Anything better for €216?

Robert ninja

I'm looking for a cheap laptop just for simple tasks and I've been wanting the Pinebook Pro for a while now because of its price: https://www.pine64.org/pinebook-pro/
However I wanted to know if there's anything similar that's perhaps better around this price range?

Budget: €250
Intended Use: College, terminal text editors, full IDEs like Visual Studio

The heaviest stuff I'll be doing is compiling code in an IDE, simple graphical editors like GIMP, HD playback and playing something like Doom 1993 or other such small games.

beauf

If it were me and wanting to use visual studio I would not get less than i5 8gb ram and a 256gb ssd and FullHD screen 1080 etc.
You can get something like that second hand for around 300.

That pine book spec looks pitifully slow.

dubrov

That laptop is completely unsuitable for Visual Studio.
You'll need to go second hand on that budget.

Look for at least the following specs:
Windows 10 OS
i3 processor
256GB Hard Drive
4GB RAM

Of course it would be better to go better than the above but they should be fine if you are just starting out.
Also try and get a model that was released int he last year or so.

Robert ninja

Thanks for feedback. Do those points still stand if I just drop Visual Studio then?

beauf

I have an old 14" Lenovo 120s similar spec to that pine, and another 11" Lenovo. They are basically netbooks in a laptop shell. They are really only useful for basic typing. I even dislike using it for web browsing. I only use it in an emergency.

If you want to challenge of using something low powered like retro computer from a couple of decades ago. That's different. But as a daily driver I would get something better.

For 33% more money you'd be getting something 500% faster. I think the low powered machines I have I paid about 120-130 a year or two ago. So the pine is overpriced for what it is imo.

Did someone recommend it? Never heard of them.

Robert ninja

Heard about them in some tech podcasts. Wasn't recommended them personally. Not looking to challenge myself with something low powered just didn't want to get anything over my needs and wanted to avoid the windows tax.

beauf wrote: »

They are really only useful for basic typing. I even dislike using it for web browsing.

Pinebook Pro rewiews seemed to have an ok time with browsing but I could just stick to terminal typing and avoid full IDEs. Or a 2nd hand windows laptop and just format windows off it. Decisions decisions...

Mango Joe

Robert ninja wrote: »

Thanks for feedback. Do those points still stand if I just drop Visual Studio then?

Thats a terrible attitude to this process - Sure why don't you just keep dropping your baseline requirements until something from Fisher Price will suffice????

Check Adverts or Done Deal for a solid business class laptop with an SSD, 8GBs RAM and a full HD screen.

You'll be buying a €1500-1700 laptop that someone now has no use for for around €350.

listermint

Robert ninja wrote: »

Heard about them in some tech podcasts. Wasn't recommended them personally. Not looking to challenge myself with something low powered just didn't want to get anything over my needs and wanted to avoid the windows tax.


Pinebook Pro rewiews seemed to have an ok time with browsing but I could just stick to terminal typing and avoid full IDEs. Or a 2nd hand windows laptop and just format windows off it. Decisions decisions...

If the laptop comes with windows installed on it (second hand for example)

what is this windows tax... you speak of ?

Tech podcasts... hmmm

beauf

Even with Linux. A modern browser is needed for most websites. Most websites these days are a bloated resources hogging mess. Not to mention bloated with thousands of ads making lots of them unusable on a low end machine.

I've one Laptop with a core2duo from 15yrs ago and it runs rings around these new low powered low cost laptops, netbook. But its heavy bulky and battery is dysmal. However if I wanted something to type an essay or something like that, thats cheap if it's gets stolen and light and the battery lasts for ages. Then one of these low powered cheap things is ideal.

But really all of these will be a sloth compared to mid range i3 or i5 that's 2 or 3yrs old. You'll pay very little extra to get this.

So the pine is cheap, but not a bargain.

Robert ninja

Mango Joe wrote: »

why don't you just keep dropping your baseline requirements

It wasn't a baseline requirement just something I thought I might use. I can live without it. I wasn't dropping everything, either. The first 2 responses were warning me about VS (which I wasn't mad about to begin with) so I wanted to know if everything else was ok with that out of the equation.

listermint wrote: »

If the laptop comes with windows installed on it (second hand for example)
what is this windows tax... you speak of ?

Wasn't worried about windows tax for a 2nd hand lappy, mainly for something new. However even second hand the seller would be marking it down a based on the original price which included the windows key so it's still in there albeit not worth thinking about probably. Is Windows free now? I know lots of my peers don't pay for it but there's a license nag which I've never seen happen on retail laptops.

