Tell me what laptop to buy
- Thread starter mi223
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I'm doing about the same on mine as you intend and it's held up fine thus far. Some kind of Lenovo.....either got it at best buy or sams club, I can't even remember.
This is correct. Generally, I was satisfied with both Dell and HP until they seem to have punked out with "cost saving" measures over the years, and as a result, the Dells recrafted many of their monitor hinge systems, which in ours, split apart and wrecked the things, and the HPs...well, I guess maybe heat or something, but the drives and CPU crapped out early. As an aside, heat is a killer, so keeping a cooling pad or some sort is always a good idea for the cramped environment a laptop presents.
Anyway, as a result, had to replace 3 in our household about two years ago, and on recommendation from a friend, replaced with various ASUS models (also went SSD to mitigate drive-spinning wear/heat) and they appear to be OK so far, but it's still too early to tell for their longevity.
But, as @rtB mentions, what to get really depends on what you will be running/using it for.
I still have my original MacBook that I bought back in 2006. Works just as good as the day I bought it.
Me personally?
Kids school research things.
Also typing and educational stuff.
Pictures and such. General household stuff.
Nothing real demanding.
But…
Would be cool to get one good enough to do a little CAD and CAM work when im needed but not at the shop. But this isn't a mandatory factor.
I guess i may need two separate computers though.
Kids school research things.
Also typing and educational stuff.
Pictures and such. General household stuff.
Nothing real demanding.
But…
Would be cool to get one good enough to do a little CAD and CAM work when im needed but not at the shop. But this isn't a mandatory factor.
I guess i may need two separate computers though.
For 500 bucks you can get a laptop with 16gb ram, mid level processor and storage. Good for shitposting in the pit and general computer work.
For around a grand you can get a decent gaming laptop with more ram and storage and a graphics processor for 3D CAD.
Or go all in for 2k+ with a top end gaming laptop with high end everything.
For around a grand you can get a decent gaming laptop with more ram and storage and a graphics processor for 3D CAD.
Or go all in for 2k+ with a top end gaming laptop with high end everything.
So i should buy the wife a shiny new $500 laptop.
And spend $3000 for a workhorse for myself?
And spend $3000 for a workhorse for myself?
That depends on the dynamics of your marriage...
It’s very dynamic!
Maybe ill have to throw a nice purse in there to sweeten the deal.
There's Apple fans and those of us the tire of constantly being asking for a security password.
Then, the store wants a password when I have no interest in the store or apps beyond what was on the laptop, yesterday? Nobody uses my laptop, and it sits at home. Make mine Android, not that one.
Then, the store wants a password when I have no interest in the store or apps beyond what was on the laptop, yesterday? Nobody uses my laptop, and it sits at home. Make mine Android, not that one.
HP seems to load a bunch of resource-hogging junk on their computers. I had excellent results with a Lenovo laptop for years.
Now 90% of my use (email, surfing, music, videos, etc) is via chromebook on WiFi, or Samsung tablet with 4G, and 10% on an old desktop machine running Windows 8. I've never owned any Apple product, but that's just personal preference.
Get twice the memory you think you need. Windows 10/11 will use a lot.
Now 90% of my use (email, surfing, music, videos, etc) is via chromebook on WiFi, or Samsung tablet with 4G, and 10% on an old desktop machine running Windows 8. I've never owned any Apple product, but that's just personal preference.
Get twice the memory you think you need. Windows 10/11 will use a lot.
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Yes. Just buy the same brand on two receipts and give her the receipt for the 3k one.
everyone will have a different opinion
Dell/HP/Lenovo are very similar at the same PRICE, change the price level up on any one of them and you get a 'better' computer.
If the $500 one fits your needs, then get it. I use a $400 HP laptop I got at a black Friday sale 2-3 years ago to check email and shit post (I got my wife the same exact model). Never had any problems with them, they get used everyday.
I bought my kids both Dell computers, again a few years old, never had any problems with those either other than 1 large dog jumping on the screen of one and it cracking. $50 for a used screen off ebay and 10 minutes after it arrived it was operational again.
Over the last 20 years, I have had mostly Dell laptops, but times change and old data is not relevant anymore.
figure out what price level you are on $500 / $1000 or on up (up would be if you need to game or have heavy 3d graphics capability) and start shopping the sales on the big 3 Dell/HP/Lenovo
You will find a deal on what you want. Some deals can be found posted here
Dell/HP/Lenovo are very similar at the same PRICE, change the price level up on any one of them and you get a 'better' computer.
If the $500 one fits your needs, then get it. I use a $400 HP laptop I got at a black Friday sale 2-3 years ago to check email and shit post (I got my wife the same exact model). Never had any problems with them, they get used everyday.
