worth a look. PC world will be top price unless they have some special offers.
Patrick
Sainsbury's have or had some good deals on Acer laptops, might be worth a look. PC world will be top price unless they have some special offers.
Patrick
Thanks Patrick, that's interesting about PC World.
Hi Audrey, basically vista is a tarted up version of xp, given your requirements for your brother, he would be perfectly suited to an xp laptop which requires far less ram and processor requirements. Staples always has good offers on laptops and you could get a very respectable laptop for £350 easy. failing this check online there are many bargains to be had. £500 for a lappy for your brothers requirments would be throwing money away.
cheers
Ash.
Thanks Ash.
Yesterday, I sent this link to his son.
(My granddaughter had a good one from Staples, about £350.)
I think the deed may have been done by now. I expect I shall hear soon that he is an owner of a new laptop.:)
Patrick
27-07-08, 09:51 AM
Hi Audrey, basically vista is a tarted up version of xp, given your requirements for your brother, he would be perfectly suited to an xp laptop which requires far less ram and processor requirements. Staples always has good offers on laptops and you could get a very respectable laptop for £350 easy. failing this check online there are many bargains to be had. £500 for a lappy for your brothers requirments would be throwing money away.
cheers
Ash.
Doubt it possible to buy a new Laptop or PC that hasn't got Vista of one shade or another pre installed.
Patrick
coupekid
27-07-08, 10:00 AM
Doubt it possible to buy a new Laptop or PC that hasn't got Vista of one shade or another pre installed.
Patrick
Your absolutely right Patrick. The Dell Outlet may have a few, but thats about it now.
Ash, Vista is a tarted up XP? Now where did you get that from? It does share some elements, but believe me, Vista is very different from XP in the way it works, feature wise, and security wise.
Your absolutely right Patrick. The Dell Outlet may have a few, but thats about it now.
Ash, Vista is a tarted up XP? Now where did you get that from? It does share some elements, but believe me, Vista is very different from XP in the way it works, feature wise, and security wise.
Ok sell vista to me*LOL
Admitted this is 6 months out of date but have a read!
Sp3 for xp fixes alot of holes that were missing in xp.
And lets not forget the brief of the thread, a laptop for an old boy to surf the net!
My point was there are alot of laptops out there with xp on for bargain prices, and once upgraded to sp3 are as secure as vista.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9837180-17.html
Patrick
28-07-08, 09:55 AM
Admitted this is 6 months out of date but have a read!
Sp3 for xp fixes alot of holes that were missing in xp.
And lets not forget the brief of the thread, a laptop for an old boy to surf the net!
My point was there are alot of laptops out there with xp on for bargain prices, and once upgraded to sp3 are as secure as vista.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9837180-17.html
Hi Ash
If you go back in time to the launch of the now much loved XP all of the criticisms and grumbles that Vista faces now were said then.
Incompatible drivers were an issue as they have been now, but that is down to the individual hardware manufacturers to make the drivers available many were slow in doing so and some reluctant to work on drivers for older hardware. That is not down to Microsoft.
Yes its resources hungry (its not on its own there by any means look at CS3) but comparatively so was XP when launched all those years ago. I was running if my memory is correct around a 1 GHz processor and 500mb RAM on my PC. Today I have a year old PC with 2.13 GHz dual processor and 4 Gig RAM some four time more powerful by comparing figures direct and with the more efficient designs used these days even more power available.
If a machine is being bought new then there should be no compatibility problems and the machine should have enough power to drive Vista + programs. If it hasn't then it down to the PC/Laptop manufacturer for not producing a suitable product.
Patrick
I'm approaching pensionable age and don't consider myself an old boy (or man).
I have been computer savvy for the past nine years and can do as much possibly as you youngsters.
This is a modern age where I don't think you can be considered old until your eighties.
Kindest regards. Barr1e
coupekid
28-07-08, 03:16 PM
Admitted this is 6 months out of date but have a read!
Sp3 for xp fixes alot of holes that were missing in xp.
And lets not forget the brief of the thread, a laptop for an old boy to surf the net!
My point was there are alot of laptops out there with xp on for bargain prices, and once upgraded to sp3 are as secure as vista.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9837180-17.html
I hear what your saying, and of course in terms of using a laptop for what the brief is, Windows XP would be fine, however, youll be hard pushed to find a new laptop with Vista on it.
As far is security is concerned, XP is no where near as secure as Vista is. If you have used Vista, its security features can almost be annoying with the frequency they pop up! :D
But there are things going on behind an operating systems GUI also that users dont see, and Vista is far more advanced that XP on this front.
Cheers,
Ben (the geek)
I'm approaching pensionable age and don't consider myself an old boy (or man).
I have been computer savvy for the past nine years and can do as much possibly as you youngsters.
This is a modern age where I don't think you can be considered old until your eighties.
Kindest regards. Barr1e
I had to laugh when I read it Barr1e as he is my 'Baby brother' eleven years younger than I am, therefore, I never think of him as 'An old boy to surf the net!'
True he know nothing about computer yet, but he must be wanting to learn or he would not be going down this route of his own accord.:D
coupekid
28-07-08, 05:05 PM
I had to laugh when I read it Barr1e as he is my 'Baby brother' eleven years younger than I am, therefore, I never think of him as 'An old boy to surf the net!'
True he know nothing about computer yet, but he must be wanting to learn or he would not be going down this route of his own accord.:D
Can...open......worms.....EVERYWHERE!
