1 How long do you want it to last? If you want it to last more beyond October 2025 [when Windows 10 support ends] then I suggest that you wait until after Windows 11 is released [this October] so that you are not only buying one that claims to be Windows 11 compatible but one that already has Windows 11 installed [so that its compatibility is beyond doubt].
- I saw that you were already thinking about this subject. I'm just saying that delaying your purchase will significantly de-risk it.
- After Windows 11 is released, for example, we will all finally know for certain what the minimum hardware requirements are including, therefore, what the minimum CPU specs are.
2 Other than that, the form factor is likely to have the biggest effect on your range of choices.
- I saw that you had dismissed the notion of a desktop.
- If you are at all likely to be mobile [even within your cubby hole] then a laptop could usefully be considered.
3 I don't know your attitude to display capabilities [display size, display resolution, touchscreen].- I would never dream of reducing below 1920x1080
- I would never dream of reducing below a 17inch display.
- I would never dream of doing without a touchscreen.
What you would never dream of is entirely a matter for you.
4 I don't think any of your other stated requirements are going to limit your range of choices.
5 I agree with you about being wary of reviews.
- I once saw a PCWorld review that was entirely fictitious. Its author had never used the hardware concerned [a battery 'powerpack'] and had calculated the supposed experimental results based on an item in its specs that the author had misunderstood. It was only because the results were so ludicrous that the deception was identifiable [a 95WHr-rated battery pack yielding approx. 200WHrs].
- When I look at reviews now it is only after I have identified the specific topics that I want clarification about and I search for multiple reviews that cover those topics so that I can see more than a single opinion.
- I do include searching for reviews of tech support standards.- -For example,
www.laptopmag.com publish annual reviews of tech support [supposedly based on customer feedback] and I tend to assume they have got it about right then I seek out other reviews to see if there is any consensus on the subject.
- - The one time I did not do this [
because I regarded buying a tablet as an experiment anyway so I went with a small unrated maker called Chuwi] I found that they cannot even issue the correct drivers for their own products [their tech support hardware lists do not match what they fit in their products]. I did not think such appalling messes actually existed. So my next purchase will not bypass tech support assessments even if the purchase is another experiment.
All the best,
Denis
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