Laptop lost contact with wi-fi

[oldbluefox]

Depends how much you want to spend but my main recommendation is to go for one with SSD. I bought a new laptop with SSD and it's made a world of difference. Just for the record it's a Dell XPS which was recommended as a Best Buy on Which. I also checked out reviews from some of the computer magazines to see what they wererecommending.
Which reports are a good reference when buying and I have been very pleased with mine.

[david63]

As OBF says a lot depends on how much you want to spend bearing in mind you can get a laptop from around £300 up to several thousand.

The two things that I would place at the top of the list would be disc size and memory size - the more of each the better and I agree with OBF about SSD drives.

Also look what deals/offers are available - PC World/Currys are currently offering £150 trade in for your old laptop, although I suspect that is "up to £150"

[Kendhni]

Dell are a good brand as are HP, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, Samsung, Sony or my favourite, Lenovo. Pretty much any of the big names - they all have their pros and cons. The spec of your currrent laptop would be useful to know and how you use it (on a desk, on your knee, carry about etc.), what do you have to plug into it and what connectors does it currently use.

Based on your stated requirements, something reasonably basic would suffice. Do you have a budget in mind?
- a minimum of an i3 processor, but preferably see if you can get an i5 in your price band (avoid anything that simply says pentium or celeron). Look at the number that follows the i3/i5. -10 or -11 are recent processors ... anything less than 10 is an older processor.
- avoid anything labelled as Chromebook
- Definitely go with an SSD at least 256Gb (you may need more if you have a lot of photos) - how much space do you currently use
- 4Gb of memory would be adequate but I always suggest going for 8Gb
- you don't need a fancy graphics card (UHD would probably suffice)
- look for wifi 802.11ac (or 802.11n) are the latest
- keep an eye on the screen resolution (ideally 1920x1080 or higher) - many people neglect this yet it is the thing they look at most
- keep an eye on weight, if you intend using it on your knee
- ensure there are enough of the right type of ports (you may need to buy adaptor cables or an external USB hub depending on what you want to connect
- make sure you have bluetooth, webcam., microphone (if you require these)
- see what warranty is on offer

Don't worry too much about bundled software. Often come with McAfee or Norton antivirus ... just uninstall these and use Windows Defender (it is as good as anything and has a very low resource requirement).

[towny44]

Thanks Ken that's very useful. To answer some of your questions, I use it totally static on top of a built in drawer unit, never use it on battery and would link it by wi fi to my epson AIO printer, I currently use a wired mouse (hate those built in pads) and have a WD my passport back up drive, both linked via USBs.
A couple more questions, I assume SSD is a solid state hard drive, which presumably dispenses with the need for a fan and hopefully reduces the heat generated by my ancient laptop. My current screen is 15 inch which really in the age of smart phones and tablets is probably much too big, what's the best size in your opinion. I currently use defender and have never had any security issues, or at least I don't think so, but I thought this was now included anyway on windows 10.

[Kendhni]

If used static then weight and battery life become less important.

I am with you on trackpads, I cannot use them effectively at all. Sounds like you will need a USB port for your mouse and hard disk, so make sure you get at least 2 USB ports, and make sure at least one is USB3 for your hard disk (you don't state which type yours is but all my WD drives are USB3). You can never have too many USB ports - although if you need more they are easy to add by getting a USB hub (preferably powered).

An SSD will not remove the need for a fan. It may reduce the amount of heat generated but the main reason for a fan is to keep your CPU and graphics chips cool.

Screens are a personal thing. My own set up drives 2 x 27" screens linked to both my desktops and company laptop (but then I am looking at these for about 10 hours per day). With smaller screens you are more likely hunch over them, especially if (like me) your eyesight isn't the best. Try calling into Currys and look at a couple with different sizes.
There is a difference between how information is displayed on different sizes of screens ... in some instances the website simply gets smaller and looks the same (right down to tiny unreadable screens) or it pushes it off the right hand side of the screen requiring you to scroll horizontally. Modern websites will be 'responsive' and the content 'reflows' as the screen width reduces. You can try this out by simply changing the size of your browser window or increasing the zoom factor. A good site (e.g. BBC) will ensure content is kept on the screen rather than requiring horizontal scrolling. Before David complains, yes this site does also respond well to width.

Yes defender is built into windows and you really do not need anything else. If you want a secondary option use "Malware Bytes Free" and run it once a month or so (can be a bit naggy).

One other thing, if you don't have one already, buy a decent surge protected extension lead. I use these ones
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masterplug-Soc ... ef=sr_1_15
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08 ... le_o08_s00
They add the benefit of having a couple of USB ports that can be used for charging other devices (but not for data transfer - they are not connected to your computer) - the other day I couldn't understand why I couldn't get the photos off my phone, it was definitely connected but my computer could not see it ... after far too long at trouble shooting I realised I had picked up the wrong cable and connected the phone to the extension lead socket instead of my USB hub that is linked to the computer.

[Stephen]

Another option is to sign up to ‘Which’ and see what the best and worst buys are. It may help avoid a costly mistake. They use to offer a trial for 30 days for a £1, don’t know if they still do.


https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/laptops ... lsrc=aw.ds

[david63]

Another thing to be aware of if looking to buy a new laptop, or any other electronic device, is not which one you want but which one is available due to the worldwide shortage of semiconductors.

[Kendhni]

Another option is to sign up to ‘Which’ and see what the best and worst buys are. It may help avoid a costly mistake. They use to offer a trial for 30 days for a £1, don’t know if they still do.


https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/laptops ... lsrc=aw.ds

The problem with such comparisons is that they don't really take into account each individual's requirements ... and they are often out of date before they reach print (not to worry several months later). Just do a google search on 'top 10 laptops', 'laptop best buys' etc. and you should get similar answers from equally reliable sources (e.g. bestreviews). They still do not guarantee a laptop that meets specific needs - but all do provide general advice and information.

[Stephen]

But they do give you a guide which you can then tweak to your requirements with the provider when you order.

[Kendhni]

But they do give you a guide which you can then tweak to your requirements with the provider when you order.

Haven't seen that.
It can't be worse than the guide I found on a government web site that told its readers to ensure that their software was up to date. It then had a link to a page that talked about IE8 ... not in itself an issue except that this was only a couple of years ago long after it was taken out of service.