New house laptop/tablet advise

[mjheathcote]

Require a new house laptop/tablet.
Have two 'powerhouse' laptops in the house but both are works laptops and consequently 'locked down'.
We therefore need a new PC simply for a few windows programs, Quicken, camera software, odd video conversion, sat nav software, that aren't allowed on the works laptop, also sofa surfing.
I'm tight on such things as tech moves on so quickly so not necessary to have the latest, and have been looking at Windows Surface products.

Top pick appears to be a Surface Pro 6, i5, 8Gb of Ram, 128GB SSD, (throw in a big micro Sd card).
From Microsoft, refurbished, student discount (teen kids), 2% company discount portal, £466.

I know I could do with adding a keyboard, but does this seem a good deal? or is their a good alternative?

Thanks.

 

[Oneball]

I’ve had stuff from https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/ before, will be a laptop though.

 

[Scaf]

I hate the surface pro and have been let down by the battery twice, once under warranty and they swapped out the unit and the battery can’t really be changed.
I have just got a HP Elite Dragonfly to replace it and am very please so far.

 

[mjheathcote]

I’ve had stuff from https://www.dellrefurbished.co.uk/ before, will be a laptop though.

That a good call, thanks.

 

[conaero]

Bin it off and go Mac. Anything else is just delaying the inevitable.

A good powerful iMac is probably the best of the bunch but if too big there are plenty of MacBook Pro’s that do an excellent job.

Granted they are not cheap but if you have made is 3, 4, 5 or more decades, you know you get what you pay for.

I have been in the design industry for nearly 30 years and granted, the first half of that, Mac was DTP/Design and PC’s were coding.

The last 10 years that has changed and most coding is done on Apple. Trev, my die hard PC, Apple hater conceded in the end and went MacBook. It was a bitter pill to swallow but agreed that the Apple products make the PC alternatives look childish.

You might not like it, but it is the way forward. Try it and make your own mind up but don’t be too blinkered towards PC....Open mind

 

[CatmanV2]

Bin it off and go Mac. Anything else is just delaying the inevitable.

This, but I didn't want to be the first. Mrs C has a surface. Not the same one, but it's a POS. I've just been given one for my new role on Monday. Windows 10 is just so fscking ugly and clumsy.

C

 

[DaveT]

Bought a Surface Pro 4 in 2014 and still going strong.

Never kept any laptop or desktop that long. Run my business from it.

Mac - no thanks.

 

[Ryandoc]

I’ve had a surface pro for a few years now and honestly I’ll never buy anything else. Can’t fault it, not once messed up on me.

Really good bits of kit

 

[mjheathcote]

I've had a love hate with Apple.
Thought my iPhone 3G was great, got 5 years out of it, at the time was by far the best smartphone. However my next phone was a Sony xperia Ultra, the big thin one, that put the then newer iPhone to shame, and I've stuck to android since.
Still run an iPad 2, purely now to manage the families ipads and iphones accounts. They haven't been trouble free though.
Never had an Apple mac.
I'm sure they are good but the main reason for a PC is to run a few old PC software titles, like Quicken, and Internet stuff, so I think a mac might be more troublesome even if you can run vintage PC software.

 

[sionie1]

Bought a Surface Pro 4 in 2014 and still going strong.

Never kept any laptop or desktop that long. Run my business from it.

Mac - no thanks.

I've just sold my 2007 iMac this weekend.. Ran sweet as a nut for all the time I had it, did a small website from it and all the admin for small business also as well as the usual photo editing .That didn't happen with any Windows based laptop or PC we've had, the best lasted 3 or 4 years before the constant updates meant it was impossible to use it. My 2012 MacBook is also going strong. Wrong windows models maybe and horses for courses.

 

[DaveT]

Good.

We all have different experiences I guess.

