Laptops for chess/writing etc.

[andyburnett]

As I have next to no knowledge of these matters, having never owned a laptop, I thought I'd enlist some help from the more knowledgeable members of this forum!

Basically, I need a laptop which will run ChessBase and various engines for my chess studies/writing and also allow me to use DeskTop Publishing programs, Skype (very important) and for internet access.

I don't need a super-machine for gaming or anything like that, just a decent computer with a reasonable-sized screen and a not too hefty price-tag (under £500, or is this pushing it?)

Cheers in advance,
Andy Burnett

[Ianbrownlee]

Hi Andy
any laptop will do with Windows XP/& etc Chessbase will also run on windows 8

[andyburnett]

Cheers Ian,

But (just to clarify) are there any minimum specs for the kind of (fairly basic I guess) things I outlined above, or will any decent laptop from say, Amazon, PCWorld, etc be fast/powerful enough for this?

I just don't want to buy something and then find it's too slow or weak or just plain rubbish to stream Skype lessons or something like that? :-\

For example, is something like this....

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-ne...7-pdt.html

...good enough for my needs or not?

[William Hulme]

Andy, that HP laptop will comfortably run everything you mentioned including as Ian said ChessBase12. The latest 64-bit chess engines will use any amount of memory you can give it so if you see a model with 8Gb memory it would be worth the additional cost. 4Gb memory is enough though and your chess engines will be strong enough to beat Magnus Carlsen :-)

A couple of other things to perhaps consider...

Its not 'that' portable - 15.6 screen is nice but weighing in at 2.3kg not recommended for travelling. Perfect for home use when you can tidy it away easily.
Like all laptops, take the quoted 5Hrs battery life with a pinch of salt especially if running a Chess engine - divide by 4 :-o

Microsoft Office (Word, Excel etc) is the 2013 trial version. Although it should comfortably run an older version of MS Office if you plan to transfer from an older PC etc.

Windows 8.1 is great but without a 'touch screen' is not everyone's taste. It is quite different from XP (start button has limited functions - although there are plenty of free downloads to give you XP style back). As an alternative, consider Windows7 which should be zero learning curve coming from XP (most come with Win8 licence so you can choose to upgrade for free later). Similar spec laptop with Win7 installed: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pcworldbusiness.co.uk/catalogue/item/P181257P?from=category&heat=title">http://www.pcworldbusiness.co.uk/catalo ... heat=title</a><!-- m -->

The latest version of ChessBase 12 works great on Win7, Win8 or Win8.1 but if you have an older version of Chessbase, and perhaps older versions of other software, consider sticking with Win7 instead.

Overall both laptops are a good buy and with Intel i3 processor on a branded HP, Dell, Lenovo - you can't really go wrong. Hope that helps you decide and if you need more info/help - email me (or Ian).

[Jim Webster]

One of the problems with using Windows 7 is that "mainstream support" ends 13th. Jan 2015. and only "Extended Support" will be available after that (until 14/01/2020).

Far better to go with the latest version of Windows and actually Win 8 is pretty good. You can also now get the XP type desktop style if you so wish - it was re- introduced in the last update.

I have Office 2010, Chessbase 12, Fritz 13, Web publishing, Photoshop all running with no problems even although some of them are pre Windows 8.

[William Hulme]

One of the problems with using Windows 7 is that "mainstream support" ends 13th. Jan 2015. and only "Extended Support" will be available after that (until 14/01/2020).

Jim, I use Win 8.1 and agree it is good. However, a lot of people are just getting round to replacing XP computers after support ended April 2014!

For someone upgrading from XP - and likely missed out Vista & Win7 - the jump straight to Win8 may present an interface change they are not expecting :-o

I don't understand how Win7 support ending in 2020 makes that "one of the problems" and I would be surprised if the laptop lasts those six years!

The current breed of Win7 downgrade laptops includes a DVD to upgrade to Win8 should you wish to anyway - so you get the best of both worlds.

Personally, I would not say it's "far better to go with the latest version of Windows" in every case.
I would suggest paying a visit to one of the shops which display laptops and have a look & feel at the interface first. If you are willing to spend a little more on a touch screen model then you might agree Win8 comes to life with that hardware.
If you just want it to "do the job" then I would seriously consider opting for Win7: compatible with almost everything / no learning curve and rock solid stability.

The choice is yours :ymblushing:

[Jim Webster]

For someone upgrading from XP - and likely missed out Vista & Win7 - the jump straight to Win8 may present an interface change they are not expecting :-o

That was exactly the jump I made and it didn't take that much to get used to..

I don't understand how Win7 support ending in 2020 makes that "one of the problems" and I would be surprised if the laptop lasts those six years!

Extended support until 2020 is a fee based support, normal support ends in 2015.

New applications are generally written for the current supported version and may not necessarily be backwards compatible. You never know what you may want to use in days to come. Upgrades from earlier versions, such as Win7 are not free and that may be an added cost when the time comes.

Its a personal thing though, I believe that when buying computers you should get the best you can for your budget.

[William Hulme]

Extended support until 2020 is a fee based support, normal support ends in 2015.

Think you may be mistaken about it being fee based, Jim.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/lifecycle">http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/lifecycle</a><!-- m -->

We're heading off the topic now so I'm leaving it there.

[Alastair White]

I recently bought an HP Pavilion Laptop with 4GB memory, Windows 8 and an Intel i5 processor for less than £400 - I think it was cheap because it had no touch screen (which I don't much care about anyway).

It is very fast and runs chessbase and engines no problem. I think it probably worth going up to an i5 rather than a i3 for the extra processing power. As someone said, going up to 8GB memory would be even better but would probably take it outside your budget.

Windows 8 takes a lot of getting used to but the free upgrade to windows 8.1 helps - and there are other 'tweaks' you can do to remove some of the unnecessary stuff HP gives you and customise the way it looks and works to whatever suits you. Best get a 'techy' friend who knows about these things to help you set it up. We have several other machines running older versions of Windows and while they have a more familar feel to them, they are clearly less efficient in their use of resources.

[Alastair White]

Update re my last posting -

Just remembered that my laptop actually does have 8GB so that's definitely within your budget. If you google on HP i5 8GB you can find a few of these - the HP store has them at £479 but maybe you can find similar examples elsewhere for less (I got mine at a sale price).