Choosing a laptop
4So I have decided I want to upgrade my laptop. Current one is running XP just fine. I only use it for light typing and organizing photos. But it has been a few years and it is time. My plan is to transfer the photos and add my ebooks/audiobooks. I will be browsing online, some streaming, and general typing, spreadsheet stuff. My gaming is solitaire.
I know I don’t need a high speed fancy but what do I want? Touch screen a plus but not a deal breaker. I have a tablet that does most of what I want except for a decent keyboard and office tools. I would rather spend extra up front for better quality than get the cheapest.
I also want to get one of the gadgets that I can use to read old hard drives on the new laptop. I have one “somewhere”. I think I lent it out and never got it back. I would like to have a different one in hand. What is your go to gadget/program to find photos and documents from ancient history?
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@narfcake, @dashcloud, @dasher, @dancer, @prancer, and @vixen
None of your tasks are demanding, so nearly any laptop that’s not bare minimum will do the job. What’s your budget? Is refurbished okay?
@narfcake I am fine with refurb. Budget is negotiable. I will be using it frequently and hopefully for years. I can afford a fancy expensive one but don’t think I need it.
I don’t know which brands are considered better now. I guess what would you choose for your Mom to be a dependable working computer?
@narfcake @speediedelivery for my mom, I got her a refurbished one from Dell - https://www.dellrefurbished.com/.
I went w/ specs over model. Key for me (her) was RAM (minimum 16GB), hard drive (SSD and minimum 250GB), and condition (A).
The reason why I went with Dell was because I wanted to get a warranty. Knock on wood, it’s been three plus years and haven’t had to exercise it.
@narfcake @njfan @speediedelivery Parts for Dells also tend to be easier to get than most others, should the need arise. (Some would add “And it will.”)
@njfan @werehatrack I will look over the Dells. I have seen good and bad from them. I had to look up the difference between mobile workstation and laptop.
I am not afraid of computer parts although I prefer not to need them
@speediedelivery @werehatrack lol, don’t we all. Just one heads up about the mobile workstation, they’re “heavy.” Powerhouses but you won’t confused them as ultrabooks. The newer models though are quite lighter though.
@njfan @speediedelivery The newer ones are not as bot-anchor-y as the old C840, though. Good grief, that thing was a monster! But it had enough accessory bays to allow having two batteries plus a CD drive installed at the same time.
@njfan @speediedelivery @werehatrack
I use a Dell mobile workstation daily. It’s powerful, but I’m not a fan of the trackpad; keyboard is meh. I preferred the HP Zbook of similar capability I had before, but a ‘refresh’ was forced upon me.
They are heavy (I don’t move mine around), but also heavy-duty. Chances are much higher that they’ll be reliable for a LONG time.
My kids have high-end laptops for college. My oldest got the lightest HP mobile workstation he could find in 2019; I think it was from Woot. He’s Engineering (CompSci) & Math major and is wearing out the lettering on the keyboard
My youngest got an almost-new Lenovo in 2020, still under warranty, on eBay. Bulletproof so far, tho under utilized
One thing I look for is a battery that easily dismounts. Many extra-thin laptops use lithium polymer packs inside, inaccessible, and these have a nasty and potentially disastrous habit of inflating to more than double their original thickness when the battery ages.
General info, usually applicable. For major manufacturers (our work mostly uses HP due to recent Dell failing at this) even the lower end commercial PCs are more robust and more likely to have longer useful lives than the low-midrange consumer machines. As likely if not more so than consumer grade caca to be available refurbished as well. Lenovos below thinkpad level have been crap for years now, based on customers buying their own.
I would not have subjected my parents to microsoft so no specific suggestions possible on that.
@duodec Thank you for the recommendations. I have considered switching out of Microsoft but I don’t know enough about how keep the current info that I have or working with someone else who is using Excel.
@duodec Ditto to this comment as well as the one from @werehatrack above.
A refurbished Thinkpad or Latitude purchased straight from the Lenovo or Dell outlets should be a solid machine that will last years with minimal trouble and get you better customer support for the first year or two than a consumer model, should you end up needing it. I have had good experience buying refurbished Latitudes.
Easy-access batteries seem to be harder to come by these days, unfortunately. I have experienced battery-bulge on my work laptop. If the housing of your laptop starts splitting along one edge it really needs prompt attention. Opening the bottom cover to replace the battery isn’t a big deal, but not everyone is comfortable doing that.
