Advice on Laptop Mk II

StrangeLife said:

Jesus 'n Jim have an on-line SSD lifespan calculator (it was mostly Jim who made it - Jesus was in charge of the pizzas) suitable for what-if games.



By using the default values (I can't be bothered to look up the specs on my own SSD right now) for a 64 Gb SSD operating 8 hours a day 5 days a week as system disk, the estimated lifespan of the drive is 3 years and 7 months...

But if we replace the SSD with a larger one - say 250 Gb - and keep employing the same usage pattern we suddenly have a lifespan in excess of 14 years...

...and if we go all out and invest in 2 Tb worth of SSD we can expect the drive to outlive your kids...

I think this illustrates well the importance of size - not only when having sex but also when choosing the right SSD. Because of the wear-leveling, there is a direct correlation between how full the disk is and how long it lasts. Or to put it simple - if you buy one twice the size of what you need, it'll last you twice as long.

Click to expand...

Just to complicate things... storage costs tend to decrease over time. So if the smaller disk is enough to last you a few years, you may do better to save the money and replace it down the road instead of buying big right away.

I'm too lazy to go research the numbers on a Sunday morning, but I seem to recall a figure that SSD storage costs were going down by about 7% a year. Let's say $1/GB in today's money, so... you could pay $256 today for a 256-GB drive that's going to last you 14 years 6 months.

Or you could buy a 64-GB drive today for $64, and then in 3 years 7 months replace it when drives cost about 77% of what they do today. If you buy a 256-GB drive then, you'd expect to pay about $197 at that time. That's a total of $261, and once you factor in inflation/interest rates, it's probably cheaper than buying the 256-GB drive today. Plus, you then have a brand-new 256-GB drive instead of one with three years wear on it.

Of course, this ignores cost and inconvenience of switching drives, which might affect the decision.

Bramblethorn said:

Just to complicate things... storage costs tend to decrease over time. So if the smaller disk is enough to last you a few years, you may do better to save the money and replace it down the road instead of buying big right away...

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That's a very good point... and one you could apply to computers in general becuse of the rapid deprecation.

However there are other factors to consider beside costs. In the case of SSDs (and hard drives) the risk of losing your data if the thing dies on you.

I'm locked into windows software so replaced my old laptop with a 14' Lenovo X1 Carbon touch screen. Big ram, big ssd drive, high resolution screen, I think I went with a 5 processor...high teens, couple of thousand...absolutely love it.

StrangeLife said:

That's a very good point... and one you could apply to computers in general becuse of the rapid deprecation.

However there are other factors to consider beside costs. In the case of SSDs (and hard drives) the risk of losing your data if the thing dies on you.

Click to expand...

Yep. Backups are everybody's friend. Automated regular backups even more so.

OK, I'm just making an interim list before I put on my high heels and go online to make a list as to what SSDs and RAMs and IPs and stuff these li'l babies have, and whether there is one which automatically makes all the stories I read safe sex too.

Toshiba Chromebook £229.95. http://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-chromebook-intel-celeron-2gb-ram-16gb-ssd-13-3-silver/p1157266

Apple Macbook Pro £1,699 http://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-chromebook-intel-celeron-2gb-ram-16gb-ssd-13-3-silver/p1157266

Acer Travelmate £381 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Travel...mputers_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=039AAA7XV7SKT6SJPM5M

Lenovo X1 (out of stock at Lenovo itself, but I think retails @ £1,000 - £1,500)

Toughbook of some kind, possibly refurbished.

Guys, you are the best! this advice about what to look for is v. helpful. I will come back with a list of what I can find out about these, once I've cleaned up the kitchen a bit.

NaokoSmith said:

OK, I'm just making an interim list before I put on my high heels and go online to make a list as to what SSDs and RAMs and IPs and stuff these li'l babies have, and whether there is one which automatically makes all the stories I read safe sex too.

