Cheapest way into a long-term windows system?

[JHZR2]

In my household we are all apple, and one Chromebook. We used Apple dating back to the mid 80s. I like the computers and they last decently well.

Currently my only windows computer is my work computer. And I can’t install random stuff on it.

To run Windows, I have parallels running W7 on my 2008 C2D MacBook Pro. It’s good enough for now. Last night I just updated an old Foxwell 510 elite scanner that doesn’t have the WiFi update capability.

One of the keyboard buttons sticks, W7 and MacOs on the computer are long obsolete. So I’m not sure how well/long this will last. Not bad updating with a 17yo laptop, but I’m thinking that I should get something newer and supportable.

I could put parallels on my 2013 MBP. It has an I7 processor, 16GB Ram, etc. it was a decent machine when I bought it and still works great.

That said, I see these low cost laptops running windows for next to nothing. Are they in the slightest bit decent? Not fast, but decent? Or are they just so cheap and junky they aren’t worth the money.

For example:

Sure, I get it that 4GB Ram isn’t great and may not be expandable. And the processor is low end. But I’m not sure that device updating and some of the manufacturer coding tools really use that many resources to justify a massive setup for next to no use. But I can see the value in a meager setup.

So what’s the best bet to get into a windows computer running w11?

 

[ctechbob]

That or one of the many 'micro' devices out there. I canned my fullsized desktop a year ago for a BeeLink 8 core micro desktop. They're basically laptop guts in a small desktop form factor. You can upgrade things like the memory and HD, but the processors are largely soldered to the board.

That's if you have a spare keyboard and monitor knocking around.

 

[himemsys]

I have had very good luck with a place called ReviveIT. They sell refurbished systems. You can get a fully loaded laptop that's a few generations old for only $200-300. Here's one that is $265 with 16GB ram:
https://reviveit.io/d3540bwai7qbm-2-matrix/

 

[doitmyself]

If you live near a large university, check out their surplus store. They encourage high tuition with frequent replacement of office computers, lol:
https://msusurplusstore.com/products/dell-desktop-i5-8th-gen-16gb-ram-with-windows-11-pro

 

[JeffKeryk]

Pay once cry once. I hate cheap tools.
I generally buy from Costco for the increased warranty, easy of return and solid prices.

 

[jeepman3071]

Pay once cry once. I hate cheap tools.
I generally buy from Costco for the increased warranty, easy of return and solid prices.

+1

I'd buy a used device over that $129 one. 4GB of RAM is nothing these days, and Windows is full of bloatware that runs in the background.

Being the family IT guy I've often been tasked with finding cheap computers for family members and their kids. I've had good luck buying lightly used Dell laptops with 16GB of RAM, i-5 or i-7 and a solid state hard drive. They run windows 11 fine, and the hard drives are upgradeable if you need more space.

 

[supton]

Does it have to be a laptop? I'm wondering if a small form factor PC would work, as I'm presuming you still have some monitors and keyboards kicking around. Someone on the CL here has been selling systems with Win11 installed, want to say for around that price point, some of them with monitors even.

 

[CarbonToast]

Cost cutting on cheap laptops is all in the chassis, keyboard, TouchPad, and screen. I expect you would be very disappointed in all of those items.

My strategy is to buy a business grade laptop from any of the main players (lenovo, hp, Dell, etc.) Business grade seems to have better chassis, keyboard, TouchPad, and durability.

 

[JHZR2]

Pay once cry once. I hate cheap tools.
I generally buy from Costco for the increased warranty, easy of return and solid prices.

I’ll spend plenty on my MacBook Pros with high specs.

They last.

Few if any 2008 windows laptops are still in service today.

For a windows computer that I have zero use for, and could well be obsolete between uses, sinking good money into another spec windows laptop is just separating me from my money.

That M3 Pro 14” MacBook Pro was awfully tempting this Christmas. But my 2013 MBP is still running perfect. Because I bought a quality tool.

Windows laptops, other than the good IBM Thinkpads, don’t have the lifecycle.

 

[JHZR2]

+1

I'd buy a used device over that $129 one. 4GB of RAM is nothing these days, and Windows is full of bloatware that runs in the background.

Being the family IT guy I've often been tasked with finding cheap computers for family members and their kids. I've had good luck buying lightly used Dell laptops with 16GB of RAM, i-5 or i-7 and a solid state hard drive. They run windows 11 fine, and the hard drives are upgradeable if you need more space.

Realized I’m doing more or less nothing with it ever. It’s for car scanning and device updating only. I have proper computers for anything else.

This the use case is almost moot.

Cost cutting on cheap laptops is all in the chassis, keyboard, TouchPad, and screen. I expect you would be very disappointed in all of those items.

My strategy is to buy a business grade laptop from any of the main players (lenovo, hp, Dell, etc.) Business grade seems to have better chassis, keyboard, TouchPad, and durability.

See above. I don’t know what metric of disappointment I’d have. That’s why I’m asking

It’s use a few times a year. Not a lot at all. And it doesn’t get transported or anything else.

That said, I get the benefit of a better chassis or components. Not necessarily better processor but better capacitors or motherboard design. Not sure we get that 100% though. Thing is, older refurbished equipment gets generations older stuff, which may be down pipeline in the newer lower spec stuff, but the newer built stuff is… newer.

I know the unit I showed the screen shot on above is refurbished.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I’ll spend plenty on my MacBook Pros with high specs.

They last.

Few if any 2008 windows laptops are still in service today.

For a windows computer that I have zero use for, and could well be obsolete between uses, sinking good money into another spec windows laptop is just separating me from my money.

