Laptop Shopping

[The Sybian]

My wife needs a new laptop. Been a long time since I shopped, what should I be looking for? Mostly basic stuff, web surfing, probably storing digital photos and shit, word processing... Not sure if ChromeBook is a good option, as she probably doesn't want to learn new software. My father recently got a ChromeBook and said it was an extremely easy transition, it loads must faster and better virus protection. She bought a Mac once, and hated it.

So, what kind of RAM is mandatory? She probably won't use it to stream shows, so screen quality not important.

[mister d]

I think I talked about this here, but we were in the same boat where its basic functionality then a storage device for a shit-ton of photos and music. Ended up going Mac again, because they're better, but keeping all of the music and photos on an external drive so we didn't have to buy a higher model or bog the shit down.

[EnochRoot]

If you’re already baked into the Google ecosphere, then there’s nothing wrong with a Chromebook if all she’s going to do is surf the web, social-media and view and manage pictures and if she’s using a word processing program. You can probably get away with 4 GB of RAM in that light of a machine if you’re using a web-based version of Word (Office 365) or Google’s word processing program (whatever that’s called - I forget).

[govmentchedda]

If you’re already baked into the Google ecosphere, then there’s nothing wrong with a Chromebook if all she’s going to do is surf the web, social-media and view and manage pictures and if she’s using a word processing program. You can probably get away with 4 GB of RAM in that light of a machine if you’re using a web-based version of Word (Office 365) or Google’s word processing program (whatever that’s called - I forget).

Docs, and it's great.

[Brontoburglar]

depends on how much she wants to email her brother

[HaulCitgo]

If you’re already baked into the Google ecosphere, then there’s nothing wrong with a Chromebook if all she’s going to do is surf the web, social-media and view and manage pictures and if she’s using a word processing program. You can probably get away with 4 GB of RAM in that light of a machine if you’re using a web-based version of Word (Office 365) or Google’s word processing program (whatever that’s called - I forget).

Docs, and it's great.

Really? Kids use it all the time but I NEED stuff like track changes and formatting options. Coming from you though... Might look more closely

[govmentchedda]

If you’re already baked into the Google ecosphere, then there’s nothing wrong with a Chromebook if all she’s going to do is surf the web, social-media and view and manage pictures and if she’s using a word processing program. You can probably get away with 4 GB of RAM in that light of a machine if you’re using a web-based version of Word (Office 365) or Google’s word processing program (whatever that’s called - I forget).

Docs, and it's great.

Really? Kids use it all the time but I NEED stuff like track changes and formatting options. Coming from you though... Might look more closely

Well...I don't use it for work yet, so don't go Microsoft free just yet.

[edwzipper]

I would use Amazon and look only at Asus. There are a lot of choices and most of their thin lines do not have DVD-Rom. It has been my firm belief, based on 15 years of buying and selling ASUS is that they start with better shit.

[EnochRoot]

My house was entirely Apple until last month when I added a 13" ASUS ZenBook so that I can have a Win10 Pro install handy. That and I setup a dual boot of Kali Linux. The ZenBook is pretty slick.

Just avoid a laptop with a numeric keypad because of the industry's collective idiocy in designing the trackpad left of center (albeit still, directly beneath the spacebar). Numeric keypads are meant to be attached devices on laptops, not integrated.

[edwzipper]

That USB 10 pad will set you back $15. I have had to disable the touch pad on most of my laptops.

Meanwhile... Touch Screen Costs more and why do I want to touch a screen I have been trying to keep clean for 20 years.

[EnochRoot]

That USB 10 pad will set you back $15. I have had to disable the touch pad on most of my laptops.

Meanwhile... Touch Screen Costs more and why do I want to touch a screen I have been trying to keep clean for 20 years.

Yeah. That's the other thing that makes my hair turn gray.

Dafuck do I want to touch my computer screen for?

[The Sybian]

That USB 10 pad will set you back $15. I have had to disable the touch pad on most of my laptops.

Meanwhile... Touch Screen Costs more and why do I want to touch a screen I have been trying to keep clean for 20 years.

Yeah. That's the other thing that makes my hair turn gray.

Dafuck do I want to touch my computer screen for?

I 100% agree, but she wants a touch screen, so that's what she got. Unless you are getting a 2 in 1 and using it as a tablet, I don't see the point.

[EnochRoot]

That USB 10 pad will set you back $15. I have had to disable the touch pad on most of my laptops.

Meanwhile... Touch Screen Costs more and why do I want to touch a screen I have been trying to keep clean for 20 years.

Yeah. That's the other thing that makes my hair turn gray.

Dafuck do I want to touch my computer screen for?

I 100% agree, but she wants a touch screen, so that's what she got. Unless you are getting a 2 in 1 and using it as a tablet, I don't see the point.

Actually, come to think of it, is my ZenBook a touch screen? Have I been living in a reality of denial all this time?

[duff]

That USB 10 pad will set you back $15. I have had to disable the touch pad on most of my laptops.

Meanwhile... Touch Screen Costs more and why do I want to touch a screen I have been trying to keep clean for 20 years.

Yeah. That's the other thing that makes my hair turn gray.

Dafuck do I want to touch my computer screen for?

I 100% agree, but she wants a touch screen, so that's what she got. Unless you are getting a 2 in 1 and using it as a tablet, I don't see the point.

Actually, come to think of it, is my ZenBook a touch screen? Have I been living in a reality of denial all this time?

