@compunaut Woot has been my favorite place for refurb computers lately in terms of price, quality, support, and selection. They’re not always priced very good, so you have to be aware of each deal’s specs.
Can you use a Chromebook? Or do you use windows-only SW and features?
If Chromebooks would work, consider getting a nice Chromebook that has a real processor in it. No celerons.
Google will know everything you do either way. On Windows, MS will know everything you do also.
If you want privacy, that means one of the similar-to-unix operating systems.
I don’t know about Macs and privacy.
Do you need ruggedized? Sometimes on Slickdeals, people publish deals for smallish form factor ruggedized windows and Chromebook laptops. These are often pretty affordable as often they are intended/priced for student use.
If you need something fast and pricey for 3D rendering, or sucky Corp SW, or for gaming or whatever, let us know.
@f00l@tinamarie1974 Will an external CD drive be acceptable, or do you need it to be builtin? (Built-in generally limits you to larger sized laptops, or much older models).
@dashcloud@f00l@tinamarie1974 For the external drives, USB 2 is slow enough that you might notice. USB 3 has a tendency to emit frequencies that interfere with things like mice and gamepads, and Bluetooth audio, if I’m remembering right. (Thanks, Intel.)
I use an external DVD-RW or somesuch drive to rip audio CDs, on a USB 3 port (via dongle). Works fine. I keep it away from the other things, take advantage of that inverse square law and unplug it when not in use.
I have had very good experience buying used Latitudes from the Dell Business outlet. I prefer to stick with business-class laptops because they are better-built, made to be worked on, replacement parts are easier to source, and the customer service is better.
I’m not sure I would buy a refurbished consumer-grade laptop.
They aren’t much to look at (super ugly corporate laptops), but the refurbished HP Elitebooks you can get on Amazon are a steal. Here’s a example: https://www.amazon.com/HP-Elitebook-8470p-Laptop-Windows/dp/B01M1AQ316/ i5 processor, 8GB ram, 500 GB hard drive, DVD drive, windows 10 for $230. All of them are around $200 total and will pack a pretty good punch.
If you search for “refurbished HP elitebook” you’ll get a ton of different options.
The other place I like for used laptops/tablets is Swappa.com. This is for people to sell their used devices, but more focused than searching, say, ebay for a used laptop. For simple usage, I REALLY like the Surface Go - it’s small, super cute, works well for basic stuff. You can generally get one fully loaded for about $300. No drive, but you can get an external one if needed.
Windows 7 will still upgrade legally to Windows 10.
What are your current laptop specs and what’s your budget? If the specs are decent, it may still be worthwhile to upgrade your existing one with a SSD.
I’m partial to dellrefurbished.com, which is Dell’s Financial arm. These are business-class machines just off lease and I figure that they’d keep the better ones for themselves before selling off the rest to other refurbishers.
Another place to look is buy.com, now known as rakuten.com. Search there for “HP elitebook refurbished” for some good deals with guarantee. Search other brands too if you want to.
There are basic function 15" laptops for under $500 new. What are you looking for that a refurb gets you for less?
Also, the older laptops can be upgraded in most cases - things like upgrading the mini-pcmcia wifi cards to a 802.11ac (5Ghz) wifi card, or the hard drives to SSDs. You can even get brackets to replace the DVD tray with another drive bay. You can even in some cases upgrade the CPU.
@mike808 yeah seconding this. If you’re savvy you can build some really decent older laptops up. Probably only warning is to check ahead of time for replacement battery cost and availability just in case.
@beckness@mike808 yeah it is not worth upgrading my old laptop. It is about 10-12 years old and was very basic then with little to no expansion capability
I was pretty broke and needed one quickly so I just purchased the cheapest MicroCenter open box available.
It is old, slow and pretty limited. It is time for something a bit nicer.
If you’re looking for absolute bottom budget, you can get i3 or i5 Thinkpads on ebay for very, very cheap. Toss in an SSD and you’re pretty much set – the Win7 key can be upgraded to Win10. (Actually, you may just want to do this with your own system depending on need.)
You won’t get a warranty, but they’re also not at all difficult to repair if you have the time or inclination. Most business laptops have decent documentation, but Lenovo’s got oldschool IBM hardware maintenance manuals that make it really easy.
