Which of these laptops ?

unfit2006

Hi,

my old Dell Inspiron 15 needs replacing. I use a laptop mostly to browse the internet and read and store articles and photographs. I would like a nice clear 15.6" screen, reasonably fast processor, nice positive feel to the keypad and mouse. I was never happy with the keypad and mouse (touchpad) on the Inspiron 15.
I do not want to spend more than €500.

I have narrowed it down to these examples

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-15-da0511sa-15-6-intel-core-i3-laptop-1-tb-hdd-silver-10180938-pdt.html

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-15-da0594sa-15-6-intel-core-i3-laptop-1-tb-hdd-silver-10184692-pdt.html


https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/dell-inspiron-15-5000-15-6-intel-core-i3-laptop-1-tb-hdd-silver-10182139-pdt.html

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-6-15-6-intel-core-i5-laptop-1-tb-hdd-black-10180987-pdt.html

Other than the fact that the Acer has the i5 processor there does not appear to be any great difference between them. Perhaps I am missing something . Maybe there is a better item out there within my price range. I would appreciate your advice. Is there much difference between the build quality of the ones I've selected ? All things being equal, if it comes down to whichever of the above has the nicer look/feel about them, I will call up to Currys and see what I think of them in the flesh.

I bought my present Inspiron 15 on line and I don't think that I would have bought it had I seen it or tried it out beforehand.

Thanks for any help/advice you can offer.

mordeith

Not massive differences although the Dell does have an 8th gen i3 vs 7th in the HPs.

unfit2006

Thanks for that. I hadn't noticed that .
The Dell is €479 which is the same price as the Acer with the i5 processor. Would the Acer be the better choice of the 2 on that basis ?
I have had 2 Dells but never used an Acer afaik.
Might tip up to Currys this evening and see them in the flesh.

TerrorFirmer

I would consider something like this, as it is a 256GB SSD, which makes the machine overall significantly faster to boot-up and use.

Something like this is also a nice laptop and the CPU isn't too far behind any of those i3's or i5's.

heroics

Unless you absolutely need an internal 1tb hard drive do yourself a favour and get one with an ssd.

unfit2006

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I would consider something like this, as it is a 256GB SSD, which makes the machine overall significantly faster to boot-up and use.

Something like this is also a nice laptop and the CPU isn't too far behind any of those i3's or i5's.

Thanks. I suppose that getting into SSD at that price is worth dropping a bit on the screen size. I have added these 2 to my list to look at when I call in. Is SSD a major improvement to whatever it replaced ?

unfit2006

heroics wrote: »

Unless you absolutely need an internal 1tb hard drive do yourself a favour and get one with an ssd.

Hi,

So an SSD will have less internal memory but that doesn't matter a lot to me really as I have a 1tb external memory drive which I have hardly used 5% yet.

dmc17

unfit2006 wrote: »

Hi,

So an SSD will have less internal memory but that doesn't matter a lot to me really as I have a 1tb external memory drive which I have hardly used 5% yet.

If you have an external drive too and don't need huge storage, definitely go for SSD as it makes the laptop so much faster. I could never go back after getting one

unfit2006

dmc17 wrote: »

If you have an external drive too and don't need huge storage, definitely go for SSD as it makes the laptop so much faster. I could never go back after getting one

Thanks for that. I spent a few minutes reading up on SSD there now. Seem to be becoming the more favoured option alright. Price and relative capacity seem to be the only issues people have. I suppose the external hard drive is the answer. I never used it much up to now as I don't store much on the laptop.

heroics

unfit2006 wrote: »

Hi,

So an SSD will have less internal memory but that doesn't matter a lot to me really as I have a 1tb external memory drive which I have hardly used 5% yet.

The SSDs are more expensive but I could never go back to a laptop now that didn’t have one. There are massive performance benefits and if you have an external drive already even better.

I know that it's over your budget at €600 but for an extra 100 euro you're getting up to 8gb ram, reasonable sized 256gb ssd, IPS full hd display and a 4-core i5

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0501sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10184651-pdt.html

as 8gb ddr4 ram (which you'd need as laptops at that range only have 1 ram slot) costs about 60 euro I think that it's worth it.

or you could buy this for 459 and add in an m.2 2280 ssd stick from amazon for less than 30 euro to run windows and most used apps on.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/lenovo-ideapad-330-15arr-15-6-ryzen-3-laptop-2-tb-hdd-black-10185220-pdt.html

the ryzen 3 is equivalent to intel i3, except with a bit better integrated graphics

unfit2006

Called up to Currys today.

