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Locked First question

Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...>
 

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM, 8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry

Nimer Jaber
 

Hello,

Thanks for reaching out. 4 GB will work, but you ideally want at least 8, and adding an extra 4 GB really isn't all that costly.

As for different computer brands, as this is subjective and begins to stray from the topic of NVDA, I suggest you ask on a list dedicated to discussing such things, or on the chat subgroup.

Thanks.

On Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 7:29 PM Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...> wrote:
Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have
learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba
laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing
fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest
NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word
processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is
that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA
will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry









--
Best,

Nimer Jaber

Check out and subscribe to BlindTechAdventures in podcast audio form on YouTube for the latest happenings in tech.

You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Chris Smart
 

Make sure if you get something used, that it has a solidstate drive. I’m saying that mostly for the increased speed over a physical hard disc.

 

 

 

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Nimer Jaber
Sent: July 25, 2022 10:31 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for reaching out. 4 GB will work, but you ideally want at least 8, and adding an extra 4 GB really isn't all that costly.

 

As for different computer brands, as this is subjective and begins to stray from the topic of NVDA, I suggest you ask on a list dedicated to discussing such things, or on the chat subgroup.

 

Thanks.

 

On Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 7:29 PM Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...> wrote:

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have
learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba
laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing
fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest
NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word
processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is
that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA
will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry







 

--

Best,

Nimer Jaber

Check out and subscribe to BlindTechAdventures in podcast audio form on YouTube for the latest happenings in tech.

 

You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...>
 

Yup, love the SSD. Made the old desktop PC jump like a pup. Harry


On 7/25/2022 7:34 PM, Chris Smart wrote:

Make sure if you get something used, that it has a solidstate drive. I’m saying that mostly for the increased speed over a physical hard disc.

 

 

 

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Nimer Jaber
Sent: July 25, 2022 10:31 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for reaching out. 4 GB will work, but you ideally want at least 8, and adding an extra 4 GB really isn't all that costly.

 

As for different computer brands, as this is subjective and begins to stray from the topic of NVDA, I suggest you ask on a list dedicated to discussing such things, or on the chat subgroup.

 

Thanks.

 

On Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 7:29 PM Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...> wrote:

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have
learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba
laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing
fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest
NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word
processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is
that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA
will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry







 

--

Best,

Nimer Jaber

Check out and subscribe to BlindTechAdventures in podcast audio form on YouTube for the latest happenings in tech.

 

You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Gene
 

NVDA isn't the issue.  It doesn't take a lot of Ram and screen-reader's don't generally.  If you use the human sounding voices, I don't know how much RAM they take, but if you use Eloquence, the combination of the screen-reader and the synthesizer doesn't use much RAM. 
There are lots of myths, widely promulgated about RAM.  You should have 8gb of RAM for Windows 10 or 11.  If all you are going to do is run one or two programs that aren't memory intensive, you might be able to get away with 4gb but RAM isn't expensive and it makes no sense to limit yourself in that way.  I have strongly disagreed with those who say, more or less that most people or almost everyone should have more than 8GB, but I do believe that a lot of people don't need more than 8GB but that that should be the minimum for the great majority of users. 

I don't know how much you are willing to spend but it looks as though you are trying to get a budget laptop, the bottom of the line.  I don't see computer advisors recommending that people do that.

But if you live in The United States and want to take a chance with about 200 dollars, getting a computer from Computers For the Blind might be something you want to gamble on.

These are refurbished computers, mostly donated to the organization by businesses. 

I can't say how reliable they are generally.  I've heard complaints.  I've also heard good things.  I got one and I am very satisfied with it. 

But it may be a gamble and others may want to comment.

Also, the organization doesn't say the battery included with the machine will be in good condition.  These are used machines and the batteries are not replaced.  They have to hold enough charge to operate the machine when it is plugged in but they are not stated to have enough power to run the machine for any period of time more than a brief one. 

You said you want a backup for a desktop so that consideration may not matter.

Gene

On 7/25/2022 9:26 PM, Harry Spencer wrote:

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM, 8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry







.

