[Help] Old Laptops hurt my eyes. Can new ones help?

[rukspuks]

Hey!

 

I have two old dells from 2011-2012 and both of them have a resolution of 1366x768. I never found the use of any powerful laptops as I only work on word and excel which aren't that resource hungry.

 

I work on my desktop mostly with a big monitor and it never bothers me. However these two laptops start hurting my eyes after half an hour. I have used night light, other such apps, dimmed the resolution but nothing helps.

 

 

I was thinking maybe new laptops with 1080p resolution and anti glare can help? But I don't want to spend $700-$1k without asking someone with prior knowledge. Do you see less eye strain on new laptops?

[Commodus]

3 hours ago, rukspuks said:

Hey!

 

I have two old dells from 2011-2012 and both of them have a resolution of 1366x768. I never found the use of any powerful laptops as I only work on word and excel which aren't that resource hungry.

 

I work on my desktop mostly with a big monitor and it never bothers me. However these two laptops start hurting my eyes after half an hour. I have used night light, other such apps, dimmed the resolution but nothing helps.

 

 

I was thinking maybe new laptops with 1080p resolution and anti glare can help? But I don't want to spend $700-$1k without asking someone with prior knowledge. Do you see less eye strain on new laptops?

It's hard to say without having old and new systems to compare, but having a more type-like resolution (i.e. it's much harder to see the pixels) and newer backlights might help. If there weren't a pandemic, I'd suggest going to the store to compare.

[rukspuks]

5 hours ago, Commodus said:

It's hard to say without having old and new systems to compare, but having a more type-like resolution (i.e. it's much harder to see the pixels) and newer backlights might help. If there weren't a pandemic, I'd suggest going to the store to compare.

How would I know long term (half an hour plus) in store? They would keep asking me whether they should pack this in 10 mins HAHA

[rukspuks]

Bump! Can anybody help??

[Darkseth]

Glare > Anti Glare for that matter.

Glare = Matte means, it's a surface, that scatters the Light from the Pixels. If this Coating is too aggressive, white will look "oily".

 

If you really want to go up to 1k, take a look into the Macbook Air M1.

Not matte, but anti-relection coating, also high sharpness. Even up close i can't see the "pixel lines", it's very pleasing to look at, for these Apple Retina displays.

Very greayt performance, but mainly for you: Silent operation + long battery life.

 

Otherwise: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (pro) maybe

[rukspuks]

14 hours ago, Darkseth said:

Glare > Anti Glare for that matter.

Glare = Matte means, it's a surface, that scatters the Light from the Pixels. If this Coating is too aggressive, white will look "oily".

 

If you really want to go up to 1k, take a look into the Macbook Air M1.

Not matte, but anti-relection coating, also high sharpness. Even up close i can't see the "pixel lines", it's very pleasing to look at, for these Apple Retina displays.

Very greayt performance, but mainly for you: Silent operation + long battery life.

 

Otherwise: Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 (pro) maybe

Hmm what about older macbooks or laptops from 2018/2019? Those would serve me better since I don't need the new M1 power.

 

I just need a good screen with a good keyboard. And before all that I need someone who had experience with working on both new and old laptops.

[Darkseth]

Macbook Pros from 2018-2019 still have the last 2 Butterfly keyboard generations. I haven't heard much failure from them, but it is still possible. And the keyboard feels bad.

But they are too new to be cheap enough, to consider. Every Intel Macbook now needs to be significantly cheaper than the M1 models, or they aren't worth it. That's how good the M1 is. Making the M1 Macbook Air the by FAR best 13" Macbook that has ever existed.

Besides, the Performance of the M1 is the smallest reason.

The Intel Macbooks produce SO much heat, the fans kick in, it gets hot for doing basic stuff, and they can drain battery very quickly when you actually "do" something.

You don't just get a better performance, that comes with MUCH higher responsiveness, you also get a silent device, with extreme battery life, and almost no heat production.

It's not just Benchmark numbers. But how quick and responsive the System feels, how quickly Apps start etc. It all feels "more instant", just like Tablets or Smartphones feel.

 

This is SO much worth overall. I also never believed, that only the Chip will make it a so much better device, but it did.

That's why i don't think, they would serve you better. You might save a little bit, but you have no warranty, you have MUCH less battery life, and more heat - i'm sure every Intel macbook Pro will remain silent during simple stuff like Excel, so noise won't be an issue.

 

And 2016-2017 are pile of Junk. The trashiest keyboard you can ever find, if sounds horrible, it feels horrible, and it breaks more than anything.
New Design with less ports and worse cooling, compared to the 2015 model (the last with glowing apple logo), since 2016-2017 Models also came with Dual Cores only, so same performance.

 

If you need a good Keyboard, the Macbook Pros 2016 up to including 2019 (exception: MBP 16", late 2019, it came with the new keyboard) are the worst choices because of the Butterfly Keyboard.

 

But the 2013-2015 Model might be pretty appealing, since they are old enough to be cheap enough, have all the important Ports (except USB-C), a good Retina Display, and a very good Keyboard. (i would prefer 2014-2015, since 2013 will probably not get the next macOS Update anymore).

 

 

You could look into HP Elitebook or Lenovo Thinkpad T-series, from 2018~ around (Quad Core, i wouldn't take the Dual Cores), and the Models with 400 nit brightness Full HD Screens, if you like the typical Thinkpad Keyboards. They are considered among the best in the Laptop world.

But they are also new enough to be still quite expensive.

 

I personally have a Thinkpad T480s (for Work), and M1 Macbook Pro.

I admit, i never got warm with a Thinkpad personally (i had a T490, E14 AMD Ryzen, T480s now), but holy cow is this a huge difference in so many Aspects.

Just the Fans on the T480s, that aren't just on 95% of the time doing basic office stuff for Work, they go up and down all the time, aperiodically. It's really annoying and distracting

And the T480 series mostly have 250 nit screens.

 

But still. If you can find older Thinkpad T models (1080p IPS screens, 8gb Ram, 256gb SSD~), they might be a good solid improvement for you. Like the T430, T440, up to T460~ (maybe T470, but prices are higher the newer it is).

As refurbished, there are a lot from old Company leasing contracts, and very popular on the aftermarket.

 

 

 

TL;DR: If the Price is close to the M1 Macbook Air, get the Macbook Air.
Otherwise, it's fine buying older Tech.

I just wouldn't buy a 2018 Macbook Pro for 800 bucks, if you can get the M1 model for 900.