If I stick to my budget, then it is a choice between the Acer Aspire 6 (HDD) or the HP (SSD).Both at €479.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/acer-aspire-6-15-6-intel-core-i5-laptop-1-tb-hdd-black-10180987-pdt.html

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-14-ck0517sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10184905-pdt.html

Both have i5 although the HP has 7th Gen as opposed to the Acer which has the later version.

I think that I could live with the 14" screen on the HP once I would get used to it.


Glasso, I looked at the HP Pavillion for €600. It looks the real deal ok but I want to draw the line at €500.

Glasso, I don't know whats involved in buying a HDD laptop and adding a SSD stick. Would that give me the same benefits as buying a laptop with SSD such as the HP above ??? and would it also give the added benefit of the bigger internal memory of a HDD laptop. Best of both worlds ? That sounds like the way to go.

the reason that I suggested it for the lenovo is 'cos it doesn't have ssd.

so that's a way to cheaply add an ssd for running windows and most used programs off.

you definitely want ssd for speed reasons - it's a massive plus over the traditional spinning drives.

also in that case it gives you the benefit of a big storage drive for media and lesser used programs.

8gb ram would be desirable these days even tho win 10 will run on 4gb (within reason e.g. keeping background programs closed and the number of tabs in a browser down)

re your budget I get that but will an extra 100 kill you!? for the IPS screen and extra ram it's worth it (as well as the 4-core i5)

a screen is what you're looking at all the time after all.

that Acer is a bit of an ugly brick

unfit2006

your right about the Acer alright ... it's no show pony tbs
I think it's going to be between the 2 HPs at the end of the day.

mordeith

unfit2006 wrote: »

your right about the Acer alright ... it's no show pony tbs
I think it's going to be between the 2 HPs at the end of the day.

Got a higher speced version of of the 14" HP very recently. It's a lovely machine and you get used to the 14" very quickly

unfit2006

That's what I'm hoping. Either of the HPs will do the job for me I reckon. I would prefer the higher specced of the two but my budget had started at 400 and I pushed it out to the 479 so I reckon that's the one I may well go for.

unfit2006

Well, I bought the HP Pavilion today.

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0501sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10184651-pdt.html

Nicely proportioned laptop and great clear screen. I am only feeling my way around it at the moment as I have not used Windows 10 before.

Thanks to all for your help and advice and cheers to Glasso for his suggestion about this model.

in the long run I think that you won't regret spending the extra 100 euro on that model.

seems like a decent machine on paper that has a decent screen and is fairly light.

windows 10 is a pretty good product at this stage imo after a few major updates.

Benzino

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but wondering what people's thoughts are on 2 in 1 laptops. I'm also looking at the HP Pavilion, but notice they have a 2 in 1 version for the same price. Specs are the same but half the storage which wouldn't be a big deal for me.

My only concern would be that 2 in 1's may be more prone to breaking (connection to screen getting loose etc).

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-x360-14-cd0505sa-14-intel-core-i5-2-in-1-128-gb-ssd-silver-10184650-pdt.html

mordeith

I think that unless you are going to be using a 2 in 1 in tablet mode for a reasonable percentage of the time then they're not worth the extra price.

Benzino

mordeith wrote: »

I think that unless you are going to be using a 2 in 1 in tablet mode for a reasonable percentage of the time then they're not worth the extra price.

Yeah that's a fair point, probably wouldn't use it as a tablet much.

Benzino

Benzino wrote: »

Yeah that's a fair point, probably wouldn't use it as a tablet much.

couple of points

if you really want it to be used as a tablet then it needs to be really light like a surface pro or surface go. with a laptop even where the weight may be only 1.3/4 kg that's not comfortable to use as a tablet - way too heavy.

I have a 2-1 touch-screen laptop and rarely use the touch-screen.

the only time that I really find it useful is on a plane where the angle with the keyboard facing down and the screen towards you is useful for watching films/tv media as in a cramped space that works better and also means that your laptop will not get crunched if the person in front of you moves their seat back.