Toshiba Chromebook £229.95. http://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-chromebook-intel-celeron-2gb-ram-16gb-ssd-13-3-silver/p1157266

Apple Macbook Pro £1,699 http://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-chromebook-intel-celeron-2gb-ram-16gb-ssd-13-3-silver/p1157266

Acer Travelmate £381 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Travel...mputers_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=039AAA7XV7SKT6SJPM5M

Lenovo X1 (out of stock at Lenovo itself, but I think retails @ £1,000 - £1,500)

Toughbook of some kind, possibly refurbished.

Guys, you are the best! this advice about what to look for is v. helpful. I will come back with a list of what I can find out about these, once I've cleaned up the kitchen a bit.

Click to expand...

Your link to the MacBook is the same as the Chromebook.

Remember, you can't buy a refurbished to order...you get what's there and that's it.

Zeb_Carter said:

Your link to the MacBook is the same as the Chromebook.

Remember, you can't buy a refurbished to order...you get what's there and that's it.

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Oh sorry! I am just shopping at John Lewis where possible, since the laptop will be bought on a John Lewis card and then points will go on the card and we will get vouchers, which are always given to me as they are regarded as 'domestic' LOL. So I will probably get some lipstick too if I manage to find a laptop I can buy at John Lewis.

NaokoSmith said:

OK, I'm just making an interim list before I put on my high heels and go online to make a list as to what SSDs and RAMs and IPs and stuff these li'l babies have, and whether there is one which automatically makes all the stories I read safe sex too.

Toshiba Chromebook £229.95. http://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-chromebook-intel-celeron-2gb-ram-16gb-ssd-13-3-silver/p1157266

Apple Macbook Pro £1,699 http://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-chromebook-intel-celeron-2gb-ram-16gb-ssd-13-3-silver/p1157266

Acer Travelmate £381 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Travel...mputers_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=039AAA7XV7SKT6SJPM5M

Lenovo X1 (out of stock at Lenovo itself, but I think retails @ £1,000 - £1,500)

Toughbook of some kind, possibly refurbished.

Guys, you are the best! this advice about what to look for is v. helpful. I will come back with a list of what I can find out about these, once I've cleaned up the kitchen a bit.

Click to expand...

People that I know in the computer business all say Acer is to be avoided, not very good quality.

Also if you look you can find computers with downgrade rights to go from Windows 8 to Windows 7 and then:

http://lifehacker.com/5974318/downgrade-your-new-windows-8-computer-to-windows-7-for-free

Tw0Cr0ws said:

People that I know in the computer business all say Acer is to be avoided, not very good quality.

Also if you look you can find computers with downgrade rights to go from Windows 8 to Windows 7 and then:

http://lifehacker.com/5974318/downgrade-your-new-windows-8-computer-to-windows-7-for-free

Click to expand...

Thank you! I'm not sure about Windows 8/Windows 7 so it's great to know I could give it a go and chuck it if I decided it was not for me.

Don't forget the Insurance !

Turns out it was the i7 4600 processor.

Naoko, I really like the touchscreen on the laptop. Multiple ways to access...mouse, finger pad, finger scroll (red button on the Lenovo keyboard) and touchscreen.

And it has a semi-matte screen that doesn't reflect glares like the glossy screens.

Tw0Cr0ws said:

People that I know in the computer business all say Acer is to be avoided, not very good quality.

Also if you look you can find computers with downgrade rights to go from Windows 8 to Windows 7 and then:

http://lifehacker.com/5974318/downgrade-your-new-windows-8-computer-to-windows-7-for-free

Click to expand...

Gee, all the people I know say Acer is a good buy, well built and cost effective.
I've had mine for ten years.

It's survived coffee being dumped on the keyboard, being dropped and rough use in the field.

The only thing wrong with it is that the on/off switch for the wifi has worn out.

Of course it is a re-labeled off spring called Gateway.

NaokoSmith said:

Thank you! I'm not sure about Windows 8/Windows 7 so it's great to know I could give it a go and chuck it if I decided it was not for me.

