New computer

[Tom]

I need to get a better computer.
Streaming video/youtube is slow, some source, Peacock, unwatchable.

Basically all I will use it for is video, Open Office, no gaming at all.

How does this one sound? I have 4g ram now.

Never use W11 before - is it radically different from W10?

Thanks

[xtb]

Originally Posted by Tom

I need to get a better computer.
Streaming video/youtube is slow, some source, Peacock, unwatchable.

Basically all I will use it for is video, Open Office, no gaming at all.

How does this one sound? I have 4g ram now.

Never use W11 before - is it radically different from W10?

Thanks

Lenovo is owned by China in case you didn't know.

8gb ram and 128gb ssd is on the low side too.

[Stevecsd2]

I would recommend 16GIG of RAM.

Check how much disk space you have used on your current computer. I have a 1TB (terabyte) SSD and it wasn't that expensive. I'm currently using 281 GB of that.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by Stevecsd2

I would recommend 16GIG of RAM.

Check how much disk space you have used on your current computer. I have a 1TB (terabyte) SSD and it wasn't that expensive. I'm currently using 281 GB of that.

Good advice, Steve.


You're very right about the SSD drive.

However, be aware that a heavy user (i.e. lots of files saving/changing) they should be replaced periodically. (Every write action to the drive makes the drive a tiny bit slower.)

Still, as you said, they're so cheap.

I replace my every 18 months. The larger the SSD the slower it is, but still blazing fast compared to most physical drives.

I'm a power user who has stored everything over the decades. Can't say I have everything, but would you believe I still have my Win98 c-drive stored on one of my archive drives?


I would recommend 32GB of RAM if anyone can afford it and a pretty good video card. Low-end NVidias are quite good but the higher end (like $2,500) had issues with catching on fire a couple of years ago.



Dave
PS: I buy usually refurbs then replace the drives, add RAM, etc. However, refurb prices have not been worth the tiny savings in the last year or so. Managed to pick up a handful of nice HPs for AI training last year - like $650 each. Blazing fast. No monitors, keyboards, mouse, etc.


.

[DanBoals]

Originally Posted by Tom

Never use W11 before - is it radically different from W10?

Thanks

Hi Tom,

Three things to be aware of with Windows 11. The first is that there is a minimum system configuration your computer has to meet before Microsoft will let you install 11. If it comes from the OEM with 11, you do not have to worry, they have obviously met the standard. If you are planning on putting 11 on a used machine, you might want to run the Microsoft utility to verify it will run 11 before you buy it. The second is that Windows 11 is spyware. Of course, so is iOS and Android these days, so it is difficult to avoid, but if privacy is a serious concern for you and you have the ability to learn how to run windows in a virtual machine under linux, that might be the way to go. If you are not a computer wiz, then you just have to grin and bear it and know that anything done on your windows system is going to be knowable. And the third is that windows 11 comes in an "S" version, which means you can not install your own software on it, you can only install software thru the microsoft store. If you have a favorite racing software, you might want to check with the developer to see if you will be able to run it on Windows 11 S. I think you can disable this "feature" on Windows S, but not sure how difficult it is for a non computer person.

Not sure what your budget is, but I just looked online and a decent middle of the road computer that popped up was:

https://www.amazon.com/A314-23P-R3QA...s%2C302&sr=1-3

It is on Amazon for $400.

If you want to spend more, there are definitely more powerful options out there.

Best of luck to you,

Dan

[MJC922]

I would recommend going to best buy and walmart to put hands on the laptops because I find there are often substantial differences in feel (build quality) between brands, even the low budget ones. For me personally I stay away from keyboards that have a bad cheap feel as well as touchpads with loud clicks which I find to be an annoyance, especially if I'm in a pinch and need to use it for any length of time without a real mouse.

As for specs it depends what you do but for basic usage 8GB RAM should still be ok. If you can get 16GB then go for it, you'll have more flexibility if you need it for maybe doing research with a larger dataset spreadsheet/db. If you might fire up say for example an old VM from time to time to run handicapping software on XP or something then that's when 8GB of RAM is a bit less than ideal, that's when 12-16GB would be more important to have. AV software tends to chew up a decent amount of RAM these days too so that may be worth considering.

Definitely SSD for the hard drive, I'd make that a priority. 128GB is actually not much IMO, if it's just an internet laptop period then 128GB is OK but for me at least 256GB would probably be mandatory and if I could get 500GB that's really when I'd breathe a lot easier for the longer term.

Last time I put hands on anything in the stores looking strictly at cheaper models I thought HP felt the best to me. I think right now HP is probably pretty good and it's what my employer issues for a work laptop so it kind of makes sense. I would say I'm a Dell person over the years but right now I just think HP is doing a bit better job. For a lot of the other brands YMMV, you'd just have to put hands on. I prefer a matte finish screen if you can get one, or at least toned down a bit... that might be a personal preference though and at the cheaper price points you obviously can't have everything.

[JustRalph]

Never buy a celeron is my rule of thumb.

[MJC922]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

Never buy a celeron is my rule of thumb.

Good point. That's not a bad rule. They were basically a nerfed CPU without hyperthreading in the old days. However I will say these days some celerons do OK, I've used some that handled internet usage and what not just fine but if I planned to do any heavier stuff (which I usually do) then I'd be looking for something that hopefully scores decent at the price point on cpubenchmark.

