Lifehack: how to get a fast laptop for cheap

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Lifehack: how to get a fast laptop for cheap

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

1141 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 168

Trusted

#1259569 15-Mar-2015 09:53

joker97: Not free though

Whilst Win10 Preview is free when it is released it will not be although it will be a free upgrade for Win7 and 8 legally licensed users, what will you do then ?

Consider L/X/Ubuntu

Batman

Mad Scientist
30047 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6235

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1259583 15-Mar-2015 10:01

xlinknz:
joker97: Not free though

Whilst Win10 Preview is free when it is released it will not be although it will be a free upgrade for Win7 and 8 legally licensed users, what will you do then ?

Consider L/X/Ubuntu

not sure actually ... any suggestions?
will it just give annoying messages or will it actually just won't boot.
i didn't suggest a daily driver, the hack was for a dirt cheap yet fast laptop for now :D

ech3lon

387 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 123

#1259587 15-Mar-2015 10:19

xlinknz:
joker97: Not free though

Whilst Win10 Preview is free when it is released it will not be although it will be a free upgrade for Win7 and 8 legally licensed users, what will you do then ?

Consider L/X/Ubuntu

Another vote to consider using Linux.
They've come a long way, installing is a breeze and will take very little time to get used to it.

Wade

2225 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 373

#1259595 15-Mar-2015 10:49

I see people trawling TM asking on cheap PC's if OS comes with W7 key, I assume they are interested in the hardware just to bank the OS for a later free W10 update when the time comes

1101

3145 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1149

#1260207 16-Mar-2015 13:03

xlinknz:
joker97: Not free though

Whilst Win10 Preview is free when it is released it will not be although it will be a free upgrade for Win7 and 8 legally licensed users, what will you do then ?

huh ??? that make no sense

win10 WILL BE a free upgrade when released. (for a while)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2873214/windows-10-will-be-a-free-upgrade-for-windows-7-and-8-users.html

Batman

Mad Scientist
30047 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6235

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1260217 16-Mar-2015 13:20

he meant win 10 preview is free on its own wthout needing a 7/8 licence, but this freebie has an expiry date

Dyson

Shop now for Dyson appliances (affiliate link).

Stu

Hammered
8834 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2436

Moderator

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1260293 16-Mar-2015 14:27

Just a tip: Unless you like trying to fix nightmares, perhaps think twice before trying this on an old HP with Intel/ati switchable graphics! Still issues (have been since Windows 8) as soon as the ati driver loads resulting in forced reboots. Have an old dv6 that just doesn't want to play nice. Haven't given up just yet.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

Referral Links: Sharesies -

Are you happy with what you get from Geekzone? If so, please consider supporting us by subscribing.

No matter where you go, there you are.

mattwnz

20562 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4822

#1260297 16-Mar-2015 14:35

joker97: he meant win 10 preview is free on its own wthout needing a 7/8 licence, but this freebie has an expiry date

ALso most of these older laptops will have either windows xp or vista installed, which don't qualify for the free windows 10 upgrade. Although I suspect windows may have a cheap option, to get people off those older OS's. IMO Vista users did get a bit of a rough deal with vista, as they didn't get a free upgrade to windows 7 or 8, even though windows 7 was really a fixed version of vista, like windows 10 will be the fixed version of windows 8. I got windows vista ultimate which was supposed to get a whole lot of future updates and features, but they killed that off pretty quickly.

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1041

Trusted

Vocus

#1260301 16-Mar-2015 14:41

Looking forward to the free win 10 upgrade, have recently acquired a couple of C2D machines with W7 licenses :) C2D is still plenty fast for most things.

Edit: another option until then is the Windows 8.1 Enterprise Edition Eval

Jaxson

8192 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1346

Trusted

#1260360 16-Mar-2015 15:44

joker97: he meant win 10 preview is free on its own wthout needing a 7/8 licence, but this freebie has an expiry date

Was going to ask this...

Is there a clear expiry date up front?

groynk

234 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 19

#1260376 16-Mar-2015 16:01

joker97: get any old cheap laptop, core2duo and above

replace with cheap SSD (mine is a very fast 1st gen - OCZ vertex 2 120 gb that cost me $900 at that time)

install Windows 10 Technical Preview [free]

= very very very fast laptop

yee ha

I know I could google this, but for those of us less experienced in hardware tinkering, can you provide some quick (localised) tips on good value drives, and the ins and outs of connections?

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1630
Inactive user

#1260397 16-Mar-2015 16:29

Jaxson:
joker97: he meant win 10 preview is free on its own wthout needing a 7/8 licence, but this freebie has an expiry date

Was going to ask this...

Is there a clear expiry date up front?

Yes

Build 9926 expires
October 1, 2015

Batman

Mad Scientist
30047 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6235

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1260495 16-Mar-2015 18:24

What happens then?

mattwnz

20562 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4822

#1260502 16-Mar-2015 18:56

nathan:
Jaxson:
joker97: he meant win 10 preview is free on its own wthout needing a 7/8 licence, but this freebie has an expiry date

Was going to ask this...

Is there a clear expiry date up front?

Yes

Build 9926 expires
October 1, 2015

There will be a new updated build before then won't there? Or will windows 8 full version be released by then.

I actually don't find windows 10 particularly good as a tablet OS, comparing it to windows 8. I think this is because it is more reliant on the desktop like taskbar. I wonder if it is going to be improved much

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1630
Inactive user

#1260584 16-Mar-2015 20:09

mattwnz:
nathan:
Jaxson:
joker97: he meant win 10 preview is free on its own wthout needing a 7/8 licence, but this freebie has an expiry date

Was going to ask this...

Is there a clear expiry date up front?

Yes

Build 9926 expires
October 1, 2015

There will be a new updated build before then won't there? Or will windows 8 full version be released by then.

I actually don't find windows 10 particularly good as a tablet OS, comparing it to windows 8. I think this is because it is more reliant on the desktop like taskbar. I wonder if it is going to be improved much

Windows 10 is still well on track to release mid year

on touch - from the "Before you install" Windows 10 Technical Preview FAQ http://windows.microsoft.com/en-nz/windows/preview-faq?woldogcb=0

If you have a touch PC

Technical Preview works with touch, but some things will be rough and unfinished. More touch-friendly improvements are on the way. In the meantime, let us know what it’s like to interact with Windows and apps in the preview.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4