That M3 Pro 14” MacBook Pro was awfully tempting this Christmas. But my 2013 MBP is still running perfect. Because I bought a quality tool.

Windows laptops, other than the good IBM Thinkpads, don’t have the lifecycle.

Mac build quality is top notch. However I suggest my high end Dell database development notebook is close, at least. It was also close to $2K years ago. The Microsoft notebooks are stellar.

If I were buying a casual use Win machine I would expect to spend about $500 for a Dell, Asus or the like.

Good luck and have fun with it. Perhaps a cheapo PC will do the job.

 

[redhat]

I think I'd just still virtualize Windows for the few Windows-based tasks you have. Intel Macs will virtualize x86/x86-64 Windows and the Apple-silicon Macs will virtualize ARM-based Windows which has a compatibility layer that'll run the majority of x86 software OK.

 

[Carmudgeon]

I scavenge castoff PCs from my circle for my Windows needs.

It really depends on what your needs are. Doesn't sound like much.

I haven't found auto tools/PC combinations to need cutting edge hardware, or have up-to-date OS requirements; in fact the pace of development seems rather slow in the respect, so PC castoffs can still be suitable.

But if you want a machine with current specs and support, then it will cost some money.

Or, try to find another, newer Intel MacBook and keep it in Boot Camp mode.

I understand the reluctance to spend money on a Windows machine that will see little to no use.

 

[Pew]

Here's a cheap refurb Dell Latitude off newegg. I wouldn't trust a consumer grade laptop to last as long, even if used very rarely.

 

[JHZR2]

I scavenge castoff PCs from my circle for my Windows needs.

It really depends on what your needs are. Doesn't sound like much.

I haven't found auto tools/PC combinations to need cutting edge hardware, or have up-to-date OS requirements; in fact the pace of development seems rather slow in the respect, so PC castoffs can still be suitable.

But if you want a machine with current specs and support, then it will cost some money.

Or, try to find another, newer Intel MacBook and keep it in Boot Camp mode.

I understand the reluctance to spend money on a Windows machine that will see little to no use.

No, my point is that I don’t want a machine that has current specs. I don’t want to pay a premium for capability I’ll never use. And I agree with you - most of this software seems to have very meager requirements.

Here's a cheap refurb Dell Latitude off newegg. I wouldn't trust a consumer grade laptop to last as long, even if used very rarely.

That’s the kind of thing I’m looking for. Maybe $100 more than I want to spend but that’s not the end of the world. Thanks!

 

[Pew]

That’s the kind of thing I’m looking for. Maybe $100 more than I want to spend but that’s not the end of the world. Thanks!

I gotchu:

Dell Latitude, one generation older than the one I posted ealier:
https://www.newegg.com/dell-5411-14...256-gb/p/N82E16834833857?item=N82E16834833857

Here's a good HP one, probably the best you're going to get <=$300. Sold via a 3rd party instead of Newegg directly (if that matters to you): https://www.newegg.com/hp-840-g8-14...-256-gb/p/N82E16834841920?item=9SIADT2KEA0917

I have a handful of Elitebook 840 G8s at work. They all have two RAM slots, an M.2 slot, and the battery can be replaced, all once you take off the bottom cover with 5 philip screws. They've used the same laptop chassis for 5 generations now (G7-current)

 

[KrisZ]

I would rather buy an older, refurbished business grade laptop than one of those super cheap brand new ones. These are essentially e-waste.

Here is a pretty decent deal for $200. It runs win10 though, but probably can be upgraded to 11. I like that it has an Ethernet connection port.

https://a.co/d/9WDkTxS

 

[Rob_Roy]

Here's a cheap refurb Dell Latitude off newegg. I wouldn't trust a consumer grade laptop to last as long, even if used very rarely.

I have one very similar that cost about $50 less when purchased last year, it runs excellent.

For the month I think a refurbished Latitude is tough to beat.

 

[PandaBear]

Among the big companies like Dell, HP, Lenovo. I personally like Lenovo's build quality best, Dell second, and HP worse. Personally I buy something that is a good architecture (no overheating CPU or GPU), focus more on RAM size and SSD size if not costing too much, and try to compromise on CPU speed.

The last desktop I bought for dad is an HP AMD Ryzen 7 with 8GB of dram and 256GB of SSD. I added another 8GB that people pull off their HP and now it has 16GB, and I added another 512GB of SSD and a 1TB HDD to it and that PC should last him 8 years.

He cheap out and got a 9" netbook back then and it was a poop show, not used after 3 months of owning it. I personally don't like Mac despite used to use it all the time at work. I don't like things like that for my own PC as I like to mess around upgrading, and hate metal unibody (it is hard and cold), and yes it do crash and halt if you have buggy software like windows.

 

[ripcord]

I’ll spend plenty on my MacBook Pros with high specs.

They last.

Few if any 2008 windows laptops are still in service today.

For a windows computer that I have zero use for, and could well be obsolete between uses, sinking good money into another spec windows laptop is just separating me from my money.

That M3 Pro 14” MacBook Pro was awfully tempting this Christmas. But my 2013 MBP is still running perfect. Because I bought a quality tool.

Windows laptops, other than the good IBM Thinkpads, don’t have the lifecycle.

There hasn't been such a thing as an IBM Thinkpad since 2005, lol.

Lenovo Thinkpads are generally pretty good. So are Dell Latitude business class laptops. For JHZR2's use case, a used off lease Lenovo or Dell on eBay or Amazon would be cheap and perfectly suitable for a long time to come. Something with 4 cores, 16 gigs of RAM and a solid state drive and comes pre loaded with Windows 11 will be usable for years to come.