Also need help to buy new laptop.

acequion

Five and a half years ago I bought an Acer Aspire V5-171,11.6 inch screen. It has served me really well but is now on its last legs,so time to get a new one.

I use a laptop for surfing,facebook, emailing,watching Netflix and Youtube and I do a lot of work on Word. That's it basically. No other major needs. I want to stick with Windows,preferably not Windows 10 if I can avoid it and I'd like another small laptop as I travel a lot and the Acer has been great for portability. Id also like a decent memory size for good storage. My budget is around €500.

So,as I don't have a clue about the different models /brands out there,any and all advice is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

windows 10 is a very good product now and gets the required security updates.
it's a far better product than win 7 which is 8 years old and not fully supported anymore afaik (minimal support)
you can't buy a laptop with win 7 new anymore. you could try to buy a win 7 licence separately but also run the risk of device driver issues possibly if you put it on a new machine

also laptops these days come with faster solid-state ssd drives which are smaller than the old slow spinning drives. get a cheap usb hd if you need big extra storage or use an sd card. for a small portable laptop in your budget range you won't get any bigger than a 128gb ssd. that's the facts!

going by your needs I'd recommend this laptop for 430. it has a 14 inch screen but as light as your old laptop and has real-world 12 hour battery life.
very portable and due to slimmer bezels on screen is probably the same or marginally bigger than your old model.
portability certainly won't be an issue and much more comfortable to work on than an 11.6 unit.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-1-sf114-32-14-intel-pentium-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10184906-pdt.html#srcid=11026

the cpu is plenty for your needs. it's a premium all-metal build with full hd ips matte screen, backlit keyboard and is a really nice looking machine too.

here's a comprehensive review (of a more expensive model with a bigger ssd size (256gb) but all the rest the same)
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Acer-Swift-1-SF114-32-N5000-SSD-FHD-Laptop-Review.303606.0.html

short video review of that model with the latest n5000 chip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmz6E_FDbpQ

ED E

glasso wrote: »

windows 10 is a very good product now and gets the required security updates.

(As a windows user)

Ha. HAhahahaa. Ha. Good one. (eg)

Windows has been a disaster since MS laid of a few thousand test employees. They're now using production as test. I'm specifically using a branch of Windows that doesn't get feature updates to avoid being a guinea pig. Using later builds of 8.1 that have had the kinks ironed out but don't get messed around with by Redmond isn't a bad idea.

ED E

ED E wrote: »

(As a windows user)

Ha. HAhahahaa. Ha. Good one. (eg)

Windows has been a disaster since MS laid of a few thousand test employees. They're now using production as test. I'm specifically using a branch of Windows that doesn't get feature updates to avoid being a guinea pig. Using later builds of 8.1 that have had the kinks ironed out but don't get messed around with by Redmond isn't a bad idea.

you can decide when to install updates. e.g. if there is an issue don't install until fixed. quick google to see if there is any issue

you're exaggerating.

windows 10 is fine and looks a lot nicer than windows 8.1

acequion

glasso wrote: »

short video review of that model with the latest n5000 chip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmz6E_FDbpQ

Thank you glasso for that. I was in Harvey Norman's today and was interested in a Lenova, an ideapad, I think. It's a Lenovo 110s N3060 4 GB 64GB,11.6 screen. What do you think?

Also they would charge an extra €80 to set it all up for me with extras etc. Is that normal practice? I wouldn't be able to set it up myself.

acequion

acequion wrote: »

Thank you glasso for that. I was in Harvey Norman's today and was interested in a Lenova, an ideapad, I think. It's a Lenovo 110s N3060 4 GB 64GB,11.6 screen. What do you think?

Also they would charge an extra €80 to set it all up for me with extras etc. Is that normal practice? I wouldn't be able to set it up myself.

the cpu is rubbish. it's literally 1/3 as powerful as the n5000. the n5000 would be the min for smooth operation. and 64gb is too small. I imagine that the screen and general build is poor also.

and 80 euro is a ripoff to "set-up"

you don't need to set anything up really - except create a windows login when connected to a wifi network. and surely you can install a few programs?

the one that I linked is much better and built to last longer and would be much more enjoyable to use.

don't be fixated on the 11.6 screen size. the swift 14 is small and portable.

if you really need this pc world do it for 45 to 60 euro

https://www.teamknowhow.com/ie/connect-it/set-up/computer-set-up

acequion

glasso wrote: »

if you really need this pc world do it for 45 to 60 euro

https://www.teamknowhow.com/ie/connect-it/set-up/computer-set-up

Thanks for that. Was thinking that €80 seemed really steep.

acequion

acequion wrote: »

Thanks for that. Was thinking that €80 seemed really steep.

follow this. it's really not hard if you give it a go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Swbd_gJLs

acequion

What about the two year extra warranty? Should I go for that? In HN there does seem to be a lot of extras ie extra warranty, anti virus, Office. Not sure what extras I actually need!

all these things - warranty, software etc are upsell with very high margins for the retailer.

