PC Tech Thread

I think you overestimate the company's IT policy... They don't have one. It'll go in to the other pile of desktops and be underutilized on basic CAD stuff, but still, I'm pretty sure they don't understand IT depreciation and they think it's still worth 3k. Besides, I'll not pay them 1.5 in cash, only if they agree to take it from my final pay cheque pre-tax which, if I understand correctly, is too small an amount to make them liable for CGT.

you overestimate the company's IT policy... They don't have one

Fair enough. They will have an accounting policy, I can't see them buying the idea of including the PC as part of your pay, and anyway that doesn't help you or them. It has a value, for them it's a disposal which goes to their capital assets ledger, for you it's a payment in kind at the same value which will be taxed.

In the end, it's up to you to decide how much it's worth to you, but don't try to link it to something else, that just makes it harder for them.

only if they agree to take it from my final pay cheque pre-tax

As Tester says, you'd still need to pay tax on it. It's a taxable benefit and would have to go on a P11D or some similar mechanism. The firm would also need to pay NI.

Ahh I see. I have no idea about tax, been a 1257l basic bitch since forever.

Not sure if right thread - does anyone have a Surface Pro or similar for sale?

I borrowed one from work during lockdown and liked it, so when it was time to get a new laptop I got a Surface Laptop... which I like less. Anyway, I've got some holidays coming up when I'll need to be able to logon and do a bit of work. The laptop is too big and heavy, so looking to get something smaller and lighter but still with integrated keyboard. Looks like I can get Surface Pro 7+ with keyboard cover for £840 from Microsoft store. I don't know what the + means. Any alternative suggestions?

Minor bumps in speed (11th gen chips vs 10th gen), and a removeable/upgradeable SSD by the look of it
https://www.windowscentral.com/surface-pro-7-plus-vs-pro-7

the middle i5 option with a ~20% quicker cpu. probably wont translate to doing things 20% faster in most cases

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-1135G7-vs-Intel-Core-i5-1035G4/m1286124vsm921077

Just saw this. Pretty cheap. I've got an old SP4 that's still going strong

https://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/microsoft-surface-pro-5-used-very-good-core-i5-8gb-128gb-ssd-win10-ps12639-with-code-uk-mainland-sold-by-newandusedlaptops4u-4174757

Pokey SSD though

I have a very old one, Surface Pro 3, that has a broken touch screen.

I think it is currently running Ubuntu.

Almost definitely not what you're looking for but I would happily send it your way for (alcohol free) beer money!

I'm about to sell an iPad Pro with magic keyboard. Obviously slightly less flexible than the windows ecosystem but they're great machines. Would cost you half that...

Do you mean you have the Surface Book, or was there another variant? I can detach the keyboard on mine and it's pretty much like a regular Surface pro, unless I'm missing something I thought that was the point.

Edit: I see size is the issue. I suppose it's still a bit of a unit with the keyboard detached.

Uh thanks but no thanks!

That sounds good... I'm going to be up in Cambridge later this week and maybe visiting friends in Arrington at the weekend, which is not a million miles away from you right?

(I'm going to check the specs on this)

I can detach the screen but I never really use it like that. You can't charge it without the keyboard can you? Which means taking it on holiday isn't really viable. And I need a keyboard anyway, I'm no good at screen keyboards....

Edit: I've had this a while and never realised you can charge the screen by itself...

Thanks

2h standby time!

Sure. I’ll drop you a PM. Arrington is maybe 5 miles away?

I’m also in London a couple of days this week if that works.

You can't charge it without the keyboard can you

You can. At least on mine I realised (only after about 7 years of owning it) that you can plug the charger in to the central mating socket of the screen where it usually meets the keyboard.

Yeah, just detached mine - it's not been 7 years but it's been a while!

Amazing, thanks. Let me know what size/model it is. Reading a few reviews of the magic keyboard that say it makes the ipad weigh as much as a laptop anyway... Going to be on bike and public transport so trying to keep the luggage under control!

Heavier. MacBook battery is in the base, Ipad battery is in the ‘screen’ so the base has to be artificially weighted to balance when in laptop mode. Double weight.

I do a bit of casual gaming, but my laptop (HP omen with GTX 1050) is kind of giving up the ghost. Didn't want to spend loads and don't need massive speed and have just "won" an auction for a Ryzen 5 3600 with RX 5700, 32gb RAM and MSI B450 motherboard for £300. Seems like quite a good deal. Says its an NZXT H410 case, but I can only find reference to a H510?

Anyway, just want something that will play Star Wars Outlaws decently at 1080p when it comes out.

I'm trying to fix my neighbour's Chuwi Hi10X. It's a small convertible tablet with Celeron N4120 and Win10. The speakers have gone silent. The speaker icon on the taskbar says no audio output device installed. Device manager has 1 item under Sound, video and game contollers, which is (or was) Intel HD Audio. It says it's working. I googled the problem and have tried many suggested remedies. Seems it's been a common feature for the last 3 years with many Celeron N4120 tablets. Chuwi's tech support/user forum is a bit barren. I'm now at the stage of installing random drivers which users have been sharing on Google Drive. Not just audio drivers, but display ones as well, because the speakers seem to be built into the Intel display. At some point the Intel HD Audio has become Intel SST Audio on device mangler but the error message on the taskbar hasn't changed.

Progress report to the above. Have downloaded many drivers and added them to the driver store using Driver Store Explorer. In device manager I now have 2 devices in Audio Input and Outputs, and 3 devices in Sound, video and game controllers, including Intel Display Audio and Intel SST. All devices are "working properly". The error message on the speaker icon on the taskbar has disappeared. I am now able to test and configure the speakers, which are Intel SST. But there's no sound.

I'd be tempted to give up and buy them a new tablet. Life is too short

(I have worked in IT for 27 years banging my head against walls fixing things exactly like this)

I'm trying to fix my neighbour's ...

Rookie mistake