I’ve spent some time looking at the scan website ( thank you dj123).
More confused than ever now
More confused than ever now
Laptop. what do i need ?
- Thread starter stever1
- Start date
Checkout the system minimum requirements for the old games you want to play, then buy something that comfortably exceeds that.
There are plenty of companies out there that refurb/recycle ex-corporate laptops with a solid spec for not a lot of money. We are talking about £350. Type "refurbished laptops" into Google and take a look around the options.
Avoid Currys, unless you need a new fridge or dishwasher in a hurry.
I'm currently typing this on a very old HP dual-core laptop I've had since 2007. Its on Win7 and can struggle sometimes due to only 3GB Ram max, but I use it for web browsing via my Netgear M1 MiFi and playing my old "Command and Conquer" games when bored, or watching DVD's.
There are plenty of companies out there that refurb/recycle ex-corporate laptops with a solid spec for not a lot of money. We are talking about £350. Type "refurbished laptops" into Google and take a look around the options.
Avoid Currys, unless you need a new fridge or dishwasher in a hurry.
I'm currently typing this on a very old HP dual-core laptop I've had since 2007. Its on Win7 and can struggle sometimes due to only 3GB Ram max, but I use it for web browsing via my Netgear M1 MiFi and playing my old "Command and Conquer" games when bored, or watching DVD's.
Yeah, I’ve had a look at refurbed stuff but I think I’m restricted to newer ones as it needs a gaming graphics card apparently.
My old i7 MacBook Pro from around 2011 had a gaming card, sadly it was the model where it dies and kills the machine so I had to do a workaround to reprogram a motherboard chip by soldering to it and flashing a ROM to disable the add-on graphics card and just run it on the base video chip, otherwise I would have recommended it. (not a process I wish to repeat).
I don't know if later models of MacBook with i7 processors after 2011 had better add-on graphics chipsets but it could be worth investigating, As an Intel Mac it would run Windows quite happily by dual-booting or running parallels.
I don't know if later models of MacBook with i7 processors after 2011 had better add-on graphics chipsets but it could be worth investigating, As an Intel Mac it would run Windows quite happily by dual-booting or running parallels.
I may be wrong but I believe that as my Mac has an M2 processor and inbuilt graphics, it’s no good.
I don’t want to run bootcamp either in case I mess it up.
No, you misunderstand me.
I meant investigate buying an older used Macbook Pro with Intel silicon (i5/i7), not the newer "Silicon Macs" with M1/M2 etc.
One of those could dual-boot, with Windows and an onboard graphics processor for gaming, same as my old 2011 MBP but reliably.
I saw an article the other day with a workaround for installing supported versions of MacOS on older unsupported models, something I need to look into. I may buy myself another old MBP in future if this is an option.
I meant investigate buying an older used Macbook Pro with Intel silicon (i5/i7), not the newer "Silicon Macs" with M1/M2 etc.
One of those could dual-boot, with Windows and an onboard graphics processor for gaming, same as my old 2011 MBP but reliably.
I saw an article the other day with a workaround for installing supported versions of MacOS on older unsupported models, something I need to look into. I may buy myself another old MBP in future if this is an option.
laptops have had gaming graphic cards for decades
on board graphics chips have improved greatly since your games were coded - stuff that used to be on an A5 sized piece of paper are now on a chip smaller than an After Eight.
have you looked at a forum specific to the games you want to play? Maybe speak to people playing the games today about what they use and the benefits and limitations?
Aah, I see.
As the steam platform is native to windows I’m inclined to stick to it rather than run a dual boot system
I’m not that interested/ capable when it comes to messing around with these things nowadays.
Yes I’ve looked at a couple of forums. As with so many things in life there’s just too much info.
Err if all you want to do is play Steam hosted games then what about a dedicated Steam Deck ? £349 - £569 depending on spec.
That’s interesting but it’s a bit like a console and I don’t like those. I’m beginning to think I just need to set a budget and just buy something
Fair enough but as others have said I'd not stress too much about graphics capabilities as the world has moved on in the time since your games were first available. I'd suggest trying a few laptop keyboards and screens as they can vary hugely on laptops and especially if your going to use it for gaming. Eg I bought a Dell Inspiron 5515 laptop with an AMD cpu and built-in Radeon graphics for £600 about 3 years ago and it runs Steam games better than my PC but the keyboard, and especially the keypad, is utterly crap.
I'd also consider getting something bigger than a 15" laptop if it's just going to be used for gaming (or buy an additional screen to plug it into - or even plug it into a TV).
I'd suggest a wander down to a John Lewis, Currys and/or PC World - not to buy, but to try out various makers' keyboards, screens and keypads etc. Then buy online.
this should be an impulse purchase as if you are an eager teen with their first month's pay packet.
maybe your procrastination is a sign any new toy will be used for a week then consigned to life as a coffee table ornament
or maybe you will find the Windows laptop so nice to use and the Apple thing will become the ornament
live a bit, take a risk...
That’s the trouble with me. I often over think things.
That sounds like the kind of thing I'm interested in buying as a refurb to replace this current obsolete HP laptop I'm using, but for less than £600.
Anything along these lines that can run Win 11 for future updates would be fine, including a dual-booting MacBook..
Yes it came with Win11 (which I didn't need as I use Linux). Frankly I'd not buy another Dell 5515 as apart from the keyboard and touchpad issues it's also had to go back to Dell for a warranty repair for a failed motherboard. One other thing I also don't like about this Dell (and yes I perhaps should've spotted this before buying!) is that page up/down can only be done by pressing the function key and up/down cursor keys which is such a pain.
I’ve just tried using the Mac, it tells me it can’t run 32 bit games.
I'm tempted to take a punt on this, I don't play AAA titles just strategy games like C&C, Age of Empires etc so this should smash it.
This company do decent refurbished laptops, and some good new choices too; (i've used them myself personally, and in a previous B2B environment too)
www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
Refurbished Laptops | Reconditioned Laptop Deals - Laptops Direct
Browse our range of expertly refurbished laptops from top brands including; HP, Acer & Samsung. Next Day Delivery Available!
www.laptopsdirect.co.uk
@stever1 one option is to run a virtual machine on your Mac, I know you didnt want to mess with your mac, but this just runs as an app on top of your existing Operating system. This doesnt change anything regarding how you boot or your hard disk etc its just a program running on your operating system that then runs windows. I use parallels for this to run some windows based programs on my Macbook pro which is about 9 years old without issues.
Worth a try for the entry cost, and can be convenient being able to spin up a Windows instance and it doesnt stop you running other Mac applications at the same time.
https://www.parallels.com/lp/virtual-machines-for-mac/
Worth a try for the entry cost, and can be convenient being able to spin up a Windows instance and it doesnt stop you running other Mac applications at the same time.
https://www.parallels.com/lp/virtual-machines-for-mac/
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