I bought my kids both Dell computers, again a few years old, never had any problems with those either other than 1 large dog jumping on the screen of one and it cracking. $50 for a used screen off ebay and 10 minutes after it arrived it was operational again.
Over the last 20 years, I have had mostly Dell laptops, but times change and old data is not relevant anymore.
figure out what price level you are on $500 / $1000 or on up (up would be if you need to game or have heavy 3d graphics capability) and start shopping the sales on the big 3 Dell/HP/Lenovo
You will find a deal on what you want. Some deals can be found posted here
And…. What model? LolSo have we settled that the best bet is a Lenovo.
I guess my win 10 machine is timing out in Oct.
There are a lot of options! I just called Lenovo and talked to a saleshuman.
He seemed nice and helpful, but didnt seem super knowledgeable to help point me in a certain direction. More just asked me a few questions. Felt like getting an eye exam with my eyes closed. Lol.
Will see what he emails me on the quote.
I prefer the MacBook Pro, free OS updates until hardware is end of life. I have a 2013 model and It still works well just doesn't get the latest updates/ new version of software. But for a 12 year old computer it works very well. I just updated to a new MBpro and hope to get another 10-12 years out of this one.
Dell Inspiron/XPS or HP Pavilion/Spectre
OS: Windows 11 Home should do
Ram: 16GB
Storage: 1TB
Processor: Intel Gen 14 i5/i7/i9
Do not buy an open box or a used model at all.
Edit: If this device is going to stay at your business, you can also checkout the Dell all-in-one or a Dell CPU+a nice big monitor with the same specs I mentioned above.
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I'd beg to differ on that.
Pretty much ALL I buy is used / refurbished models and upgrade them as I want and run them for a very long time.
I guess it depends on your skill level and comfort level.
But then I usually get the higher end business or professional series.
I bought a Lenovo based on recommendation and it was a steaming pile of crap from the first boot. I gave up and returned it, bought a Samsung which so far has been great.
You may also want to look at tablets or something like a Chromebook. If your not doing anything high performance (e.g., gaming) they are cheap, portable, and low power.
Do you remember which model?
I talked to a saleshuman today, he was supposed to email me a quote, i havnt heard a word back. Guess i may pass on lenova as its not looking promising.
Yup. If OP is interested in upgrading/replacing components, he can definitely get a refurbished or used product with store warranty.
If your first act is wiping out the OS load on the system and doing your own from scratch "clean" OS installation, you'll probably have a different experience.
My wife's Lenovo Thinkpad laptop crapped out and we sent it back to Lenovo for repair. About $550.00 'ish. Took a month. Got it back and after booting up, it died within 5 minutes. They had replaced the motherboard and I wanted them to send out a new motherboard to one of their local "authorized" repair centers (there were 4 of them listed). I started calling them and every one of them said they don't work on Lenovo any more. 3 wouldn't say why, but the 4th opened up and said that they rarely got paid by Lenovo for their work and everything to do with Lenovo was a shitshow.
Out of 4, I finally convinced one of them to do the work. I had to give them my credit card to guarantee they got paid, which I did. Lenovo committed to sending out a new motherboard to the repair center. Short story is they lied about it and never sent it.
We finally quit screwing around with it and the Wife just bought a new HP from Costco.
We're all done with Lenovo. Forever. Worst "Customer Service" I've ever experienced.
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Thinkpads, XPS's, some of the Samsung business class models.
Most laptops suck now. If you don't need windows a Macbook is probably fine if you can stomach the price for how much storage and RAM you get. Personally I find anything without a minimum of 16gb of RAM to be borderline unusable now due to how much RAM web browsers and modern applications burn.
Most laptops suck now. If you don't need windows a Macbook is probably fine if you can stomach the price for how much storage and RAM you get. Personally I find anything without a minimum of 16gb of RAM to be borderline unusable now due to how much RAM web browsers and modern applications burn.
The more I think about it the more I might just get a desktop. Been using an HP laptop as a desktop for 12 years and it occurs to me I don’t really need a laptop now with my ipad.
So perhaps a Lenovo desktop that will handle some cad work.
So perhaps a Lenovo desktop that will handle some cad work.
Really you should assemble your own. It's fun. Use PC Part Picker and it's easy to see what works with what. Otherwise there are a plethora of mini PCs out there now that have upgradable storage and RAM.
I did that in 2003-ish and it was fun. Did the paste on the cpu and all that stuff. Picked the parts myself and it ran well until 2013. That’s when I got this current laptop. But really, I have enough hobbies and things I am building/upgrading right now.
