Need your input for a future purchase
 

Hi all.

Someday I am going to have to replace my Dell Inspiron 18 inch laptop with a new computer. I would prefer a desktop rather than a laptop because I never move this thing and don't plan to. I essentially use my laptop as a desktop (it has no battery) and it's plugged in. It's over 8 years old so I know eventually I'll have to replace it.

So I need to go nice and easy and check out anything I plan to buy in the event that I win the lottery and have the money to purchase what I need to purchase. I don't need anything fancy but I want an all in one. I want to just plug it in, turn it on, use the wi fi and connect my headphones. I don't play games, I watch youtube and other stuff, so essentially any computer I get would do just that. It's the screen size that I am concerned about. Since I like to watch movies I don't want to buy a 15 inch laptop. I've been using an 18 inch and am used to the size. If I could go bigger, I want to go bigger.

Here's an example. I read the specs. It fits the bill, there are no additional wires (if I read this right), I just take it out of the box, plug it in, (here is where I get confusedddd). It says blue tooth. I know what that is. I presently use my Koss headphones which I plug into my laptop. I don't use wireless.

Does this thing come with a headphone jack? and am I correct that all I need to do is plug it into my outlet, plug in my headphones, turn on the computer and (I know, I have to learn windows ten, right), I can learn. I don't care if it's a touch screen, all I use is a mouse, I own a tablet so I know about touch screens.

So here's what I'm thinking about for the future (or a similar product). See if I get a regular desktop, I need to plug in a monitor and the computer, and route it to the modem. Since I am using wi fi via my laptop I just want to use wi fi and this thing seems to fit the bill. I'm not jumping into anything. There are places around me that sells refurbished ones (the laptop I'm using right now was refurbished and it works just fine 99 percent of the time. Thanks much

http://www.staples.com/HP-Pavilion-2...roduct_1776336

Melody

UPDATE. Just got off with tech support from Optimum. God that guy is like Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang. He answered all my questions. Found out what 2.5 and 5 ghz means. Found out my laptop only has 2.5. Found out that if I want better performance I want a computer with Dual band, found out lots of stuff. And I'm 68. I wonder what I could be able to learn if I was 20. God I wish I was 20 again. rofl.

under the Detailed specifications -
Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2x2) and Bluetooth® 4.0 combod8

Ports - 2 USB 3.0; 4 USB 2.0; 1 HDMI; 1 headphone/microphone combo

I personally think HP Pavillions are junk. Our friend had one that totally went blooey in short order!

At my husband's job, all agents had HP computers. They all had hardware problems, screens going out, keys breaking, failure to boot, within 2 or less years. So I have a very low regard for HP computers. Their printers seem okay, if short lived, but replacing them at about $100 is a far cry from replacing a laptop!

You might watch NewEgg's website, as sometimes there are great deals on desktop models of various computers. That is where we bought our current Dell.

Isn't it funny. Before I had this Dell, all I owned were HP Pavillions. Never had a problem. Now I have this Dell, other than getting stuck now and then and needing a reboot, well, it works for what I need it for. I'm going to go and check if Dell makes an All In One. Thanks Mrs. D also.

You know, while I love technology sometimes it scares the heck out of me. All this new stuff, we'll soon be watching holograms in our living room and having robots tuck us in bed. I know they have robots doing everything in Japan.

Thanks very much

Oh, here's another stupid question. Right now I have a wireless mouse. This All In One comes with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse also. Does this in fact mean, that when I take it out of the box, the keyboard and mouse are all set to go? See, I still ask dumb questions. lol
Melody

Your Dell all in one thread here-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread228657.html

MelodyL, you could consider getting a 18 inch name-brand laptop (a quick Google pulls out a number of options for you to consider).

The reason for this that the hard drive of a laptop (which is intended to be moved around) is generally more mechanically robust than that of a desktop (which is intended to stay in one place).

To Kiwi33

But I don't want to be charging up a laptop. I have no idea about laptops other than I have been using mine for 5 years and for the past 3 have used it as a desktop. Always plugged in and never moved.

So let's say I can get my hands on an 18 inch better laptop (with more memory, dual band wi fi, etc.), do I take out the battery and then plug it in and then I would have exactly what I have now (but a much newer model). I could do that???

If so, then I WOULD get a laptop. I thought if I got a new laptop I have to use it with the included battery, always re-charging, etc. etc.

See why I'm confused? At night, when I retire, I just put my present laptop to sleep, and the next day if I choose to use it, I just tap the keyboard and usually it wakes up (sometimes I have to re-start) but it's what I'm used to. But then I started looking into All In One (because of the screen size and wi fi etc.).

But a replacement laptop would be just fine as long as it's an 18 inch.

Maybe I'm wrong, but sometimes I sit at this at night and watch mini series on youtube and I thought I would burn out a laptop if I ran it on battery life only. This way it's so much simpler for me, I don't have to check the battery life. To me, it's a desktop

See what I mean?

Thanks much

Melody

Melody, laptop batteries are a bit complicated.

This laptop had one for many years - they are automatically charged through the mains power connection which means that if you unplug the laptop and take it somewhere else it will get power from the battery.

But, after a while, laptop batteries die - this has happened to this one (it stopped charging) so I pulled the battery out which means that if I unplug the laptop from the mains power it will stop.

One of my NY missions is to buy a new battery (they are fairly cheap, often less than $100) and put it in, which is an easy job - that means that if I use this laptop with mains power (which I usually do) the battery will stay powered and (flexibility) if I unplug it and take it somewhere else it will work through battery power.

Okay, let me make this simple for you. I want to get another laptop. 18 inches. Can I bring it home, plug it in my outlet, LEAVE it in the outlet, go on the internet, and put it to sleep at night (even though it has a battery already in it). I know they have headphone jacks so that's all I really cared about.

So let's say I get another Dell Inspiron, only a much newer model with more ram and it will probably have a Terrabyte (you don't want to know how much my E1705 has, but it's good enough for me.

I would imagine that any newer laptop would run faster than this old bird.

And the Optimum guy (and me) figured out that my present laptop does not have Dual Band capability. My router DOES.

So any new laptop that I have will pick up that particular network (he told me what to look for), I select the 5G network, then I'm all set to go watch my movies.

The big question is can I leave it plugged it and put it to sleep at night. I would assume that would make it perpetually charged, am I correct in that assumption?

I should have made that more clear in my first question, but hey, I'm 68 years old. ROFL.

Thanks much

Melody

You can run any laptop with, or without the battery. If you plan to use it plugged in most of the time, you can take out the battery and not worry about it charging & discharging all the time.
I would charge it fully the first time , remove it and store in a safe place, in case you want to use it in the future. Then use plugged in just as you are now.

As far as newer being faster, yes probably, but some slowness on your system now could be from Windows OS getting bogged down.. do you defrag the hard drive yearly?
That get s the files back in the best order for the system..

Usually the speed of the computer matters more for gamers or people having multiple programs open or a heavy graphics work..
for mainly online use the computer speed would not be a big factor. Then the wifi speed is more important, if you get a lot of buffering or not when watching videos/shows...