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I think once you go 8 there is not turning back except for a complete wipe.

jomar said:

Turns out it was the i7 4600 processor.

Naoko, I really like the touchscreen on the laptop. Multiple ways to access...mouse, finger pad, finger scroll (red button on the Lenovo keyboard) and touchscreen.

And it has a semi-matte screen that doesn't reflect glares like the glossy screens.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this! That does sound tempting.

Zeb_Carter said:

Gee, all the people I know say Acer is a good buy, well built and cost effective.
I've had mine for ten years.

It's survived coffee being dumped on the keyboard, being dropped and rough use in the field.

The only thing wrong with it is that the on/off switch for the wifi has worn out.

Of course it is a re-labeled off spring called Gateway.

Click to expand...

That's also a good recommendation.

I will go and do serious comparative shopping now.

I am really grateful to everyone who has come on here and given advice . It’s hard to get this kind of information, salespeople are busy selling and as I am a gurrlll, they sometimes try to sell me something pink instead of something with a lot of memory. (Seriously.) I looked into all of the recommendations, including Apple Macs (too small screen). I’m narrowing down the list to Lenovos. A last bit of input on this would be so helpful.

I had a good look at some laptops in John Lewis: Asus, Toshiba, etc. They were lower price range, and mostly i3 processors. The guy in John Lewis said that as I’m not much into gaming (like I have no idea what it is, I leave that sort of thing to Piglet), I don’t need a fast processor, what I need is memory.

I decided I do like the idea of the touchscreen and Windows 8 and so I am going with that.

I don’t need DVD player. I do like to Bluetooth over my photos from my phone, though. Not that kind of photo! Sure, PM me for photos of my cooking and flower garden!

Toughbook
I put this in because Zeb and others said get a toughbook. But I don’t think it has a touchscreen, it has Windows 7.
http://www.panasonic.com/business/toughbook/semi-rugged-laptop-toughbook-52.asp
Costs over £2000 new, hard to find a reputable dealer.
15.4 “ widescreen
i5 processor
4GB SDRAM, expandable to 16GB
500GB Harddrive
Bluetooth
4 hour battery

I have checked out the Lenovos, and I have to say they are looking good. They seem to have much longer battery life than other laptops. Jomar says kind things about the matte screens too.

Lenovo Touchpads There is a whole menu here for choosing memory, processor, etc. http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/

I think you can have a sort of cherry cola coloured case if you want to. But that colour clashes with all my nail varnishes.

I saw this one, which costs about £1K. It has a lot of positive reviews on the Lenovo site. A couple of people had a broken one and went on the site to complain about that. But presumably Lenovo would’ve replaced it with a new one? I should check that.

Lenovo U530
http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/lenovo/u-series/u530-touch/?sb=:000001D4:00029670:
15.6" HD LED Multitouch
i7 processor
8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600 MHz
1TB 5400 rpm Harddrive
6-10 hours battery life
Bluetooth enabled

There is also this much cheaper Lenovo, which I could probably perfectly happily run all my stuff on, LOL. Maybe I don’t need a 1TB hard drive! I am not really a size queen

Lenovo Flex 15
Currently on offer in Cardiff John Lewis @ £440
15.6” LED screen
Touch screen
i5 processor
4 GB RAM
500 GB Hard Drive
Bluetooth enabled
9 hour battery life

I figure if I come back to the Fella with a laptop at a quarter the price he said he would pay if I insisted on it, he might buy me the new laundry airer I want as well. And some new towels. (And lipstick )

For what you do the Flex would be good but upgrade to a minimum of 8G of memory with win 8.

TxRad said:

For what you do the Flex would be good but upgrade to a minimum of 8G of memory with win 8.

Click to expand...

It's worth checking just how much RAM is possible on a given board with a given CPU.

TxRad said:

For what you do the Flex would be good but upgrade to a minimum of 8G of memory with win 8.

Click to expand...

Thank you! (I'll ask if John Lewis can sort that out for me.)

