I've had a Dell Inspiron 1750 laptop for a really long time now. It has a huge 15" monitor and I refer to it as the brick. It's heavy to lug around in my backpack and awkward balancing it on my lap while I work.
It was an Xmas gift from my mother given to me probably close to 10 years ago. Over the course of that time, I've really come to love that laptop. It's proven itself reliable over the years. I had finally killed it about a year ago. I had used my Samsung Chromebook all last summer. Then at the end of the summer while shopping for a new laptop I came across a used one on eBay at a great price and bought it. I had the old one for parts, plus a memory upgrade.
That laptop has served me well, but it's time for a newer one. The Inspiron 1750 is old, dated, and just doesn't perform with today's updated software even with the 8gb of ram. As a matter of fact, I fat fingered a trade because the browser was crashing, and that's what brought this whole thing on. It ended up working to my advantage, but it could have been a really costly mistake that could have been avoided had I not been to cheap to buy a new computer.
<h2>Juno Nyx 14</h2>
I started shopping for a new, inexpensive laptop the other day. My first choice was a Juno Nyx 14. I believe it's made in the UK, and it is a Linux Laptop! The Dood's a Linux man and I loved the idea of buying a Linux Laptop.
https://junocomputers.com/store/nyx-14-
I really wanted this one, but after upgrading to 8gb of ram, and the 480gb SSD, shipping from the UK and exchange from dollars to pound, the £412 laptop was just under $600. This was just in my price range. I was trying to keep my budget around $600, not to mention, I was a little nervous about shipping in the event I had to return it or didn't like it. As much as I wanted one, and may still order one in the future, I decided against it.
<h2> The Dood Discovers A Jumper X4</h2>
Just when I was ready to give up on laptop shopping I came across a youtube review on the Jumper EZbook X4.
https://youtu.be/8nZrozt2Rmg
This is a $300 Chinese built laptop. The guy in the video ran Ubuntu on it with very little problems and frankly I loved the design and all the features! I found one on Amazon for $243 with 6gb of ram 128gb SSD and free shipping. I decided to give it a try.
<h2> Why I Ordered A Chinese Laptop</h2>
After watching the video and doing a little research on my own I decided to give it a try. Coming from Amazon, if I hated it, I could always send it back with very little fuss. At least I've never had a problem in the past. On top of that, I just loved all the features of this "budget" laptop.
<h3>Price</h3>
At $249 the price was definitely right.
<h3>Features</h3>
I loved the feature of this Notebook. It has all the features of a higher end Notebook. Features like a metal case, backlit keyboard. It weighed in under 3 lbs, (no more lugging around a brick. That Inspiron is going to break my back) It also had the acceptable processing power, and probably just enough ram for my needs. Finally size! The Dood likes a smallish laptop. Something light, that I can balance comfortably on my lap. You can often find me relaxing on the couch watching TV with a laptop on my lap working on some web design, or doing some research. This little laptop seemed to fit all my needs and requirements perfectly!
<h2> The Arrival</h2>
Waking up Monday morning I grab my trusty Samsung Chromebook from beside my bed and check on my shipping status. With a smile on my face, I discover the package is waiting for me at the front door. I hop out of bed and excitedly walk across the apartment to the front door to grab my new laptop.
I felt like a kid opening a Chrismas present. This was my first new laptop in close to 10 years. A huge smile filled my face as I pulled it from the box. It looked to be everything I thought it would be and more. Absolutely gorgeous! The polished aluminum case gleamed in the morning sunlight coming through the front window of the kitchen. I opened it up and loved the design of the keyboard. My first thoughts were, what a beautiful computer!