DON'T buy any software there. you'll pay way more and they will probably try to sell you stuff that you don't need e.g. antivirus (that windows has built in or free Avast one for free download and use).

Don't buy any extras there.

I wouldn't bother with extra warranty either.

what do you need - internet - that's free e.g. google chrome

word processing - you may be able to transfer your existing licence if you have word/office

or else if it's only word processing the free libreoffice is excellent. it can work in and save in word format.

the word processor is pretty much exactly like word.

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

acequion

glasso wrote: »

what do you need - internet - that's free e.g. google chrome

word processing - you may be able to transfer your existing licence if you have word/office

or else if it's only word processing the free libreoffice is excellent. it can work in and save in word format.

the word processor is pretty much exactly like word.

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/

I do a lot of stuff on word ie typing and saving documents for my work as a teacher. I generally save on dropbox. So would libreoffice do the trick? What about powerpoint? I need that sometimes. Currently,on the old computer I have a yearly subscription to Norton. Though it costs about €100. HN use Macfee [probably wrong spelling] and it does seem cheaper, around €50 a year,I think.

Thanks again for all the help, really appreciate it!

avast antivirus free does the job fine. no need to pay for this stuff seriously. avast free is fine. the only price to pay is the odd annoying pop up in windows (not that frequent at all) that tries to prompt you to upgrade to a paid version. which is not needed.
https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
you can cut these out to a large extent
https://www.howtogeek.com/291316/how-to-get-rid-of-avasts-notifications-sounds-and-bundled-software/


yes libreoffice would be fine. their version of powerpoint is a bit different but if you're not doing advanced stuff you should be ok.

otherwise buy an offline office version from softwareforstudents.ie
it's 149 for full office.
https://www.software4students.ie/microsoft-office-home-and-student/
may be cheaper else where. try libreoffice tho - it's good unless you're a power user which, with all due respects it doesn't sound like you are. as I said you can work in and save as .docx and .ppt formats if you need to

but if you already have office on your old pc you can transfer the license usually

check youtube e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCwwpaCrKpQ

or try youtube for more such tutorials

seriously that swift in pcworld will suit you. aside from work stuff, for netflix the really nice ips hd screen will be great for viewing.

acequion

glasso wrote: »

avast antivirus free does the job fine. no need to pay for this stuff seriously. avast free is fine. the only price to pay is the odd annoying pop up in windows (not that frequent at all) that tries to prompt you to upgrade to a paid version. which is not needed.
https://www.avast.com/free-antivirus-download
you can cut these out to a large extent
https://www.howtogeek.com/291316/how-to-get-rid-of-avasts-notifications-sounds-and-bundled-software/


yes libreoffice would be fine. their version of powerpoint is a bit different but if you're not doing advanced stuff you should be ok.

otherwise buy an offline office version from softwareforstudents.ie
it's 149 for full office.
https://www.software4students.ie/microsoft-office-home-and-student/
may be cheaper else where. try libreoffice tho - it's good unless you're a power user which, with all due respects it doesn't sound like you are. as I said you can work in and save as .docx and .ppt formats if you need to

but if you already have office on your old pc you can transfer the license usually

check youtube e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCwwpaCrKpQ

or try youtube for more such tutorials

seriously that swift in pcworld will suit you

lol,:) you're right,am not a power user.

Yes I have Office on the old PC. Bought it as a once off. How do I transfer it?

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/transfer-ms-office-new-computer-55940.html

For your case I guess it's go to here if it's office 2010
https://support.office.com/en-us/article/install-office-2010-1b8f3c9b-bdd2-4a4f-8c88-aa756546529d

or office 2013 uses login

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/download-and-install-or-reinstall-office-2016-or-office-2013-7c695b06-6d1a-4917-809c-98ce43f86479

On the new pc and download the old version of office that you bought eg 2010 etc

Then you need the product licence key code to install it.

This would have come with your previous purchase

are you going to go for that acer swift 1?

don't tell me that you're considering that really weak 110s?

acequion

glasso wrote: »

are you going to go for that acer swift 1?

don't tell me that you're considering that really weak 110s?

No don't worry,I'm not going for the weak one. I need a decent machine and something relatively fast.

So yeah I am indeed thinking about the acer swift. Just taking my time. Or what about this one?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaPad-320-14-Inch-Laptop/dp/B07515ZHV9

What do you think of buying it online?

And what about using google docs,drive etc instead of office?

Am worried about size though as my last acer, which isn't dead yet and using right now, is just so fabulously portable. Today I just threw it into a not very big handbag and dashed through the rain to my car. Would I be able to do that with a 14 inch?

acequion

acequion wrote: »

No don't worry,I'm not going for the weak one. I need a decent machine and something relatively fast.

