Laptop PC Recommendations

IronNoggin

IronNoggin

Well-Known Member
The Missuz has a "milestone" birthday coming up.
Her ancient second hand laptop is basically toast, and she has suggested I might want to consider a replacement for that occasion. As most here likely know, we are far from flush these days.

But...

I have a stretched limit of around 500 clams.
Been out of that market forever, and no ideas what to even look for.

She does the usual online stuff, and a little bit of gaming.

Seeking advise here: Is there anything within my ballpark that would make her smile??
Need to know soon, Friday is the day...

Hoping!
Nog
 
You should be able to get something that meets her needs within your budget. Bestbuy, Walmart. Check them out online. See what’s on sale. We’ve,Ed had Dell, toshiba and Sony recently. They were all good. I like a larger screen for Netflix etc. My wife has a small screen right now( supplied by work) it’s not that great for watching stuff.
 
I'll second the Acer. When my MacBook Pro packed it in, I was sad and just couldn't justify getting another$$$. Got the Acer at Bestbuy, so far been quite happy with it.
 
Pretty much any manufacturer is going to have something in your price range and much like buying a vehicle......you can get a lemon with any brand. I have had for both work and personal use HP, Dell, Lenovo/IBM. Toshiba and I think a couple others. The only brand that has not been a lemon at all has been HP. I have had GREAT Dell's but also my last work one was a nightmare.

Nog....for her uses you can definitely find something in your budget. When you say gaming I would imagine she's not playing multiplayer crazy online/global take over the world type games?

In your price range the bulk should have a similar powered processor and in this day and age likely WAY MORE storage than would could imagine using up.

In my opinion the biggest thing in buying a laptop once you know your budget is trying out the keyboard. I find that some have different layouts that vary enough to be a pain when typing. My wife has I think it's an ASUS or maybe Acer but I hate when I have to fix her computer and type on it. Just slight differences in the keyboard drive me nuts when typing. Also found that on her old Toshiba when once again ( :confused::rolleyes::confused:) when I had to fix her laptop I hated the keyboard.

In summary......I would lean to Dell or HP but that's just me simply on I prefer their keyboard layouts. And when I say layouts it's not the letters and numbers but rather the placements of the shift , CTRL and ALT keys. I am not crazy.....there is a difference. ;)
 
Thanks Folks - Appreciated!

She isn't into "serious" gaming, rather just simple stuff.

I will have a look with her on Friday and let her decide, but at least now I know she can realistically expect something that will work well for her.

Thanks!
Nog
 
Microsoft just released their newest version of Surface Pro. I have the 6 version and love it. Look for people selling or trading in their current version for the newest. They run the full W 10 system, a full computer that also acts like a tablet when you unhook the keypad. Super slim and light.
 
Pippen said:
Pretty much any manufacturer is going to have something in your price range and much like buying a vehicle......you can get a lemon with any brand. I have had for both work and personal use HP, Dell, Lenovo/IBM. Toshiba and I think a couple others. The only brand that has not been a lemon at all has been HP. I have had GREAT Dell's but also my last work one was a nightmare.

Nog....for her uses you can definitely find something in your budget. When you say gaming I would imagine she's not playing multiplayer crazy online/global take over the world type games?

In your price range the bulk should have a similar powered processor and in this day and age likely WAY MORE storage than would could imagine using up.

In my opinion the biggest thing in buying a laptop once you know your budget is trying out the keyboard. I find that some have different layouts that vary enough to be a pain when typing. My wife has I think it's an ASUS or maybe Acer but I hate when I have to fix her computer and type on it. Just slight differences in the keyboard drive me nuts when typing. Also found that on her old Toshiba when once again ( :confused::rolleyes::confused:) when I had to fix her laptop I hated the keyboard.

In summary......I would lean to Dell or HP but that's just me simply on I prefer their keyboard layouts. And when I say layouts it's not the letters and numbers but rather the placements of the shift , CTRL and ALT keys. I am not crazy.....there is a difference. ;)
Click to expand...
I second the keyboard layout comments. My current computer has the up arrow where the shift key should be. I can not get used to it, its been a couple of years. every time I hit the stupid thing I am suddenly typing some garbly gook in the middle of my work. I can't wait to get rid of this thing, but I am too cheap to replace it until it just doesn't work anymore
 
fish brain said:
I second the keyboard layout comments. My current computer has the up arrow where the shift key should be. I can not get used to it, its been a couple of years. every time I hit the stupid thing I am suddenly typing some garbly gook in the middle of my work. I can't wait to get rid of this thing, but I am too cheap to replace it until it just doesn't work anymore
Click to expand...

My last few laptops have been high quality Toshiba corporate grade lease returns or mass corporate or Govt purchase laptops. Usually i7's and some with high end video cards in them as well as the Intel video and an SSD with Windows 10 Pro. They are usually about 2 years old when they come on the market, but because they were rather high end they tend to last and are plenty fast for most things. You can always throw in some more memory if you need it. They often have the keyboard with the half/split shift key for french language accents etc, which I hate as I touch type and don't look at the keyboard when typing. For many but not all laptops, it is possible to order a standard keyboard and have it swapped out at reasonable cost. I arranged for that when buying the laptops. Even with that cost they were still a very good bargain. In some cases the lease returns were never actually used and are still as new despite being leased out.
 
Last edited:
IronNoggin said:
The Missuz has a "milestone" birthday coming up.
Her ancient second hand laptop is basically toast, and she has suggested I might want to consider a replacement for that occasion. As most here likely know, we are far from flush these days.

But...

I have a stretched limit of around 500 clams.
Been out of that market forever, and no ideas what to even look for.

She does the usual online stuff, and a little bit of gaming.

Seeking advise here: Is there anything within my ballpark that would make her smile??
Need to know soon, Friday is the day...

Hoping!
Nog[/QUOTE

I strongly advise looking at the online Microsoft store. All computers sold through that outlet are required to be clean if additional software and junk. Prices are standardized and the list of options is not overwhelming.
Click to expand...
 
We needed a second laptop and purchased a refurbished one from Staples. It came with a 1 year warranty and at a great price.
 
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