I mean, this is what I did: buy a Thinkpad T420. Then buy a second one. Then an i7 quad which wasn’t technically supported but still worked. Then upgrade both to SSD and add a third. Suddenly find that you also have an X201 and X220. Wonder why these things are breeding and what other poor decisions you’ve made recently. Realize you probably still spent less on these laptops than you have on weird stuff from meh. Umm…
@dashcloud Oh, nice! I saw references to that in r/thinkpad, but hadn’t looked up the specifics. I didn’t know it was being crowdfunded for a new batch. Crazy, but I do love the x201 form factor…
I’m just not sure if I have the patience – I think the most I’ll do is whitelisting PCI devices and maybe getting around to corebooting and putting an Ivybridge in a 420. Maybe. (I have a T61 that I keep meaning to put Middleton bios on… the improvements in SATA bus are supposed to be worth it, but I’m just too easily distracted.)
@beckness@dashcloud ooh, sounds intriguing. I have an x61 and an x41t that I’ve been meaning to play with for a bit. Would be nice to have a couple light weight options for things like presentations.
I’d never own a dell, never ever. Except one instance with my previous employer and a printer, the customer service has sucked green donkey dicks (and the one good instance was a contractor, hehe).
Personally I’ve owned Toshibas and have a surface book I hate. I plan to upgrade it to an Asus in a few months.
There is a big processor war on the horizon between AMD and Intel the likes we have not seen in many a moon. If your system can handle an upgrade, I’d give it a few months (the haut AMD laptop releases in March or April I believe) and you prolly will get a lot more bang for your buck as new i5 and i7s even drop in price to make room for what’s coming.
Just my opinion and yeah, I buy expensive laptops that let me game most of the time but they impact the ones below them more than peeps think.
First figure out what you really need, then if you can afford it go a step up in every area cause well, doesn’t take long to want a bit more memory because that new version of the software eats it to death.
This beast now has 32 gig. When I bought it with 16, I used about 1/3 of it on a good day. I use 2/3 of the 32 much of the time now.
@Cerridwyn I always did well with the Dell XPS desktops, but when it came to buying a laptop I looked elsewhere, since they did away with the USB-A port on the better machines. I got this Asus at Best Buy when they had a deal that was hard to refuse. Seems really solid. So far so good. Except that I am not a fan of Windows 10.
Are you planning to buy the Windows 7 Extended Support Updates? (If you’re planning to hold on to Win 7, it’s probably worth the expense and small hassle).
Not a bad option. I’m in STL and whisper if you need a Costco mehmber friend.
Costco item: $350 ($50 off until 2/2) (Use Costco Citi Visa for extra 2yr warranty on top of the 2yr Costco warranty, plus 2%CB, with tax & shipping, under $400)
Brand New
Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series Laptop - 10th Gen Intel i3-1005G1 - 1080p - Blue
Item 1373085
Model i3593-3957BLU-PUS
Features:
10th Gen i3-1005G1 Processor 1.2GHz
802.11 Qualcomm Wireless-AC LAN + Bluetooth 4.2
Integrated Webcam
15.6" Anti-Glare LED-Backlit FHD (1920 x 1080) Display
1x HDMI 1.4b
Members Only: Warehouse pick up is available for this item and standard delivery time will apply. Please note, only the bill-to credit card addressee may pickup the product. Valid state or government-issued photo ID is required at the time of pick up.
Costco Member Special: 1yr McAfee Multi Access - Free download will be emailed to member.
This is like buying a sports car … then driving it with the parking brake permanently engaged. Any semblance to performance by the CPU gets negated by the boat anchor of a 5400 rpm hard drive.
@tinamarie1974 Unless it’s a super great deal, do not buy a laptop without a SSD these days – and in which case you should budget replacing that said drive with a SSD right away. Windows 10 will help make using the computer a horrible experience otherwise.
(Also you haven’t posted what you’re budgeting towards the two laptops …)
@narfcake@tinamarie1974
You may cringe at HDDs over SSDs, but there is a significant cost difference between the two, at least in the laptop market.
It’s often easier to just image the HDD onto an SDD and then swap them out.
M.2 would be even better than slow-ass SSD SATA drives. The point isn’t to be the fastest, newest, kick-ass laptop here. @tinamarie1974 was starting with milking a refurb into service, so that means budget is a premium, not speed of loading games.
