Need recommendations for a new laptop!

[andy474x]

Ok fellas, I need some help! My 8+ year old laptop is about to bite the dust, and I want to score a Cyber Week deal on a new one. I work very hard to know very little about computers, so I need some backup on this one... see, I make joke!!!

Here’s what I know - I want to stick with a PC, don’t care for Apple’s OS, and they’re quite expensive (overpriced???). My previous 2 have been HP machines, mostly good experiences there, except the casing on the current one is very flimsy and pieces have been breaking off almost since the day I bought it. If their recent units are physically better, and I can count on the same longevity for the hardware, that’s definitely an option.

I don’t care much about graphics or gaming, so a premium graphics card or super high-res screen aren’t necessary. In fact I’ll probably avoid those to save some money. A friend recommended at least 16G RAM, but if anyone thinks more is necessary, feel free to say so. Honestly, my 8yo laptop running optimally could do most of the things I need right now, so I’m not extremely concerned about ultra high performance. Almost certainly, anything new will have much more power. More interested in something that will be reliable and long lasting.

Let ‘er rip!

 

[toothace]

Get a Mac


I'm an Apple guy, so other than the obvious suggestion above, I'd say go for the best deal...computers are so cheap(cost) now that you can pick a price range and get a great machine. What do Consumer Reports or CNET say?

 

[László]

Get a Mac

This.

 

[Boogie]

You get what you pay for with Apple. Best bang for the buck on the planet. And I’ve had Macs for 3 decades.

On the PC side, Amazon has had consistently good pricing with the Asus product lines. They have numerous options and sizes, so finding something in your performance and price range should be easy. Dell has also been consistently good for me...had been a reseller for 15+ years. I’ve installed and/or owned numerous of both brands and had excellent results.

 

[justjoshin]

I picked up a Microsoft surface pro 2 years ago and it is the best pc I have ever owned. I’m not a apple fan at all so that was never an option for me.

 

[jdag]

Here's to piling on...get a Mac. If you want a machine that will perform great on day 1...day 365...day 730............You say you don't care for the MacOS. Give it a weeks and you'll wonder how you ever used Windows in the past.

Edit: If I had to go with a Windows unit, the Surface would likely be my #1 choice.

 

[pac90]

I got both my kids acer swift 3s, cheap price windows aluminum with m.2 drives and mx150 gpu for their games. I knew nothing about brand, just looked at laptop magazine reccos

For myself and wife i buy nearly new hp business and put ssd drive in

8gb memory fine

I hate apple with passion, windows 10 is ace

 

[veinbuster]

You don’t need more than 16G RAM for what you describe. 8 might be enough, but I would go with 16 and be less exposed to ever hungrier software.

I really like ASUS these days. I replaced my old laptop with one earlier this year.

 

[HANGAR18]

Ok fellas, I need some help! My 8+ year old laptop is about to bite the dust, and I want to score a Cyber Week deal on a new one. I work very hard to know very little about computers, so I need some backup on this one... see, I make joke!!!

Here’s what I know - I want to stick with a PC, don’t care for Apple’s OS, and they’re quite expensive (overpriced???). My previous 2 have been HP machines, mostly good experiences there, except the casing on the current one is very flimsy and pieces have been breaking off almost since the day I bought it. If their recent units are physically better, and I can count on the same longevity for the hardware, that’s definitely an option.

I don’t care much about graphics or gaming, so a premium graphics card or super high-res screen aren’t necessary. In fact I’ll probably avoid those to save some money. A friend recommended at least 16G RAM, but if anyone thinks more is necessary, feel free to say so. Honestly, my 8yo laptop running optimally could do most of the things I need right now, so I’m not extremely concerned about ultra high performance. Almost certainly, anything new will have much more power. More interested in something that will be reliable and long lasting.

Let ‘er rip!

Dell Lattitude series is very good because they are "business class" and they will hold up for a long time. Buy the 3 year warranty as a good precaution and if you are a clumsy person who operates a beverage cup close to your laptop, then also buy the accidental damage warranty. Windows 10 is a good operating system, just like Windows 7 before it. 16GB of RAM is a good idea. Stay away from solid state hard drives if you can avoid it.HP laptops are fine as long as you do the same thing and go business class or higher in quality.

Note, this answer is based solely on the fact that you said you want to buy a laptop. I have a different answer for different types of hardware profiles that one might desire. I'm also deliberately holding back from revealing my credentials on this subject matter.

 

[andy474x]

Note, this answer is based solely on the fact that you said you want to buy a laptop. I have a different answer for different types of hardware profiles that one might desire. I'm also deliberately holding back from revealing my credentials on this subject matter.

I'm listening...