 

[monkeybrain1234]

Not a fan of surface pro. Rather slow.
If it's just for sofa surfing mainly huwaui tablets give you Alot for your money. Got the M5 lite and serves family very well.camera not great but who uses tablets for taking photos anymore. Nice thing is if it falls/smashes/breaks its bearable at a couple of hundred so no big issue.

 

[rockits]

All these things are completely subjective and personal so there is no definitive answer really IMHO. Many will say this and that but not understanding why.

That seems a decent deal to me for what you need.

I buy quite a lot of ex demo or factory refurb HP EliteBook 830/840 G6 Ultrabooks with QC i5, 256gb NVMe SSD, 8gb Ram, FHD display, Windows 10 Pro and balance of manufactures 3 year on site warranty.

All metal chassis and great machine. You can often pick them up on eBay for about £500 almost as new.

 

[mjheathcote]

Not a fan of surface pro. Rather slow.
If it's just for sofa surfing mainly huwaui tablets give you Alot for your money. Got the M5 lite and serves family very well.camera not great but who uses tablets for taking photos anymore. Nice thing is if it falls/smashes/breaks its bearable at a couple of hundred so no big issue.

They are good, using a M5 8.4 Mediapad 4G as my phone presently for the last 3 years nearly.

 

[mjheathcote]

All these things are completely subjective and personal so there is no definitive answer really IMHO. Many will say this and that but not understanding why.

That seems a decent deal to me for what you need.

I buy quite a lot of ex demo or factory refurb HP EliteBook 830/840 G6 Ultrabooks with QC i5, 256gb NVMe SSD, 8gb Ram, FHD display, Windows 10 Pro and balance of manufactures 3 year on site warranty.

All metal chassis and great machine. You can often pick them up on eBay for about £500 almost as new.

Thanks, find myself going around in circles.
So many different options and configurations!

 

[Wanderer]

One extra point for the Mac line up, Apple are making great strides in keeping your data private, can be a bit invasive but it's a start.

 

[rockits]

One extra point for the Mac line up, Apple are making great strides in keeping your data private, can be a bit invasive but it's a start.

I've noticed this as well and think it is a great move. I never say never but have always said me getting an iPhone is unlikely. However, the way Apple are going with their privacy and security I like what they are doing. In contrast to the sharks ar Google and Facebook etc. It is the one aspect that could actually get me to buy an iPhone possibly.

 

[mjheathcote]

I think I've found what I need.
A Dell 2 in 1 from their online outlet store.
14 inch, full HD screen, i5 11th gen, 8GB RAM, 512 GB SSD for £630.
Tried a 8% discount code used else where on their site and it worked! So £580.
Problem is there was only one available and while I was faffing around adding a pen and mouse, someone else bought it!
Their stock changes all the time so I'll just keep popping back.
Could be tempted by a XPS though!

 

[Guy]

I have had laptops provided by my employers since the 90s and they all generally last 2-4 years before needing replacing (due to speed and battery life). Started with the same for school then Uni for the children then switched to MacBook Pros. Much more robust and last twice as long. I think you get what you pay for. There is even a bouyant 2nd hand market for macs!

 

[Wanderer]

I have had laptops provided by my employers since the 90s and they all generally last 2-4 years before needing replacing (due to speed and battery life). Started with the same for school then Uni for the children then switched to MacBook Pros. Much more robust and last twice as long. I think you get what you pay for. There is even a bouyant 2nd hand market for macs!

My current Macs are:

27" 2015 iMac Retina - main desktop - in Belgium at the moment
27" 2012 iMac - son uses for Logic-X, music stuff etc
15" 2011 MacBook Pro - son again - probably for **** in his bedroom
15" 2013 MacBook Pro Retina - my main on-the-road machine, also have a pair of 27" Thunderbolt Displays for this when at home
27" 2011 iMac - Test machine for VM's for Windows and Unix and Centrify and stuff

All nicely synced over iCloud, connectable and updatable via Apple Remote Desktop, nice....

Windows does my nut......