And laptop manufacturers are still marking up the crap out of SSDs in their stock laptops. So get the El Cheapo model with the HDD and if the speed bugs you enough, pop $100 more for a replacement 1TB SSD or M.2.
@mike808@tinamarie1974 The speed difference has nothing to do with gaming; it’s quality of use. Windows 10 just thrashes the drive, and the moment it decides to update, which is often, it will be aggrevating.
@narfcake@tinamarie1974
The same $350 laptop with SSD is $430 (reg $500) and the SSD is half the size (500GB) vs the HDD (1TB).
Basically you’re paying $100 for this “thrashing” which doesn’t slow down “officing” or surfing or streaming in any way. It can be helped with a good disk defragger, and there are plenty of free ones.
My guess is that cheaper and “bigger harddrive” wins. Size matters in storage and the money left in your wallet, among other things.
But hey, you’re free to send @tinamarie1974 the extra $100 to upgrade her HDD to an SSD.
@mike808 One fallacy to this: neither of us knows how much disk @tinamarie1974 is using in her current computer. There may not be any need for even a 120 GB, let alone a terabyte.
@therealjrn You do know that even I don’t use a WP anymore, right?
@mike808@narfcake this is one of my conundrums at the moment. My biggest drag on space is MS Office and PICTURES. Oh so many PICTURES. But I also have a 1T external hard drive so that helps.
We all know size matters but how much do I really need…
@tinamarie1974 Well this is only for determining your current usage. Ideally, the new computer should have enough room to grow without being completely overkill. No point in paying a lot more for capacity you won’t need.
@narfcake that makes sense. I will check tomorrow as I am already upstairs in bed…TLDR: I am being lazy tonight and don’t want to walk downstairs and boot up
@narfcake@tinamarie1974 As an IT professional and just coming in on this conversation, I totally agree about the 5400 rpm hard drive being dog gas. If you can, you should absolutely get your computers with SSD drives in them. The difference in speed is huge. Literally 10 times as fast starting the computer and starting programs. I also recommend having at least 8 GB of RAM. I upgrade older PC’s to Windows 10 all the time and 4 GB doesn’t cut it on Windows 10.
@Fuzzalini One definitely has to temper their expectations. A bare W10 installation will use up close to 2GB of RAM, leaving the rest for applications. Running 32-bit and turning off all the animations and fancy bits can help minimize the usage, but for a new(er) machine, 4GB should be only considered if the budget is extremely tight.
(My circa-2007 D630 runs W10 and still gets use for its great keyboard. If 4GB sticks of DDR2 wasn’t so expensive, I’d upgrade it past 4GB.)
This HP Z-Book still has the built-in optical drive and i7 processor. It’s perhaps a little heavy, but very well built. I had a similar one (more RAM + 7200 HD) at work until they switched it out for a newer Dell.
I liked the touchpad of the HP much better.
@dashcloud DisplayPort is a VESA standard and allows for higher resolution and refresh rates versus HDMI. It can adapt to both digital or analog signals as necessary.
bought this for SWMBO a few weeks ago for about $150 at OD after using up a bunch of credits from their rewards program and buying it on sale. So far I am pretty impressed.
https://www.woot.com/category/computers/laptops?selectedSort=Price%3A+Low+to+High
Assuming you don’t want a chromebook, make sure you’re looking at the Windows laptops.
@medz ^^^ This. We’ve had pretty good luck with business/workstation models…
@compunaut Woot has been my favorite place for refurb computers lately in terms of price, quality, support, and selection. They’re not always priced very good, so you have to be aware of each deal’s specs.
Can you use a Chromebook? Or do you use windows-only SW and features?
If Chromebooks would work, consider getting a nice Chromebook that has a real processor in it. No celerons.
Google will know everything you do either way. On Windows, MS will know everything you do also.
If you want privacy, that means one of the similar-to-unix operating systems.
I don’t know about Macs and privacy.
Do you need ruggedized? Sometimes on Slickdeals, people publish deals for smallish form factor ruggedized windows and Chromebook laptops. These are often pretty affordable as often they are intended/priced for student use.
If you need something fast and pricey for 3D rendering, or sucky Corp SW, or for gaming or whatever, let us know.
@f00l oh good questions. Regular laptop, Windows based, I cannot do a Mac. Likely an optical drive (CD RW), because I am oldschool (boomer lol)
Need to purchase two; for my parents nothing fancy is needed. For myself I need to run Adobe, MS Office Suite, etc. No gaming or 3D stuff.