EDIT: Nevermind I just checked. €145 for the cheapest version according to microsoft website. Can't see how that cost doesn't get passed to the customer. Still probably going with a 2nd hand windows lappy, though. Think I might've found one in a local store EDIT 2: The listing was 2 months old so I don't think that lappy is there anymore

Thanks for the suggestions.

beauf

Any used laptop that's under 3yrs old will come with Windows 10 license. It's basically free. If you are going to replace it with Linux then it's a non issue anyway. It will be easier to get Linux on a main stream laptop than one of those CPUs that's in the Pine.

Robert ninja

beauf wrote: »

Any used laptop that's under 3yrs old will come with Windows 10 license. It's basically free. If you are going to replace it with Linux then it's a non issue anyway. It will be easier to get Linux on a main stream laptop than one of those CPUs that's in the Pine.

Yeah I'm probably going with a standard laptop just for the beefier specs like was recommended although I'll need to hunt for a good deal. Wasn't after the ARM processor (although was a bit curious) anyway. Don't really get your point about price though. Windows 10 licenses are easily adding €100~ to any machine irregardless of how old the laptop is or what I do with it after I buy it. 50% reduction on €100 isn't €0. The cost always trickles down to the buyer.

beauf

Try getting 100 off 3yr old laptop by getting it without Windows. Won't happen. Cost of Windows oem is negligible when new, and nothing with a used machine.

Retail is a different product. There is no point buying that unless you are building high end desktop for yourself. It's irrelevant to this thread.

Microsoft knows this which is why it's moving a lot of its core business to the cloud and other platforms like iOS and Android.

Robert ninja

beauf wrote: »

Try getting 100 off 3yr old laptop by getting it without Windows

That's was exactly my point: The price of the activated license continues on regardless if a user wiped the install at some point. That's the windows tax.

beauf wrote: »

Microsoft knows this which is why it's moving a lot of its core business to the cloud and other platforms like iOS and Android.

W10 license still costs money so it's a moot point. Unless they charge €0.00 for licenses to (Dell, HP, etc) that price is going to hit the end customer. But I mean if you're this sure about it please show me where I can get these €145.00+ windows licenses for free: I could probably drop college and live off undercutting everyone on key sites.

beauf

I give up.

Buy the pine and save yourself your imaginary 145.

Robert ninja

beauf wrote: »

Buy the pine

Robert ninja wrote: »

I'm probably going with a standard laptop just for the beefier specs like was recommended

Robert ninja wrote: »

Still probably going with a 2nd hand windows lappy, though.

Thanks again.

Fingerbang2

You can download windows 10 off the Microsoft site for free and use it But with a watermark on the side. You can also buy serials off eBay for a couple of euro

advertsfox

Windows 10 Home Key for €12.99 off URCDKey - goes down to €10.39 with the code UKNO - used this site multiple times, code discount applies to all.

https://www.urcdkey.com/microsoft-windows-10-home-oem-cd-key-global_1968-20.html

Download Windows 10 ISO - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

Robert ninja

Fingerbang2 wrote: »

You can download windows 10 off the Microsoft site for free and use it But with a watermark on the side. You can also buy serials off eBay for a couple of euro

Yeah I'm actually aware of that thanks. I help my friends build windows gaming PCs and I just slam an unactivated W10 on it for them and it causes no issues. If the thread conversation made it seem like I want a license key for W10, my bad. That's not what I'm looking for at all right now and I can probably get one on a grey market site for cheap anyway if I did.

Dell etc don't sell unactivated windows laptops though and I'll wager they don't get licenses from grey markets.

advertsfox wrote: »

Download Windows 10 ISO - https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

Hey thanks I think I used that on the last build. Not what I need right now though.

EDIT: https://www.asus.com/uk/supportonly/L402NA/HelpDesk_Manual/

This is listed on a local store of mine but I can't find any specs about it. Would anyone recommend that? It's super cheap in price.

EDIT 2: Found some specs I think https://www.bolha.com/racunalnistvo/prenosni-racunalniki-in-oprema/asus/asus-vivobook-l402na-3gb-32gb-1347546492.html

dubrov

If you drop VS you might be alright. Forget compiling and/or graphical editing without decent processor and RAM.

Text editing, light browsing, HD video playback , Word docs, light Excel spreadsheets should be fine. The screen will be fairly nice too.
Doom is really old so will probably be ok even with a poor processor. It won't run anything modern though.

I'd still recommend to go second hand and avoid any headaches.

beauf

Robert ninja wrote: »

...Dell etc don't sell unactivated windows laptops though ...
...

Dell sell laptops with Ubuntu. Bottom of the bucket hardware but better than that pine.

289.00 before haggling...

