Big Boy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:26 pm
It is almost time to retire my current laptop (I know that will please the Forum's techy guys ). My needs are simple i.e. 8 Gb RAM, 1 Tb Storage and storage should be SDD. Outside of that, I'm fairly flexible, although I prefer the cost to be on the lower side. I've been looking at Lazada, and have been hitting statements such as used to be Brand New, Refurbished and 2nd hand. I obviously want new.
I'm looking for suggestions please - must be a laptop/notebook.
Forget refurbished ones as you've said. What is your budget?
Brand names are personal choice as the innards are largely the same. I've had good experiences with Acer and Lenovo, bad ones with Asus.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
buksida wrote: ↑Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:42 pm
Brand names are personal choice as the innards are largely the same. I've had good experiences with Acer and Lenovo, bad ones with Asus.
If You're not going to buy apple or a chromebook, decide what your budget is and go play with various computers.
See how the keyboard feels; is it mushy or is there some resistance, do you want a 14" or 15" screen, a touch screen, is the distance from the "deck" to the keyboard comfortable, do you want a cd/video disc player, how do the speakers sound, if you're going to be transporting it, is the weight comfortable, how many ports do you need (printer, mouse, etc.), If you're going to running it via battery, how long does it take to recharge. That's all I can think of. You may have other things that you need or want.
buksida wrote: ↑Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:42 pm
Forget refurbished ones as you've said. What is your budget?
Brand names are personal choice as the innards are largely the same. I've had good experiences with Acer and Lenovo, bad ones with Asus.
I'm not sure, it will be a Birthday pressie from Mrs BB. I'd guess she'll try to limit me to 16K
I too like Acer, but when the battery dies, the machine is basically dead. Replacement batteries might extend a couple of months, but it is a known Acer problem apparently. Mine (and several others I know about) keep going to No Bootable Device, and need to be started through Bios.
My current laptop has had the battery removed, which eliminated the Bootable Device problem short term, but I'm having the nausea of starting through Bios again now.
handdrummer wrote: ↑Tue Feb 23, 2021 5:05 pm
If You're not going to buy apple or a chromebook, decide what your budget is and go play with various computers.
See how the keyboard feels; is it mushy or is there some resistance, do you want a 14" or 15" screen, a touch screen, is the distance from the "deck" to the keyboard comfortable, do you want a cd/video disc player, how do the speakers sound, if you're going to be transporting it, is the weight comfortable, how many ports do you need (printer, mouse, etc.), If you're going to running it via battery, how long does it take to recharge. That's all I can think of. You may have other things that you need or want.
I have an absolute hatred for anything Apple, so that is out.
Keyboard - I can adapt
Screen - used to 15" but already have a 14" spare
Touch Screen - no thank you
CD/DVD - not bothered
Speakers - as long as they work
Camera - need a decent camera, as it will be used for Zoom meetings (forgot that when stating my basic need)
Laptops with a 1TB SSD drive tend to be quite expensive and you’ll probably struggle to get one within your budget - unless you need such a large memory, a 512 GB might be possible
Big Boy wrote:I have been wondering about that. Everything SSD on Lazada did seem quite small. Oh well, maybe I'll have to stick to a regular hard drive
I would definitely recommend going over to a SSD drive - you’ll be amazed how quick everything works and 512 GB is still quite a decent size memory, but I’m sure you know what size you need
Yes, I like to have everything at my fingertips, but I could put some of the more mundane stuff to a portable hard drive. I'm regularly running with 750Gb used.
I'll have a wander around Market Village and Bluport tomorrow to physically see if anything takes my fancy.
Echo DB's thoughts - a SSD is a must, the performance difference is noticeable. It is also bad practice to keep important data on the system drive so it should be stored or at least backed up on a portable HDD - large ones of these you can get cheap. You of all people know how often Windoze fouls up and needs reinstalling!
Some more things to consider:
AMD processors run much hotter than Intel though the latter are more expensive
Make sure you get a full HD display (1920x1080)
Batteries are much of a muchness - they have built-in life cycles (I've had no such problems you describe with my Acer which is going into its 4th year on the same battery)
SSD comments made already
8 GB memory is a must these days
If graphics are a consideration get one with a dedicated GPU, not a discrete one
You should get something that'll do the job for 16k but shop around, Hua Hin prices vary quite a bit. And if you're shopping in Power Buy make sure you get exactly what you're paying for (what is on display is often different to what they sell you).
I'll also be in the market for one later this year so please share your findings here!
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Firstly, I will say my current laptop remains very functional, but it is a real pain having to fire it up through Bios, and having the battery removed, I fear 'Thai' power outages. Although I don't do anything too complex, some work is quite lengthy. If I experienced a power blip, which is very common, I could lose a lot of work if I've been so engrossed that I forget to save as I go. Once retired, it will probably become a reserve TV laptop.