@duodec @Limewater On the list to check out.
Sounds like you value a high quality keyboard with good feel. For that reason I’d suggest going somewhere you can try many in person like BestBuy. I bought my HP Spectre x360 back in about 2016 and it’s still going strong. Great keyboard. Watch out for hinges. Many laptops fail at the hinge and it’s pretty much game over. If the lid opens really stiff stay away. That translates into extreme stress on the hinges. Touch screens are a fad unless you want to draw or write with a stylus. They basically force you to accept a glossy screen which to me is a downside on a laptop that is meant to be used wherever. I’ll second enterprise class machines over consumer. In general they are far more robust. I’d also suggest going as thin and light and small as is practical for you. My Spectre is 13.5” I think but the screen is exceptional. Because the machine is so diminutive I take it everywhere. Much bigger and it would sit at home all the time.
@tweezak I have thought about going to Bestbuy. I don’t want to pick on price or pretty packaging alone.
Definitely agree on smaller and lighter this time. When I bought the old one I wanted a full keyboard with number pad. It is heavy and large so yes I left it home many times. I like the number pad but not enough to want it again.
Also, laptops sold for the University student standard equipment market tend to get tested for robustness even more than ones for enterprise use, so refurbs of off-lease U units tend to be pretty solid - and inexpensive. I picked up a Dell E7440 from a school in Ohio that way, and it’s been very good.
@werehatrack I would have guessed the opposite.
Have you considered a Chromebook? That’s a question,not a recommendation based on your inquiry. Try a simple “Chromebook vs. laptop pros and cons” search avoiding any link tagged as Ad. and look for current article dating,late 2021 to 2022.
@detailer Not so far. Only time I looked at one was a locked down grade school issue.
@detailer @speediedelivery Chromebooks are close to being bricks without wifi and Internet, though. Very limited capabilities.
@speediedelivery @werehatrack Chromebooks do have wifi,and therefor access to the internet.They also have offline working capabilities if need be.
@detailer @speediedelivery Chromebooks have wifi capability. That is not the same thing as having access to wifi everywhere, and if one of the purposes for the laptop is the storage and organization of photos while travelling, a Chromebook can be rendered pointless by crap-ass hotel or other facility (or lack of facility) nonconnectivity. This also cripples the automated upload capabilities of wifi-enabled cameras, of which I have several. And no matter what the cell carriers may claim, there are big holes in LTE, and bigger holes in 5G everywhere. Schools that tried to use Chromebooks for remote learning discovered that as many as half of their students couldn’t stream anything at home, and in places, that remained true even when provided with an LTE hotspot. (My S.O. was in the thick of that when the plague began.)
@detailer @speediedelivery @werehatrack
That has been my issue with Chromebooks in general. I like being able to have my software on my computer and be able to use it anywhere I want whether it’s out on the beach, in a plane, or at home. Chromebooks also tend to have smaller ssds and drive everything towards cloud-based storage.That being said I do keep a Chromebook/ tablet that I use as a remote camera station for the monitors for Mom’s house. But it does not move from one spot in my house where it is connected to the Wi-Fi.
For recovering old files from legacy media, there are USB-connected CD/DVD readers and USB-connected hard drive access kits. I keep the hard drive stuff around in part to use in doing just what you describe; pulling stuff off of a drive from a retired or failed system. Like this one:
https://smile.amazon.com/Adapter-UNITEK-Universal-External-Support/dp/B01NAUIA6G
You don’t say what your budget is. Basically, you can get a new daily driver laptop for ~$500 these days at Costco, Best Buy, Sams, Walmart, Target, and online from all the manufacturers, NewEgg, eBay, and the Amazon behemoth of course, along with countless laptop-specific e-stores and distributors.
Also, when you go to Best Buy, or wherever (my Costco has a good selection on display), checkout the different sizes. There’s a big difference between 13 inch, 14 inch, 15.6 inch, and 17 inch models.
A separate numeric keypad, for starters, won’t be found on anything smaller than a 15" scereen.
Also, battery life/size might matter to you if you’re always on the go with it.