Robert ninja

beauf wrote: »

Dell sell laptops with Ubuntu

That's not a windows machine with an unactivated license :pac:. The only identical laptop on their site that I could find that you could choose between W10 & other had a €170 difference for the W10 one. :eek:

beauf wrote: »

better than that pine.

289.00 before haggling...

Will have a look cheers, can't believe I didn't think to check places like that. I'm a complete laptop noob, literally never bought one :P. Always been at desktops (that were usually custom).

dubrov wrote: »

If you drop VS you might be alright. Forget compiling and/or graphical editing without decent processor and RAM.

Text editing, light browsing, HD video playback , Word docs, light Excel spreadsheets should be fine. The screen will be fairly nice too.
Doom is really old so will probably be ok even with a poor processor. It won't run anything modern though.

I'd still recommend to go second hand and avoid any headaches.

Is this in relation to the last laptop link I posted or the 1st post?

dubrov

Robert ninja wrote: »

Is this in relation to the last laptop link I posted or the 1st post?

It was in relation to your original post but that new laptop isn't much better.
The sort of stuff you are looking at isn't far off a tablet with a keyboard.

You can get the Visual Studio minimum requirements here.

If you go second hand you'll get way more hardware for your buck.
E.g. something like this is miles ahead of what you are looking at.
It's one of the first ones I looked at so probably not even a great deal.

beauf

Robert ninja wrote: »

That's not a windows machine with an unactivated license :pac:. The only identical laptop on their site that I could find that you could choose between W10 & other had a €170 difference for the W10 one. :eek: ...

...You are fixated with trying to find problems where there none....

There a good few unbuntu on the dell site some with almost no difference in price. But indeed lots of other companies offer laptops without Windows too.

https://www.pcspecialist.ie/

Robert ninja

beauf wrote: »

...You are fixated with trying to find problems where there none....

I made it clear 3 times now I was already convinced it's better to go for a standard laptop. You are fixated on making this thread a place to continue signal that Windows licenses are free or basic market economics doesn't apply to them.

beauf wrote: »

There a good few unbuntu on the dell site some with almost no difference in price.

Thanks for the link.

beauf

Your mindset is pre Windows 10 and also focused on retail and new machines.

...

If you want to find way to spend 145 on Windows. No doubt there are people stupid enough to find a way, and avoid all the many, many ways not to.

beauf

Like paying 250 for a laptop with abysmal spec worth at best 130.

Robert ninja

AFAIK The Pine thing is sold at-cost but replies don't like the specs so I don't either.

Mango Joe

beauf wrote: »

I give up.

Buy the pine and save yourself your imaginary 145.

OP you're overthinking this based, I suspect, from ****e opinion and discourse you've absorbed online.

A second hand laptop sells at its current marketable price which is what people are willing to pay for it at that particular point in time....the same as a motorbike, guitar, car or iguana.

Fingerbang2

Robert ninja wrote: »

AFAIK The Pine thing is sold at-cost but replies don't like the specs so I don't either.

Ah jaysus, ull never learn.

beauf

Mango Joe wrote: »

OP you're overthinking this based, I suspect, from ****e opinion and discourse you've absorbed online.

A second hand laptop sells at its current marketable price which is what people are willing to pay for it at that particular point in time....the same as a motorbike, guitar, car or iguana.

Well you're wrong. I'm responding to this and only this...

Robert ninja wrote: »

H,,,,wanted to avoid the windows tax.....

There is no Windows tax, (not anymore unless you go out of your way to pay it) and even if there was, this pine doesn't have it. Cheap does not always equal good value. End of.

beauf

Low powered netbooks (even if they look like a full sized laptop) are great for a very particular use.
But 95% of people would be better with full fat regular laptop.

Mango Joe

beauf wrote: »

Well you're wrong. I'm responding to this and only this....

Ah...I was addressing the OP?

Your post was quoted as it prompted my comment - I'm in agreement for the record.

Robert ninja

https://dealbuyer.com/viewproduct/17752/Packard_Bell_EasyNote_MS2384_156_4__750GB_AMD_A4-5000_15GHz_Windows_8/

Someone might sell me this 2nd hand, although his one has 6GB RAM. Would prefer an SSD (really dislike spinning rust these days) but I might be able to get it super cheap so it's something I can overlook (and possibly upgrade anyway?).

Robert ninja

Robert ninja wrote: »

https://dealbuyer.com/viewproduct/17752/Packard_Bell_EasyNote_MS2384_156_4__750GB_AMD_A4-5000_15GHz_Windows_8/

Someone might sell me this 2nd hand, although his one has 6GB RAM. Would prefer an SSD (really dislike spinning rust these days) but I might be able to get it super cheap so it's something I can overlook (and possibly upgrade anyway?).

junk cpu