OT: Laptops

[GuildenGuy]

I'm thinking of getting a new laptop for the first time in years and I find that I'm struggling to find a happy medium in the machines I've checked out. Based on the wealth of information (or at least opinions) on this board I'm hoping somebody can open my eyes. Essentially every article/review I've looked at has felt like a paid advertisement so hopefully one of you has a real world recommendation.

We are already picking up a tablet, and all the software I may install is PC, so please refrain from PowerBook suggestions. I'd also ideally come in at $600-800. My primary needs are speed in running everyday programs (Office suite, etc) and enough RAM so it doesn't sputter. I occasionally retouch some photos, but not frequently enough that I need to run the newest editing programs. We don't really stream video to the laptop that much, but it would be a nice option. I know that this is a very basic set of requirements but I'm just hoping for the best bang for my buck. Thanks in advance for any leads!

 

[RU4Real]

Get the best ThinkPad you can afford. Do not waste your time with Dell or HP laptops.

You'll do better in the long run with an Intel Core processor, as well. AMD, etc., are typically okay for 99.99% of all things but most code is written on Intel platforms and there will be the occasional weirdness when using other processors.

If you can afford it, skip the traditional hard drive and get an SSD. They're way faster and have no moving parts.

Whatever you do, do NOT take your laptop budget and piss it away on a Honda Accord.

 

[rutgersal]

Toshiba or Dell have always been solid for me. I'd do a Dell Inspiron or Toshiba satellite which are in your price range. Check out Dell.com or toshibadirect.com

 

[Abro1975]

My company (large multi national) has thousands of us employees using Dell Elitebooks for a few years. I use mine about 12 hours /day almost every day, and it holds up very well. We do have an IT support desk for whatever problem comes up, so that helps. We also use IPads and IPhones when out in the field. I'm sometimes surprised we haven't switched over to Apple laptops as well.

 

[JPhoboken]

My company (large multi national) has thousands of us employees using Dell Elitebooks for a few years. I use mine about 12 hours /day almost every day, and it holds up very well. We do have an IT support desk for whatever problem comes up, so that helps. We also use IPads and IPhones when out in the field. I'm sometimes surprised we haven't switched over to Apple laptops as well.

HP laptops have always been good to me. I have an HP Envy now, 17" screen, Beats audio, running windows 8.1 and have never had a problem with it. HD picture is fantastic, and it is built sturdy. THe only complaint I have is the mouse pad, but Laptop mouses suck on pretty much all laptops. A wireless mouse takes care of this problem. Use a good Virus/malware program, and run CCleaner often keep the performance from degrading,

 

[RC1978]

I have two , one for work one for travel while working.

Work one is a Think Pad. Very solid and love it. Most Lenovo's are very good

Traveling one is Surface Pro 3. Love it! Powerful, light and make it a tablet when needed.

 

[PeteGiam07]

I never figure a laptop to last longer than 2 years. Something always happens to them, usually the internal fan dying or battery needs to be replaced. Went from Dell to HP and now onto Lenovo and I'm very happy with it. I will never spend over $600 for a home computer and work provides me ones that a well over 1K to run drafting programs etc...

 

[iReC89]

Figure out what screen size you want - premiums on very small, very large. Touch screens add $100, and if you have a tablet, I wouldn't put money there.

The most important thing you can put money into in a laptop is the processor. There is no simple way to judge a processor on the name, series or brand alone. Some of the newer i3's are faster then older i7's. Use a website like https://www.cpubenchmark.net/ to compare the relative performance of the specific chips you are considering. The marketing literature isn't always up front about the chip specification so you may have to do some digging, but that is where the big money is in laptops

I wouldn't be overly concerned about brand, because they all have winners and losers. Try the laptop in the store and see if you like the feel of the keyboard and touchpad. I did like the last Thinkpad I rolled out. HP's aren't bad either. Dell has gone downhill but you can still get good values with them. Watch out for very cheap deals at Staples. There is usually a reason why they are so cheap - old and problematic lines get dumped.

One caution on SSD drives. Don't use them for long term storage unless the machine is expected to be used regularly. There have been some articles recently about powered off SSD's losing data over time. They are fast though.

 

[RUfinal4]

2 1/2 years ago my laptop died. I was in career transition. I went to Staples and picked up an Toshiba on sale. Was actually going because of an ad for a HP. It was under $400 a very good. If you are just doing basic stuff like MS Office, email, web, watch videos sometimes, and maybe skype then just go for the best one that is on sale. Any machine you get will last 4-6 years. They all will be old tech in 2 years regardless of what you buy. If you are a gamer or do something that pushes the machine's limits then go for the better machines.

Whether you get a Toshiba, Dell, HP, Lennovo, or other shouldn't matter since they all are decent machines.

 

[J.L. Gotrocks]

Because I'm now doing some iOS app work I had to go with a Macbook but before that I was really happy with my Asus PC. Found the Asus to be better quality than the bigger name brands I had previously...and get as much RAM as your budget will allow.

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

Thinkpad is the best unless you want a Macbook.

 

[anvilofstars]

When buying your laptop make sure you look at things besides RAM and processor speed. Most people I know don't hate their laptop because of those things, it's usually because of screen resolution (low screen resolution means huge icons and very little work space). I always go for 1920x1080 but you might need to spend a bit extra on that.

 

[RUfinal4]

I took a quick peek at Staples online and saw this one that can possibly be used as a basis. It is on sale well below your price point. It looks ok but only has a 500GB hard drive but you can always buy a 1TB USB drive to plug into it. I am not saying to buy it but use it to compare to others.

http://www.staples.com/Toshiba-Satellite-15-6-Inch-Laptop-C55-B5270-/product_1064943

 

[Scarlet_Scourge]

here you go: http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/?menu-id=laptops

 

[geurdsy]

Look at the Lenovo outlet to save $, or a Surface Pro 3 by Microsoft.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Intel's Skylake generation chips are just around the corner....

..if that corner is 3+ months out