What will be my next laptop??

[Chaz2b]

My acer laptop of 15 years has gone to a good scrap yard, so now I need another one but which one? There are so many choices I’m at a loss as to what to go for. 
criteria:

budget! First and foremost, upto £250

condition, used , refurbished. Don’t mind as long as it hasn’t come from a smoker!

os...windows only. I’ve tried iOS, Linux, I’m only compatible with windows.

pariferalls..usb 2 minimum, good graphics, NOT touch screen, quality ram.

compatible with most astronomy software.

Reliable!

anything else I should look for? What I have had a butchers at is an ASU’s chrome book flip, but thinking it being not man enough.

 

much in great gratitude to those who reply.

keep healthy and safe,

chaz

Edited April 22, 2020 by Chaz2b

[BlueStinger]

Depends what you class as high end graphics because that budget will get you entry level, used or not.

[david_taurus83]

Will it be for image pre and post processing? If only for imaging capture and mount control then it doesnt need to be special.

[old_eyes]

try www.tier1online.com. Refurbed corporate machines. I have had three different machines from them and have been delighted. Plenty in your budget and they will be well built laptops. If it is for data capture and running your rig, you don't need much power. If you are going to do serious processing you will need to go for something with more grunt. Graphics performance is not that important as we astro types are cpu heavy not graphics processor heavy.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Have you considered one of these... 

...a Panasonic ToughBook.

New, high spec ones can cost £2000+ GBP. You may buy a refurbished one for <£400 GBP. I have the CF-19.

They are rugged and can withstand knocks, bumps, drops; (from about one metre); kicks, thumps, liquids, damp, dust, extreme temperature changes, being trampled on, being run over, etc., ...even bullets.

note: I have not or attempted to do the last one!

Edited April 22, 2020 by Philip R

[Chaz2b]

I suppose not graphics hungry then. But I’ll pass on the rugged Panasonic, there will be a time when I will want to thump it without hurting myself!😁
The link has lots to offer, but again.....which one?

Having this iPad doesn’t offer much except synscan pro to control my eq6 over WiFi, I do like the speed of it though.

Capturing images will be through a budget Phillips Toucam pro, so I need to lean towards what will control it without reverting to XP.post processing will be registaxs.
I’m not after a gamers type laptop, don’t need that kind of graphics, have a PS4 for that🤪

I think I can forget about the chrome os, it’s Linux based. Could end up back to Win7, seems to have a stable output even though it’s no longer supported by MS.

still undecided.

chaz

 

[Chaz2b]

5 hours ago, BlueStinger said:

Depends what you class as high end graphics because that budget will get you entry level, used or not.

Ok, changed to “good graphics” or should I say a good screen, the acer screen was a bit of a let down, if you slightly moved your head then the picture would degrade to almost impossible to see what was going on.

A Lenovo Think pad has got my attention, good choice or has it got its own foibles?

[BlueStinger]

Sorry, I should have given a bit more info in my first post. I'm new to astrophotography and image processing etc but have been a pc gamer for a long long time so when I hear high end I think of high end for gaming and that gets expensive when trying to push above resolutions beyond 1080p.

Anyway, I'm just going to echo what has been said above and say the cpu is most important. Any Intel i5 (or better i7) or AMD Ryzen will be fine and I would avoid i3s and older AMD based systems. Too few cores and/or too slow core speeds for a modern windows system. 8gb ram minimum (speed not really important unless gaming on a Ryzens integrated gpu) and if you can budget it in I recommend an SSD for storage, but either can be upgraded in most laptops, especially the latter, for not a lot of cash. You should be able to get a nice 1080p screen but size would depend on budget and of course it will effect battery life and weight.

The site old_eyes above links to seems pretty good, lots of choice and looks like some good deals to be had. I wouldn't worry about what brand it is, it doesn't make any difference to how it will perform overall.

[Chaz2b]

So, a 1080p screen, ssd, amd dryzen or i5, 8g ram...just add that into the search engine....hope it doesn’t cough!
 

chaz

[Chaz2b]

Right, I’ve settled on a Lenovo thinkpad T540p 15.6”, 3i-4000(upgradable), 120 gb ssd, 8g ram, Windows10 pro installed.
With warranty £180, still have dosh to upgrade the cpu.

all I need to add is a pump handle to the side to draw beer as and when🥳

keep healthy and safe,

chaz

[CraigT82]

Good choice, my last two astro lappies have been Lenovo think pads. No frills but haven't let me down.