Just bumping my thread again.

I was distracted by attempts to bully me at work . (You'd think they'd learn; they are still scraping bits of the last bully off the walls.) So I missed out on the bargain Lenovo.

I am going to start again and check out the Lenovos at John Lewis, as I am not clear whether you can return them easily if you buy from the Lenovo website. All the ones I am seeing online, where price currently starts at about £650 for the spec I am looking at, have a gloss screen and I know Jomar said his matte screen was really nice. They may have deals or different laptops in the store.

http://www.johnlewis.com/electrical...brand/touch+screen=features80000398/c80000398

I'm looking for a touchscreen, and a large screen.

I'm not bothered about watching films on it, we have other stuff in the house we use for that.

I don't mind if it's heavy, I have my Netbook to carry around. I don't really mind what colour it is, LOL.

I like a long battery life, as I often go into the garden to work.

I'll try to find one with big RAM (at least 8 GB) and SSD.

Thanks for all the help!

I have suggested a reconditioned Toughbook from these people before. For the features, including W7, at £219 it is a great price, for basic work in rough conditions such as Brownie cake-making...

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/pr...CF29-1-6GHz-13-3-Screen-1-5GB-80GB-Win-7-Pro/

oggbashan said:

I have suggested a reconditioned Toughbook from these people before. For the features, including W7, at £219 it is a great price, for basic work in rough conditions such as Brownie cake-making...

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/pr...CF29-1-6GHz-13-3-Screen-1-5GB-80GB-Win-7-Pro/

Click to expand...

Ooh, that is really tempting. I think the Toughbook has no touchscreen, which is why I ruled it out in the end. But ... do I need a touchscreen?

That is a really really good price for a Toughbook! Agh, a bargain, can I resist ....

NaokoSmith said:

Ooh, that is really tempting. I think the Toughbook has no touchscreen, which is why I ruled it out in the end. But ... do I need a touchscreen?

That is a really really good price for a Toughbook! Agh, a bargain, can I resist ....

Click to expand...

Read the reviews for the Toughbook models they have supplied. Because they ARE pre-used Toughbooks, they will have been used in challenging conditions and will have scratches, marks etc, but that proves they are tough...

You could even let Scouts and Brownies use it (with blocked Lit features, of course!).

oggbashan said:

Read the reviews for the Toughbook models they have supplied. Because they ARE pre-used Toughbooks, they will have been used in challenging conditions and will have scratches, marks etc, but that proves they are tough...

You could even let Scouts and Brownies use it (with blocked Lit features, of course!).

Click to expand...

We only have chocolate brownies here! When I found out the Brownies do a bedmaking badge, I put Piglet down for Scouts immediately!

LOL, Piglet and her pals are absolutely forbidden to use my computers. In fact Piglet has her own IT equipment, partly so there is no risk of her accessing anything problematic; I have stashes on my hard drive of audio, visual and textual material I am editing, reviewing and writing. As I get driven out of academia, this is becoming more and more my job. I really want the bigger screen on the laptop so I can work more easily on my review blog, although I am supposed to work on a laptop not a netbook for my teaching too.

I have found this Toshiba which looks quite good too.

http://www.johnlewis.com/toshiba-sa...-8gb-ram-1tb-15-6-touch-screen-silver/p772026

It's only £579.95

It has 8GB RAM, a 15.6" touch screen, a 1TB hard drive.

It has a gloss screen, only Intel i5 processor (but I think people said this is not an issue because I'm not into gaming), only 3.5 battery life but maybe I can do something about that?

This review of the Toshiba faintly praises it without completely damning it. It came out last year when the machine was retailing it @ £650. They say if it was £100 off that price, it would be good value - and guess what!

Pssst and another thing.

Is Windows 8 that bad? Do you have to have it if you want to use the touchscreen? I like the idea of being able to swipe things around with one finger on the screen, not always have to hold and click and swish the mouse about. But a number of people are saying they took out Windows 8 as it gave them headaches.