Gene
 

The original question said the person wants to use the computer as a backup for a desktop and he discussed using programs where the extra speed offered by an SSD doesn't matter.  If you are going to be working on a Word document, if it takes one or two more seconds to load the document and an extra second to save the document once you have finished working on it, that amount of time saving doesn't justify getting an SSD. 

Having said that, computers from Computers For the Blind come with SSDs. 

This is my last message in the thread on the main NVDA list.  Since the first question asks about the amount of RAM NVDA uses, I'm not sure if it was appropriate for the main list, but further discussion on the main list isn't since, aside from the RAM question, the discussion has nothing to do with NVDA.

Gene

On 7/25/2022 9:42 PM, Harry Spencer wrote:

Yup, love the SSD. Made the old desktop PC jump like a pup. Harry


On 7/25/2022 7:34 PM, Chris Smart wrote:

Make sure if you get something used, that it has a solidstate drive. I’m saying that mostly for the increased speed over a physical hard disc.

 

 

 

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Nimer Jaber
Sent: July 25, 2022 10:31 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for reaching out. 4 GB will work, but you ideally want at least 8, and adding an extra 4 GB really isn't all that costly.

 

As for different computer brands, as this is subjective and begins to stray from the topic of NVDA, I suggest you ask on a list dedicated to discussing such things, or on the chat subgroup.

 

Thanks.

 

On Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 7:29 PM Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...> wrote:

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have
learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba
laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing
fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest
NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word
processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is
that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA
will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry







 

--

Best,

Nimer Jaber

Check out and subscribe to BlindTechAdventures in podcast audio form on YouTube for the latest happenings in tech.

 

You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news.

Thank you, and have a great day!


Quentin Christensen
 

We often get asked about computers, and like everyone has said here, more RAM helps, but NVDA should run on basically anything you can get your hands on - except Windows 10 S, stay away from that.

What I normally recommend looking at is what keyboard layout do you want?  Do you want a number pad, or do you prefer a smaller form factor without one?   What will you use as your NVDA key, and if Insert, check where it is on that keyboard.  Also, see if you can check the quality of the inbuilt speaker - even if you plan to use headphones or external speakers mostly, it's still handy and sometimes unavoidable using the build in speakers occasionally (and if they're that good, you might not need external speakers - but the last thing you want is to count on using the inbuilt speaker and then discover that it's unbearable to you).

The other personal comment I'd make is, both in general and in regards to a specific model line - don't buy the very cheapest available, but at the same time, don't pay heaps extra to buy the very newest processor.  Work out what your budget is and try to get something good quality in that range.  Models and brands vary - just because someone you know had a bad experience with Lenovo, doesn't make them all bad - similarly, just because your last Acer was brilliant, judge the next one on its own merits - companies change a lot in five years (and that isn't a comment for or against, Acer, Lenovo or any other brand).

On Tue, Jul 26, 2022 at 1:37 PM Gene <gsasner@...> wrote:
The original question said the person wants to use the computer as a backup for a desktop and he discussed using programs where the extra speed offered by an SSD doesn't matter.  If you are going to be working on a Word document, if it takes one or two more seconds to load the document and an extra second to save the document once you have finished working on it, that amount of time saving doesn't justify getting an SSD. 

Having said that, computers from Computers For the Blind come with SSDs. 

This is my last message in the thread on the main NVDA list.  Since the first question asks about the amount of RAM NVDA uses, I'm not sure if it was appropriate for the main list, but further discussion on the main list isn't since, aside from the RAM question, the discussion has nothing to do with NVDA.

Gene

On 7/25/2022 9:42 PM, Harry Spencer wrote:

Yup, love the SSD. Made the old desktop PC jump like a pup. Harry


On 7/25/2022 7:34 PM, Chris Smart wrote:

Make sure if you get something used, that it has a solidstate drive. I’m saying that mostly for the increased speed over a physical hard disc.

 

 

 

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Nimer Jaber
Sent: July 25, 2022 10:31 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for reaching out. 4 GB will work, but you ideally want at least 8, and adding an extra 4 GB really isn't all that costly.

 

As for different computer brands, as this is subjective and begins to stray from the topic of NVDA, I suggest you ask on a list dedicated to discussing such things, or on the chat subgroup.

 

Thanks.

