New Lap Top.......suggestions please.
- Thread starter totegoat
- Start date
Guess it's like cars, hard to compare model to model vs make to make. But my work upgraded my HP to a Lenovo ThinkPad and the ThinkPad is so much better. My only complaints about the ThinkPad is that it's a little heavy and the speakers on 100% are not that loud and I sometimes struggle to hear people that speak softly on web conference calls.
Are you open to both Mac and Windows machines? What's the intended use (just email/forum/Youtube? Or more intensive work?)
I'm now all in on the Apple ecosystem (Mac and iPhone) and probably will stay that way indefinitely, but grew up using Windows and had a Chromebook in high school. I got a Mac to take to college and I've been very pleased with it. They are "more expensive" on paper, but seem to last longer, and it's not fair to compare a $1100 MacBook Pro to a $300 HP BestBuy special on price alone without accounting for the difference in specs, etc. I know people using five to seven year old Macs (mine is three years old and has been nearly flawless, except for a keyboard recall which was covered for four years from purchase) with no issues at all - displays are excellent, hardware quality is very good, etc. They just work.
If I were to pick up a Windows machine, it'd most likely be a Lenovo ThinkPad - build quality seems far better than on most other non-Macs I've used (they have a business focus in their design). You can get a very serviceable machine on sale for ~$600 from Lenovo, and build quality is worlds apart from a cheap HP or Acer or something. This is probably going to be your best bang for the buck.
Lenovo
I'm now all in on the Apple ecosystem (Mac and iPhone) and probably will stay that way indefinitely, but grew up using Windows and had a Chromebook in high school. I got a Mac to take to college and I've been very pleased with it. They are "more expensive" on paper, but seem to last longer, and it's not fair to compare a $1100 MacBook Pro to a $300 HP BestBuy special on price alone without accounting for the difference in specs, etc. I know people using five to seven year old Macs (mine is three years old and has been nearly flawless, except for a keyboard recall which was covered for four years from purchase) with no issues at all - displays are excellent, hardware quality is very good, etc. They just work.
If I were to pick up a Windows machine, it'd most likely be a Lenovo ThinkPad - build quality seems far better than on most other non-Macs I've used (they have a business focus in their design). You can get a very serviceable machine on sale for ~$600 from Lenovo, and build quality is worlds apart from a cheap HP or Acer or something. This is probably going to be your best bang for the buck.
Lenovo
Or the standard BITOG suggestion of just blowing Windows away and loading linux; 70% of the time when people think they need a new computer, they really need a new OS.
I wouldn't even consider HP. I've had to many issues with them separating at the corners apparently due to a poor monitor hinge design. I checked on line and this is apparently a widespread problem. Supposedly, HP will repair under warranty but once out of warranty, charges $200 to repair. My 2-year old HP, never abused or dropped, is being held together with duct tape! The right hinge has broken loose.
I never heard of this being a problem with Dell.
I never heard of this being a problem with Dell.
If it's just for websurfing and email stuff have you considered a chromebook? Costo frequently has the HP one on sale for 299. I have been abusing mine for about a year and it has held up. It is my outside/travelling device and it gets used hard.
A very good suggestion. And when it gets old and slow then it's only another $300 to replace it.
Plus if you accidentally drop or damage it, it's not as painful
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They are also very light and have good battery life. If you are doing any more work than web browsing then its a "hell no"
Agred. Light, good battery life and light word processing/excel, outlook etc.. Otherwise if you need power look elsewhere.
Buy it at Costco, go in and look at live working models then make up your mind. Can't go wrong with Intel or AMD, just make sure it has a SSD and 8GB RAM minimum. Costco warranty and concierge service is really good when needing help with electronics. They do all the legwork.
https://www.microcenter.com/product/635103/lenovo-v14-14-laptop-computer-black
$199
add 4GB ram stick for 8GB total or 8GB for 12GB total
cpu has 4389 rating
that is slightly faster than a Ryzen 3 3250U
or considerably faster than the i5 that came in my $$$$ laptop 5 years ago.
$199
add 4GB ram stick for 8GB total or 8GB for 12GB total
cpu has 4389 rating
PassMark - AMD Athlon Gold 3150U - Price performance comparison
www.cpubenchmark.net
that is slightly faster than a Ryzen 3 3250U
or considerably faster than the i5 that came in my $$$$ laptop 5 years ago.
My favorite right now is an Acer Aspire 3 I bought at Microcenter. It has an i5. Fast, easy on eyes, keyboard is the best for typing compared to Lenovo and HP I have. Looks like Costco may have an Acer Aspire 5. The HP ones I have tend to be hard on my eyes.
Thanks for the help. Unit is 4 years old and zero problems other than acting up occasionally, which in the past has indicated a sudden failure in other computers over the years.
Never have used a Mac or anything other than Windows. Mostly computer illiterate. Will check Costco tomorrow.
Never have used a Mac or anything other than Windows. Mostly computer illiterate. Will check Costco tomorrow.
Have you tried factory reset?
Apple currently has refurbished M1 MacBook airs for $850… bit of a tough pill to swallow up front but the built quality on them is superior to pretty much anything unless you’re spending that much anyway.
Refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook Air Apple M1 Chip with 8âCore CPU and 7âCore GPU - Space Gray
Originally released November 2020|13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch|8GB unified memory|256GB SSD1|Touch ID sensor|720p FaceTime HD Camera
www.apple.com
If you can use a phone you can use a chromebook
they are super easy to use.
