gshaw Posted August 22, 2017 Posted August 22, 2017 We're struggling to find a decent value laptop on the market at the moment (SSD and less than say £400 a unit) and as a result taking a look at the Linx 12 tablets. Is anyone using them, any feedback good \ bad e.g. do they image OK via USB NIC \ USB MDT media? is Wi-Fi reliable? what's build quality like for day-to-day use? Also noticed the "V" range has a Surface-like fold up keyboard that sits at an angle but the "X" (which I'd assume is newer?) goes back to a flat one that doesn't seem as good?
Steve21 Posted August 22, 2017 Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) Not sure what you call decent value, but for £400 exVAT? You should have a fair few options on the market as we've been buying them below that. Random examples, but what is it you're looking for specifically? Lenovo V110 Laptop - Laptops at ebuyer Dell Vostro 15 3000 Series (3568) Laptop - Laptops at ebuyer or if you want something more HPy and don't mind getting the SSD separate to upgrade which we did on a few - HP 250 G5 Laptop W4N09EA - Laptops at ebuyer (Might need to hit business for exVAT prices) In regards to most the Linx range though, we played with a few and either found them slow or bad quality builds, but in all fairness was only a few randoms to test before so might have changed quality recently. Steve Edited August 22, 2017 by Steve21 1
gshaw Posted August 22, 2017 Author Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) The V110 is a swear word around here, we had a batch of hundreds with over 25% failure rate. Lenovo won't accept the hardware fault and are being a nightmare to deal with as @ICT_GUY has also experienced I believe. Unfortunately they're about the only option in the price range. Suppliers seem to be struggling to get the 250 G5 with SSD \ i5 combo, not sure if it even exists (no way we'd accept anything HDD based now) It does seem that the Linx storage is too slow from the tests so far, it's struggling with the factory image and file copies so not looking good once it has Sophos and other college software loaded onto it. Key specs would be: 14" or larger SSD 128GB+ preferably i5 CPU but *may* consider i3 4GB RAM minimum, 8GB preferred manufacturer driver support for SCCM etc. (seems to be an issue with the Linx as well, only got the full drivers by running Export-WindowsDriver in PowerShell) With the VAT and dollar rate we seem to be seeing over £450-500 a unit for the same spec we were getting much lower only 6-12 months ago. All seems to have gone a bit crazy in the market this summer. Edited August 22, 2017 by gshaw
MYK-IT Posted August 22, 2017 Posted August 22, 2017 We're struggling to find a decent value laptop on the market at the moment (SSD and less than say £400 a unit) and as a result taking a look at the Linx 12 tablets. Is anyone using them, any feedback good \ bad e.g. do they image OK via USB NIC \ USB MDT media? is Wi-Fi reliable? what's build quality like for day-to-day use? Also noticed the "V" range has a Surface-like fold up keyboard that sits at an angle but the "X" (which I'd assume is newer?) goes back to a flat one that doesn't seem as good? Some here, SSD and sub £400 (ex VAT) https://www.saveonlaptops.co.uk/products/finder/FFF00000-00200000-00000000-20000000 1
gshaw Posted August 24, 2017 Author Posted August 24, 2017 From that saveonlaptops link spotted the Dell Vostro and sent to my colleague who has got a good price on the i3 model with 3-year warranty. Should do the trick. Only downside is 7th gen so my Windows 10 pilot pool of machines has just grown somewhat larger Kaby Lake is meant to be better on battery life though so there are some benefits there.
ICT_GUY Posted March 14, 2018 Posted March 14, 2018 I would not buy V110s, just don't they are garbage. Want to change the battery? Dissemble the laptop. Want to add ram? Dissemble the laptop. Want to swap out the hard drive? Oh yes, Dissemble the laptop by undoing a dozen screws, pry the back off, void warranty. Oh and windows 7 is an un supported OS. Also the technical support is somewhat CHAOTIC! /rant.
ICTDirect_Dave Posted March 14, 2018 Posted March 14, 2018 Is refurb an option? We've sold hundreds of Dell Latitude E5440's to school in the past few months. Less than £300 with 2 years warranty AND SSD! 1
gshaw Posted March 14, 2018 Author Posted March 14, 2018 I would not buy V110s, just don't they are garbage. Want to change the battery? Dissemble the laptop. Want to add ram? Dissemble the laptop. Want to swap out the hard drive? Oh yes, Dissemble the laptop by undoing a dozen screws, pry the back off, void warranty. Oh and windows 7 is an un supported OS. Also the technical support is somewhat CHAOTIC! /rant. They are an awful bit of kit, screens failing on the hinges is the latest tale of woe. Lenovo blaming resellers saying these shouldn't be supplied to edu but that's no excuse for such poor build quality regardless of who buys it them.
gshaw Posted March 14, 2018 Author Posted March 14, 2018 Is refurb an option? We've sold hundreds of Dell Latitude E5440's to school in the past few months. Less than £300 with 2 years warranty AND SSD! Battery life is the concern on refurb laptops, after 2-3 years of charging cycles they've surely deteriorated?
ICTDirect_Dave Posted March 15, 2018 Posted March 15, 2018 Battery life is the concern on refurb laptops, after 2-3 years of charging cycles they've surely deteriorated? We test batteries before shipping, a grade A battery still has greater than 65% of its original capacity. Of the thousands of laptops we've sold that seems to be plenty enough for school use. However, if you're concerned, we can always replace the used battery with a new replacement . It's usually around £30 depending on the current market price.
EduRhys Posted March 16, 2018 Posted March 16, 2018 We use some older Linx10 tablets here which seem to drop off the network very frequently. I'd recommend a similarly priced laptop as you'll likely have better all-round usage.
VeryPC_Colin_M Posted March 16, 2018 Posted March 16, 2018 @gshaw I've got some HP 250 i5/8GB/256GB/W10H available for £400. Options for custom branding and warranty are available. If you fancy them, give me a shout, you know where I am Cheers, Col
gshaw Posted March 16, 2018 Author Posted March 16, 2018 @gshaw I've got some HP 250 i5/8GB/256GB/W10H available for £400. Options for custom branding and warranty are available. If you fancy them, give me a shout, you know where I am Cheers, Col Not ordering any just yet but may be some closer to summer 1
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now