@f00l @tinamarie1974 Will an external CD drive be acceptable, or do you need it to be builtin? (Built-in generally limits you to larger sized laptops, or much older models).
@dashcloud @f00l I think external would be ok. Is the performance comparable?
@dashcloud @f00l @tinamarie1974 For the external drives, USB 2 is slow enough that you might notice. USB 3 has a tendency to emit frequencies that interfere with things like mice and gamepads, and Bluetooth audio, if I’m remembering right. (Thanks, Intel.)
I use an external DVD-RW or somesuch drive to rip audio CDs, on a USB 3 port (via dongle). Works fine. I keep it away from the other things, take advantage of that inverse square law and unplug it when not in use.
@f00l @tinamarie1974 By Adobe, do you mean Photoshop?
I really like B&H Photo Video- they have a great selection, good prices, and great shipping options.
Newegg.com is also a good choice.
If you have a budget in mind (and any features you want or don’t want), let us know, and we can get you some options.
I have had very good experience buying used Latitudes from the Dell Business outlet. I prefer to stick with business-class laptops because they are better-built, made to be worked on, replacement parts are easier to source, and the customer service is better.
I’m not sure I would buy a refurbished consumer-grade laptop.
They aren’t much to look at (super ugly corporate laptops), but the refurbished HP Elitebooks you can get on Amazon are a steal. Here’s a example: https://www.amazon.com/HP-Elitebook-8470p-Laptop-Windows/dp/B01M1AQ316/ i5 processor, 8GB ram, 500 GB hard drive, DVD drive, windows 10 for $230. All of them are around $200 total and will pack a pretty good punch.
If you search for “refurbished HP elitebook” you’ll get a ton of different options.
The other place I like for used laptops/tablets is Swappa.com. This is for people to sell their used devices, but more focused than searching, say, ebay for a used laptop. For simple usage, I REALLY like the Surface Go - it’s small, super cute, works well for basic stuff. You can generally get one fully loaded for about $300. No drive, but you can get an external one if needed.
Hope this helps!
From the Woot sale, these would be my picks:
https://computers.woot.com/offers/dell-latitude-12-5-e5250-256g-ssd-laptop?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_pc_2_91
Cheap, and tiny size with good specs
https://computers.woot.com/offers/hp-14-elitebook-745-g5-amd-r5-256gb-4?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_pc_2_118
All-around awesome, with practically every feature you could want in a laptop, plus some graphical muscle here.
https://computers.woot.com/offers/hp-elitebook-x360-13-i7-512gb-2-in-1-notebook-1?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_pc_2_138
Massive storage, great processor, good form factor, and good price for what you get.
@tinamarie1974 Did you have any thoughts on these? $320 for the first one, $559 for the second, and $439 for the last one.
@dashcloud I was just looking at them actually! They look pretty sweet, I like the 3rd one… no optical drive…trying to decide if I want an external
Windows 7 will still upgrade legally to Windows 10.
What are your current laptop specs and what’s your budget? If the specs are decent, it may still be worthwhile to upgrade your existing one with a SSD.
I’m partial to dellrefurbished.com, which is Dell’s Financial arm. These are business-class machines just off lease and I figure that they’d keep the better ones for themselves before selling off the rest to other refurbishers.
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/actually-not-too-late-download-free-windows-10-upgrade-heres-how/
Another place to look is buy.com, now known as rakuten.com. Search there for “HP elitebook refurbished” for some good deals with guarantee. Search other brands too if you want to.
There are basic function 15" laptops for under $500 new. What are you looking for that a refurb gets you for less?
Also, the older laptops can be upgraded in most cases - things like upgrading the mini-pcmcia wifi cards to a 802.11ac (5Ghz) wifi card, or the hard drives to SSDs. You can even get brackets to replace the DVD tray with another drive bay. You can even in some cases upgrade the CPU.
@mike808 yeah seconding this. If you’re savvy you can build some really decent older laptops up. Probably only warning is to check ahead of time for replacement battery cost and availability just in case.
@beckness @mike808 yeah it is not worth upgrading my old laptop. It is about 10-12 years old and was very basic then with little to no expansion capability
I was pretty broke and needed one quickly so I just purchased the cheapest MicroCenter open box available.
