Recommendations please re brands and specifications

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Recommendations please re brands and specifications

Tia

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#141200 4-Mar-2014 14:47

Hi

It's time to replace my laptop and I am thinking of an HP although I have also read good reviews on Lenova, Asus and Samsung.

Your thoughts please.

Also help on deciding on the specs for the new laptop would be appreciated. My work is mainly with MS Office and web development so have several apps and multiple browsers (many tabs) open at the same time. Graphics work is mainly manipulation of photos for web so not major. No gaming.

Thanks for you help in advance.

crackrdbycracku

1168 posts

Uber Geek

#998866 4-Mar-2014 15:07

How much you want to spend?

Didn't anybody tell you I was a hacker?

Tia

9 posts

Wannabe Geek

#998868 4-Mar-2014 15:14

I was thinking around $1,200. Of course - no more than necessary but would want it to last 3-4 years at least!

Another question - are touch screens worth the money on a laptop?

crackrdbycracku

1168 posts

Uber Geek

#998879 4-Mar-2014 15:28

Tia: are touch screens worth the money on a laptop?

Personally, I would say 'no'. I don't want to be putting my fingers on the screen and a decent track pad and keyboard is more important. Apple say they don't have plans to put touch screens on MacBooks so that about does it for me (Yeah, I know there are rumours this is in the works). But it's a personal choice.

I'm going to leave the processor, RAM and storage recommendations to people who know better than me.

One thing that might be worth considering is whether you want power or mobility. At that price you probably won't get both. So, it this is your only machine probably better to go with power, on the assumption a desktop won't work for you.

Didn't anybody tell you I was a hacker?

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#998952 4-Mar-2014 17:24

Give some one a laptop with touch on it for a month and they won't want to give it back

josephhinvest

1543 posts

Uber Geek

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#999030 4-Mar-2014 19:07

As I am a mac man, have you considered a MacBook Air/Pro? Macs these days make excellent Windows machines too. They are not necessarily the most economically priced, but you do get good hardware for your money. The price is often quite comparable to a similar specced windows machine, and you definitely get very good mobility and battery performance.

Cheers,
Joseph

geocom

594 posts

Ultimate Geek

Subscriber

#999031 4-Mar-2014 19:20

nathan: Give some one a laptop with touch on it for a month and they won't want to give it back

So you like the Pixel then?

Geoff E

nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#999043 4-Mar-2014 19:59

geocom:
nathan: Give some one a laptop with touch on it for a month and they won't want to give it back

So you like the Pixel then?

you would have to be completely bonkers to pay that much for a ChromeBook

if that's your thing buy an Acer C720P, but i guess you already new that and this is a troll...

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nathan

5695 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#999044 4-Mar-2014 20:00

josephhinvest: As I am a mac man, have you considered a MacBook Air/Pro? Macs these days make excellent Windows machines too. They are not necessarily the most economically priced, but you do get good hardware for your money. The price is often quite comparable to a similar specced windows machine, and you definitely get very good mobility and battery performance.

Cheers,
Joseph

terrible screen res on a MacBook Air IMHO

timmmay

20587 posts

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Lifetime subscriber

#999096 4-Mar-2014 21:30

Just got my fiance an Asus Vivobook W8.1 touchscreen, she seems to really like it. Touch on a laptop does work well, much better than a stupid trackpad type thing. i3, 4GB RAM, goes ok, and I could put an SSD in if it was too slow.

Lenovo is a good brand, those things are built like tanks. My Mum's has been going fine for a few years, no problems. I'd have gotten fiance one but she said they were ugly and she wanted a pink one...

oxnsox

1923 posts

Uber Geek

#999118 4-Mar-2014 21:50

Value of touchscreen relates to the os and the applications you'll use.

I have an approx 7 yr old Tosh laptop with a touch screen. Its only real use was for a specific software package, but the touchscreen had no other real use or value.

Recently I've used a Win8 laptop. The OS makes use of touch and the whole package is much more usable. In 7 years we've become more comfortable with touchscreens, and that could also be a factor

lxsw20

3554 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

#999149 4-Mar-2014 22:03

nathan:
josephhinvest: As I am a mac man, have you considered a MacBook Air/Pro? Macs these days make excellent Windows machines too. They are not necessarily the most economically priced, but you do get good hardware for your money. The price is often quite comparable to a similar specced windows machine, and you definitely get very good mobility and battery performance.

Cheers,
Joseph

terrible screen res on a MacBook Air IMHO

Most Windows laptops at that price are going to be 1366x768. 1440x900 isn't too bad on a 13 IMO.