Which laptop to buy for Antares

[Scomber]

Hi , dropped and bust old laptop last yr , which had the initial Antares download. Managed with Antares on the Lenovo tablet which we had transferred across. But....silly me trying to tidy tablet has deleted and lost some of Antares. So.... who's bought the Antares download from Bob say during the last 12 mths and put it on a newish laptop they could recommend , and where you bought it. (I'm not a fan of PC World , but thats another story.) Only other uses , a bit of Word docs , a bit of i player, forum googling etc ,no CD drive reqd. Then we'll reload onto the Lenovo tablet again from scratch with existing MM and leave the new laptop at home.... and hope I don't drop it!! Thanks for any suggestions .

 

[ctva]

to run something as small as Antares, or even the full Memory Map UK portfolio as well, the smallest cheapest one in PC World will do with no issues.

 

[Minchsailor]

Why not try to get one off freecycle.org?, or max few quid from Friday-ad or Gumtree?

 

[NormanS]

I have them on an £80 phablet from eBay. Does the job, and with two sim card slots, I can get internet access. In fact, that's what I'm on now.

 

[agurney]

OpenCPN on an old laptop running Linux or Window$ or an Android phone, all work well for Antares.

 

[Scomber]

Thanks for your comments but I'm really after 'satisfied customer' recommendations for a new/not too expensive laptop for a few other basic uses in addition to Antares as I mentioned above. CD drive not reqd but USB port/s yes please. I've looked but there are 'hundreds' out there!! Say ...£250-300 ish?

 

[Giblets]

Have a look at Morgan Computers https://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/. They sell refurbished computers. I have bought a couple from them for work use and have been well pleased with the service & price.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

For use on a boat the Acer Swift 1 has pretty much the best battery life of any laptop going (real life tests get over 12 hours). Handy if you have to run an engine to recharge it. Costs about £325 from Argos. It comes with 128 GB SSD, the older previous model also called the Swift 1 has only half of that so getting the right model is important.

 

[Scomber]

Thanks for those suggestions , I'll have a look.

 

[Yngmar]

A rugged one, since it's going to get wet sooner or later and you're prone to dropping them ;-)

If you're on a budget, a used Thinkpad off eBay will do and is far more robust than most brands. We got our non-rugged X220 wet once and it didn't mind, while the Toshiba in the same position needed prolonged intensive care.

 

[Scomber]

Thanks everyone for such great advice , just what the forum is for! I've used morgans for a toshiba z30.