Recommend suitable laptop for wriring

[Inkent]

First off Happy New Year to you all
I'm spending a fair amount of time now writing but the places, and times, are very random.

Usually travelling, planes or ferries I may have 10 minutes of working time but could have 5 hours on non-stop writing or plot notes to explore.

For this I've been using my Smartphone using Google Docs then use MS word on my laptop at home/hotel , etc.

My laptop's old and slow so I'm going to upgrade. Tried using a conventional tablet but couldn't get on with it so looking for recommendations on something that's good enough to produce work on without being over cumbersome.

Anyone found a suitable device to use that's quick enough for word processing, internet access with a proper keyboard?

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I've been particular to HP laptops and right now I'm using an EliteBook which is a lightweight laptop that you can take anywhere with great battery life so you don't have to be tethered to a power cord all of the time.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I used an old Dell for years, but when my old one finally got too slow after it did an OS update, I ended up walking in to Best Buy and bought an Acer on sale. I like large displays, it was the biggest laptop display they had, and it was a model that was being discontinued and it was marked way down - really was a bargain and it's been great. On the whole tho, they're all much the same except HP, which are crap in my limited experience. Husband has had 2 or 3 HP's and they're a total shit product. Just get one that's the right size for you to use when you're travelling. They're all much of a muchness when you get down to it, just read a few reviews. But the stuff that the big chains sell is all pretty good - it's not like they're a product in its infancy.

I've been particular to HP laptops and right now I'm using an EliteBook which is a lightweight laptop that you can take anywhere with great battery life so you don't have to be tethered to a power cord all of the time.

That's pretty funny given I just trashed HP. LOL. Husband's experience with HP was the opposite. Each one lasted about 2 years and then crapped out on him, so now he's on a Dell which has lasted a lot better. Myself, I just went on price and reviews, which was how I ended up with an Acer straight off the shelf. I only use it at home, so can't speak to the battery life - it's always plugged in.

 

[MrPixel]

It may not be suitable for everyone’s pocketbook, but I picked-up a nice pre-owned MacBook Air a couple of years ago for this. Thin, light, and it comes with Apple Pages, which can export to .docx format for uploading*. It’s actually become my main writing computer since I bring it into the living room to browse, write and maybe watch a little TV.

* - I don’t use cloud services like Google Docs. You are subject to the provider’s terms of service, which can and do change, usually not in your favor. See Photobucket for an example of what can happen.

 

[StillStunned]

I have a lightweight (1.7kg) ASUS, which I use for work and fun. It probably won't handle heavy graphics, but it's great for wordprocessing and internetting, which is all I really need it for.

Before, I used my Samsung tablet with an external keyboard.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

First off Happy New Year to you all
I'm spending a fair amount of time now writing but the places, and times, are very random.

Usually travelling, planes or ferries I may have 10 minutes of working time but could have 5 hours on non-stop writing or plot notes to explore.

For this I've been using my Smartphone using Google Docs then use MS word on my laptop at home/hotel , etc.

My laptop's old and slow so I'm going to upgrade. Tried using a conventional tablet but couldn't get on with it so looking for recommendations on something that's good enough to produce work on without being over cumbersome.

Anyone found a suitable device to use that's quick enough for word processing, internet access with a proper keyboard?

I bought a Dell latitude at a reseller for a few hundred bucks. Lightweight, had a great keyboard and will do just about anything I need it to short of running Starfield.

 

[AllenWoody]

Pornmaster 5000

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Pornmaster 5000

Yeah, tried that one. I found the keys kind of got gummed up after a few months of use...

 

[StillStunned]

Pornmaster 5000

Pornhub's answer to the Chromebook.

 

[AllenWoody]

On a somewhat more serious note, have you tried an iPad with the magic keyboard? That's what I take with me when I travel and I'm extremely pleased with it. The keyboard has a great feel, in my opinion. It *is* a bit cramped compared to a keyboard on a larger laptop but to me it's worth it because the combination is so compact. Great battery life! I use Google Docs, which works offline then re-syncs once you have internet again. Great for the plane.

 

[AllenWoody]

Yeah, tried that one. I found the keys kind of got gummed up after a few months of use...

In that case you might want to try the 6000 series with Goo-B-Gone.

 

[Lifestyle66]

I've used a Microsoft Surface Pro tablet for all of my personal use for over ten years. I like the portability of the flat tablet.
My current one (Surface Pro 7) is getting old, but still works well. I have the fold-over keyboard with it which detaches for using the tablet as a reader. And this tablet has three USB ports. The one standard USB port can be used with a dongle for a full-sized keyboard and mouse. The USB-C port can be used with an appropriate adapter cable to connect to a second monitor.