I love when my Droid using, Engineer brother says “ iPhones are for people who don’t know how to use computers”, when I go on about how I love iPhones.
I then chuckle and remind him that I’m the only person in the room that’s ever built a computer from scratch, ever loaded an operated system, upgraded RAM, or even taken a computer apart for that matter.
, ever loaded an operated system,
But unless you got your system setup to dual or triple boot from 2 or 3 different operating systems, you know it's nothing special to talk about...
That being said, I am surprised how many folks think it's so hard to install something simple like Windows.
I have been buying dell laptop from there scratch and dent outlet for years now. The one I bought for my parents broke and dell sent a technician to their house to replace the motherboard for free. The dude was normal and professional to not like the crackhead that Hewlett-Packard sent to my business who stole ram out if one computer.
I then chuckle and remind him that I’m the only person in the room that’s ever built a computer from scratch, ever loaded an operated system, upgraded RAM, or even taken a computer apart for that matter.
Intellectual dishonesty is beneath you.
Like people who quote 2A : "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State”
I was quoting the exact part of the whole thing that I was saying was not all that hard or special, specifically for an insider joke that most dedicated hobbyists or professionals would get and chuckle at.
I was also making an observation on how loading a single OS is a huge problem for some folks.
Sure the other parts, like building it from scratch, that's more of an accomplishment for sure.
I wasn't picking on you in any manner, rather I was making an insider joke that if you are in the more greybeard side of computers would be rather hilarious because well, if you are on the greybeard side, there is always some different OS you are trying out on your computer.
It however seems to have offended you, and that's unfortunate as that was not the intent.
I was also making an observation on how loading a single OS is a huge problem for some folks.
Sure the other parts, like building it from scratch, that's more of an accomplishment for sure.
I wasn't picking on you in any manner, rather I was making an insider joke that if you are in the more greybeard side of computers would be rather hilarious because well, if you are on the greybeard side, there is always some different OS you are trying out on your computer.
It however seems to have offended you, and that's unfortunate as that was not the intent.
I did build more than one desktop in the past and learned all the latest tricks and shortcuts. Then, as I got older and involved in different things, I became more of an advanced user and much less of the guy who knew all the things.
Now I need to try and decide what next to do as a retired old fart who still wants accessibility but without knowing or wanting to know about the very latest everything.
Now I need to try and decide what next to do as a retired old fart who still wants accessibility but without knowing or wanting to know about the very latest everything.
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Except for edge use cases and some very specific industry segments, for the average users and average businesses, the latest and greatest often doesn't do that much more or better than the previous latest and greatest.
If someone isn't gaming they can probably get by with a 10-15 year old computer as long as the parts aren't worn out. Gamers still get by with older hardware too, the technological jumps every couple years have been getting smaller and smaller.
Bringing this back up… I’m thinking I need a laptop for work and leaning towards the MacBook. Is there any reason not to buy refurbished?
Open Box if you want to save some money, like bestbuy. Refurbished has different grades, and it depends on who did it. Apple official refurbished should be gtg.
Or just buy a new last year's or last revision. This is what I do.
Or just buy a new last year's or last revision. This is what I do.
If you've never had a MacBook or iMac before, please be aware that just getting around in the OS is not like Windows. So, there is a learning curve. Having been through it, I wouldn't let that discourage you from going over to Mac though.
I am retired and was a Microsoft Certified Pro (20+ years ago). I had to use Windows based machines while working for my various employers. Since retiring, I have slowly migrated over to Mac. Presently, I have a 9 Y/O Macbook Pro and I bought a used, 2 Y/O, decked out iMac back in January.
The seller had active Applecare Warranty. When he shipped it to me, he didn't do a good job packing it and the housing was all bashed in in the upper right corner and the display was destroyed from shipping damage. Basically, Apple replaced everything to bring it back to new condition, less I think, $99.00 CoPay on the seller's part. Because of that experience, I'm going to extend the apple warranty on the iMac when it comes due in November.
Will I ever go back to Windows ? possibly, sure. Do I prefer Mac OS/iOS to Windows ? Yes. Is Mac OS perfect ? No. But, of all the things that could be considered Fubar, there seems to be a lot fewer of them in Mac.
Mac hardware is more expensive at the initial cost of entry. But, they last a lot longer than Windows machines from an OS point of view. Mac OS updates are almost invisible. That was a real source of frustration with Windows for me. From one upgrade to the next, it wasn't unusual to have to partially re-learn the (upgraded) Windows OS. Not at all the case with Mac OS.
I'm at 9 years on the MacBook Pro and I'd do it all over again, in spite of the initial cost. But, this time, I'd look real hard at the iPad Pro. I'd probably end up going that route.
