Help, I need a new computer!

[New World Explorer]

38 minutes ago, bagwell1987 said:

Explain why the 2nd has only 1T but is more expensive

First of all Dell primary HDD is not a SSD... it has SDD only as additional hard-drive - point: it will be slower. 

The order has to be reversed SDD needs to be primary one, where Windows is installed. 

Also LG one has IPS screen (better quality) and it runs better resolution 2560x1600 

 

IPS: 

What is an IPS Monitor? (IPS Monitor Technology)

IPS monitors or “In-Plane Switching” monitors, leverage liquid crystals aligned in parallel to produce rich colors. IPS panels are defined by the shifting patterns of their liquid crystals. These monitors were designed to overcome the limitations of TN panels. The liquid crystal’s ability to shift horizontally creates better viewing angles.

IPS monitors continue to be the display technology of choice for users that want color accuracy and consistency. IPS monitors are really great when it comes to color performance and super-wide viewing angles. The expansive viewing angles provided by IPS monitors help to deliver outstanding color when being viewed from different angles. One major differentiator between IPS monitors and TN monitors is that colors on an IPS monitor won’t shift when being viewed at an angle as drastically as they do on a TN monitor.

[daydream]

  Stock photo

 

Mine is a curved desktop monitor. I'm not sure if it is IPS. Bought it last September. More expensive than the normal flat screen. Will have to ask son about the specifications. 

[daydream]

https://www.viewsonic.com/library/photography/what-is-an-ips-monitor-panel/

 

Another important characteristic of IPS monitors is that they are able to support professional color space technologies, such as Adobe RGB. This is due to the fact that IPS monitors are able to offer more displayable colors, which help improve color accuracy.

 

 

 

 

Quote

In the past, response time and contrast were the initial weakness of IPS technology. Nowadays, however, IPS monitor response times have advanced to the point where they are even capable of satisfying gamers, thus resulting in a rising popularity in IPS monitors for gaming.

I don't do gaming, just reading articles and movies.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Mclove

[CHecker]

I do movies as well. But I'm going for a laptop not desktop.

1 hour ago, Qapla said:

Cheryl,

 

I will be available to Zoom tomorrow - just text me

 

I'll text tomorrow afternoon

[jwhess]

1 hour ago, bagwell1987 said:

JWHess, what do you use?

I have an older HP 17 inch laptop with an I5 processor (not very new 4th generation).  It has 8 GB of Ram and a 250 GB hard drive with 512 GB SD card storage.  It has a screen with 1900 x 1080 resolution.  It has a trackpad and a "finger" pointer stick on the keyboard.  It has webcam and microphone built-in.  It has a DVD player and a lot of ports.

 

I used it for my LDC Cad work but the battery only lasts about 4 hours now (it is 6 years old (I think).  I bought it used for $250 back 3 years ago.

I would buy something with a core I7 (or even a Core I(P in a 10th or 11th generation Intel processor.  I would buy no less than 8 GB of ram memory but I would go for 16 or 32 GB if the price was good.  I would buy a large hard drive 1-2 TB (terabytes.  Some would buy a smaller SSD drive because they are faster response but the cost is a lot more for less storage.  Whether you need a DVD (so called "optical) drive is up to you.  You don't normally find DVD players/writers on laptops smaller than 15 inch size.

 

How many ports is usually determined by the manufacturer, but unless you have a specific need, you just take what the provide.  A battery will not last as long on a larger screen laptop.  a 15 inch unit should get 8 hours but maybe not on a 17 inch display.  Wireless connectivity is important but most laptops have that and Bluetooth availability on board.  You might need to have a "hardwire connection (where you plug in a computer cable into an RJ45 port (looks like a larger phone connection.

 

More of anything costs more money.  If you are going to spend extra, more ram memory, larger or faster hard drive and a better resolution display are always good.  But the price goes up.  Do you want to spend extra for more warranty?  Most units come with a year, but you can often buy another year or two for an additional cost.

 

Side Point: your question why the 2nd unit is more expensive with smaller drive.  It is made up of SSD solid state drives (smaller storage size, faster response time, more money...!!!)

[CHecker]

Wow, I need my notepad, that was a lot of great info. Helps me even more in my decision. 