 

On Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 7:29 PM Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...> wrote:

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have
learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba
laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing
fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest
NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word
processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is
that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA
will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry







 

--

Best,

Nimer Jaber

Check out and subscribe to BlindTechAdventures in podcast audio form on YouTube for the latest happenings in tech.

 

You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news.

Thank you, and have a great day!




--
Quentin Christensen
Training and Support Manager

Gene
 

I said I wouldn't comment further but I'll make one more comment.

If you are going to use the laptop in such a way that you don't care if you use the internal keyboard or not, you don't have to worry about it.  I use my Windows 10 laptop with an external keyboard and I never intend to use it with its internal keyboard.

Gene

On 7/25/2022 10:52 PM, Quentin Christensen wrote:

We often get asked about computers, and like everyone has said here, more RAM helps, but NVDA should run on basically anything you can get your hands on - except Windows 10 S, stay away from that.

What I normally recommend looking at is what keyboard layout do you want?  Do you want a number pad, or do you prefer a smaller form factor without one?   What will you use as your NVDA key, and if Insert, check where it is on that keyboard.  Also, see if you can check the quality of the inbuilt speaker - even if you plan to use headphones or external speakers mostly, it's still handy and sometimes unavoidable using the build in speakers occasionally (and if they're that good, you might not need external speakers - but the last thing you want is to count on using the inbuilt speaker and then discover that it's unbearable to you).

The other personal comment I'd make is, both in general and in regards to a specific model line - don't buy the very cheapest available, but at the same time, don't pay heaps extra to buy the very newest processor.  Work out what your budget is and try to get something good quality in that range.  Models and brands vary - just because someone you know had a bad experience with Lenovo, doesn't make them all bad - similarly, just because your last Acer was brilliant, judge the next one on its own merits - companies change a lot in five years (and that isn't a comment for or against, Acer, Lenovo or any other brand).

On Tue, Jul 26, 2022 at 1:37 PM Gene <gsasner@...> wrote:
The original question said the person wants to use the computer as a backup for a desktop and he discussed using programs where the extra speed offered by an SSD doesn't matter.  If you are going to be working on a Word document, if it takes one or two more seconds to load the document and an extra second to save the document once you have finished working on it, that amount of time saving doesn't justify getting an SSD. 

Having said that, computers from Computers For the Blind come with SSDs. 

This is my last message in the thread on the main NVDA list.  Since the first question asks about the amount of RAM NVDA uses, I'm not sure if it was appropriate for the main list, but further discussion on the main list isn't since, aside from the RAM question, the discussion has nothing to do with NVDA.

Gene

On 7/25/2022 9:42 PM, Harry Spencer wrote:

Yup, love the SSD. Made the old desktop PC jump like a pup. Harry


On 7/25/2022 7:34 PM, Chris Smart wrote:

Make sure if you get something used, that it has a solidstate drive. I’m saying that mostly for the increased speed over a physical hard disc.

 

 

 

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Nimer Jaber
Sent: July 25, 2022 10:31 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

 

Hello,

 

Thanks for reaching out. 4 GB will work, but you ideally want at least 8, and adding an extra 4 GB really isn't all that costly.

 

As for different computer brands, as this is subjective and begins to stray from the topic of NVDA, I suggest you ask on a list dedicated to discussing such things, or on the chat subgroup.

 

Thanks.

 

On Mon, Jul 25, 2022 at 7:29 PM Harry Spencer <hespencer55@...> wrote:

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have
learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba
laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing
fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest
NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word
processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is
that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA
will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry







 

--

Best,

Nimer Jaber

Check out and subscribe to BlindTechAdventures in podcast audio form on YouTube for the latest happenings in tech.

 

You can follow @nimerjaber on Twitter for the latest technology news.

Thank you, and have a great day!




--
Quentin Christensen
Training and Support Manager


Monte Single
 

8 gig will work fine, 16 is good.
Anything more than 16 gig of ram is a waste of money unless you are doing audio/video editing.

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Harry Spencer
Sent: July 25, 2022 8:26 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: [nvda] First question

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry

Ravindran V.S.
 

