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Laptop bargain alerts.

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kadman
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Laptop bargain alerts.

#1

Post by kadman »

Having recently had the misfortune of a low flying s400 missile emitting an electro magnetic pulse as it landed in my garden,
I now find myself in need of a new laptop, as my own has received life threatening damage from the said pulse. :lol:

The drive is blitzed, as well as other parts :D And in the words of monty python...it lives no more.
So folks, I need info, any good deals out there at the moment.

So, I'm back. Did I miss much... :lol:
490808
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:10 pm

Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#2

Post by 490808 »

Some usage info would be good and of course your budget? Assume you mean a Lenovo S400, a lightweight machine with a decent sized screen.

Don't take too much notice of me because I'm happy with an ultraportable netbook but if you are using a desktop for intensive tasks you perhaps only need something just a bit better than a chromebook as a laptop?
kadman
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#3

Post by kadman »

The Continental Op wrote: Fri Mar 04, 2022 9:34 am Some usage info would be good and of course your budget? Assume you mean a Lenovo S400, a lightweight machine with a decent sized screen.

Don't take too much notice of me because I'm happy with an ultraportable netbook but if you are using a desktop for intensive tasks you perhaps only need something just a bit better than a chromebook as a laptop?
Thats it in a nutshell, I have the dell workstation for the heavy duty stuff. I just need something to replace my satellite pro. Windows 10 and 8gb ram would be nice. I am not restricted to budget, as my last laptop purchase was 17 years ago, and hand me downs since. :D
490808
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:10 pm

Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#4

Post by 490808 »

As a sort of starting point (assuming something like a cheap Lenovo 3 wouldn't do) I be looking at a Huawei MateBook and similar products around that price.



I'm happy with a secondhand €150 Thinkpad X260 from Adverts.ie with some extra ram and a 1TB SSD upgrade. (i5, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD).
kadman
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#5

Post by kadman »

Whats your thoughts on this for value,

https://www.adverts.ie/laptops/lenovo-t ... 9/26013832
490808
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#6

Post by 490808 »

Thats exactly what mine is. The software has to be pirate so take that out of the equation when adding up the price.

Mine was €150 + €70 RAM upgrade (we can exclude the SDD upgrade as ming also came with 256GB SSD) so cost me €220 for the same thing. Personally because I'm a bit cheap I think €260 is pushing it a little but not a huge amount. Took me about a month looking to get a cheaper one.

The one question you need to ask is what batteries that one has (there are 3 options all interchangeable) and what the battery charge percentage is. You want one that still charges the batteries to 100% if possible.

There is a big external battery option (often with no internal battery) the 68+, then there is a version with a smaller external battery and an internal battery the 68. No real difference between them but they guys that do second hand laptops chop and change them. You don't want one with a small external battery and no internal battery (can be easily removed if its dead then customer won't complain of a dead battery). I might replace my 68 battery with a 68+ which would give me a solid 6 hours run time. With the right settings you get about 4 hours out of the standard setup.

I also put a 3G/4G card in mine (€14 from latvia) they are all set up to take the card internally and have a SIM card slot externally. Not much more I think I can upgrade on it. Hmmm forgot also got a great deal on eBay for the docking station with a second charger lucky to get the deal at €15 inc delivery.

Edit> Also remember that the X260 and the whole range of laptops has a smaller screen than you may be used to.
kadman
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#7

Post by kadman »

He just said @kadman 24Wh for both regarding the batteries.
490808
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#8

Post by 490808 »

Thats fine so you get the internal battery (windows shows it as battery 1) and the external (battery 2). The picture in the display shows that the battery is fully charged which will be at least 90%.

I'd say it was a reasonable deal. I held off on a few of those and eventually found a cheaper one but he'll sell it at that price.

Unfortunately the potentially pirated software makes the laptop more desirable for some buyers and helps inflate the price.

The only other unknown, and chance you take is the state of the SSD, it could be a newish one that will last, a cheap new replacement (perfectly OK) or an original that has lots of wear on in. So factor in another €35 if you are unlucky and need to replace the SSD. The windows sticker on the back means there is a Win10 licence tied to the BIOS so you can reinstall Windows 10 if necessary.
kadman
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#9

Post by kadman »

Will i find a big change in screen size coming from a 15" Toshiba down to this?
490808
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#10

Post by 490808 »

That does worry me a bit. I find the screen a little small but fine because I want a netbook size machine for travelling.

I've just logged into gubu.ie on my X260 and its perfectly OK and easy to read. But I find the 1366 x 768 resolution a bit limiting occasionally as you need full screen for a browser for some of the cookie notices so you can see the bottom button to click on. Width is fine.

I'm sure you understand that the actual area of a 12.5 inch screen is a lot less than it sounds compared to a 15 inch screen because the measurement is the diagonal. I know this doesn't factor in resolution (the Lenovo X range have decent enough screens) but shows a little of what I'm on about http://www.displaywars.com/12,5-inch-16 ... -inch-16x9

One useful factor I find with the overall size is that I use it more often. Its so portable I take it with me more often and use it more often. If you want a machine to say use in your workshop to look at online pdf's and manuals then perhaps the larger screen is what you need? I'm just making usage guesstimates here any guidance on what you use a laptop for might help?

btw a similar spec machine to that X260 on Amazon is in the £350 range when you factor in a RAM upgrade to 16GB. Not sure the 12 month warranty is worth the difference? At some point you have to factor in the value of a 4-5 year old laptop compared to a brand new one.
kadman
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#11

Post by kadman »

Thats my concern , the screen size. And you are correct, its going to get most use for studying manuals and info ect in the workshop. And then for message boards ect for posting. So I need a comfortable user friendly screen size. And I am feeling 12.5" is probably a bit on the small size.
490808
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Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#12

Post by 490808 »

Don't forget to check resolution as well as screen size.

For example if you compare with one that I believe gets some good recommendation the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i then you will see a massive difference in resolution https://www.lenovo.com/ie/en/laptops/id ... 8IPS501390 Display 14" FHD (1920 x 1080).

The entry model looks OK but all the RAM is soldered so no upgrade from the 4GB. You need to go up a couple of models to get 8GB and the price jumps to around €620. Compare that with the Huawei I linked to earlier - as I said thats a good starting point. Trouble is all the nice to have features and upgrades add on the €€€€€€'s
490808
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2021 1:10 pm

Re: Laptop bargain alerts.

#13

Post by 490808 »

So going up a screen size and staying on Adverts then https://www.adverts.ie/laptops/lenovo-l ... d/26245156 caught my attention. Essentially its the same standard of build as the X260 but a bit bigger. Ram upgradable to 24GB (one stick is soldered on) and I know that seller will negotiate on price as I've knocked him down on price before. At the very least go for free delivery.

Screen is 14 inch and 1600 x 900. Only downside is that the HDD is small but an upgrade is a evenings work and less than €50 for a 500GB drive from Amazon.
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