There was a user manual written in Chinese and English. I skimmed through the user manual real quick while I sipped my morning coffee. After reading through the basics of getting started, I plugged it into the wall and hit the power button. I then proceeded with the usual Windows10 setup ritual. I created a Microsoft account, went through 20 or so minutes of system upgrades, then greeted by the AI voice of Cortana, logged into my computer for the first time. I have to admit, the basic "AI" functions of Cortana are pretty cool. Still, don't like the idea of my laptop listening to my every word and basically spying on me, but hey, that's just me :)
I start playing around with the computer and immediately feel right at home with it. I find the keyboard layout comfortable and intuitive. I write up a quick #Ulog post for my diet journal and post it with my trusty new laptop. At this point, I'm even enjoying Windows10, that says a lot because The Dood has been a staunch Linux guy since Windows 7!
As I explore the computer I even start to consider running Windows10 for a bit. I consider not swapping the OS for some variant of Debian. My mother uses Windows10 and she always calls me to fix it. The last few times I worked on her computer I fumbled around with the OS not really comfortable with the changes since Windows 7. It hasn't changed much, but just enough to make me fumble around awkwardly. I consider keeping it on the computer. On top of that, GiMP, LibreOffice, and Atom are opensource and available for Windows. I thought it might be fun to see how these programs run in a Windows environment.
I spend the rest of the day updating, trading crypto, installing software, and getting ready to transfer files over from my old computer. The computer is running great and handling everything I throw at it with ease. The only test I didn't do was video editing. The way it handled everything else though, I really didn't think it would have a problem with that.
After dinner, I connect it to a Bluetooth speaker and play a little Google Play Music. Like most small laptops it has crappy sound through the native speakers but sounds great blasting through the Bluetooth speaker I'm connected to. I'm jamming out to a little Bad Religion when I decide to go downstairs and check on a load of laundry. When I return, my screen is frozen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYApdmp6je8
I reboot the computer and think maybe an update running in the background crashed it. No big deal. The computer restarts, I load up my playlist again and finish up what I'm doing. Everything seems to be working fine, no worries. At this point, I'm exhausted and decided to fold some laundry and watch a movie on Amazon Prime.
The laptop arrived in the morning and by 10 PM The Dood's in love! It's time to relax for the night. I select a movie on Amazon Prime, Escape From LA... Classic B movie starring Kurt Russel. The movie plays, The Dood's watching as he folds his laundry. I'm loving the picture quality and it sounds great playing through the Bluetooth speaker. About 5 minutes into the movie another freeze. I think maybe it's the screensaver or power saver mode or something. I reboot, adjust some settings, return to the movie, another 5 minutes, and it freezes again.
Now I'm getting a little bummed out. This is a deal breaker. I often watch movies in bed on my laptop. Although everything else seems to be working great, I just can't abide by this!
I stop everything I'm doing and Google the problem on my phone. Somebody else is having a similar problem but claims that unplugging the laptop everything works fine. It has something to do with a faulty power supply and multimedia. I unplug the laptop and reboot the computer and by George, the movie plays fine, no more freezes.
I spent the remainder of the night running windows updates, and updating drivers. Nothing fixed the problem. On most days my laptop is up and running from the time I wake till the time I go to sleep. Even when I'm sleeping I have a Chromebook running next to the bed playing music with an alarm set for trading signals. Not being able to plug in the computer while doing anything multi-media was not an option. Not to mention, I almost always have music playing.
I call it a night and decide to send the computer back in the morning. Up until this point I was really happy with my purchase. As I laid in bed I decided to try Amazon customer support. I open a chat window and quickly start a conversation with a customer service rep. I explain the situation and she gives me some suggestions like update drivers, and all the stuff I already did.
We go through the checklist of possible solutions then she tells me she'll send out another one. She scheduled a pick up for the return and a new one should arrive tomorrow. She then told me if there were any problems with the new one, I could send it back and pick out something else or get a refund.
So I'm hoping part 2 of this story has a happy ending. I really liked this laptop a lot. I could have got a refund last night and scheduled a return, but I really wanted to make this work. It was such a disappointment when it crashed on media. Up till that point, it ran great and handled everything I needed it to do. I liked the price and all the features. I'm really hoping it was just a faulty power supply. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. I'll post part 2 to this story in the next day or so. Wish me luck :)