Isn't it worth also looking about the processor?
If a 2.4Ghz would do a lot rather than anything like a 1.5Ghz.
But I'm afraid about the cost of it.
Still, it is always better to look for the best option near to our budget, and if there is anything better to lift it for little more considering the long time use.
Because machines tent to slow down when time passes. And it will be a real pain at that time.
Cheers,
V.S.Ravindran.
Excuses leads to failure!””

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Monte Single
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:59 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

8 gig will work fine, 16 is good.
Anything more than 16 gig of ram is a waste of money unless you are doing audio/video editing.

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Harry Spencer
Sent: July 25, 2022 8:26 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: [nvda] First question

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry

Gene
 

Depending on how you use a computer, you may just be wasting money if you buy a faster processor.  Also, machines don't tend to slow down just because they do.  It may be that over time, if you do certain things, your Windows may slow down and you may want to put on a clean copy or revert to a backup, but that is not inevitable.  I use machines for years and they don't slow down.

Many people spend more money, sometimes quite a bit more than they need to and get little or no benefit.

Gene

On 7/26/2022 2:27 AM, Ravindran V.S. wrote:

Isn't it worth also looking about the processor?
If a 2.4Ghz would do a lot rather than anything like a 1.5Ghz.
But I'm afraid about the cost of it.
Still, it is always better to look for the best option near to our budget, and if there is anything better to lift it for little more considering the long time use.
Because machines tent to slow down when time passes. And it will be a real pain at that time.
Cheers,
V.S.Ravindran.
Excuses leads to failure!””

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Monte Single
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:59 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

8 gig will work fine, 16 is good.
Anything more than 16  gig of ram is a waste of money  unless you are doing audio/video editing.

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Harry Spencer
Sent: July 25, 2022 8:26 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: [nvda] First question

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry

Michael Munn
 

This is again based on your needs.

I currently use an HP ENVY Laptop to do all my works including Audio editing, and that machine had served me quite well for almost three years. Is far I know, only Jaws need massive amounts of storage because they came with so many drivers once you install the screen reader.  NVDA is a lightweight screen reader, and you can download all the add-ins if you want to better enhance your user experience.

That is all I have to say, and I hope what I said is valid. .

Thanks

Best regards

Michael H. Munn

 

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Gene
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 3:46 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

 

Depending on how you use a computer, you may just be wasting money if you buy a faster processor.  Also, machines don't tend to slow down just because they do.  It may be that over time, if you do certain things, your Windows may slow down and you may want to put on a clean copy or revert to a backup, but that is not inevitable.  I use machines for years and they don't slow down.

Many people spend more money, sometimes quite a bit more than they need to and get little or no benefit.

Gene

On 7/26/2022 2:27 AM, Ravindran V.S. wrote:

Isn't it worth also looking about the processor?
If a 2.4Ghz would do a lot rather than anything like a 1.5Ghz.
But I'm afraid about the cost of it.
Still, it is always better to look for the best option near to our budget, and if there is anything better to lift it for little more considering the long time use.
Because machines tent to slow down when time passes. And it will be a real pain at that time.
Cheers,
V.S.Ravindran.
Excuses leads to failure!””
 
-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Monte Single
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:59 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question
 
8 gig will work fine, 16 is good.
Anything more than 16  gig of ram is a waste of money  unless you are doing audio/video editing.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Harry Spencer
Sent: July 25, 2022 8:26 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: [nvda] First question
 
Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.
 
 
I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.
 
 
In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?
 
 
Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.
 
 
Thanks. Harry
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Monte Single
 

If you buy a new windows pc today, it will likely have windows 11 installed and the processor will likely be running at 3.0 ghz or higher.

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Ravindran V.S.
Sent: July 26, 2022 1:28 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

Isn't it worth also looking about the processor?
If a 2.4Ghz would do a lot rather than anything like a 1.5Ghz.
But I'm afraid about the cost of it.
Still, it is always better to look for the best option near to our budget, and if there is anything better to lift it for little more considering the long time use.
Because machines tent to slow down when time passes. And it will be a real pain at that time.
Cheers,
V.S.Ravindran.
Excuses leads to failure!””

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Monte Single
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:59 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

8 gig will work fine, 16 is good.
Anything more than 16 gig of ram is a waste of money unless you are doing audio/video editing.