The newer and thinner models are dropping ports, so any accessories you use or need, make sure the one you pick has enough or the right ones built in. Or be ready to have to get the modern version of the docking station, a port expansion unit. Basically, it’s a USB-C connected brick that has all the ports on it. Including a second monitor and PD (Power Delivery) USB-C ports for charging phones while connecting them.
Think second monitor, USB microphone, webcams, and headsets that aren’t Bluetooth for videocalls and streaming if you create content.
Also, wired Ethernet connections are moving to a USB dongle or the port expansion brick.
@mike808 Good points. I do not nor plan to do content. Headphones and gadget to read external media is all I think I need for ports. I want to connect old drives, camera cards, ereader, flash drives. Possibly two at a time.
Weird. Somehow posted half of what I typed.
Budget wise I don’t want to limit myself or accept less to save a few dollars. Last time I bought a desktop I was reading reviews on processors and brands and could narrow down what to buy. I know I could grab nearly any laptop off the shelf and do ok. It seems wrong to pick one based on a purple keyboard.
@speediedelivery A purple keyboard sounds like a good idea to me.
@speediedelivery Check the number and types of ports. My son’s Asus Flip S (14") has only one USB-C port and one USB-A port. So a dongle for the mouse or keyboard and another USB-C to HDMI and you’re out of ports.
They’re also losing the built-in SD Card reader that used to be standard.
This is all to move the ports to a 9-in-1 (or more) type expansion brick, and they’re not that cheap either. The good news is that there are plenty to choose from with all kinds of ports from secondary market manufacturers (aka no-name Chinese boxes).
If you’re willing to accept the flaws described in the listing, this is a fantastic laptop (not Windows 11 capable, but considering you’ve been using a Windows XP machine till now, I suspect that’s not a concern): https://www.ebay.com/itm/234486580110?hash=item36987d438e:g:fzwAAOSw30liQ3H0 (It is an HP Spectre x360 model)
If you have a budget in mind, let us know.
I also would very much recommend getting a laptop with NVMe storage (a.k.a flash storage)- it’s even faster than an SSD (which is the bare minimum you should get- it’s not worth buying something with a hard drive unless you find a pricing mistake, or already have the replacement drive in hand).
@dashcloud Would the screen crack be an issue?
I do have a desktop on Windows 8 and the work computer is getting 11 this month I think. I was considering upgrading the desktop instead but I have couple uses where taking it with me would be handy. If I don’t like way the laptop does pictures I will be buying a desktop too.
Budget is what I need to spend. I don’t want to rule out based on price.
Last time I talked myself into buying a laptop I got frustrated with the ads and price variations and didn’t buy anything. It is hard to look at 20 computers with slight differences in specs and choose one. I don’t trust salespeople to help.
@dashcloud @speediedelivery
I think I’d avoid that specific unit; the crack may not be an immediate issue, but they don’t heal themselves, and visible damage may be a pointer to the existence of damage not admitted or suspected.
I like using the Dell Outlet. They have both refurbed and overstock there. delloutlet.com it is similar, but different from dellrefurbished.com. Also, when purchasing from there I also use couponcabin to get more $ off.
Best is to go to Best Buy or even costco. See how the laptop feels. Not too flimsy, not too heavy etc. See what you like. For longevity, Get at least an i5 processor. If you can swing the i7, it will be better for photos. At minimum 8GB RAM, but if you can get 16GB, you will be better off. Hard drive will be SSD. 512 GB is pretty standard. Since you are storing your pictures on the computer, you may want to look into off loading them to the cloud. If you have a Prime account you get free photo storage, or if you have a Google Gmail account, you can store there. One down side with SSDs. When they die, they die. You want to make sure your photos are safe.
@Vrysen
But please don’t use the b&m stores to test drive an item that you then buy online because it’s cheaper.
@chienfou @Vrysen Give the B&M store a chance to price match the online store. Problem solved.
The B&M store is free to negotiate with the manufacturer for either additional discounts for providing dedicated b&m floor/shelfspace or not. Or get payments for placement, just like grocery stores do for shelf space and end caps.
It’s not the customer’s problem to solve b&m business model changes for them.
@chienfou @mike808 @Vrysen Smart B&M stores order special versions that are not directly comparable to the standard models in the online stores, just like Wally does with big screen TV model numbers.
@chienfou @Vrysen @werehatrack
Yep. Just like they make special models for Target & WM & BB, they make them too for Costco and Sams. Same for TVs and supplements and medicines.
