Fedup
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I always have at least one desktop computer. I buy brand new cheapest HP or Dell, always less than $500. Not that expensive. Plus it has a huge screen.
For that amount of money, I’d get a SSD. Either way, that machine is going to be so much better than your old machine, you’re going to be happy. I like the 17.3” size if it’s your main surfing machine. Good on the eyes.
+1
Sounds very nice and I am thinking that having a big screen size like that would be wonderful, especially if (like me) you do not carry your laptop around very much.
Has anyone with the need for Excel and cut-and-paste found ways to do this acceptably on an iPad?All of our investments, withdrawals, notes on which items I can tax-loss harvest, bond ladders, etc are in an Excel spread sheet. I cannot imagine doing it without that. I can use Excel tools to model different scenarios (withdrawals, taxes, etc.)...
Personally, I wouldn't get a refurbished laptop unless:
1) It is manufacture refurbished, especially if it is by Apple (I've gotten refurbished iPads and they look absolutely brand new) - or -
2) It is higher end business style laptop (for example the Lenovo T420/T430/etc.) Why? Because these were well made, built to take a beating, business systems with TONS of parts available. For instance, I just bought a replacement T430 keyboard for $25.
I may be missing what you’re asking, but you can use Excel on your iPad no? When they first offered Excel for the iPad you had to subscribe to do anything. What I missed until very recently was shortly after the initial release, Excel 1.2 was a pretty good spreadsheet app for free, way more capable than Numbers. I’ve been able to download even my most complex Excel spreadsheets with all sorts of functions and calcs and they work perfectly.Has anyone with the need for Excel and cut-and-paste found ways to do this acceptably on an iPad?
I can use the iPad for forum browsing and internet surfing, but not for serious spreadsheet work.
I have bought a number of refurbished Lenovo Thinkpads over the years and have never had a problem.... Thinkpads are pretty bulletproof in my experience.
That screen resolution is way low for that size screen. 1920x1080 is probably the lowest limit I'd go on a 15". On a 17.3 you probably want 1920x1080 or even 2560x1440. Also, it was my understanding, a few years ago when laptop shopping, that 17.3" 1600x900 screens are typically very low quality with respect to contrast, brightness and color uniformity.8GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM
17.3" diagonal HD+ SVA BrightView WLED-backlit (1600 x 900)
3-cell, 41 Wh Lithium-ion prismatic Battery
OP here. Thanks for all the comments. I am now thinking of getting a 256MB SSD, based on the comments. Current HD has about 185MB, but I can move 40% of that by putting music and photos on thumb drives. Specs for the current consideration are:
AMD Ryzen™ 5 2500U Quad-Core (2 GHz, up to 3.6 GHz, 6 MB cache)+AMD Radeon™ Vega 8 Graphics
8GB DDR4-2400 SDRAM
17.3" diagonal HD+ SVA BrightView WLED-backlit (1600 x 900)
256 GB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
3-cell, 41 Wh Lithium-ion prismatic Battery
DVD-Writer
HP TrueVision HD Camera with Digital Microphone (Jet Black)
802.11b/g/n/ac (1x1) Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® 4.2 combo
Price is $605. Seems pretty reasonable.
So, my new question is: AMD Ryzen vs. Intel. The rated speed of this processor is 7,383 (Passmark benchmark).
I need to buy a back-up drive, but those can be had for $50, no need to pay $120 for a 1TB internal drive.
Should I push the buy button? (yeah, I know, it is up to me, but want to be sure I am buying a decent computer)
I don't know how things compare now but laptop AMD CPUs used to be a bit less energy efficient than those from Intel but that may have changed. I've had AMD CPUs in my desktops for years and they've always been good. They also tend to give you more bang for your buck. Certainly, I'd expect that your proposed laptop would work well for you. It's a big screen so I assume it's more of a "desktop replacement" than it being for someone always on the go with it. So battery life may not be an issue.
I would say yes, it's worth it for the higher res. Especially since you'll probably get a higher quality screen too. 1600x1200 at 17.3 is 106 ppi. For reference, I don't think Mac has made a laptop less than 200 ppi in years. Fonts will look much clearer. Most books are printed at 300+ dpi for example.Bingo on the desk top replacement. 95% of the time that is how it is used. battery life is not really an issue.
To address Golden Mean: Current resolution is 1366 x 768, with a 15.6" screen, so probably the same. For normal web use, more than adequate, I think. I can upgrade to 1920 x 1080 for $100. Is it really going to make a big difference? No gaming. Nothing special.
I would say yes, it's worth it for the higher res. Especially since you'll probably get a higher quality screen too. 1600x1200 at 17.3 is 106 ppi. For reference, I don't think Mac has made a laptop less than 200 ppi in years. Fonts will look much clearer. Most books are printed at 300+ dpi for example.
If you have a Fry's or Best Buy close by, you might try to find a 1600x900 and put it next to a higher resolution/dpi laptop and see if it makes a difference to you.
This article touches on the issues with the lower res displays: https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-screen-resolution-ripoff
Thanks. I definitely missed that enhancement. Also has anyone discovered a decent way to cut and paste on an iPad? Every month I have to cut a portion of a spreadsheet to publish the Monthly results as a Jpeg on another site.Just in case others missed the course correction Microsoft made with iOS Excel!
has anyone discovered a decent way to cut and paste on an iPad?
Yes thanks. I do copy but sometimes when moving the blue bars, it decides I want something different and I start over, sometimes multiple times. Nothing as concise at my laptop trackpad. I wondered if anyone had found a better alternative?It's easier than you may think.
How to Select, Copy, and Paste Text on the iPad
This sounds like a pretty sweet system. Hope you enjoy!OP here.
Pulled the trigger. I had a hard time finding the options I wanted in a standard unit, without topping $1,200 and getting a gaming computer. So I customized one on line. $870+tax.
i5 8250U processor, 17.3" 1920x1080 screen, 512 GB PCle NVMe M.2 SSD, 1 x 8 GB RAM (I can always add more later if I think I need it). It does have a DVD-RW drive. No HDD. Now I need to wait until Mid-November for it to be built, shipped and delivered.
Thanks all for your comments.