 

[andy474x]

Thanks for the replies thus far guys! I'll look at the Mac range just to see what's going on over there. My wife has a Macbook Pro, which admittedly has been a great machine, and she had one previous to it as well. It lasted about as long as my HP's, so I have a difficult time coughing up the cash, but on the other hand it still works really well, whereas one of the HP's would still be working, but start to show its age a little by now.

 

[dmatthews]

Agree with the Asus supporters.
I went for a Surface Pro 2017 last year. I use it for all work and all play.
i5
8gb
256gb
It handles everything I've thrown at it including DAW, Office365, and any work software required. Probably would have gone with 512gb drive had I to do it again.
That being said, the portability is second to none and it runs everything/anything. The only "caveat" to that is that some older/poorly written software/apps do not scale well on such a hi res display. That can be worked around though and not everyone experiences that.
Another knock to some would be the lack of drive/memory upgradeability.
Other than those things it's amazing, and soooooooo fast to boot/use.

 

[Coop]

I've heard great things about the Surface, but never had hands on experience. I've not had a personal laptop since my old gateway took a dump a few years back. I've got a Windows tablet and a Mac Mini and those and my iPhone cover everything I need to do personally. I've got an HP Elitebook for work and that's been a very solid machine.

 

[HANGAR18]

I'm listening...

Well, I don't know what your needs are so I cannot make a specific recommendation. I build my own huge desktop computers for home use with a truckload of RAM and numerous multi-terabyte hard drives in a raid configuration. But that serves my need, not yours necessarily. However, when I'm in a hotel room or would like to look up a map while on the road, an iPad has come in very handy. But then that iPad wears out, I'm replacing it with a Surface Pro.

I could tell you more than you'd ever want to know about Apple computers, MS Windows operating systems and the differences in how each of the various operating systems are built. But I just don't really want to get into all that now or burst anyone's gleaming Apple bubbles so to speak.

 

[andy474x]

Well, I don't know what your needs are so I cannot make a specific recommendation. I build my own huge desktop computers for home use with a truckload of RAM and numerous multi-terabyte hard drives in a raid configuration. But that serves my need, not yours necessarily. However, when I'm in a hotel room or would like to look up a map while on the road, an iPad has come in very handy. But then that iPad wears out, I'm replacing it with a Surface Pro.

I could tell you more than you'd ever want to know about Apple computers, MS Windows operating systems and the differences in how each of the various operating systems are built. But I just don't really want to get into all that now or burst anyone's gleaming Apple bubbles so to speak.

I read you (between the lines)

Due to all the recommendations for Apple, this morning looked at what I would need, $2500 for a Macbook Pro... I just can't justify it, when my $700-ish Windows machine has worked so well for so long. I'll probably spend a little more this time, but not that much.

 

[jdag]

I read you (between the lines)

Due to all the recommendations for Apple, this morning looked at what I would need, $2500 for a Macbook Pro... I just can't justify it, when my $700-ish Windows machine has worked so well for so long. I'll probably spend a little more this time, but not that much.

I enjoy and have been happy with all of my Apple purchases. But that's not the point of what I am about to say.

You do NOT need to spend $2,500 on a MacBook Pro. Literally about 1/2 of that cost will get you a more than sufficient MacBook Pro that will last you 5-7 years (based on current sale prices). And, considering what you are coming from and your typical use case, even an $800 MacBook Air (the old model, currently on sale) would be a heck of a nice general purpose machine.

My wife's MacBook Air is a 2011 or 2012 model...going strong. My MacBook Pro is a 2013...again, going strong. The only negatives are that battery life is not what it used to be, but that's to be expected.

There are certainly nice Windows laptops out there, don't get me wrong. But you certainly don't need to break the bank if you want a Mac.

 

[jfb]

I used to work for Dell and might be able to get you an employee discount which is (or was at the time) 17% on top of any deal you can find. I also used to work for a Microsoft Gold Partner and can usually wrangle an additional discount (10-20%) on whatever deal you can find at the Microsoft Store. If you see something you dig let me know. I can't guarantee anything, but I can certainly try. If you need something from Apple, which sounds unlikely, I have a business account and can certainly get discounts there, but they vary all time due to Apple's policy (usually 5-10%).

I lean less Apple and more Microsoft/Google lately. I currently use a Microsoft Surface Book for my main laptop. I've used both generations of them and love them. The Surface product line has a few variants so there's some options and price points for your to choose from there. I think the new Pixel devices from Google are also quite nice if you can get away with Chrome being your primary OS. If you need additional consultation drop me a

 

[sergiodeblanc]

This.

That.

 

[bodia]

That.

Those.

 

[bodia]

I've used Dell for the last decade for work. They have held up,well. Bought the Mrs an HP last year while she was on medical leave. She hates it. I think it's in her head though. Just different from what she has at work.

I have PCs at home, but I built both of those. If I was going to get myself a laptop, I think I'd check out the Surface.