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Joey
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Joey
verrry senior member
PostWed Nov 16, 2016 10:45 am 
Well it finally happened. The power supply in the desktop I built 9 years ago has fried the motherboard. (Yes, that PC has always been plugged into a UPS.) That was a good XP machine when new but it is now past time to move on. Tomorrow the last component arrives and I will assemble a new PC and install windows 10. Meanwhile it seemed to make sense to also replace the equally ancient XP desktop the wife is using. And since she wants a laptop this time, we started to learn about laptops. After some pondering and reviewing a related thread I started a year ago, we decided the "must have" laptop features for her were: i5 CPU SSD (did not want a spinning hard drive) 8GB ram IPS screen (this really narrowed the choices given our price cap) 14 or 15 inch screen size No video card (motherboard graphics will be fine) We wanted to keep the price under $600 if possible. After much searching we found 2 laptops that fit the above specs. Both machines also have: Screen resolution 1910x1080p (p = Full HD, i.e. FHD) SSD size is 256GB Wi-fi 802.11ac Backlit keyboard No DVD (external DVD players are $20 - $40) Enough USB ports HDMI port Backlit keyboard Metal top Good build quality Windows 10 We just bought this one from Amazon for $599 on sale, no sales tax. Acer Aspire R 14 R5-471T-50UD Touch screen Ram is DDR3 Dolby sound An additional USB 3.1 port Runner up Acer Swift 3 Laptop - SF314-51-52W2 $649. Has previously been on sale for ~$600. Not a touch screen Ram is DDR4 Only possible 15" laptop with an IPS screen we found within budget range: HP 15-ay018nr $605 i7 CPU All plastic Keyboard is not backlit If you are in the market for a general purpose laptop and do not need a dedicated video card, maybe this will be some useful food for your brain.

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DIYSteve
seeking hygge



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DIYSteve
seeking hygge
PostWed Nov 16, 2016 12:00 pm 
Refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad with SSD for <$500 is an option. We have two T430s. Robust construction, best laptop keyboards in the industry, built for abusive business use, lots of USB ports, easy to service, on everybody's list of best laptops.

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Tom
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Tom
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PostWed Nov 16, 2016 12:59 pm 
I finally upgraded after 10 years. I ended up settling on a Dell XPS 15 a few months ago and absolutely love it. I honestly would not recommend cheaping out on a $500-600 laptop. You really do get what you pay for. You can snag a XPS 15 with decent specs for $800-1000 refurbished from dell outlet when they have a 30% off coupon (typically every other week, be patient). I initially bought one for the wife while testing other machines for myself. None of them held a candle to her XPS 15. I don't know how people do anything on 13" laptop screens. They aren't tall enough. 15" laptops are bulky, but the XPS 15 has a razor thin bezel so it's closer to the size of a 14" laptop. Just perfect! My only gripe with it is screen flicker on the 4K touchscreen at low brightness which is really an intel problem (backdating the intel video driver solves the problem). See here for a wiki I created at slickdeals a while back. Gives you an idea of the higher end XPS 15 configurations that come and go and the implied costs as you increase spec. Don't buy the cheaper configurations without SSD unless you plan to swap it out. I eventually snagged the top of the line spec (i7 processor, 1TB SSD, 32GB Memory, 4K touchscreen, NVidia GPU) for ~$1400 (and it was actually dell outlet new, not refurbished, not that it really matters). More than I ever thought I would pay for a laptop but it's been worth every penny. Paid less than $1K for the wife's configuration (i5 processor, 256GB SSD, 8GB Memory, 4K touchscreen, NVidia GPU). She loves it.

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Schenk
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Schenk
Off Leash Man
PostWed Nov 16, 2016 1:11 pm 
Haven't there been some serious concerns about Lenovo, bloatware, and security holes? Not saying either way, but I have seen and heard quite a bit of discussion about it and I do not run in the circles where it would normally be discussed..

Nature exists with a stark indifference to humans' situation.
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Opus
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Opus
Wannabe
PostWed Nov 16, 2016 5:18 pm 
I have the same Dell XPS15 as Tom, but with only 512gb SSD and 16gb of RAM. I've had it just over a year now and it's great! Very fast for everything I need it for, editing photos in 4K is really nice, and it's portable enough I can carry it in my backpack biking to work. It's also one of the few laptops that can be upgraded. It's easy enough to open up and replace the SSD (which I plan to do when M.2 SSDs are cheaper) or add RAM or potentially fix things. Also has a USB-C port so it's reasonably future proof. Highly recommended.