And located behind the fold-out stand in the back is a hidden port for a micro-SD storage chip, where I put a 256 GB chip as a D-drive for saving all of my personal files, in case the tablet ever dies.

 

[Devinter]

The best laptop right now according to multiple review sites that compare quality of product to value for money is the:

MSI GF63 Thin 12UCX-247NEU 15,6" i5-12450H 16GB RAM 512GB SSD RTX 2050.​

It might be slightly more expensive than some of the older models from other brands, but it has all the luxuries like dedicated graphics, decent storage space, a good processor and more than enough RAM whilst - in my region - costing about the same as the laptops that don't. (about 600 American dollars) Also a nice monitor, proper keyboard, and excellent battery life. Not sure if it's considered heavy or not, however.

I have no personal experience with it, but if I were to buy a new laptop right now, it's the one I'd choose. I'm a bit of a nerd though.


If you don't care about any of that, then probably the:

Dell Vostro 3520.​

But in my region it's only 50 dollars cheaper and I'd prefer to add that for a product I'd have more confidence would serve me well for another year or two in the long run.

Apologies if this was too specific.

 

[SyleusSnow]

I've had great success with small, refurbished Lenovo business laptops from refurbishers who buy up "end of life" (3 year old) laptops from business and replace the hard drive, boost the RAM and give a wee bit of warranty. Business Lenovos (not the consumer ones) have pretty good construction and, somehow, better performance than other brands with the same specs.

 

[onehitwanda]

Lenovo are the Volvos of the laptop world. Maybe not the first thing that springs to mind, but they will go to the moon and back and then do it again simply because it's there.

(says she, typing on her Lenovo)

 

[StillStunned]

Lenovo are the Volvos of the laptop world. Maybe not the first thing that springs to mind, but they will go to the moon and back and then do it again simply because it's there.

What model Volvo do you have?!

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Lenovo are the Volvos of the laptop world. Maybe not the first thing that springs to mind, but they will go to the moon and back and then do it again simply because it's there.

(says she, typing on her Lenovo)

Worked on a think Pad back when they were still branded as IBM. That thing was a beast. best laptop I've ever had. My current Dell is sufficient, and sufficiently cheap...

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Lenovo are the Volvos of the laptop world. Maybe not the first thing that springs to mind, but they will go to the moon and back and then do it again simply because it's there.

(says she, typing on her Lenovo)

My Lenovo ThinkPad work laptop doubles as a wonderful smut producer.

 

[onehitwanda]

What model Volvo do you have?!

A very, very sexy one. Black like midnight, faster than darkness, and entirely ridiculously stupidly lovely. I named her Tiamat.

 

[JuicyWife]

My Lenovo ThinkPad work laptop doubles as a wonderful smut producer.

Hehe I use Lenovo T480s

 

[Euphony]

My Lenovo ThinkPad work laptop doubles as a wonderful smut producer.

God I loved my ThinkPad times...

Workhorse coffee shop bore. Surrounding Mac hoards never seemed to match my own keyboard clicking.

Non intrusive updates or pings outside of my schedule. No frightening off the muse b/c Bill and co. found yet another instance they couldn't be assed to code properly up front.

Lovely, wide viewing angle screen that allowed sleepy wind down to be actually productive.

Stays out of the way keyboard. Not a wonder but, these days, a keyboard you don't have to think about is rare indeed.

Red pointer nipple, keeping to my works tone and themes.

Lenovo did me dirty this last go 'round. Without corp. backup, I don't know I could weather the quality control dips. (way better than most but I was spoiled)

Most thing I can view as just a tool but your writing platform needs a certain intimacy fit.
(also why I'm hesitant to random suggest.) Really gotta follow your own tool muse it feels.

Yoga was a mess. Jack of all trades, master of none. The work I lost to that thing...

 

[ElectricBlue]

A very, very sexy one. Black like midnight, faster than darkness, and entirely ridiculously stupidly lovely. I named her Tiamat.

Oh my! She talks the sexiest laptop I've ever read.

 

[StillStunned]

I named her Tiamat.

Because she has five headlights?

 

[onehitwanda]

Because she has five headlights?

Her two headlights are as bright as any other car's five headlights and sit firmly in both luminance and chromaticity on the top left of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, much to the dismay of passing Airbus pilots.

 

[StillStunned]

Her two headlights are as bright as any other car's five headlights and sit firmly in both luminance and chromaticity on the top left of the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, much to the dismay of passing Airbus pilots.

This is more passion for a Volvo than anyone outside Sweden has ever shown.