New laptop tips

[John V]

I'm picking this guy up today. On Monday it was discounted to $650.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspir...Id=5872507

I've searched and found a few pages that discuss optimizing a new Windows 10 laptop. Just wondering if anyone here has tips from personal experience. Thanks.

[purplepurpose]

You could cast a divine spell on your new laptop called "Holy Machine spirit"(Correct me if i'm wrong, it's been long since I have seen white magic manual).

[Succubus]

I'm picking this guy up today. On Monday it was discounted to $650.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspir...Id=5872507

I've searched and found a few pages that discuss optimizing a new Windows 10 laptop. Just wondering if anyone here has tips from personal experience. Thanks.

Intel Core i5 + 256GB Solid State Drive. That thing is fast.

Now how to optimise the thing?

Easy.

[zebo-the-fat]

Turn off (or at least try to reduce) the spyware

[John V]

You could cast a divine spell on your new laptop called "Holy Machine spirit"(Correct me if i'm wrong, it's been long since I have seen white magic manual).

It's pre-blessed in the box. Best Buy does that at no charge now.

[Angrboda]

Looks like that thing should be powerful enough to handle all the usual stuff, except maybe some games. I wouldn't think it would need optimizing unless you have some applications where it does run into problems, which again would probably be a game, if anything. Until then, I'd say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You could google for tips, but there's a lot of bad advice out there, so unless you already know what you're doing, there's potential to do as much harm as good.

Removing bloatware is about the only thing that would seem to be important, and that depends again, whether it's getting in your way or not. Other than that, I'd say leave well enough alone.

[John V]

I just want to play PUBG and a couple other games. I'd like to play on high quality, but it doesn't have to be the highest quality.

[KevinM1]

I'm picking this guy up today. On Monday it was discounted to $650.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspir...Id=5872507

I've searched and found a few pages that discuss optimizing a new Windows 10 laptop. Just wondering if anyone here has tips from personal experience. Thanks.

Intel Core i5 + 256GB Solid State Drive. That thing is fast.

Now how to optimise the thing?

Easy.

Linux Mint = yuck.  Dunno how anyone could support them after their inexcusable security debacle a few years ago ("let's store our .iso's on the same server as our unpatched, barely maintained WordPress site!"), and how unstable and insecure their systems tend to get because they simply blacklist packages rather than work with upstream to fix them.  If you're going to go with Debian-flavored linux, grab one of the Ubuntus, or even just straight Debian if you want a more 'pure' experience.  

Or, if Arch doesn't scare you, grab Manjaro.  It does what Mint claims to do (good user experience, stable system), but follows a rolling release model, and is almost bleeding edge because the maintainers work with upstream to ensure compatibility and stability.  In my experience, Manjaro is only a week or so behind Arch proper.  In a lot of cases, less.

If I had to recommend a daily driver that just gets the job done, it'd be Manjaro.

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To alpha, the best thing you can do is remove the bloatware new systems tend to come with and go through your startup programs and disable anything you don't need running from the start.   I got a new Dell laptop myself earlier this year (a 2017 XPS 13), and the worst offenders re: performance were Dell's own apps.  I mean, on a device with an i7 and 8GB RAM, my CPU was maxed out right out of the box.   It was ridiculous.  Removing those apps brought the percentage down into the teens.

[The Valkyrie]

Don’t hit it with a hammer.

You’re welcome.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The scatological demon keeps making me see a slightly different subject line.