PC Need emergency laptop/tablet purchase help

PBAC

PBAC

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I am back home for christmas and had to buy a laptop in an emergency cos my other is being repaired. I found a microsoft surface pro 3, I7, 256gb storage, 16gb ram, MS word free, refurbished for 300 euro. It is small and light, suited for what i needed and powerful for what it is but the right mouse button isnt working. Linking a wireless mouse works fine. I

like it but can i get a better laptop at this price? Is it worth buying this second hand 300 euro with a fault or is it normal to find it for this price first or second hand?

Guy in the shop aaid theyd be a grand first hand normally but I see a lot for 250 euro but not with those specs. Have to ask cos will be returning to my other home soon.
 
PBAC said:
I am back home for christmas and had to buy a laptop in an emergency cos my other is being repaired. I found a microsoft surface pro 3, I7, 256gb storage, 16gb ram, MS word free, refurbished for 300 euro. It is small and light, suited for what i needed and powerful for what it is but the right mouse button isnt working. Linking a wireless mouse works fine. I

like it but can i get a better laptop at this price? Is it worth buying this second hand 300 euro with a fault or is it normal to find it for this price first or second hand?

Guy in the shop aaid theyd be a grand first hand normally but I see a lot for 250 euro but not with those specs. Have to ask cos will be returning to my other home soon.
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Have you confirmed the right mouse button works on another computer? That sounds like a mouse issue.

I have no idea what the Euro laptop market is these days. You also have to be more specific with specs. An i7 refurb could from Haswell or Ivy Bridge like 10 generations ago.
 
Madmick said:
Have you confirmed the right mouse button works on another computer? That sounds like a mouse issue.

I have no idea what the Euro laptop market is these days. You also have to be more specific with specs. An i7 refurb could from Haswell or Ivy Bridge like 10 generations ago.
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Well its the right touchpad key not mouse also the left key has to be jammed on or repeadaely pressed before it works. I brought it back in and they said if its not working theyd just box it off and send it back, but if its worth 1000 then the touch pad issue is livable.

Its a surface pro 4 actually, not 3.no idea what model only that its microsoft and 2024.
 
PBAC said:
Well its the right touchpad key not mouse also the left key has to be jammed on or repeadaely pressed before it works. I brought it back in and they said if its not working theyd just box it off and send it back, but if its worth 1000 then the touch pad issue is livable.

Its a surface pro 4 actually, not 3.no idea what model only that its microsoft and 2024.
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You need to go to "About" computer to see what the hardware specifications are. Better yet, download HWInfo, run it, and see specifically what all the components are. It can't be a 2024 Surface Pro because that line is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors, not the Intel i7's:
en.wikipedia.org

Surface Pro (11th generation) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The Surface Pro 10 series would have had a Core 7 Ultra, not an i7. So it's a Surface Pro 9 series at the latest from 2022 (i7-1255U or i7-1265U).
 
Madmick said:
You need to go to "About" computer to see what the hardware specifications are. Better yet, download HWInfo, run it, and see specifically what all the components are. It can't be a 2024 Surface Pro because that line is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X processors, not the Intel i7's:
en.wikipedia.org

Surface Pro (11th generation) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

The Surface Pro 10 series would have had a Core 7 Ultra, not an i7. So it's a Surface Pro 9 series at the latest from 2022 (i7-1255U or i7-1265U).
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Then i just have no idea what year it was. Apparently the pro 4 shouldnt be able to run windows 11 pro either but these are the specs
 

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Yeah you can do better for that price given how old of a Surface it is. Both used and new.

The guy quoted you the cost of a new surface Pro from the last year or two, and then gave you am almost 10 year old used model. Apples and oranges. Do you need the laptop to be a convertible or have a touch display?
 
PBAC said:
Then i just have no idea what year it was. Apparently the pro 4 shouldnt be able to run windows 11 pro either but these are the specs
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It's a Surface Pro 4, or the 4th generation of the series, not the current 11th. This series released in 2015, not 2024:
en.wikipedia.org

Surface Pro 4 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

To give you an idea of relative processing power, the i7-6650U processor in that laptop averages a multicore score of 3,545 on Passmark, and a 1,780 single core score. The Snapdragon X Elite in the current Surface Pro 11 series hits a 24,016 multiscore score, and a 3,926 single score score:

The onboard GPUs are even more robust in relation to the CPU today, and newer laptops will have similarly faster RAM and SSDs. The RAM in that unit was LPDDR3 (1866 MHz) when we're already up to LPDDR5 RAM (5500 MHz), two full generations ahead, in the Surface Pro 11 series.
 
Madmick said:
It's a Surface Pro 4, or the 4th generation of the series, not the current 11th. This series released in 2015, not 2024:
en.wikipedia.org

Surface Pro 4 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

To give you an idea of relative processing power, the i7-6650U processor in that laptop averages a multicore score of 3,545 on Passmark, and a 1,780 single core score. The Snapdragon X Elite in the current Surface Pro 11 series hits a 24,016 multiscore score, and a 3,926 single score score:

The onboard GPUs are even more robust in relation to the CPU today, and newer laptops will have similarly faster RAM and SSDs. The RAM in that unit was LPDDR3 (1866 MHz) when we're already up to LPDDR5 RAM (5500 MHz), two full generations ahead, in the Surface Pro 11 series.
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So for 300 refurbished with a busted left and right click is it better to return? Quick google search show some P4s for 150 euro though with lower specs.
 
