Dear Everyone. I need a new laptop and Marc is gone to Heaven

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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My sturdy HP 4530 is a horse. It is also old. Marc Beland told me that it would last another 5 years if I kept it clean.
I have done so as per his instructions, but memory is getting low and I really would like to get something newer, and lighter.

I do not play games, download movies or other stuff. I read news. I write stuff. I save pictures and screen shots,. I save almost all of my mail. I do not Skype, or do much Facebook or Tweeter.

Marc changed my keyboard once because the letters were so worn out you could no longer distinguish them. I have worn a hole in my mousepad, and removed the paint from the left key...I use it a good bit but not as much as before.

So...all that said, what is the best bang for the buck? Marc used to take part in on-line auctions early in the a.m. Does anyone know about those sites? (Yeah, I know: Look them up yourself dumbn*t.)

Any and all help is to be greatly appreciated.

Thanks ahead of time.

Cordially,

H
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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Maybe you could call HP and talk to them... or any other brand you like.

They have specialists to match products to customers

Companies like Best Buy in the US do the same and have Price Match guarantees....everything.

HP, ASUS, DELL... long list

But certainly... specials this time of year

A daunting task HB... but not insurmountable

Merry Christmas & happy shopping !!
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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miesposo is a bit of a geek. he's asking if you do not mind refurbished machine? how much do you want to spend? what size screen? he can look up some deals for you and i will drop you a PM with few links.
his advice is dell latitude or lenovo thinkpad, they are sturdy and made to last.
i have refurbished dell latitude E5440, it was under 200 bucks, he changed the hard drive to further improve the performance. no complaints so far. my use it pretty much like yours. internet, reading, writing. no games, movies, videos.
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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dr1.com

bigbird

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May 1, 2005
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Some good suggestions so far. One thing I would like to add is beware a lot of the newer laptops only come with a SSD (solid state drive). The reasoning I believe for this is there is an assumption you will be storing your files in the clouds. Personally I am not a big fan of this set-up and much prefer the laptop to have dual drives. A SSD for storing my programs and a HDD for storing my data.
 

frank12

Gold
Sep 6, 2011
11,847
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Hi Hillbilly,

I would go this route if you can afford it:

1. A very light laptop for taking places and carrying into different rooms around the house, patio, or outdoors, etc.

...and add this:

2. A second, full blown computer with a large hard drive, fast chip, etc.--mated to a 27-inch monitor for doing everything else.


This is the set-up that has worked best for me. Next to my bed, i have a stationary computer attached to a 27-inch monitor. the monitor allows you to easily see photos, videos, read news, watch porn, email, etc. A 27-inch monitor today can be had for $115...maybe less. they're fantastic, and once you get used to reading news and seeing photos on a huge screen, you will never, ever want to go back to a small laptop screen. Trust me. When the letters are as big as your hand, you will never want a small screen again. This is true for looking at photos, videos, bikinis, etc. A large monitor is the way to go.

For a smaller laptop that is light and powerful, i got hooked on Microsoft Surface Pro's years ago, but many others are just as good. One word of advice" Buy directly from the company (Microsoft in my case) and buy the protective insurance for it. That way, if you ever damage the keyboard, screen, etc, they will replace it--no questions asked!! (I've done it several times. You break the screen over and over and they will replace the entire laptop. I think Microsoft charges $139 for this insurance).

Small laptops are easy to drop. the screens have a way of breaking once they hit the ground or are thrown across the room like a Frisbee. If you buy the protective insurance, they take care of it for you. End of story. My surface pro only weighs 1.7lbs and is faster and more powerful than some full-blown computers (It depends on which version you require; i do a lot of video editing, but as you already mentioned you do not).

Some people are PC/Windows fans, others are Apple/Mac fans. I don't think there is much difference these days, so go with what you know.

Good luck!
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
Hi Hillbilly,

I would go this route if you can afford it:

1. A very light laptop for taking places and carrying into different rooms around the house, patio, or outdoors, etc.

...and add this:

2. A second, full blown computer with a large hard drive, fast chip, etc.--mated to a 27-inch monitor for doing everything else.