It is old, slow and pretty limited. It is time for something a bit nicer.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will be doing some research tomorrow night
If you’re looking for absolute bottom budget, you can get i3 or i5 Thinkpads on ebay for very, very cheap. Toss in an SSD and you’re pretty much set – the Win7 key can be upgraded to Win10. (Actually, you may just want to do this with your own system depending on need.)
You won’t get a warranty, but they’re also not at all difficult to repair if you have the time or inclination. Most business laptops have decent documentation, but Lenovo’s got oldschool IBM hardware maintenance manuals that make it really easy.
I mean, this is what I did: buy a Thinkpad T420. Then buy a second one. Then an i7 quad which wasn’t technically supported but still worked. Then upgrade both to SSD and add a third. Suddenly find that you also have an X201 and X220. Wonder why these things are breeding and what other poor decisions you’ve made recently. Realize you probably still spent less on these laptops than you have on weird stuff from meh. Umm…
@beckness If you’re really into modding your Thinkpad, there’s some wild motherboards you can get for your X201 that turn it into a modern machine thanks to some intrepid Chinese folks- https://www.facebook.com/notes/xy-tech/51nb-x210-technical-information/2496599793683677/ (Here’s a non-Facebook link that provides a little more detail-
@dashcloud Oh, nice! I saw references to that in r/thinkpad, but hadn’t looked up the specifics. I didn’t know it was being crowdfunded for a new batch. Crazy, but I do love the x201 form factor…
I’m just not sure if I have the patience – I think the most I’ll do is whitelisting PCI devices and maybe getting around to corebooting and putting an Ivybridge in a 420. Maybe. (I have a T61 that I keep meaning to put Middleton bios on… the improvements in SATA bus are supposed to be worth it, but I’m just too easily distracted.)
@beckness @dashcloud ooh, sounds intriguing. I have an x61 and an x41t that I’ve been meaning to play with for a bit. Would be nice to have a couple light weight options for things like presentations.
I’d never own a dell, never ever. Except one instance with my previous employer and a printer, the customer service has sucked green donkey dicks (and the one good instance was a contractor, hehe).
Personally I’ve owned Toshibas and have a surface book I hate. I plan to upgrade it to an Asus in a few months.
There is a big processor war on the horizon between AMD and Intel the likes we have not seen in many a moon. If your system can handle an upgrade, I’d give it a few months (the haut AMD laptop releases in March or April I believe) and you prolly will get a lot more bang for your buck as new i5 and i7s even drop in price to make room for what’s coming.
Just my opinion and yeah, I buy expensive laptops that let me game most of the time but they impact the ones below them more than peeps think.
First figure out what you really need, then if you can afford it go a step up in every area cause well, doesn’t take long to want a bit more memory because that new version of the software eats it to death.
This beast now has 32 gig. When I bought it with 16, I used about 1/3 of it on a good day. I use 2/3 of the 32 much of the time now.
@Cerridwyn I always did well with the Dell XPS desktops, but when it came to buying a laptop I looked elsewhere, since they did away with the USB-A port on the better machines. I got this Asus at Best Buy when they had a deal that was hard to refuse. Seems really solid. So far so good. Except that I am not a fan of Windows 10.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-gun-gray/6373047.p?skuId=6373047
@heartny
not bad not bad at all
and win10 beats win8 all to hell
@Cerridwyn Maybe, but I’m still holding onto Windows 7.
Are you planning to buy the Windows 7 Extended Support Updates? (If you’re planning to hold on to Win 7, it’s probably worth the expense and small hassle).
Not a bad option. I’m in STL and whisper if you need a Costco mehmber friend.
Costco item: $350 ($50 off until 2/2) (Use Costco Citi Visa for extra 2yr warranty on top of the 2yr Costco warranty, plus 2%CB, with tax & shipping, under $400)
Brand New
Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series Laptop - 10th Gen Intel i3-1005G1 - 1080p - Blue
Item 1373085
Model i3593-3957BLU-PUS
Features:
10th Gen i3-1005G1 Processor 1.2GHz
802.11 Qualcomm Wireless-AC LAN + Bluetooth 4.2
Integrated Webcam
15.6" Anti-Glare LED-Backlit FHD (1920 x 1080) Display
1x HDMI 1.4b
Members Only: Warehouse pick up is available for this item and standard delivery time will apply. Please note, only the bill-to credit card addressee may pickup the product. Valid state or government-issued photo ID is required at the time of pick up.