Yes, I've heard SSD are much better. Whilst I keep everything backed up (built into me from my working days when it was a serious offence not to back up), I guess there is some stuff I could access from a portable hard drive as opposed to having it on my laptop e.g.:
Photos - 281 Gb
Music - 103 Gb
Work related videos - 60 Gb
Movies (low at the moment) - 33 Gb
The above numbers in themselves tell me I can reduce my storage requirement considerably.
Processor - I normally have AMD. I guess it is because of price. Whilst I work my machines hard, I don't do anything too complex. Overheating has not been a problem.
The Acer battery problem is very real. I have it with 2 out of 3 machines @ about 4 years old. I have friends with similar aged machines who have the same problem. I was with Mr Don yesterday discussing my problem/options, and he confirmed it was a known Acer problem. He said a replacement battery would normally survive 3 months before going downhill fast. Replacement did not make good economical sense. Having said that, I think Acer machines are very good for the money, and another lesson from my working days is life over 3 years is a bonus. My machine is worked hard, so no complaints, in fact I am well satisfied.
Graphics is not a consideration with my type of usage.
Onboard camera is quite important for Zoom work - needs good resolution up to 10 metres away, although a decent external web cam wouldn't break the bank.
Yes, agree 100%, 8Mb RAM is a minimum requirement.
I didn't realise Power Buy were still in the game. It seems every time I look for something in there, the range has been very small, and the prices quite high.
I will walk the walk around Bluport, Market Village and maybe Power Buy today, and, of course will let you know what I think. However, I won't buy today until I've checked the likes of Lazada and Shopee for any model I'm considering.
Big Boy wrote: ↑Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:28 am
The Acer battery problem is very real. I have it with 2 out of 3 machines @ about 4 years old. I have friends with similar aged machines who have the same problem. I was with Mr Don yesterday discussing my problem/options, and he confirmed it was a known Acer problem. He said a replacement battery would normally survive 3 months before going downhill fast.
I'd say 4 years out of a laptop is pretty good going if it's used heavily, they deteriorate in terms of practical useability pretty quickly after that, regardless of battery condition. The replacements are usually cheap Chinese batteries and not genuine articles, though they should last longer than three months unless something has been built into the hardware to cause the rapid degradation (tech companies are pretty good at this now).
Enjoy the shopping!
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
When my Acer battery was down, I went to a shop and they wanted 2700 Baht for replacement. I bought the same battery at Lazada for 1040 Baht and installed it myself.
Well, what can I say?..................................
Bluport, about 2 dozen machines to look at. Seen one, seen them all. Specs varied slightly.
Market Village, dominated by Banana IT - much the same as Bluport, but couldn't get the parrot off my shoulder, so left quite smartly. Next shop, much the same. Mrs BB asked the parrot to let us browse, but he wouldn't. Whatever happened to social distancing? It happened when I turned and left. That left JiB - some laptops took my interest, but still under consideration/comparison with online shopping.
Power Buy, as I thought was a non-starter. I think the computer section has been replaced by baked beans. They had a catalogue I could browse - no thank you.
The big difference, apart from prices doubling in a very short period is you don't just buy the machine any more. Every machine (that I looked at) had Windows Home loaded. So no longer a case of buying a cheap laptop, and take it to Mr Don who would install everything you needed for 500฿. So installation of Window Home has doubled the price, but apart from a limited version of an operating system, the machine will still have to go to Mr Don for the useful stuff.
SSD 512 Gb was fairly common, but I was amazed at how many machines I discounted because they had less than 8 Mb RAM. One thing I use a lot , but hadn't thought about was a card reader. There were only 2 models that I saw with card readers. Useful functionality that I take for granted and wouldn't want to lose. OK, I have other devices with the capability, but to lose that capability on my main device would be a downgrade. Also the number of USB ports was limited on quite a few machines. I often have 2 filled, and sometimes 3. Not a single machine had a CD'/DVD, but I don't remember the last time I used that functionality.
I've always said never again, because of the bloatware, but a HP machine is my leading preference at the moment, closely followed by Acer.
The software thing is govt pressure - part of their piracy crackdown. Windows 10 Home is about 4,000 baht for the OEM edition, that's added to the price of the hardware of course.
Remember that you'll always get a better deal and selection online than in Hua Hin's limited stores - but I guess you know that now. Additionally, computer hardware has always been more expensive in Thailand, another stealth tax involved I would imagine.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
). My needs are simple i.e. 8 Gb RAM, 1 Tb Storage and storage should be SDD. Outside of that, I'm fairly flexible, although I prefer the cost to be on the lower side. I've been looking at Lazada, and have been hitting statements such as used to be Brand New, Refurbished and 2nd hand. I obviously want new.