PBAC said:
So for 300 refurbished with a busted left and right click is it better to return? Quick google search show some P4s for 150 euro though with lower specs.
Click to expand...
I have to believe you could do better for that much, especially if it's a refurb/used unit with issues. Even today's budget offerings that are new for that price should be better than that.

As Avenue asked you, do you need it to have a convertible form factor, or touchscreen-capability? Those are features the Surface series carry. If not, you will be able to get much more with a traditional laptop.
 
Madmick said:
I have to believe you could do better for that much, especially if it's a refurb/used unit with issues. Even today's budget offerings that are new for that price should be better than that.

As Avenue asked you, do you need it to have a convertible form factor, or touchscreen-capability? Those are features the Surface series carry. If not, you will be able to get much more with a traditional laptop.
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Yes well thats what i want it for. This one also cam with windows 11 pro an noffice

I found thisnone with the same specs and no keyboard for 600
 
PBAC said:
Yes well thats what i want it for. This one also cam with windows 11 pro an noffice

I found thisnone with the same specs and no keyboard for 600
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I'm not a well versed UK electronics bargain shopper, but a single filtered search of Amazon turned this up right away:

Specs here:

It's £562, but the i5 in it stomps the i7-6650U, it has the same amount of RAM running at nearly twice the speed (3200MHz), a Gen4 NVMe 1TB SSD (4x the storage & faster), and it isn't running on a dead man walking OS (i.e. Windows 10 end-of-life is Oct-2025).

PC Mag recommends the Lenovo Ideapad Flex 14 5i budget offering for touchscreen convertibles in 2025 if you buy new. Looks like those start around the same price as this HP:

I'm sure you could do a lot better than either of these if you know where to scour.
 
PBAC said:
Yes well thats what i want it for. This one also cam with windows 11 pro an noffice
Click to expand...
What other specs do you want (size, resolution, and processor) and what countries are you looking at? Mick and others are more well versed in reviews and how stuff actually performs, but I can give you an idea of what prices to expect for the model and how it compares.
 
Madmick said:
It's £562, but the i5 in it stomps the i7-6650U, it has the same amount of RAM running at nearly twice the speed (3200MHz), a Gen4 NVMe 1TB SSD (4x the storage & faster), and it isn't running on a dead man walking OS (i.e. Windows 10 end-of-life is in Oct-2025).

PC Mag recommends the Lenovo Ideapad Flex 14 5i budget offering for touchscreen convertibles in 2025 if you buy new. Looks like those start around the same price as this HP:
Amazon.co.uk
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Curry's is the other option for the Flex, newer processor and double the storage for the same price while it's on sale. Otherwise it's 699.

For an Acer option, the Aspire convertible is 699

If you want to spend more and like Samsung, their older Galaxy books are around 700 or 800 usually. All depends on budget, and if you like Chromebooks too.

@PBAC
 
Honestly, my Surface 5 Pro (1796-256GB) is so much more useful and practical than my Alienware laptop, it almost makes me hate the laptop, lmfao.

Runs Win 10 Pro flawlessly (been too lazy to upgrade), and it's a motherfucking game changer on a 7 hour flight. Just don't watch porn when they're bringing the drink cart around.
 
I bought an emergency laptop, but years later realized I should have bought a mini or micro desktop instead.
 
avenue94 said:
What other specs do you want (size, resolution, and processor) and what countries are you looking at? Mick and others are more well versed in reviews and how stuff actually performs, but I can give you an idea of what prices to expect for the model and how it compares.
Click to expand...
These were the specs i wanted. Only problem is the mouse issue and year. My needs are basically for work/college and light gaming. These specs ran the yakuza games,total war and ff7r
PeterGriffin said:
Honestly, my Surface 5 Pro (1796-256GB) is so much more useful and practical than my Alienware laptop, it almost makes me hate the laptop, lmfao.

Runs Win 10 Pro flawlessly (been too lazy to upgrade), and it's a motherfucking game changer on a 7 hour flight. Just don't watch porn when they're bringing the drink cart around.
Click to expand...
But before and after they serve drinks is fine right?
 
PBAC said:
These were the specs i wanted. Only problem is the mouse issue and year. My needs are basically for work/college and light gaming. These specs ran the yakuza games,total war and ff7r
But before and after they serve drinks is fine right?
Click to expand...
<goldie>
 
PBAC said:
These were the specs i wanted. Only problem is the mouse issue and year. My needs are basically for work/college and light gaming. These specs ran the yakuza games,total war and ff7r
Click to expand...
Wait, what? The specs in the Windows Surface Pro 4 you got? Those don't come close to the minimums for the games you named.



The i5-3330 and especially the i5-3470 are beyond the i5-6650U. But it's the GPU requirements, especially. GTX 780, GTX 960, GTX 900 series. The Iris 540 iGPU doesn't have a prayer of running those games at a playable framerate.
 
What about this prestigious brand? I just need it for college work and some gaming at this stage. Its an android but capable of holdin 1tb functioning usb and office

 
PBAC said:
What about this prestigious brand? I just need it for college work and some gaming at this stage. Its an android but capable of holdin 1tb functioning usb and office

Click to expand...
The item description claims a Mediatek T606 chipset, but as far as I can tell, that chipset doesn't exist, it's referring to a competing company, Unisoc, who makes a T606 chip, which is considerably worse than the 2015 Surface Pro 4's i7 you were originally using.

There's so little care they don't even properly relay their product's components. I'm not wasting more time on this than that.
 
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