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Morning folks,
My aged Dell laptop is in desperate need of replacement (there's an argument it needed replacing 3 years ago in truth...) so it's time spend some money. I have absolutely no idea what to look for or even where to look so hoped the more educated among STW would be able to help. It's main use is pretty low level stuff, browsing, e-mails, the odd bit of publisher, usual office stuff. I use an iPad a lot for home stuff, this is more for when I'm working so touchscreen isn't needed.
What I think I want is:
A Window's compatible PC (we use a remote desktop at work and our IT team tell me Chromebooks won't work).
An SSD
Relatively small and light (It will sometimes come to work with me, either in a waterproof pannier or in a backpack on the train)
A processor that won't be out of date in a year or 2, I tend to keep PC's for a while and don't want it to be on a go slow within 18 months
Under £700, and ideally closer to £500.
So can anyone point me, roughly, in the right direction please? I've bought Dell in the past but have no loyalty to it at all.
I have one of these
I'd budget for a 4GB RAM card as 4 is a big lightweight these days. You'll need steady hands and small Torx to fit it.
It's a brilliant little machine, it's 8th Gen i3 so you'll get about 4-5 years out of it.
It's got an M.2 SSD so it's really quick to boot.
1080 screen which is relativity rare in 14" at this money.
Weight is 1.4Kgs.
Don't be put off by the fact it's "only i3" 8th Gen i3s are more than fast enough these days.
Or to put it another way, I work in IT, I can have pretty much whatever I want, I chose this.
My wife's had a surface go for some time now, and I have been really pleased with it. It i small (which might be an issue if you want a large screen rather than portability) and you will need to budget for the typecover keyboard - that may push it to the top of your budget.
Only issue is using on a lap is less stable than a true laptop, as it has a flip out stand at the back. It is possible to use on a lap, but better on a table.
Check Dell Outlet
A 2nd hand XPS13 - very small and light, 13" screen. I managed to get one some time back for a shade over £900 that was still in its wrapping, i7 processor and 4k screen, so for £700 you should be able to get something pretty good.
For example:
Otherwise, whatever fits the budget in the Dell Outlet.
Just been through this (twice!) with wife and student daughter, and ended up with two of these:
Small, light, good battery. 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. I like Dells as they're pretty generic, and we use them for work. Good workhorses.
Thanks all.
A glance at the Dell store has got me thinking one of the following may work. I'm aware one is large in size, any thoughts, good or bad, about these?
Edit, wrong link
https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/compare?ocs=cn75805,cn73803,cn537009,cn537010
In the unlikely event anyone wants a further update, I picked up this in the end. The code INTELI710 gets an extra 10% off too. Seemed like a bit of a bargain to my, somewhat untrained, eye.
Asus Zenbook from John Lewis here (light/slim/compact). SSD mandatory, make it 256MB min if you want any amount of usable storage. Then 8GB RAM. Then whatever processor you can get for your budget.