https://www.avforums.com/threads/what-r ... t.2493332/
I'm not holding my breath that I'll get useful suggestions from over there. But you never know. Someone might even come up with the correct answer as to what sized laptop I should buy.
This is one of those areas that has parallels with hi-fi, in that people tend to suggest buying what they've bought.
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What is your budget?
£2000. However, I would be delighted if I could get a great tool for my needs for a lot less.
What size laptop do you want? Does it need to be portable?
My usage profile is that it spends most of the time at home. When I travel it will be by car with short walks from where the car is parked to where I would use the laptop. I am a reasonably fit adult male.
Do you have resolution requirements?
1920 (FHD) for watching youtube videos.
Do you prefer a matte or glossy (reflective) screen?
Please note matte screens are harder to find these days, so may not be in budget.
Either is fine.
Touchscreen not required.
What will you be using the laptop for?
Browsing Firefox (including watching youtube videos), Chrome, Word Processing libre office, email Thunderbird, dslrdashboard, darktable (converting and manipulating 45 Mega Pixel RAW photos to JPG's), remote admin of servers, some simple web / application development, video conferencing, simple spreadsheets
No gaming. no video editing.
How long does the battery need to last?
10 hours of word processing
Do you require Blu-Ray player or need the ability to play older disc media?
No
Do you require HDMI output?
No. Intend using the screen of the laptop only. With no external monitors.
Do you have a preferred brand?
Dell, HP, Lenovo prefered for ease of getting spares in the future
Are there brands you would prefer to avoid?
Apple
Would you be happy with a refurbished laptop?
Yes. Doesn't even need to be refurbished. So long as it works. Not bothered about cosmetic condition.
Any other details you feel necessary... Colour; Webcam; Good quality speakers; general spec: CPU, RAM, HDD space, SSD; Operating System or anything else you can think of.
Webcam and built in microphone. Happy to run Linux instead of Windows
16 GB RAM would be useful, due to darktable and Firefox gobbling up RAM.
My old laptop died with a motherboard failure. I had used about 80GB hard drive space on that, so a 250 GB hard drive on my next laptop should be fine.
Prefer touchpads with thumb buttons (below the touchpad)
RJ45 socket would be nice, but not essential
We have a CompleteSavings.co.uk account that gives us 10% cashback from ebay plus a few other online stores
Edit, here’s the contenders for the poll:
£1030 new Lenovo Thinkpad E16 https://www.lenovo.com/gb/en/configurat ... NCTO1WWGB3
£725 New Dell Precision 7560 – 11850H CPU, Quadro T1200 GPU, 32 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
£700 new HP455 G10 https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/product.a ... BU&sel=NTB
£530 Used Lenovo Slim Pro 14 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386899552102 ... em5a1502a7
£190 Used Lenovo Thinkbook 15 G2 – Ryzen 3 4300u cpu, 8 GB RAM, 240 GB SSD
£180 Used Dell Latitude 5520 – 1145G7 cpu, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD. Paint has come off 4 keys on keyboard. Base plate is cracked and damaged
£170 Used Dell Latitude 5501 – 9400H CPU, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD
£130 Used Dell Latitude 5591 – 8400h cpu, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD. Needs new trackpad buttons (£10 from Dell plus a few mins to fit)
