Quizzes & Puzzles1 min ago
Ram And Hard Drive
11 Answers
I am still humming and haaing over which laptop to buy. I will use it for household accounts, surfing the net, watching films and so on. I don't play games. Do you think the following details would be sufficient ?
Processor : Intelcord i5 - 8250U
Total memory RAM 8GB DDR4. 2,400 MHZ
Unit Hard Disc 128GB SSD PCle
Grafic Card Intel UHD 620
I Like this one because it is 14" , I think the more popular 15.6 would be too big and heavy for me. it's a Lenovo Ideapad 320S
Many thanks
Processor : Intelcord i5 - 8250U
Total memory RAM 8GB DDR4. 2,400 MHZ
Unit Hard Disc 128GB SSD PCle
Grafic Card Intel UHD 620
I Like this one because it is 14" , I think the more popular 15.6 would be too big and heavy for me. it's a Lenovo Ideapad 320S
Many thanks
Answers
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An Intel i5 is a powerful CPU and 8250 is the latest model (the 8 at the front is the clue - 8th generation).
8GB of memory is good (you can probably get away with 4gb but best go for 8gb)
128GB SSD is a fast solid state device but a bit on the small side if you plan to store LOTS of large video files / films. However you could always copy them out to an external hard drive if it gets full.
Lenovo is a good make.
8GB of memory is good (you can probably get away with 4gb but best go for 8gb)
128GB SSD is a fast solid state device but a bit on the small side if you plan to store LOTS of large video files / films. However you could always copy them out to an external hard drive if it gets full.
Lenovo is a good make.
A quick guide to RAM (for someone with your modest requirements):
1 GB > Usable, but only just.
2 GB > Far better. (A big improvement over 1GB).
4 GB > Offers better performance than 2 GB but, when simply web-browsing, word-processing, etc, doesn't really add that much to what you get with 2 GB (simply because 2 GB is generally enough anyway)
8 GB > More than enough!
. . . and a quick guide to hard drive (or solid state drive) space:
32 GB > The smallest drive capacity now offered by many manufacturers. Windows takes up most of it, leaving you hardly anything to play with. Further, several AB members have experienced problems with Windows 10 updates being unable to install because of insufficient drive capacity. Avoid!
64 GB > As long as you're not planning on storing loads of large files (such as videos) on your laptop, perfectly adequate. (I'm typing this on a Windows 7 desktop with a 64GB drive. It's good enough for my modest needs and I can always plug in a USB memory stick if I want to store lots of videos or pictures).
128 GB > As with 64 GB, perfectly good enough for what you're planning to do with your laptop.
The processor in the laptop you're considering is also good enough for your needs (as, indeed, any modern processor would be).
The graphics card is a bonus (because many laptops rely on 'on board' graphics, where part of the processing power of the motherboard is used to handle graphics), so the processor will be left to carry out other tasks.
The £350 price tag is reasonable for what you get for your money (Although you could probably find something else to meet your modest needs for rather less).
1 GB > Usable, but only just.
2 GB > Far better. (A big improvement over 1GB).
4 GB > Offers better performance than 2 GB but, when simply web-browsing, word-processing, etc, doesn't really add that much to what you get with 2 GB (simply because 2 GB is generally enough anyway)
8 GB > More than enough!
. . . and a quick guide to hard drive (or solid state drive) space:
32 GB > The smallest drive capacity now offered by many manufacturers. Windows takes up most of it, leaving you hardly anything to play with. Further, several AB members have experienced problems with Windows 10 updates being unable to install because of insufficient drive capacity. Avoid!
64 GB > As long as you're not planning on storing loads of large files (such as videos) on your laptop, perfectly adequate. (I'm typing this on a Windows 7 desktop with a 64GB drive. It's good enough for my modest needs and I can always plug in a USB memory stick if I want to store lots of videos or pictures).
128 GB > As with 64 GB, perfectly good enough for what you're planning to do with your laptop.
The processor in the laptop you're considering is also good enough for your needs (as, indeed, any modern processor would be).
The graphics card is a bonus (because many laptops rely on 'on board' graphics, where part of the processing power of the motherboard is used to handle graphics), so the processor will be left to carry out other tasks.
The £350 price tag is reasonable for what you get for your money (Although you could probably find something else to meet your modest needs for rather less).
SSDs are very quick but also relatively expensive compared to conventional hard drives - you can buy a 500GB hard drive for about the same price as a 128GB SSD. Since you don't really need speed of access for your usage I would recommend that you go for a larger conventional hard drive then an SSD.
As an alternative, you can get a Hybrid Hard Drive (SSHD) - that is a conventional drive with some fast storage built in. These cost only slightly more than a conventional disc but make the computer quicker to boot. (Cunning software built-in watches which programs you use most often and puts them in the fast storage).
Rough prices for comparison 128GB SSD around £40. 500GB HD around £40. 500GB SSHD around £45.
As an alternative, you can get a Hybrid Hard Drive (SSHD) - that is a conventional drive with some fast storage built in. These cost only slightly more than a conventional disc but make the computer quicker to boot. (Cunning software built-in watches which programs you use most often and puts them in the fast storage).
Rough prices for comparison 128GB SSD around £40. 500GB HD around £40. 500GB SSHD around £45.
Sharon - there are three types of drive
1) a conventional hard drive with spinning platters inside, with a read-head that moves in and out to find the data on the disc.
2) a Solid State Drive (SSD) which is just a large, fast memory card, similar in operation to the sort you have in your camera. All the data is accessed directly ie, you don't have to wait for the spinning platters to get into the right place before you can read your data. It might seem quick to you but to the computer it seems to take ages to get to the right place.
3) a Hybrid drive - there are conventional drives with, in effect, a small SSD attached. The most used data/programs are moved into the SSD part, so you get fast operation for say, boot up.
SSDs are quick but expensive. Conventional discs are relatively slow (if you're trying to load a big video file it can take a while). Hybrid SSDs are a compromise.
Does that clarify things?
1) a conventional hard drive with spinning platters inside, with a read-head that moves in and out to find the data on the disc.
2) a Solid State Drive (SSD) which is just a large, fast memory card, similar in operation to the sort you have in your camera. All the data is accessed directly ie, you don't have to wait for the spinning platters to get into the right place before you can read your data. It might seem quick to you but to the computer it seems to take ages to get to the right place.
3) a Hybrid drive - there are conventional drives with, in effect, a small SSD attached. The most used data/programs are moved into the SSD part, so you get fast operation for say, boot up.
SSDs are quick but expensive. Conventional discs are relatively slow (if you're trying to load a big video file it can take a while). Hybrid SSDs are a compromise.
Does that clarify things?
^^^ What confused me about your original post, Bhg481, is why you think that Samuraisan might need a larger drive. If she's only going to be storing her household accounts on it, together with nasty letters to her bank manager, etc, I can't see that she needs a great deal of space. Even if she's got several thousand photos to store, 128 GB should still be perfectly adequate.
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