The differences in laptop models is likely to be things like memory (8GB vs 16GB) or disk type/size - NVME, SSD, or HDD, and 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, or 1TB with 500GB+ in HDD form.
Most will have a CPU with integrated graphics, but “gaming” or creative (video editing) laptops will have a separate GPU (for a higher price, and more power means shorter battery life too).
They will vary with features like integrated webcam or not. Or a fingerprint reader. Or a touch screen.
The biggest factor that changes and affects price the most will be the CPU. The models with last year’s CPUs will be less expensive, so there will be sales to clear last year’s stock. That’s already happened with Intel, and AMD is expected to have new Ryzen CPUs for laptops this fall.
And with CPUs, the more powerful, the more it costs. So the same laptop might be offered in an i5 model and a more powerful i7 model. You can likely do just fine with an i3 or an i5. Not sure if anyone is even making laptops with i3s anymore.
True that they make special runs, but the base unit, keyboard/chasis will be the same. I say this as I was looking for a cheap laptop and was going to grab an inspirion off of dell outlet. But once I typed on one, I couldn’t stand the keyboard. Over all build quality was lower. IMHO.
As for the i5 vs i7 debate. Personally I always go with an i7. I’ve used laptops with the same specs (same model, just the processor was different) and for me the i5 was too slow. Plus I feel that if you spend the extra $ now, you will have longevity on the laptop. I say this as I am typing on a 6 year old Dell with 16gb ram and i7 that was a refurb.
@Vrysen My daily driver is a 2007 Acer that I swapped the P6000 for a Core i5-540m (Arrandale, first gen) with 8GB and an old SSD. Chugging along with Win10. Paid $500 for it. Amazing what that gets in today’s hardware.
So how much hard drive space do you need? Mentioned organizing photos, but are all of these photos stored on the laptop hard drive? Some of these SSD drives won’t have a lot of extra space if it is your primary storage device.
@medz I will look after work to see where I am now. I know I have duplicates and triplicates that need reduced. Goal is to figure that out and have them stored on two different drives. I also have many excess bad pictures because it is easy to take 20 pictures to get one good. This is the long term goal that I hope to plug away at if I can consolidate most/all.
@speediedelivery ok. I struggle to delete any pic or video of my kid (even if a little blurry), so we have GBs upon GBs of media files on a desktop drive that is backed-up to external drives.
Some newer pics/video get auto backed up to the cloud too.
It sounds like I’m the opposite of you. Rather than take the time/effort to organize and shrink our space requirements I keep adding more space.
@medz @speediedelivery Unrelated to this, but if you don’t already have an online backup solution, seriously consider using Backblaze- it’s simple, cheap, and a life saver when you need it.
@medz My habit has been copy photos from camera chip/phone, copy again so I don’t accidentally delete something, copy again to edit and maybe one more time for the favorites. If I would have named the folders properly it would help but what fun would that be? Some has been transferred to newer computers. So multiples in multiple places. Finding particular photos is time consuming. I have a program that will find duplicates but do I trust it and will it remove half from one folder and half from the other? Actual deleting all copies of a picture will be few and far between unless I am in it. I have a program on the old laptop that I like for organizing which is why it has stayed in use.
Fine, I’ll be that asshole. Purely from a hardware perspective, Apple hardware is top notch. I grew up using Windows and truly never thought I’d be a Mac fan, but the hardware really probably is worth the price of entry. I use a MacBook Pro for work and have an M1 MacBook Air for personal use. I really don’t do any gaming, though, and I’m sure that’s a potential issue. You could probably reinstall Windows on your existing laptop and use it solely for gaming purposes.
Also, I’ll be that other neckbeard asshole. Have you thought about Linux? I have Linux (yes, I have distro thoughts, but that’s beside the point) running on a ~10 year old desktop and it’s perfectly capable for most tasks Again, not a gamer and I know that’s a weak spot.
To contribute to the Windows laptop discussion, I have always had positive experiences with Lenovo ThinkPads as many others have noted.
@mschuette I have no objections to Macs. I have heard good things but no experience with using them. I have several Apple products and like them. I have heard the bridge to get information from Mac to windows is better but I have not explored much recently. I will be working on a project using Excel and PowerPoint with someone else. I would need to access and work those programs. I imagine there is a way to transfer photos.