*LOL
Appologies everybody, it appears I no nothing about computers and In future Ill stear well away from any such threads:\
Patrick
31-07-08, 11:30 PM
Appologies everybody, it appears I no nothing about computers and In future Ill stear well away from any such threads:
Come on Ash don't let a thing like knowing what you are talking about stop you, I never do,:D in fact I have an opinion on everything especially things I know little about, that's the fun of opinions.*LOL
Just have to be prepared to be shot down now and again that's all.*whack
Patrick
Thanks Patrick thats lifted my chin a little:( If Im not sure or dont have an answer I do try and do my research only to help others on the forum.
On the subject of laptops, has anyone got any views on the EEEPC range from Asus?
These are ultra-portables with long battery life (up to 8 hours) running Windows XP (or Linux, if that's yer poison). You wouldn't use them as desktop replacements but, for portability, they look intriguing.
Prices range from £180 upwards. I'm considering one to replace my old H/PC.
I'm approaching pensionable age and don't consider myself an old boy (or man).
I have been computer savvy for the past nine years and can do as much possibly as you youngsters.
This is a modern age where I don't think you can be considered old until your eighties.
Kindest regards. Barr1e
Way to go Barr1e! :D
I think it's all down to confidence - if you persuade yourself that something new is going be difficult, it probably will be, but not for the right reasons.
Ian
On the subject of laptops, has anyone got any views on the EEEPC range from Asus?
These are ultra-portables with long battery life (up to 8 hours) running Windows XP (or Linux, if that's yer poison). You wouldn't use them as desktop replacements but, for portability, they look intriguing.
Prices range from £180 upwards. I'm considering one to replace my old H/PC.
Sorry 'no comment':)
StuartR
03-08-08, 08:47 AM
On the subject of laptops, has anyone got any views on the EEEPC range from Asus?
These are ultra-portables with long battery life (up to 8 hours) running Windows XP (or Linux, if that's yer poison). You wouldn't use them as desktop replacements but, for portability, they look intriguing.
Prices range from £180 upwards. I'm considering one to replace my old H/PC.
A chap at work brought one in a couple of weeks back and I was quite impressed with the build quality. It certainly worked well and had more bells & whistles than I expected for the price but I just couldn't think of a real use for one for myself so it didn't get onto my shopping list. (Unusual for a gadget freak like me :D).
I will keep an eye on the technology though - who knows, version 2 or 3 might be worth carrying in the camera back pack. Not sure I'd want to run CS3 on one though....:)
Sorry 'no comment':)
"Don't mince words, Ash - what do you really mean?" :D:D
I've been looking into these for a couple of weeks now, and I can say (with a certain air of confidence) that I'd leave the bemused "no comment" for the £99 laptop from Elonex! :eek:
A chap at work brought one in a couple of weeks back and I was quite impressed with the build quality. It certainly worked well and had more bells & whistles than I expected for the price but I just couldn't think of a real use for one for myself so it didn't get onto my shopping list. (Unusual for a gadget freak like me :D).
I will keep an eye on the technology though - who knows, version 2 or 3 might be worth carrying in the camera back pack. Not sure I'd want to run CS3 on one though....:)
Thanks for the info on build quality (that's something you really can't judge from the pictures).
I don't think these would ever challenge a "real" laptop for the purposes of CS3 etc. As a compromise between portability, mobility, and functionality, what I've read is encouraging me to get one in.
I have an old laptop here but it is quite bulky and, to keep its price down, it had a fairly small battery in it. Even when new, you'd be lucky to get 90m out of it - today you're lucky if you get boot up time before it wants plugging in. On the other side of the spectrum I have an old HP Jornada 720 which could fit in a pocket and last 24 hours on the extended battery pack (8 hours on the standard battery) - it's just that, with everything being embedded and HP dropping support years ago, it's practicality is very limited (you can't even print from it unless you're *very* fortunate).
The latest EEEPCs seem to sit somewhere in the middle. Bigger than the 720, smaller than a laptop, with up to 6-8 hours of battery life. They're packed to the gills with connectivity and, if you're not Linux-centric, they are available with Windows XP and, as such, are capable of running a lot of regular aps.
On the same token, I have a desktop PC (nearly 6 years old) here. It's not often I need the power of its 3.06GHz processor - so having it turned on all day is overkill.
As a result of all of this, my thinking has led me towards these EEEPCs (there seem to be a lot of competitive models nowadays, too - it's a big bandwagon) as something that I could do a lot of my regular work on at any location at a reasonable price, leaving my main PC for times when I need the power it offers.
Sorry for the waffling...! *LOL I'm just seeking any additional information. Most discussions I've found elsewhere often seem to fall into Linux vs Windows gainsaying.
My brother rang me this morning. His son took him shopping last Saturday to PC World in Sheffield.
I did send this link to his son along with my comments to have 2 Gig of RAM and a fast processor and a large screen (you know for old eyes Ash;))
Well he bought a Toshiba, I don't know the model number.
2 Gig RAM 17"+ screen about £300.
So far, he hasn't used it as his son kept it to charge it and I suppose familiarise himself with it so that he can come over from Sheffield and set it up for his Dad, who I believe has already been "Talked" into free broadband as he already had "Talktalk!"*LOL
Watch this space and thanks for your hints.
It's certainly proved to be an active thread, if nothing else.:D
coupekid
03-08-08, 11:08 AM
Appologies everybody, it appears I no nothing about computers and In future Ill stear well away from any such threads:
No please dont Ash, I think Audrey, and indeed everyone welcomes your opinion as much as everyone else!
Dont let people that come across as a know it all (i.e me!) put you off! :o