Laptop suggestion, mostly for Skype

[Andrzejek]

May I get some/any advice on what would be a good mid-range price laptop to get, mostly for Skype (with half-decent camera and microphone), e-mail, and some basic home ‘computing’.
My old Acer Aspire One netbook (which mostly taught me to be patient) is on its last legs and it is time to upgrade.
Google is not much help, even laptops suggested for Skype come back with “poor, grainy, narrow angle camera and sub-standard mic”

Basics would be: 256 SSHD (solid state hard drive), 8G of RAM, 15”+ monitor, etc.



---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

 

[SamBones]

Found this by Googling "best laptop for skype"...

https://picknotebook.com/blog/best-skype-laptop/

Looks like pretty good advice.

 

[Andrzejek]

Yes, this is the very first web page that Google shows when you search, and I've seen it already, but from their own descriptions of what they suggest:

"it doesn’t have a stunning screen (actually, far from it) or a great application performance."
"it doesn’t have a good quality screen or a good webcam"
"big limitations – poor display resolution"

If that's the "best-skype-laptop" suggestions..., that's why I ask my question.


---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

 

[strongm]

>?If that's the "best-skype-laptop" suggestions

To be fair I think they are trying to provide suggestions across arrange of budgets - so what they are really saying for that first one is "we think this is the best at this price point"

So one question would have to be: what is your budget?

 

[Andrzejek]

The budget is about $500 - $800, give or take.

So on this web site there are 2 HP laptops suggested for that price, with the links to Amazon to buy them. There are some reviews on Amazon, but none of them mention camera, mic, Skype capabilities. And I could not find other reviews for that same computer (maybe I just don't know how to search for a particular laptop...?)

In the commends on that page, it was stated: "You could go either for the Acer Aspire E 15 on the list or ..." so I replied: "Acer Aspire E 15 IS NOT on the list There is Acer Aspire E5-576-392H, is that the same animal?", no response.


---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

 

[edfair]

Have you considered getting a laptop without a camera and using a USB connected webcam?

In my case it would be a used Dell Latitude d830 (due to parts availability) with win7 and a logitech 1080p webcam.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[Andrzejek]

I would rather stick with all 'build-in' already there.
And Win7 is on its way out, I would rather get Win10


---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

 

[strongm]

HP 255 G6

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-255-g6-notebook-pc-(energy-star)

HP Pavilion 14 (renamed)

https://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-pavilion-x360-14-cd0011nr

Both have pretty poor PPI screens. At the distance you tend to use a laptop/notebooks you need (IMHO) a PPI of at least 180-200, and these two HPs both offer less than 115PPI. To be fair, to a certain extent the impact of PPI is subjective, and you might be happy with lower values. I just think 110 is too low

In fact, as I look at all of these recommendations (even the Macbook), I can't help wondering what on earth the compiler of the list was thinking. Basically they are all budget machines (even the Mac)

Acer Aspire

https://www.pcworld.com/article/329...laptop-with-plenty-of-productivity-power.html

To be honest, if I were in the market for a laptop/notebook at the moment I might be tempted by the current Surface Pro 6 range, although it starts out right at the top of your price range.

 

[Andrzejek]

Thanks strongm,
Price range stated is just a starting point. Since I intent to keep it for several years, I don't mind spending more.


---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.

 

[vacunita]

A 1080p webcam and high quality Mic will be hard to get on an under $800 budget laptop.

What you want simply isn't available on lower priced laptops.

Any laptop running Windows 10 can Skype. The quality of the image is a different deal. Also of note, is that you having a 1080p camera will mean nothing to the quality of the video you get from the other party. If they have a paltry 720p grainy camera you will still get grainy video.

The 1080p and high quality Mic will only benefit the other party, and only if the internet connection allows for high quality video and audio. Otherwise it will be compressed.

I would not worry too much about the camera quality, and more about the Laptops general specs.

I would go for a Surface Pro, 1080p dual cameras (front and back), and dual mics:

Surface Book 2 - Microsoft.com

Or if keeping to the $800 budget, note the lower quality camera:

Surface Laptop 2 - Microsoft.com







----------------------------------
Phil AKA Vacunita
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OS-ception: Running Linux on a Virtual Machine in Windows which itself is running in a Virtual Machine on Mac OSx.

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[Andrzejek]

OK, finally I’ve got Acer E-15 with solid state hard drive. Delivered a few weeks ago (on Sunday ) from Amazon. So far, I like it very much. A lot faster than my old Acer Aspire netbook (but that’s not hard to do with any laptops these days), boots up in less than 10 seconds, which is nice, Sound and video quality is very good for Skype, even with the build-in speakers. Used some information about Windows 10 Settings You Should Change Right Now!, very helpful.


---- Andy

There is a great need for a sarcasm font.