If you would prefer to read, rather than watch…
Is this laptop any good? IT Support Episode 135″
Buy cheap, buy twice. So Nadia messaged me a week ago saying that her laptop had failed. So she’d found a website online selling cheap laptops that were second hand and refurbished. She wanted to know if the one that she’d found that fit her budget would be any good. So having a cousin that works in the IT industry, she messaged me. Quickly, I identified two areas where this laptop would quite honestly be a waste of money. So the first bit I’ll cover in this episode and the second bit I’ll cover in the next one.
The first bit was identifying the approximate age of the laptop based on the processor that’s in it. Now for those less in tune with technology, the processor inside the computer sometimes referred to as the brain. Now this laptop had an Intel processor in itand all Intel processors generally, fall into three categories. So, when you look at the model of the processor, it will be split into two parts: the i3, i5, i7. The second part will be the series of the processor. And the bit of that number you need to look at after the hyphen will be the first one or two digits. Now if it’s a current one, bearing in mind we’re at the end of 2022 while I’m recording this video, it will be an 11th or 12th generation processor. However, this one being much older went back to a fourth-generation processor. I know for me I wouldn’t want to be splashing out on a laptop and spending that sort of money on a machine that was already seven or eight years old. I actually think Nadia would have found it slower than the laptop that had just gone wrong. So if in doubt, when you’re looking at a new computer, if you’re being tempted with a website that looks like it’s going to be cheap, remember the line from my mother: buy cheap, buy twice.
And if in doubt, speak to your friendly IT support professional.
Until next time (click, click)