So yeah I am indeed thinking about the acer swift. Just taking my time. Or what about this one?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-IdeaPad-320-14-Inch-Laptop/dp/B07515ZHV9

What do you think of buying it online?

And what about using google docs,drive etc instead of office?

Am worried about size though as my last acer, which isn't dead yet and using right now, is just so fabulously portable. Today I just threw it into a not very big handbag and dashed through the rain to my car. Would I be able to do that with a 14 inch?

that lenovo is ok but nearly 1/2 a kilo heavier than the swift, screen resolution is poor and it's not made of metal.

lightness is the key factor for portability. the swift is also thin. it's not as wide as you think as even though 14 inch screen (which is measured diagonally) the bezels are thin - a lot thinner than your existing laptop so there is probably not that much in it overall.

go in and see it in pc world if your worried about it.

buying online is fine - especially somewhere like amazon who provide excellent customer service

your old/current laptop

285mm x 202mm x 24mm. Weight 1.38kg


acer swift 1

323 mm. x 228 mm x 15mm Weight 1.30 kg

so 1.5 inch wider, 1 inch deeper and a lot thinner. and lighter.

acequion

glasso wrote: »

your old/current laptop

285mm x 202mm x 24mm. Weight 1.38kg


acer swift 1

323 mm. x 228 mm x 15mm Weight 1.30 kg

so 1.5 inch wider, 1 inch deeper and a lot thinner. and lighter.

It's not really thinner and lighter tbh. My current one is a lovely thin and neat little machine and I never found it too small to work on, if anything, I've appreciated how compact it is. You could perch it literally anywhere, a window sill, a corner of the kitchen table, find a little space on a cluttered desk and away you go. Now it mightn't be great to watch films but then I'd never watch films on a laptop anyway, would always connect it to the TV.

But I'm resigned to having to go up to 14 inch and at mo am leaning towards the Lenovo. Was in Curry's today and looked at the Acer swift and Lenovo, both really nice machines,but both a good bit bigger than my current Acer which I had with me and measured against. For me portability is not so much about weight, as in a half kilo more or less means nothing, it's about bulk, and while both are portable enough whichever I pick, I'll miss my neat little one.

Why am I leaning towards Lenovo,you'll wonder. Two things. 1. I'm not mad about a Pentium processor and 2. the Acer Swift is almost identical to my current, just bigger and just as when getting a new phone, I always like something a bit different. Novelty factor.:) At this point I think I'll wait until Black Friday.

Whatever you get make sure it has a full HD 1080p screen. Preferably ips

The performance benchmark on that n5000 is decent and more than enough for your limited needs. The name pentium itself means nothing

It also doesn't need a fan so longer battery life and quieter.

cullenswood

Hi guys,

Am in the market for pretty much exactly what the OP needs, so found this thread very helpful. Thanks for the tips glasso. Like the look of that Acer you recommended, but was wondering how you would compare it to the likes of this??

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-intel-pentium-gold-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10180951-pdt.html

cullenswood

cullenswood wrote: »

Hi guys,

Am in the market for pretty much exactly what the OP needs, so found this thread very helpful. Thanks for the tips glasso. Like the look of that Acer you recommended, but was wondering how you would compare it to the likes of this??

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-intel-pentium-gold-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10180951-pdt.html

that has an inferior screen (only 720p and not ips), is heavier and doesn't have the premium metal build of the acer swift. also no keyboard backlighting. battery life not as good either although it's still good.

the cpu is a bit more powerful but I think that the other advantages of the acer (looks like a premium 1000 euro + ultrabook) outweigh that.

if you really only need a machine for browsing, ms office and netflix I'd go for the acer swift 1.

can't underestimate the value of a good quality screen - it's what you're looking at all the time after all.

H3llR4iser

OP, I just skimmed through this thread - as most said, you don't need any of the rubbish "extra" they're trying to sell you. As a matter of fact, most of the stuff laptops come preinstalled with, is better removed straight away. Most fancy antivirus software will only cost you money and slow down your machine, they won't stop/catch anything that Avast or even the quite frankly good Security Essentials won't.

If your main use is Word and the occasional Powerpoint, the free MS Office alternatives will suit you well; If you want to stick with Office, you can get a fresh Office 365 license for very little money as a teacher - might actually be eligible to get it for free, even: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/education/products/office/default.aspx

However, the most important thing nobody seems to have covered...go around and check the keyboards on some laptops, with the fad of using super short-travel, macbook-lookalike arrangement most budget oriented laptops are absolutely atrocious to type on! Try and find a model that suits your...hands

acequion

H3llR4iser wrote: »

OP, I just skimmed through this thread - as most said, you don't need any of the rubbish "extra" they're trying to sell you. As a matter of fact, most of the stuff laptops come preinstalled with, is better removed straight away. Most fancy antivirus software will only cost you money and slow down your machine, they won't stop/catch anything that Avast or even the quite frankly good Security Essentials won't.

