Just a little rant for today!!
I am sure the last time I bought a new computer in 2012 it was not as hard as this. Every Windows Laptop I see essentially says "Yay" but the screen is a bit kak. Going through threads on here and elsewhere say that Macs which have very good screens are all garbage as well.
I accidentally broke the screen on my 2012 HP Elitebook yesterday, my 2012 Macbook Pro 15 has been out of commission for a year as no one seems to want to even look at it for a repair and this 2008 Macbook running Linux is not quite there for reliable photography use. Fine for messing about though. I have been holding off projects in the search for a main machine.
So. Used around here seems to be pretty expensive for anything decent. I was looking for more of a business class laptop as these are generally better built. But the new M1 chip Macbook airs have turned my head a little.
So. Lenovo, Dell and HP. So many variations, all reviews whinge about the screens struggling with full RGB and being dark. A desktop is unviable sadly.
Even considering gaming laptops for the better graphics cards. But still the screens in my price range are considered naff.
Oh and as this is essentially emergency replacement needs to be finance for anything new. I like keepng computers for a while so build needs to be right.
I am a fussy sod. Or just pick one out at random and go "Good Enough"? It is essentially what I used to do!
Lenovo Ideapad? Dell Latitude? HP Probook?
I am a lost little bunny (Even as I work in IT!! It is hard when it is your own money!!).
Yeah and in this country this stuff is quite a bit more expensive than back in the UK. And I don't tihnk any vendors would sell a full system to me from there. No Dell Store either as an XPS for a grand would sort me out. Double that here! ROFL!!
Anyways. Joy.
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My feedback thread is here.
My next one will be from them as well.
https://soundcertified.com/speaker-ohms-calculator/
Or a Apple M1 MBA.
He is very good at recommendations for replacement laptops too as he gets to fix the bad ones
I'd hang on to it though, as it is one of the last repairable, upgradeable MBP's they made, IMHO.
Not only do other manufacturers make too many models to make this process possible and profitable their owners would generally rather dance on the grave of their dead Windows laptop than pay me to fix it at board level ..... they are eager to move on to the next one hoping it will be a better experience I guess.
Changing the LCD on an Elitebook is pretty easy ... but you need to match the firmware in the LCD as well as the screen part number otherwise the LVDS won't play ball. Or buy the screen on the HP PN which is generally on the end of the LCD cable in the format of xxxxx-001 or 0B1 etc.
I generally buy my screens from AJ Parts, formally Rolta
I'm not a fan of Asus, the DC sockets and hinges always break and there is no official spares service so if you need a part you will buying grey market and used parts like I have to on Ebay to complete a repair.
I'm sure someone has a good Asus story in the same way somebody owns an Ashdown bass amp that never broke but in general they are pretty bad.
The trouble with USB C is before charging / running from charger commences the laptop has to identify it's self to the charger as something that needs 20V at 3amps for example. Not the 5V or 9V or other voltage USB C can supply. The default is 5V to begin with. Then there is a little handshakes and that process should commence.
However any trouble with the MUX chip on the laptop board and that process will go wrong because the voltage will stay at 5V idle and that's not enough to do anything for a 20V laptop.
So now you have a laptop that won't work. Not because there's an issue with the high stressed buck convertor that supplies the CPU core voltage or the 30V that runs the LVDS or there's been a USB short that needs it's zero resistor changing ......
It won't work simply because it can't identify it's self as a laptop.
So I'm not a fan of USB C. Already done 2 Lenovo's and a little Asus with USB C faults that exhibited exactly that fault. To my thinking it's pointless tech as it adds a layer of complexity to something that was simple and most people use a standard 5V USB charger to charge their phone and don't swap gadgets about on big 60 watt USB chargers.
You say that Dell don’t sell into Hungary. Can you get a reconditioned XPS? Can you get one sent via a friend or colleague in another EU country?