-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Harry Spencer
Sent: July 25, 2022 8:26 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: [nvda] First question

Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.


I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.


In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?


Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.


Thanks. Harry

Sarah k Alawami
 

My machine is 5 years old, or rather was, I’ll say this much. It got so slow that even a reinstall didn’t fix the issue. So yes, parts do ware out. Be aware of this.  I would go with 3.4ghz and 8 gigs of ram if all you will do is check email; future proof yourself though as what if one day that program you use to check email becomes more processer intensive as I’ve seen over the years. You will feel it as time goes by. Even nvda will over time due to what ever we do with it will become more processer intensive. That’s just my take on things.

 

From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Gene
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 12:46 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question

 

Depending on how you use a computer, you may just be wasting money if you buy a faster processor.  Also, machines don't tend to slow down just because they do.  It may be that over time, if you do certain things, your Windows may slow down and you may want to put on a clean copy or revert to a backup, but that is not inevitable.  I use machines for years and they don't slow down.

Many people spend more money, sometimes quite a bit more than they need to and get little or no benefit.

Gene

On 7/26/2022 2:27 AM, Ravindran V.S. wrote:

Isn't it worth also looking about the processor?
If a 2.4Ghz would do a lot rather than anything like a 1.5Ghz.
But I'm afraid about the cost of it.
Still, it is always better to look for the best option near to our budget, and if there is anything better to lift it for little more considering the long time use.
Because machines tent to slow down when time passes. And it will be a real pain at that time.
Cheers,
V.S.Ravindran.
Excuses leads to failure!””
 
-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Monte Single
Sent: Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:59 AM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: Re: [nvda] First question
 
8 gig will work fine, 16 is good.
Anything more than 16  gig of ram is a waste of money  unless you are doing audio/video editing.
 
-----Original Message-----
From: nvda@nvda.groups.io <nvda@nvda.groups.io> On Behalf Of Harry Spencer
Sent: July 25, 2022 8:26 PM
To: nvda@nvda.groups.io
Subject: [nvda] First question
 
Hello. I've been lurking on this list for a couple of months and have learned a lot. I have an immediate problem. My 10-year-old Toshiba laptop died a couple of days ago.
 
 
I want to buy an inexpensive laptop as an replacement, but nothing fancy, just Windows 10 or 11 with Thunderbird and MS Word and latest NVDA. Mostly, I use a laptop for a backup for my desktop PC and word processing.
 
 
In the past, I heard that JAWS and other screenreaders need lots of RAM,
8 GB or more. All the cheap laptops I'm looking at start at 4GB RAM. Is that enough for NVDA?
 
 
Any suggesstions on me buying a cheap backup laptop functional with NVDA will b very much appreciated.
 
 
Thanks. Harry
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Brian Vogel
 

This topic is locked after this post, as speccing out a computer is not NVDA specific.  If further conversation is desired a new topic, with a descriptive title, should be created on the Chat Subgroup.

Gene is correct that many people spend way more money than they need to based on what they intend to use a computer for.

As someone who is an IT support professional, I will always say the two most important things you can spend money on as far as any computer goes is RAM capacity and an SSD, and the less RAM you have the more important an SSD becomes in supporting responsiveness.

Minimum specs are not now, and have never been, optimum specs for "happy campers."  The minimum RAM I would consider for Windows 10 or 11 is 8GB.  Since Windows 10 only has 3 more years of support, I would verify that the processor in any machine you're considering can support Windows 11 even if it doesn't happen to come with it.  For all Intel i-series processors, that means 8th generation or newer, which is indicated by a number higher than 8000 after the hyphen, e.g., i5-8790.

Very few users indeed, particularly casual users doing web browsing, emailing, and using office suites as their primary activities have ever even come close to exploiting all the processing power of modern processors.

If you're trying to economize, it is always worth looking at manufacturer refurbished business class machines.  They're of higher build quality and generally have specifications that are more than adequate for most home users.

Now lets move this to the Chat Subgroup if anyone wishes to discuss this further.

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Brian - Windows 10, 64-Bit, Version 21H2, Build 19044  

The difference between a top-flight creative man and the hack is his ability to express powerful meanings indirectly.

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