Costco Member Special: 1yr McAfee Multi Access - Free download will be emailed to member.
Processor & Memory:
10th Gen Intel Core i3-1005G1 Processor 1.2GHz
8GB 2666MHz DDR4 RAM
Drives:
1.0TB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
No Optical Drive
OS: MS Win10 Home (64-bit)
Communications:
802.11 Qualcomm Wireless-AC LAN + Bluetooth® 4.2
Integrated Webcam
10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN
Audio
Stereo Speakers with MaxxAudio® Pro
Graphics & Video:
15.6" Anti-Glare LED-Backlit FHD (1920 x 1080) Display
Integrated Intel® UHD Graphics
Keyboard:
Standard Keyboard
Ports & Slots:
1x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.1 Gen 1
1x Wedge-Shaped Lock Slot
1x HDMI 1.4b
1x RJ-45
1x Combination Headphone/Microphone Jack
1x Media Card Reader
Power Supply:
3-Cell 42WHr Battery
Additional Information:
Dimensions (Approx): 14.96" x 10.16" x 0.89"
Approx Weight: 4.83 lbs
@mike808
CRINGE!
This is like buying a sports car … then driving it with the parking brake permanently engaged. Any semblance to performance by the CPU gets negated by the boat anchor of a 5400 rpm hard drive.
@tinamarie1974 Unless it’s a super great deal, do not buy a laptop without a SSD these days – and in which case you should budget replacing that said drive with a SSD right away. Windows 10 will help make using the computer a horrible experience otherwise.
(Also you haven’t posted what you’re budgeting towards the two laptops …)
@narfcake @tinamarie1974
You may cringe at HDDs over SSDs, but there is a significant cost difference between the two, at least in the laptop market.
It’s often easier to just image the HDD onto an SDD and then swap them out.
M.2 would be even better than slow-ass SSD SATA drives. The point isn’t to be the fastest, newest, kick-ass laptop here. @tinamarie1974 was starting with milking a refurb into service, so that means budget is a premium, not speed of loading games.
And laptop manufacturers are still marking up the crap out of SSDs in their stock laptops. So get the El Cheapo model with the HDD and if the speed bugs you enough, pop $100 more for a replacement 1TB SSD or M.2.
@mike808 @narfcake yup not needed for gaming, rather for MS office, maybe some simple photo editing and then to surf the net.
@mike808 @tinamarie1974 The speed difference has nothing to do with gaming; it’s quality of use. Windows 10 just thrashes the drive, and the moment it decides to update, which is often, it will be aggrevating.
@mike808 @narfcake oh! So what is the best option if I am getting a system w Windows 10? Please
@mike808 @narfcake @tinamarie1974
If I may butt in. Make sure you have a Windows phone first.
@mike808 @narfcake @therealjrn ok now you are screwing with me!
/giphy not nice
@narfcake @tinamarie1974
The same $350 laptop with SSD is $430 (reg $500) and the SSD is half the size (500GB) vs the HDD (1TB).
Basically you’re paying $100 for this “thrashing” which doesn’t slow down “officing” or surfing or streaming in any way. It can be helped with a good disk defragger, and there are plenty of free ones.
My guess is that cheaper and “bigger harddrive” wins. Size matters in storage and the money left in your wallet, among other things.
But hey, you’re free to send @tinamarie1974 the extra $100 to upgrade her HDD to an SSD.
@mike808 One fallacy to this: neither of us knows how much disk @tinamarie1974 is using in her current computer. There may not be any need for even a 120 GB, let alone a terabyte.
@therealjrn You do know that even I don’t use a WP anymore, right?
@mike808 @narfcake this is one of my conundrums at the moment. My biggest drag on space is MS Office and PICTURES. Oh so many PICTURES. But I also have a 1T external hard drive so that helps.
We all know size matters but how much do I really need…
@mike808 @narfcake @tinamarie1974
Whaaaaaat?
/giphy umpossible
@narfcake @therealjrn @tinamarie1974
/giphy impossibru
@tinamarie1974 My computer, right click on the C: drive, then properties, and see how much space is currently used.
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-check-free-hard-drive-space-in-windows-2619187
@narfcake now why didn’t I think of that. Perfectly simple way to determine my needs.
