Trying to figure out what laptop to buy...

Phantasos

I'm looking at laptops in the €800 range, and finding it hard to see something I like. Everything is either budget-tier with a bad screen, or >€1000 tier which is too expensive.

Things I want in a laptop:

• Windows
• 15.6" screen (will settle for 14" if necessary)
• At least 8GB RAM
• An excellent keyboard (low travel or spongy keys are a no-no)
• A good screen (1080p / Full HD)
• Decent battery life

The laptop is mainly for MS Office (a lot of writing), general web browsing and Netflix. I currently have an Acer Chromebook 14 and it's actually not too bad, but the limitations of ChromeOS are driving me bonkers. Keyboard isn't great either.

I see loads of 'basic' laptops that look nice, but they either have dim, disappointing screens or terrible keyboards.

Any suggestions? I feel like the mid-range part of the market is sorely lacking.

gandalf

To be honest most laptops these days have lower travel keyboards as they are going for a thin profile laptop. I'd suggest going to a bricks and mortar store and check out the different brands to see which has a keyboard you like. Otherwise I'd suggest a bluetooth keyboard if you are using the system at a desk.

What you call a disappointing keyboard could be perfectly fine for me.

Phantasos

Even on the 'shallow' keyboards you can get a huge variance in... I want to say clickiness? I can understand the need to test a few different laptops out in a physical store before purchase.

Aside from that point, can you suggest any laptops that I should consider?

Alanstrainor

There's lots of value to be had in Dells tbh.

https://www.dell.com/en-ie/shop/laptops/inspiron-15-5000/spd/inspiron-15-5570-laptop

There's one there for 729, it has 1080p screen, i5 4 core processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD and discrete graphics. All in a relatively slim package. It offers very good performance for the price to be honest.

SOPHIE THE DOG

"Ships in 23 - 25 business days", thats 5 weeks before it ships.
That's a bit of a wait
I was badly let down by Dell the last two times I ordered from them, by the time the estimated shipping date arrived i was getting emails saying there would be further delays.
The ITB HDD one (cheaper) says "ready to ship".

Alanstrainor

SOPHIE THE DOG wrote: »

"Ships in 23 - 25 business days", thats 5 weeks before it ships.
That's a bit of a wait
I was badly let down by Dell the last two times I ordered from them, by the time the estimated shipping date arrived i was getting emails saying there would be further delays.
The ITB HDD one (cheaper) says "ready to ship".

Good catch. But if the OP can wait then it still is a good deal imo. The 1TB one is a poor choice and I would avoid. It would make the machine feel much slower than the one I mentioned.

a few people have bought this one and are happy with it for 600 if it's still available

4-core i5, 256gb ssd, full hd ips screen, 14 inch. 1.6kg

https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-pavilion-14-ce0508sa-14-intel-core-i5-laptop-256-gb-ssd-gold-10184662-pdt.html

14 inch a good screen size imo and replacing the 15 inch screens in a lot of segments.

reasonably light at 1.6kg also.

OldMrBrennan83

I've an E580 ThinkPad and it's one of the better keyboards I've used (miles nicer than my XPS). It has 8GB, 256GB SSD, i5, and most importantly has the little red ball thing so you don't need the trackpad. 15" and was €720.

the hp in currys looks like this. nice modern design.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg_H3Wt2s2M

actually that hp has been on sale for a while - seems to be totally out of stock

this is the same laptop but in stock
https://www.currys.ie/ieen/computing...84651-pdt.html

but 128gb ssd instead of 256gb

still the one to go for imo

you could add in another ssd as they are cheap enough now e.g. 48 sterling for a 480gb ssd on amazon.

just open it up when you get it to confirm what slot is free (I think that it's the 2.5inch sata slot that's free but just open up to make sure)

Ron Burgundy II

SOPHIE THE DOG wrote: »

"Ships in 23 - 25 business days", thats 5 weeks before it ships.
That's a bit of a wait
I was badly let down by Dell the last two times I ordered from them, by the time the estimated shipping date arrived i was getting emails saying there would be further delays.
The ITB HDD one (cheaper) says "ready to ship".

I bought the Dell with the 1tb hard drive. Was in a rush to get one due to college (structural design software requirements necessitated windows power) and also it was cheaper then what was on offer in the stores. Terrible build quality, the keyboard is cheap and the movement/flex in the body when typing is very annoying. The screen is terrible, an awful dull haze (could be some anti-glare coating) and doesn't feel like an HD screen. The laptop is very slow I guess this is a result of the 1TB hard drive. All in all, I would be slow to get an Inspiron laptop again. So much so I'm tempted to get the HP laptop and take the hit on the Dell.

swap the drive for an ssd.

will speed it up a lot and make it usable - going for a spinning drive only these days is madness.

your laptop has a spare m.2 stick slot -> get a sata m.2 2280 nvme stick (sata may not work in your laptop for the m.2 so safer to go nvme. nvme is more expensive but faster - min 2x to 3x faster than Sata )

this is less than 50 euro for 240gb

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YUCUN-240GB-Express-GEN3-0x4-Solid/dp/B07HVSF68X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1550060155&sr=8-5&keywords=m.2+pcie+ssd+120

actually you CAN put in the cheaper m.2 2280 SATA ssd type in also - but as the price difference isn't huge I'd go for the faster NVME above as only about 12 euro in it

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YUCUN-TESTED-Internal-Ultrabooks-Tablets/dp/B078S32PFC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1550070881&sr=8-4&keywords=2280+sata+ssd+m.2+240gb

(I have used this brand on another ssd and it's very good - see reviews on this exact model on amazon also)

keep the 1tb for storage.

install and transfer windows over to the ssd. the most important thing is to have windows and your browser / most used programs on the ssd.

will transform the speed

that dell is heavy-ish. for college where you are probably transporting the laptop a bit I'd always recommend going for portability - 1.6kg max and probably a 14 inch screen.

the dell 15 5000 is an old hat design at this stage but since you have it no point in not sorting out the hard drive

there are good dells e.g. the more expensive 7000 inspirons but you have to look into each model before buying and the same model changes between generations but keeps the same name