Any Laptop Users Around?

[Axel Slingerland]

Over the last 24 years I have been a cable TV customer, paying an average of $100 a month for what essentially is about 50 channels that we actually watch, but couldn't get any other way. (Until streaming came along.) That is not even 15% of the channels available to us. Simple math will show that after 24 years (as of February 1st, 2022) I have paid them $28,800. Another year will make it $30,000. It never really bothered me until I did the math. Before that it was just another bill so I paid it. But now they want $140 a month, and we don't watch over 85% of the channels we're paying for.

For the past few years I have been stockpiling DVD's (including Blurays) and have been converting my older stuff (including old and nearly worn out 4x3 DVDs and a sizable collection of VHS tapes of home movies shot on family vacations) to MP4 files, etc., in an effort to be able to "Cut the Cable." As it stand now, I have about 2,000 DVDs in good condition, many of which are box sets and full or nearly full seasons of a lot of TV shows, and about 400 DVDs in nearly worn out condition and 266 VHS tapes of home movies that have been converted to around 1,100 HD MP4 files, and all of that is stored on 2 Seagate 8Tb external USB hard drives.

My original plan was to build a computer to play the various movies and TV shows. However, I just bought this laptop to see if it could handle doing that task, plus could be taken on vacations. (Once the pandemic is under control, of course.)

Can anyone could tell me if this laptop was a good deal? I paid $299.99 for it...

Lenovo IdeaPad 3 Laptop
AMD 6 Core / 12 Thread Ryzen 5 5500U - 2.1GHz with 4.0GHz Turbo (Max. Temp. 221°F / 105°C)
Radeon 7 Onboard Graphics
15.6" 1920x1080 IPS Touchscreen Display (300 Nits Peak Brightness)
12Gb DDR4 2666Mhz RAM
512Gb Western Digital NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive
802.11 Wireless-AC (2x2) Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0
3-Cell 45WH Lithium-Polymer Battery (also has an AC adapter)
1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C (Data Transfer Only)
1x USB 3.0
1x USB 2.0
1x HDMI
Windows 10 Home

The reason I ask is if this laptop is not going to be suitable to use the way I bought it for, I have a week left before the return window expires. If I do return it, I still plan to build a PC for that purpose. Either way, it would have to run for hours on end for my girlfriend who is disabled and in bed most of the time. I was afraid it would overheat, but it runs MP4 files at less than 100°F and I was shocked to find the maximum temp is 62°F higher than my PC's CPU. (Which is 159°.)

What do you guys think?

[adrian007]

Hi Axel suppose the other option would be a tablet don't know what you call them in the States something along the lines of a iPad I don't use / like these beasts just a comparison I still have a 7inch Samsung android tablet knocking around have had for a while without any problems .
Greetings from soggy acres ( Queensland )
Adrian

[Axel Slingerland]

I don't know if a tablet would work for this or not. I have an Amazon Fire 7, and while I can stream HD video with it, it doesn't have the connections I need. At minimum, in addition to having a good enough CPU / GPU for playing the MP4 files, I would need at least one USB 3.0 port for the external hard drive (but preferably two, since I have two USB hard drives), and an HDMI port to connect it to an HDTV. And of course, whatever I use can't overheat from hours on end usage.

The laptop seems to meet those basic requirements. I was just curious if anyone thought I wasted my money when I bought it. Because by the time I paid the sales tax, e-waste tax, and bought an extended warranty, I actually spent over $400 on it. Fortunately, I looked at the wrong receipt the other day and I have longer than I thought to decide. I bought it on December 28th, and I have until March 28th to return it if I decide I don't want to keep it.