Laptops....
Re: Laptops....
£25 is good value. I still use a Logitech Marathon Mouse (M705) and after trying a few keyboards bought a Logitech solar one (K750), both of which are great. You have to put up with the little Logitech dongle taking up a USB slot though. But the wireless connection seems better than Bluetooth in terms of rousing from sleep, responsiveness etc.
Re: Laptops....
How are you getting on with it. Is it worth the premium over something plastic with similar specs ?
I've been using a Chromebook and Chromebox at home since the first lockdown as all my work stuff was accessed via Citrix and it was great. Sadly our IT guy is moving everything over to Office365 which means going back to a Windows machine as it's a pain in the arse on the Chrome devices
Similar requirements to you but may go down a 2in1 route.
I've been using a Chromebook and Chromebox at home since the first lockdown as all my work stuff was accessed via Citrix and it was great. Sadly our IT guy is moving everything over to Office365 which means going back to a Windows machine as it's a pain in the arse on the Chrome devices
Similar requirements to you but may go down a 2in1 route.
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Sundayjumper
- Posts: 6258
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:04 pm
- Currently Driving: Peugeot 406
Re: Laptops....
Fairly meh about it tbh. Apart from a better keyboard it's just not as nice as the Air.
Small positives are that it has a USB-C socket on each side, so you can plug the charger into either side. It boots up pretty quickly. Being able to use a fingerprint to log in when you start up is nice, the Air requires a PIN on startup and only uses the fingerprint to wake from sleep. And I've even used the micro-SD slot a couple of times. It feels pretty solid. It'll hopefully last a long time.
Main downside is actually the screen. It's the super-duper 4k touchscreen but it seems to have a lot of light bleed around the edges and the lighting seems somehow patchy across the rest of it. It's minimal and barely shows up in photos but I'm finding it quite noticeable when I'm using it. Battery seems to run down faster than the Air and takes longer to recharge.
As for actual performance, it's fine, but I don't do anything difficult on it, so it's hard to tell really.
I guess try and check one out IRL before you spend the money.
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Explosive Newt
- Posts: 1550
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:33 pm
Re: Laptops....
A bit late now but I got a reconditioned XPS 13 four years ago and have been using it since.
I’ve found it a good cross between plenty of power for running analysis and nicely portable. It’s still doing the job well four years on. Feel of it has never niggled me but I’ve never been a Mac user.
I find the shiny high res touch screen ok most of the time but it’s annoying when the light shines off it / you see your own terrifying reflection.
I had a saga with the battery whereby after a couple of years it would intermittently stop recognising the battery existed (refuse to draw power from it or charging it) that could only be fixed by unplugging the battery, powering it on on mains power, then plugging the battery back in. A process that involves removing the 9 screws that hold the back on. Dell OEM replacements are a nightmare to get cheaply: I tried to bodge it with a 3rd party version but it developed the same fault. In the end, a colleague’s slightly older XPS died and I was able to cannibalise the Dell battery out of that, a year on not having any issues.
Would I buy another? Not sure. The battery saga was the killer for me, many hours wasted, but I’m not knowledgeable enough about the current ultrabook market to know the alternatives.
I’ve found it a good cross between plenty of power for running analysis and nicely portable. It’s still doing the job well four years on. Feel of it has never niggled me but I’ve never been a Mac user.
I find the shiny high res touch screen ok most of the time but it’s annoying when the light shines off it / you see your own terrifying reflection.
I had a saga with the battery whereby after a couple of years it would intermittently stop recognising the battery existed (refuse to draw power from it or charging it) that could only be fixed by unplugging the battery, powering it on on mains power, then plugging the battery back in. A process that involves removing the 9 screws that hold the back on. Dell OEM replacements are a nightmare to get cheaply: I tried to bodge it with a 3rd party version but it developed the same fault. In the end, a colleague’s slightly older XPS died and I was able to cannibalise the Dell battery out of that, a year on not having any issues.
Would I buy another? Not sure. The battery saga was the killer for me, many hours wasted, but I’m not knowledgeable enough about the current ultrabook market to know the alternatives.