Pretty sure I am making this harder than needed.
/giphy face palm
@tinamarie1974 Well this is only for determining your current usage. Ideally, the new computer should have enough room to grow without being completely overkill. No point in paying a lot more for capacity you won’t need.
So how much is currently used?
@narfcake that makes sense. I will check tomorrow as I am already upstairs in bed…TLDR: I am being lazy tonight and don’t want to walk downstairs and boot up
@tinamarie1974 (nod). Given its age, boot time is probably in measured by minutes.
If your local Microcenter still has any stock:
https://www.microcenter.com/product/610290/samsung-notebook-5-np550xta-k03us-156-laptop-computer---silver
@narfcake @tinamarie1974 As an IT professional and just coming in on this conversation, I totally agree about the 5400 rpm hard drive being dog gas. If you can, you should absolutely get your computers with SSD drives in them. The difference in speed is huge. Literally 10 times as fast starting the computer and starting programs. I also recommend having at least 8 GB of RAM. I upgrade older PC’s to Windows 10 all the time and 4 GB doesn’t cut it on Windows 10.
@Fuzzalini One definitely has to temper their expectations. A bare W10 installation will use up close to 2GB of RAM, leaving the rest for applications. Running 32-bit and turning off all the animations and fancy bits can help minimize the usage, but for a new(er) machine, 4GB should be only considered if the budget is extremely tight.
(My circa-2007 D630 runs W10 and still gets use for its great keyboard. If 4GB sticks of DDR2 wasn’t so expensive, I’d upgrade it past 4GB.)
@narfcake so I am using about 150GB of hard drive.
@tinamarie1974 Okay, so a 256 will get you by but preferably, a higher capacity drive will allow more “future proofing” without changing habits.
The aforementioned $400 Samsung at Microcenter has a 512 – if there’s stock.
@narfcake looks like a decent option at a reasonable price. Any suggestions on a cs/dvd rw drive?
@narfcake @tinamarie1974 Looks like LG has a few well-rated external drives under $30 available. Here’s one from MicroCenter: https://www.microcenter.com/product/485814/lg-super-multi-portable-dvd-rewriter-with-m-disc
@dashcloud @narfcake you guys are the best, thanks!
@narfcake what do you think about this one?? (If you don’t mind)
https://computers.woot.com/offers/hp-15-db1006cy-amd-touch-laptop-2?ref=cnt_wp_0_3
@tinamarie1974 Processor and memory good. Touchscreen may be helpful. Hard drive not so good.
Screen resolution is a huge minus.
At $380 and it’s a refurb, that’s a pass.
@narfcake bah. Oh thanks. Glad I asked.
@tinamarie1974 Unless it’s under $200, a 1920x1080 full HD screen is a requirement IMHO.
This HP Z-Book still has the built-in optical drive and i7 processor. It’s perhaps a little heavy, but very well built. I had a similar one (more RAM + 7200 HD) at work until they switched it out for a newer Dell.
I liked the touchpad of the HP much better.
@compunaut I honestly can’t believe HP shelled out for Thunderbolt on that machine, but decided to go with DisplayPort instead of HDMI.
@dashcloud DisplayPort is a VESA standard and allows for higher resolution and refresh rates versus HDMI. It can adapt to both digital or analog signals as necessary.
If your local Office Depot or Office Max has stock, this Lenovo with a Ryzen 5 3500U, 1080p, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD for $300.
https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/7842346/Lenovo-IdeaPad-S145-Laptop-156-Screen/
@narfcake none for a one hundred mile radius of Montgomery… YMMV
Also looks like none around where TM1974 lives (STL)
bought this for SWMBO a few weeks ago for about $150 at OD after using up a bunch of credits from their rewards program and buying it on sale. So far I am pretty impressed.
Costco has another sale on laptops starting on the 5th.
I never bought from them, but Tanga.com has some cheap used laptops starting at about $150.
I was considering buying one for Linux when my win7 dies.
@tinamarie1974 Did you end up replacing your laptop? If so, what did you end up with?
@dashcloud not yet. Likely in the next few weeks…lots of expenses right now.
I think I will try this one that @narfcake recommended
https://www.microcenter.com/product/610290/samsung-notebook-5-np550xta-k03us-156-laptop-computer---silver
@narfcake @tinamarie1974 That is a nice machine- it should serve you well.