Most of the lower budget laptops will have similar cheap CPUs in them but sometimes one will have a CPU that scores substantially better. The problem I have is that sometimes the better CPU laptop has a terrible keyboard or something else that's a no-go so I personally wouldn't want to tolerate it just to have a bit more processing power on hand. Again all personal preference and YMMV.

[JustRalph]

Tom, have you ever tried an iPad for just browsing?

[Jeff P]

Some thoughts that (hopefully) add to this thread:

• Windows 11 S Mode:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...f-031bfb28a307

Windows 11 in S mode is designed for security and performance, exclusively running apps from the Microsoft Store. If you want to install an app that isn't available in the Microsoft Store, you'll need to switch out of S mode.

Windows 11 in S mode is only available in the Windows 11 Home edition. If you have the Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions of Windows 10 in S mode, Windows Update will not offer Windows 11 because S mode is not available in those editions of Windows 11. Therefore, if you have the Pro, Enterprise or Education editions of Windows 10 in S mode, you'll need to switch out of S mode to upgrade to Windows 11.

Switching out of S mode is one-way. If you make the switch, you won't be able to go back to Windows 10 or Windows 11 in S mode. There's no charge to switch out of S mode.

1. To switch out of S mode...

• Running 32 Bit Programs in Windows 11:

1. You need true admin rights to install older 32 bit apps on Win11, Win10, and Win8 machines.

2. Almost all new machines now ship with the Admin User Account hidden or disabled.

So before installing your favorite 32 bit handicapping program on your new Win11 machine, you'll need to:

1. Launch an Elevated Command Prompt, and then enable or unhide the Admin User Account by executing the following command in the elevated command prompt:

net user administrator /active:yes

2. Log into Windows 11 as the Administrator.

At this point you have true admin rights and (while logged into Windows 11 as the Administrator) should be able to install your favorite 32 bit handicapping program by right-clicking your desktop, creating a new desktop shortcut naming the install package for the program you want to install as the shortcut's target, -- and from there right-clicking the new shortcut and selecting Run as Administrator to execute the install.

Tutorial at GHacks.Net, here:
https://www.ghacks.net/2021/10/01/ho...rator-account/



• Keyboard , Touchpad, and other Accessories:

This next part is my own personal preference.

I bought my first laptop over 20 years ago. In all that time I've never (not even once) been a fan of the keyboard or touchpad that shipped with the machine (and there have been MANY over the years.)

1. I recommend you get a good wireless keyboard. For me, this means trying one out at a local computer store.

2. I recommend you get a good wireless optical mouse sized to fit your hand.

I'm partial to the Logitech M325 (about $15 right now as I type this.) M325's are medium sized and about perfect for me. I'm 5' 10" tall on a good day so read into that what you will. (If you played college basketball go with a larger model.)

I also have a mini-laptop used almost exclusively for travel. I bought a Logitech M187 (a mini mouse) to go with that machine (again almost exclusively for travel.) This past Christmas and New Years I took the mini laptop and mouse with me on a trip to New Mexico.

The laptop was perfect in that it hardly took up any space. That was the good part.

The bad part was getting used to the mini mouse and manufacturer's keyboard on mornings that presented an hour or two of free time to get a little coding in.

Awkward as it was, I found the mini mouse far better than trying to use the touchpad.

The experience reminded me that a good wireless mouse means you'll never have to use the touchpad unless you want to.

I was also reminded how awkward the manufacturer's keyboard was compared to the wireless keyboards I neglected to bring with.

Carry on,

-jp
.

[Jeff P]

• External Hard Drives and Off Site Backup:

Back when I was in the 9-5 world I had a boss who used to say "A hard drive is a great place to store files on a TEMPORARY BASIS."

All hard drives fail.

I can't tell you how many horror stories customers and other developers have told me over the years about how they lost everything to a hard drive failure.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of backing up everything you don't want to lose.

External hard drives and thumb drives are cheap these days.

Buy two or three of each and USE THEM.

Make regular backups. Consider rotating your external hard drives and thumb drives.

ALWAYS keep at least one at a secure location off site.

Also consider having a backup of everything you really care about at a secure location somewhere on the cloud.

Enough said,


-jp
.

[Dave Schwartz]

One more thing...

I hate the Windows 11 interface. Not crazy about Windows 10 either.

Enter Stardock's Start 11 (There is a Start10 as well.). I happen to like the Win 7 interface but you've got a lot of configuration choices.

All for a whopping $6.99.
Not per month.
Lifetime.

Sure, the experts will tell you that Windows has some settings... but they're difficult. Just trust me and spend the whole $7.

https://www.stardock.com/products/start11/#purchase


.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

Tom, have you ever tried an iPad for just browsing?

No, I don't use any kind of handheld, no even a phone.
I have a push button flip phone!

Use my laptop for everything.

[Tom]

Thanks for the help, all.
I found what I need - 3.20 speed 16g ram 1tb drive.
I am sticking with W10 home Lenovo Think Pad

[MJC922]

Originally Posted by Tom

Thanks for the help, all.
I found what I need - 3.20 speed 16g ram 1tb drive.
I am sticking with W10 home Lenovo Think Pad

Congrats and enjoy sir. Let us know how it works out.