Posted 14 hours ago

laptops is it me?

is it me or have laptops gone very expensive recently? (well recent ish).

my asus fx505G is at the end of its life. case is falling apart and touchpad has lifted preventing right click easily.

any suggestions for 6-800 range laptops? happy to upgrade ram and SSD myself if needs be. (well hopefully i can take my 2tb our of current one). i don't massively game only sims & anno 1800. however it does stay on 24/7 normally to run plex for me and the kids.
for once in computing i seem abit out of touch on current gen gfx models etc. any pointers would be appreciated even if its just look for XYZ avoid this one etc.
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  1. Uridium's avatar
    Think of it like an app that allows you to have a Netflix style interface for your own media (edited)
    aLV426's avatar
    It is a bit more than that - it hosts "public domain"/free media unlike Kodi.
    Kodi is "just" a media interface - it does not host any media. Kodi is 100% free and more feature rich, however the mechanism that allows you to view videos is what came under fire.
  2. Toon_army's avatar
    Everything's gone up, it's the new norm these days!
    You can still get cheap laptops but if you want a better spec like graphics you're going to have to pay. I've noticed even just a 4060 doing strong money like £900
  3. aLV426's avatar
    Would it not be better to invest in one of those £120 mini PCs to leave it running 24/7 for Plex?
    Although I guess you could dedicate your old laptop to the job!
    You don't need a dedicated GPU to run SIMs, however Anno 1800 will struggle without one.
    For gaming you'll want a laptop with a dedicated GPU - for Anno 1800 anything in the last 10 years will more than suffice. You will struggle to find a current "gaming" laptop in your budget (that is a laptop with a dedicated graphics card). Look for something a few few years older (anything 8th gen or newer) with a dedicated GPU and you'll be able to play Anno 1800 without issue.
    Uridium's avatar
    For Plex a 6th gen+ i3/i5 is I think the sweet spot for a plex server.

    Intel quicksync enabled CPU will handle multiple 1080p transcodes and power usage is low.

    Lots of old ex-corp hp/dell desktops for £40+ usff,sff or minitower depending on how many disks you need room for

    Much better option than a laptop.
  4. fabgav111's avatar
    How's does plex work? Is it the new kodi add ons or is it a paid for service
    aLV426's avatar
    The Plex app itself is free and legal (as is Kodi!) - there are even ad supported films you can watch (unlike Kodi). Where it differs from Kodi is that it restricts anonymous server connections so you can't stream from random sources. There is a paid option which unlocks enhanced features - such as library downloads and stat displays, but I've been fine without those features.
  5. Daffydills's avatar
    Author
    Thanks for the help & DM from people. Managed to pick up Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 Laptop AMD Ryzen 5 5600H 8GB RAM 512GB SSD 15.6" FHD IPS for 600. Hopefully I can use my old SSD, so only ram to upgrade. But even if both should be under 850.
    Old laptop is going for kids homework, hence new one I want to run Plex as they all stream 4k content at the same time.
    aLV426's avatar
    Invest in one of those £120 mini PCs - saves you having to keep your laptop available!
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