I should switch the desktop to Linux. I will have to do some reading. I have not played beyond various solitaire games in more years than I will admit here.
I posted here to get different thoughts and opinions. Several posts have made me rethink or add to the list of what options I will need/want.
So, depending on what you want, you can get fantastic machine used.
I found some nice looking machines using this Newegg search.
Some other options:
https://www.newegg.com/aberdeen-silver-hp-elitebook-830-g6-mainstream/p/1TS-000D-0GNU9
HP EliteBook 830 G6 13.3" 1920x1080 Full HD Touchscreen Notebook, Intel i7-8665u 1.9GHz, 16GB Memory, 256GB SSD, Windows 10 Pro $400
https://www.newegg.com/black-dell-latitude-e7270-mainstream/p/1TS-000A-071B2
Intel Core i7 6th Gen 6600U (2.60 GHz) 8 GB Memory 256 GB SSD 12.5" HD Screen Windows 10 Pro 64-bit $230
https://www.newegg.com/black-dell-latitude-e5470-mainstream/p/1TS-000A-0EET3
Dell Latitude E5470 14" Laptop Core i5 8GB 512GB SSD M.2 Integrated Graphics Win 10 Pro $297
@dashcloud Those are nice looking and cheaper than I was expecting to see.
@dashcloud @speediedelivery I’ve had some good experience with Newegg, tho several years ago now.
But I don’t think I could live with such little screen real estate. Have a 15" laptop with a secondary monitor at the office, and a 27" iMac at home.
@compunaut @dashcloud @speediedelivery
The 13-inch screen is a bit small. 15-inch is probably do-able, and is big enough for a keypad. A 17-inch is really nice, but a backpack or laptop bag big enough is a problem.
For the needs you’ve described, just about any laptop with decent specs will do what you want. I would shoot for a recent generation i5 or better (Ryzen is acceptable too, but skip anything still labeled a Pentium, Celeron, or AMD A series), 8GB RAM or better, and 256GB or more SSD. You can use external drives for photo/media storage, but the SSD vs hard drive is the biggest performance game changer.
The things that will help you narrow down what to look at are preferences, then. What screen size do you want? A tiny 12 or 13 inch that makes it easy to take everywhere, or a massive 17 inch to have the most real estate? How portable do you want it? Thin and light or a big desktop replacement that’s just easier than a desktop to move from the coffee table to the kitchen table? Do you need battery that lasts all day or will you always have power nearby? Do you like matte or glossy screens? Do you require a 10 key number pad? Do you want an all-metal body or is plastic okay? Is a backlit keyboard necessary?
The number of choices available can really make the decision tough if you don’t narrow down the field some. I used to have to make detailed recommendations for people to get the right thing, but for the last few years my answer to anyone looking for a general use laptop to get several years of use from has been to go look at what’s $500-$600 and up and get the one you like the look or feel of. Skip the bargain models as they cut too many corners or use ancient components that already have one foot out the obsolescence door. The rest is fine for your average web surfing and typing user.
The new Asus ROG ROG laptops (for gamers) is out. You can read how they’re carving ul specific models for only being sold at certain retailers. Everyone gets an exclusive model so nobody can price match and they all advertise “low price guarantee and price matches” that are complete bullshit. At least you’ll know where to look if one of these catches your eye.
That said, they’re all double or triple your budget.
If you can live with a refurbished laptop, this will probably fit your budget.
https://computers.woot.com/plus/laptops-from-dell-hp-and-acer?ref=w_ngh_cp_4_wp_7
Just bought a replacement Asus Flip S 13 (UX371EA) from Costco. Got the SquareTrade (now Allstate) drop/spill insurance for $99 on the first one. Son dropped it and cracked the OLED screen. Filed the claim, they said couldn’t fix it and gave a full refund (on the laptop, not tax though).
I asked about the data on the SSD in the laptop and about their data destruction/scrubbing policy and they said they would ship back the drive. Showed up a few days later.
Using refund to buy a replacement (same make/model) and the insurance again too. Costco wasn’t involved, but the claim service from Allstate was solid.
The laptop 2K UHD OLED is gorgeous and the metal frame, touchscreen, 2-in-1, comes with Stylus, and Windows 10/11 Pro are perfect for my son’s college years. College requires Windows Pro (to manage access with their O365 environment).
10/10 would buy again.
Costco link