My new 27" monitor for my gaming rig has finger prints all over it because my kids forgot it wasn't a touchscreen like their Chromebooks they have from school. Wife did the same thing with our old laptop she uses for entering in grades and shit. So frustrating.

[P.D.X.]

That USB 10 pad will set you back $15. I have had to disable the touch pad on most of my laptops.

Meanwhile... Touch Screen Costs more and why do I want to touch a screen I have been trying to keep clean for 20 years.

Yeah. That's the other thing that makes my hair turn gray.

Dafuck do I want to touch my computer screen for?

I've had several coworkers who felt the need to touch the screen whenever they're pointing something out. Infuriating.

[The Sybian]

Around the time I made this thread I ended up buying myself a laptop, too. I got a Lenovo Thinkpad, 8G Ram. I hate that computer so much, I am kind of happy a book fell on it and it stopped working. It takes forever to load and can't run multiple functions. It'd take 5-7 minutes to load Zoom call and the monitor was backlit LED and sucked balls. Even at the brightest setting, it was a dim picture, like looking at a screen through fog.

I will use it for general internet usage, streaming and word processing. I wasn't going to spend on a large hard drive, but this Labor Day sale seems incredible. External hard drives are insanely cheap now, I'll take 1TB of memory. Any thoughts on this Asus Vivobook? Reviews are generally good, buy several people complaining it's really slow. I see HP has some great deals on their website. My work computer is an HP Elitebook and I love it, but it's more than I want to spend.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-vivob ... Id=6469399

[EnochRoot]

Around the time I made this thread I ended up buying myself a laptop, too. I got a Lenovo Thinkpad, 8G Ram. I hate that computer so much, I am kind of happy a book fell on it and it stopped working. It takes forever to load and can't run multiple functions. It'd take 5-7 minutes to load Zoom call and the monitor was backlit LED and sucked balls. Even at the brightest setting, it was a dim picture, like looking at a screen through fog.

I will use it for general internet usage, streaming and word processing. I wasn't going to spend on a large hard drive, but this Labor Day sale seems incredible. External hard drives are insanely cheap now, I'll take 1TB of memory. Any thoughts on this Asus Vivobook? Reviews are generally good, buy several people complaining it's really slow. I see HP has some great deals on their website. My work computer is an HP Elitebook and I love it, but it's more than I want to spend.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-vivob ... Id=6469399

Why not go with a Mac?

[The Sybian]

Last time I used a Mac was in a college intro programming class circa 1995 or 96. My wife bought an expensive Mac once and absolutely hated it, so I didnt even consider.

[EnochRoot]

Last time I used a Mac was in a college intro programming class circa 1995 or 96. My wife bought an expensive Mac once and absolutely hated it, so I didnt even consider.

Mac OS is not only a lot better than it was in the mid 90s, it's better than anything running a Windows OS.

If you don't need to run Windows, Mac is your choice, IMO.


ETA - the M1 chip makes it a no brainer.

[sancarlos]

Back when I used Windows-based laptops, malware plagued me. I’ve never had that issue since I switched to a MacBook.

[Shirley]

Macs are super expensive, so I don't know if I'd buy my own, but my work laptop is an M1 and it's fucking awesome. So much faster, quieter, and cooler than the Macbook I replaced it with.

[Johnnie]

This thread being bumped makes me think I need a new laptop.

I'm still rocking a 10+ year old Sony VAIO that looks like this and runs very well:

[The Sybian]

Macs are super expensive, so I don't know if I'd buy my own, but my work laptop is an M1 and it's fucking awesome. So much faster, quieter, and cooler than the Macbook I replaced it with.

Yeah, looked up Macbooks, and they are way more than I want to spend. I'm looking to keep it around $500 if possible. Only using it to surf the web, occasionally stream and use Microsoft Suite. With how little I'll end up using it, I don't want to learn a new OS and learn how to use their versions of Word, Excel etc... I'm sure it's easy and I'd adjust, but why?

[HaulCitgo]

Got people at work Acer series 3 or 5. They are basic but I guess they work. Recall $300-500. Not much to report other than its been a year or three. I got a refurbished HP envy from micro center for me. Had some issues with the touchscreen flickering but seems to have gone away. Maybe a software/driver type problem. Not much to say here other than maybe $500-700 and it works after a year or two. Not much to report on that one either. I appreciate the backlit keys and full keyboard. The touchscreen (flip) is a bit top heavy and I never use as a tablet but I also appreciate the touch screen option. My experience generally with laptops is to look for build quality. The rest seems to flow from that. Ive destroyed several. Oh yeah, I brought to the beach for some work emergency on vacation and sand got in the touchpad and stopped working about week three. Tried canned air and such but couldnt fix. Got a mouse and prefer it that way.

[A_B]

I’d have a hard time going back to PC after 10 years on a mac

[The Sybian]

Got the ASUS, and happy so far. Everything loads fast and no issues. BestBuy emailed a free Webroot subscription. Is this a decent anti-virus program? Reviews seem OK, but not great. What is anti-virus program do you guys recommend?

[Rush2112]

Windows? Windows Security Essentials is fine.

[EnochRoot]

Got the ASUS, and happy so far. Everything loads fast and no issues. BestBuy emailed a free Webroot subscription. Is this a decent anti-virus program? Reviews seem OK, but not great. What is anti-virus program do you guys recommend?

Echo what Rush said. Don't bother with loading extra anti-virus software. Fwiw, I own an ASUS Zenbook that I run Windows 11 and Linux.