If your main use is Word and the occasional Powerpoint, the free MS Office alternatives will suit you well; If you want to stick with Office, you can get a fresh Office 365 license for very little money as a teacher - might actually be eligible to get it for free, even: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ie/education/products/office/default.aspx

However, the most important thing nobody seems to have covered...go around and check the keyboards on some laptops, with the fad of using super short-travel, macbook-lookalike arrangement most budget oriented laptops are absolutely atrocious to type on! Try and find a model that suits your...hands

Thanks so much for that.

robbiezero

Useful thread. Looking to buy for between 500 and 600. Thinking this looks decent for what I want?

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8436140/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7Ccat_50000560%7CLaptops%7C50000564.htm

lolliedog

robbiezero wrote: »

Useful thread. Looking to buy for between 500 and 600. Thinking this looks decent for what I want?

http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/8436140/c_1/1%7Ccategory_root%7COffice%2C+PCs+and+phones%7C14418968/c_2/3%7Ccat_50000560%7CLaptops%7C50000564.htm

Screen resolution is the only fly in the ointment.

Red Lightning

Is that Acer Swift 1 rated well? I may be wrong but would ya not be better looking for an i3 or i5 processor rather than a pentium? I'm looking for a new laptop for the same usage as the OP.

acequion

I went for the Lenovo in the end. It's an ideapad 330, 14 inch and I got it in PC world, €479, nothing at all off on Black Friday or Cyber Monday,so much for that :rolleyes:

But I'm very happy with it. I had been so used to my little 11.6 inch Acer,but am happy to report that my new one is really only a little bigger, the model is thin and light weight. So happy days.:pac:

Thanks to all who answered my request for advice,especially Glasso,whose help and information were invaluable.

Alanstrainor

Red Lightning wrote: »

Is that Acer Swift 1 rated well? I may be wrong but would ya not be better looking for an i3 or i5 processor rather than a pentium? I'm looking for a new laptop for the same usage as the OP.

This one is a very good deal:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-1-sf114-32-14-intel-pentium-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10184906-pdt.html#srcid=11026

The processor is very capable for the tasks the OP mentions. You wouldn't notice any difference between a top end processor and this one for those tasks.

And you did well OP, that's a perfect laptop for your needs.

madmaggie

I recently bought an Acer Aspire 3 in Currys, 299. Delighted with it. I found Windows 10 much easier and user friendly than Windows 7 on my previous 7 year old laptop.

Gloomtastic!

Hi All,

I have a €350 All4One voucher to spend on a laptop so restricted to Argos or Curry’s/PC World.

Will just be used for internet surfing and a bit of OpenOffice stuff.

Any recommendations please?

Alanstrainor

A bit out of budget, but worth the extra:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-1-sf114-32-14-intel-pentium-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10184906-pdt.html

bergipau

Alanstrainor wrote: »

A bit out of budget, but worth the extra:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-1-sf114-32-14-intel-pentium-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10184906-pdt.html

I am seriously tempted with this laptop. Any know if there are additional slots for an extra 256gb ssd?

Alanstrainor

bergipau wrote: »

I am seriously tempted with this laptop. Any know if there are additional slots for an extra 256gb ssd?

Definitely no additional slots but I am pretty sure it uses a standard M.2 slot for its SSD which you can use to replace the 128GB drive with whatever size you like.

Alanstrainor

Alanstrainor wrote: »

A bit out of budget, but worth the extra:

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-swift-1-sf114-32-14-intel-pentium-laptop-128-gb-ssd-silver-10184906-pdt.html

Anyone getting this should know that it comes with 'Windows 10 S" which is a restricted version of Windows 10 that only allows apps from the app store to be installed. The good news is that the 'S' mode can be switched off easily by following the steps here:

https://www.windowscentral.com/surface-go-how-unlock-windows-10-s-mode

Gloomtastic!

Went into Curry’s Airside branch this morning and the Carr was out of stock. They recommended a Lenovo as an alternative. Pic attached.

Hopefully those in the know here will say I got a good deal. :rolleyes:

Alanstrainor

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

Went into Curry’s Airside branch this morning and the Carr was out of stock. They recommended a Lenovo as an alternative. Pic attached.

Hopefully those in the know here will say I got a good deal. :rolleyes:

It's not a bad deal. Good processor (better than the Acer), and otherwise comparable spec wise. The other draw of the Acer was the premium quality of the case and screen, the Lenovo is likely not as nice. And the Lenovo has a worse battery life.

Now I know I sound pessimistic enough about that Lenovo, but it's honestly not a bad deal. It would do what you need without issue. The processor is a nice plus too.