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Randito
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Randito
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PostWed Nov 16, 2016 6:33 pm 
Schenk wrote:
Haven't there been some serious concerns about Lenovo, bloatware, and security holes? ...
All manufactured PCs have bloatware -- part of my ritual when I get a new machine (or when a friend / relative ask me to "clean up" their machine) is uninstalling pretty much everything in "Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features" where the Publisher isn't "Microsoft", "Intel", "Nvidia" or one the hardware vendors for the actual hardware on the device.

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fourteen410
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fourteen410
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PostWed Nov 16, 2016 8:47 pm 
Tom wrote:
I honestly would not recommend cheaping out on a $500-600 laptop.
^This. Made the switch earlier this year from desktop to laptop and it wasn't cheap, but it was worth it.

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Backpacker Joe
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Backpacker Joe
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PostWed Nov 16, 2016 9:25 pm 
I bought an MSI gaming lap top last year. 18.4" screen, blu-ray player. Its heavy, but when I travel I usually stay at one place a long time. This thing is the nicest lap top Ive ever had. Scary fast, and a beautiful movie experience.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Randito
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Randito
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PostWed Nov 16, 2016 9:37 pm 
I use an 15 inch laptop that is fairly light to lug around -- but also has two DisplayPort connections On my desk these are connected to a 32 inch and a 24 inch monitor -- I find it productive to see many lines of code on the 32 inch monitor, the app I'm developing on the 24 and debug spew on the laptop screen.

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DIYSteve
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DIYSteve
seeking hygge
PostThu Nov 17, 2016 10:01 am 
The 3 computer repair biz owner guys I know give the same advice: Dell for desktops, Lenovo for laptops. We've done well following this advice. Our refurbished Lenovos came with zero bloatware. We bought them from different refurbishers.

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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostThu Nov 17, 2016 11:58 am 
I tend to go very cheap with laptops. The one I have now cost me $150 or $200 used from a surplus sale at work. My computing needs are pretty minimal these days. Run an old version of Photoshop, do some mapping stuff, and browse a handful of web sites I like.
BigSteve wrote:
Refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad with SSD for <$500 is an option. We have two T430s. Robust construction, best laptop keyboards in the industry, built for abusive business use, lots of USB ports, easy to service, on everybody's list of best laptops.
I've had a few Thinkpads over the years and I have to agree, they've all had the best keyboards I've ever used on a laptop. Enough that I would prefer a Lenovo over a similarly spec'd machine.

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Tom
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Tom
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PostThu Nov 17, 2016 1:55 pm 
Times have changed. Lenovo is not what they used to be. If you want a backlit keyboard Lenovo holds no advantage. Their lower end stuff isn't anything special and you pay thru the nose for their higher end thinkpads. Their display panels are not very good either. As far as bloatware, my new and refurbished Dell laptops did not come with any bloatware, other than what is bundled in Windows 10.

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Voxxjin
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Voxxjin
made of hamburger
PostThu Nov 17, 2016 3:07 pm 
Glad you found what works for you. I have always hated laptops because of the inability to replace parts. I understand they have a purpose but I still despise them for this reason. The last few laptops I have bought (for my sons) have been ASUS. I like their products and they make great gaming computers both laptop and desk top. And I don't remember any bloatware on them when I ordered them. I realize that you weren't looking for a gaming laptop because if you were the specs made me cringe. We all have different need for what we want in a computer. I just want to recommend people look at ASUS' systems if they are looking for a gaming system.

Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war
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Malachai Constant
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Malachai Constant
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PostThu Nov 17, 2016 5:39 pm 
Interesting thread I used Lenovos at work and they were good solid machines. I always used MacBooks with two big monitors and external keyboard and mouse personally but the new ones seem to be going the way of Garmin (cannot imagine a pro without card ports and usb 3) since Jobs died they seem to be going for bling rather than function. For what I do now a tablet is easier.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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InFlight
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Joined: 20 May 2015
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InFlight
coated in DEET
PostThu Nov 17, 2016 11:32 pm 
Had two Levenos at home that failed badly at the hinges. We have 100's of Dell Latitude Laptops at work; there really a pretty good machine, very few issues. Laptops have really become just another commodity. For around $450 you can a very nice machine. (As I type this on an IPad, tablets are killing a lot of the laptop market)

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...” ― Henry David Thoreau
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