Its just so confusing when its all thrown in front of you, when its not what you "do". Therefore I compartmentalize. This is all helping. 

I didn't realize the larger the screen the more battery, but it does stand to reason.

[daydream]

My curved monitor is a IPS one. A bit more expensive but worth the money.

[Margaret]

I always get mine at Walmart. The one i am using now is an HP all-in-one. Great price and warranty.

[Myew]

16 hours ago, bagwell1987 said:

Today, of all days, my computer refused to come on. Rebooted, nada, nutin'! I had a little nagging in the back of my mind and backed it up a couple weeks ago, thank goodness 

 

So now what do I get. I play a downloaded game occasionally, I store pictures of my garden, invoicing, internet (of course), watch dvd's, you know just average small business- housewife stuff. I want (I think I'm saying this right) 2 terabytes (is that enough for today's demands?) of memory and a fast processor. 

 

Any suggestions on things I haven't mentioned is great. TY in advance.

 

BTW, I am no techy so please dumb down and explain things so I can get it ok?🤣

Cheryl, based on your use cases listed here, I would assume that a used business desktop PC, provided it is of at least a certain spec (4th generation i5 processor is as far back/low as I will recommend), would cover all of your needs perfectly well. I know that's not your preference, I'm just stating options for you because I don't want to see you waste money for things that you don't need. Your computer's memory/RAM determines how many programs your computer can run concurrently. Your storage/hard drive/solid state drive is for all of the files and programs that you have installed or saved on your computer.

I recently picked up a used 2013-2014 Dell Optiplex 7020 for around $160 with a 4th generation Intel i5-4590 processor, Windows 10, 250GB of Hard Drive (slow) storage, 8GB of RAM, a 23" monitor, DVD drive, accessories, etc. I bought a 240GB Solid State Drive (fast storage, $30) to replace the slow drive as the operating system drive, and have set the slow storage as a backup/additional storage if needed. If you're only storing pictures, this is likely more storage than you use. My dad has literal tens of thousands of pictures/scans on a 256GB drive. But it depends on your picture quality and whatnot. It's also highly unlikely that you will ever need more than 8GB of RAM. This machine is going to be used by a Zoom host for our meetings, I also bought a camera and a wireless antenna for it as well. Since it is a lower power 290 watt tower machine, it even has the potential to someday be upgraded with a low tier graphics card such as a GTX 1650, if they by chance ever come down into an affordable range before this system crashes. But based on your post, I'm doubting you play modern 3d games or anything that requires a graphics card to run.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/P-C-Bundle-Dell-OptiPlex-7020-Desktop-intel-i5-4590-8GB-250-GB-HDD-W-10-Pro-/402741106780

If you want a new laptop as simple as possible, you buy one of these for ~$400: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Display-Graphics-Keyboard-A515-43-R19L/dp/B07RF1XD36/ New laptops don't come with DVD drives anymore, you would have to buy a separate USB DVD drive for $20 or so. Honestly, this is probably perfectly fine for your uses, but if you have trouble running multiple things, you can add a 4GB stick of RAM to make it 8GB total for $30, and if you need more storage down the line, a 1 terabyte internal 2.5" hard drive for $50.

[LRJW]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QV7KMQZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

This is what I got from Amazon last month, and I couldn't be happier with it (with one exception - see below).  Great high-end specs and even though it's a laptop, the RAM can be upgraded in the future if necessary.  I use it for videoconferencing, video editing on Adobe Premiere, and congregation-documents stuff.  It's also supposedly great for gaming and virtual reality stuff, but I don't do that so I wouldn't know specifically how well it does.   

 

When working with documents, I usually plug in an external 27" monitor I have - it makes it easier to work with multiple documents at a time.

 

The only drawback is that the speakers are a little weak - and for some reason they put them on the underside of the laptop.  If I need to hear sound (like with video editing), I either grin and bear it or pull out some small speakers and plug them in. 

 

I don't use it for watching movies and listening to things too much - I run to my office/computer setup whenever I have a talk or meeting part, and then the rest of the meeting I join my wife in the other room and we watch/participate in the meetings on her Macbook.  

Edited March 29, 2021 by LRJW