Benzino

Yeah I went ahead and just brought the laptop version, I wouldn't use the 2-in-1 enough to justify it. Just need to get used to Windows 10 coming from a Mac now

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, probably wouldn't have seen this HP laptop myself and from research, it's the best you can get at that price.

Benzino

Benzino wrote: »

Yeah I went ahead and just brought the laptop version, I wouldn't use the 2-in-1 enough to justify it. Just need to get used to Windows 10 coming from a Mac now

Thanks for all the help and suggestions, probably wouldn't have seen this HP laptop myself and from research, it's the best you can get at that price.

this one?

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0501sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10184651-pdt.html#srcid=11026

that's a solid laptop with good 4-core cpu, ips screen, not too heavy, ssd, 8gb ram

ticks all the boxes.

Benzino

glasso wrote: »

this one?

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0501sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-silver-10184651-pdt.html#srcid=11026

that's a solid laptop with good 4-core cpu, ips screen, not too heavy, ssd, 8gb ram

ticks all the boxes.

Yeah that's the one. Liking it so far, comes with a lot of bloatware but have most of it gone (beside Edge ha). Just need to get used to the keyboard and trackpad which is different from my macbook.

Benzino

Benzino wrote: »

Yeah that's the one. Liking it so far, comes with a lot of bloatware but have most of it gone (beside Edge ha). Just need to get used to the keyboard and trackpad which is different from my macbook.

trackpad probably not as good as macbook if it was one of those glass ones.

win 10 is solid these days though.

unfit2006

Super laptop this. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Boots up really fast. Almost instant after switch on. Also, it is so quiet in use.

i have one query about my old laptop. It is a dell Inspiron. about 5 years old. It got a lot of use and slowed down so much that it was almost unusable. Is there anything I could do with it that would put a bit of life back into it. I would like to keep it as a back-up and maybe use it in the workshop to run motor diagnostic software etc, and internet access. be feasible to replace the processor in it ?...

heroics

unfit2006 wrote: »

Super laptop this. Cannot recommend it highly enough. Boots up really fast. Almost instant after switch on. Also, it is so quiet in use.

i have one query about my old laptop. It is a dell Inspiron. about 5 years old. It got a lot of use and slowed down so much that it was almost unusable. Is there anything I could do with it that would put a bit of life back into it. I would like to keep it as a back-up and maybe use it in the workshop to run motor diagnostic software etc, and internet access. be feasible to replace the processor in it ?...

If it does not have an ssd then put one in would be my first suggestion

unfit2006

Never thought of that. Is there much involved ? I'm hands on with most things electrical etc. but never even looked inside a laptop before. I might open another thread on here to discuss it.

Brozy

Gonna piggy back on this thread.

Picking up a laptop for the auld lad. Having read through this thread, I'll get a SSD.

What's the story with hybrid storage laptops? Saw one that says: 1TB and 128GB SSD storage. Am I better off sticking to solely to SSD or is this option a best of both worlds option?

Brozy

Brozy wrote: »

Gonna piggy back on this thread.

Picking up a laptop for the auld lad. Having read through this thread, I'll get a SSD.

What's the story with hybrid storage laptops? Saw one that says: 1TB and 128GB SSD storage. Am I better off sticking to solely to SSD or is this option a best of both worlds option?

it's not a bad option. the only downside is that the ssd part is always 128gb

I'm not 100% if the ssd part will perform as well as a dedicated ssd

also the ssd will be the slower sata type

nvme ssds running over pci (as opposed to sata) are not becoming more common in laptops and are a good bit faster than sata ssds.

typically at least twice as fast. not that a sata ssd will be noticeably slow.

in budget laptops you'll be getting sata ssds pretty much.

if the ssd is described as pcie nvme it's better.

if it just says ssd it's going to be sata

TerrorFirmer

That's not hybrid storage, that's just a seperate 128GB SSD and 1TB drive. So yes, it's the best of both worlds in that you've a 128GB SSD for Windows and some programs, and the 1TB drive for storage.

A hybrid drive is an SSHD which is better than a HDD, but slower than an SSD.

you're correct in most cases but there are some drives with full hd and ssd

e.g. apple fusion drive

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_Drive

and some sshd sizes have 256 gb ssd

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_drive