Tipex Posted April 5, 2017 Report Share Posted April 5, 2017 My dad has asked me to find him a Windows Laptop to replace his old one, he doesn't want to spend any more than £500, but if he doesn't need to spend that much then all the better. He doesn't do a lot with it to be fair, mostly just browsing and watching football videos, but it needs to turn on quickly and not slow down in use as he has similar tolerances to me for slow tech so I'm guessing an SSD and at least 4GB RAM. Trying to find anything via the usual review sites is proving a pain in the *rse as they all seem to heavily bias a particular brand above all others and aside from the latest all singing Dell model, they don't feature similar models either, I'd have a look at the Which review but they no longer allow you to pay for an individual report and I cancelled my subscription a while ago. Doesn't need to convert in to a tablet or any of that stuff, so if anyone has a recommendations I'd gratefully receive them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bison Posted April 6, 2017 Report Share Posted April 6, 2017 Does it need to be Windows? Just asking, because the chrome books are pretty joyous these days if you just want to browse the web and such like... maybe something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Computers-Accessories/Acer-CB3-431-Chromebook-Celeron-Storage/B01J3UVWKO/ref=lp_758129031_1_2/258-4352715-1857648?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1491445141&sr=1-2 for 274 quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2017 It does really need to be Windows, he's never used anything else and I've never used a Chromebook so wouldn't even know where to start when the IT support calls come in. I can generally sort out anything he's done/downloaded to Windows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted April 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2017 16 hours ago, bison said: Does it need to be Windows? Just asking, because the chrome books are pretty joyous these days if you just want to browse the web and such like... maybe something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Computers-Accessories/Acer-CB3-431-Chromebook-Celeron-Storage/B01J3UVWKO/ref=lp_758129031_1_2/258-4352715-1857648?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1491445141&sr=1-2 for 274 quid. Actually, I've been thinking more about this and looked into it a bit, that's not a bad idea at all, apparently Chrome books are far less susceptible to viruses and such like, which would hopefully mean less of my time is taken up getting rid of viruses and other various add-on's as he clicks 'yes' to anything that pops up on the screen. I also thought they only worked with an internet connection, turns out that's not correct either and they can perform word processing or spreadsheet tasks without any internet connection, not that he needs it for that now he's retired. So thanks for the suggestion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveP Posted April 8, 2017 Report Share Posted April 8, 2017 Bought my son a Lenovo Yoga just over a year ago for around that amount - it is a really nice, light, sturdy laptop. Other son has an acer aspire, which is a good 3 years old - although very plasticky it has stood the test of time and has a nice keyboard. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-bmw Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 You could always just use a sub £500 laptop for that Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 That reminds me, we bought him an Acer Chromebook in the end, it was the top of the range model (at the time, think there is now a new model) with 15" screen, SSD etc, was only £250 which frankly is a bargain, came with a free Chromecast thing too but they'll never use it. It's great, does everything he needs it to do but is capable of much more, has the full Google suite of apps for word processing, spreadsheets etc, virtually instant turn on with the SSD, runs quickly and so far no crashes or anything. I've been reading up on Chromebooks a bit and the general consensus seems to be that no antivirus is required, I'd appreciate the TSN input on that though, is that really the case? If antivirus is a sensible precaution what is there available for Chrome OS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-bmw Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 I am not 100% sure Mr T, but if I remember correctly chrome & Win RT surface are pretty much 100% secure, others are/are not in varying degrees. I am sure there are others who will know more specifically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-bmw Posted May 16, 2017 Report Share Posted May 16, 2017 Sorry, the pedant in me says I meant "when kept up-to-date, they should be inherently secure". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mook Posted May 17, 2017 Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 Chrome OS has AV built in to it. That said, Windows has Windows Defender built in to it and there are dozens of AV providers out there! Never used a Chromebook, so can't say, although I use Google apps like Docs and Sheets - fine for fairly basic stuff and Sheets is great for web-based shared spreadsheets, but the functions are very limited compared to Excel. That said, IIRC, you just needed a straightforward laptop and the Chromebook seems ideal - and at £250 it's an absolute bargain! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 45 minutes ago, Mook said: That said, IIRC, you just needed a straightforward laptop and the Chromebook seems ideal - and at £250 it's an absolute bargain! It really is, if all you do is browse the web and a few basic other bits, typing the odd letter for example, it's perfect. I've not had a single IT support phone call since he started using it, I'd get around 2-3 a week on his old Windows laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted May 17, 2017 Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 I'd use the principle that since some good AV are free, why would you not just install one in this era? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tipex Posted May 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2017 1 hour ago, Waylander said: I'd use the principle that since some good AV are free, why would you not just install one in this era? Well, partly because anything I can find on Google says it's unnecessary, but mostly because I haven't actually looked to see if any is available for Chrome OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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