This is the set-up that has worked best for me. Next to my bed, i have a stationary computer attached to a 27-inch monitor. the monitor allows you to easily see photos, videos, read news, watch porn, email, etc. A 27-inch monitor today can be had for $115...maybe less. they're fantastic, and once you get used to reading news and seeing photos on a huge screen, you will never, ever want to go back to a small laptop screen. Trust me. When the letters are as big as your hand, you will never want a small screen again. This is true for looking at photos, videos, bikinis, etc. A large monitor is the way to go.

For a smaller laptop that is light and powerful, i got hooked on Microsoft Surface Pro's years ago, but many others are just as good. One word of advice" Buy directly from the company (Microsoft in my case) and buy the protective insurance for it. That way, if you ever damage the keyboard, screen, etc, they will replace it--no questions asked!! (I've done it several times. You break the screen over and over and they will replace the entire laptop. I think Microsoft charges $139 for this insurance).

Small laptops are easy to drop. the screens have a way of breaking once they hit the ground or are thrown across the room like a Frisbee. If you buy the protective insurance, they take care of it for you. End of story. My surface pro only weighs 1.7lbs and is faster and more powerful than some full-blown computers (It depends on which version you require; i do a lot of video editing, but as you already mentioned you do not).

Some people are PC/Windows fans, others are Apple/Mac fans. I don't think there is much difference these days, so go with what you know.

Good luck!

sounds good, frank, but do tell where you can get a 27 inch monitor for 115..
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,670
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If you are in the DR, buy used and avoid import duty. Sounds like you just need a clunker to meet your needs. Any processor will do. To run windows at least 4 gb of memory, 8 gb would be better. I think the biggest factor after memory would be hard disk size.

Most computer stores here in the DR sell refurbished laptops. Many will haggle over price as they are currently collecting dust somewhere. Until you have a need for a power system, there is no sense in buying a Lamborghini laptop and you really don't need a new one, so save the extra money for fiesta time.

If you are not in the DR, then sites like bestbuy, dell etc for a new but older machine might make more sense.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
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The question to HB is how much do you want to spend? Microsoft Surface would be $800 and up for example. For what he uses this for the one I recommended for $209 would do it all easily.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
12,543
6,307
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Some good suggestions so far. One thing I would like to add is beware a lot of the newer laptops only come with a SSD (solid state drive). The reasoning I believe for this is there is an assumption you will be storing your files in the clouds. Personally I am not a big fan of this set-up and much prefer the laptop to have dual drives. A SSD for storing my programs and a HDD for storing my data.

You can buy even the newest stick-of-gum size SSDs in 1TB, and some higher than 1TB, for about $140, which will drop. No new laptops of value have platter drives any more - for weight, power consumption, speed and yes wait for it....longevity
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
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That's a decent piece of kit alright. It would be great if HB was in the US and could snatch that up and bring it back with him. At just a little over $200 the duty shouldn't be prohibitive to have it shipped here. That item seems easiest and doable one way or the other.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
12,543
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There are great refurbished Thinkpads on eBay for $400-$500. The good thing about them (T-series) is there are always parts to fix any issue years from now. Typing on a 6 year old model right now.
 

josh2203

Bronze
Dec 5, 2013
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his advice is dell latitude or lenovo thinkpad, they are sturdy and made to last.

I have the same advice. My use is a bit more demanding, not only due to work (video conferencing, lot's of online apps, which consume a decent amount of memory etc etc.). I have currently Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E560 with 16GB of memory, with 10 year old Dell Inspiron being by back-up. I've had 2 HPs and 2 Asus's, and I personally prefer either Dell or Lenovo (old IBM).

The company that I worked for many years ago in Santo Domingo only brought laptops here in suitcase, bought nothing locally nor imported in that sense, so if at all somehow possible, this would be what I would intend to do if I had to get a new machine right now...

For writing and such, what I recommend is a good quality keyboard (they differ a lot in my opinion), non-shining (I don't know the official term) screen and the kind of mousepad that those old IBMs/HPs have.

And yes, what dv8 says above, getting a refurbished (at least, where I come from, might be different story here) older professional model is a good idea, if the budget is smaller or the needs not that demanding, as a number of my colleagues have had those machines, and they are far better than many newer shiny plasticy models.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Thank you guys for so much good information.
I will be in the states next week and close to several tech stores including Tiger???. I have to say that duties and tariffs are not an issue, as I have brought back many laptops in my backpack. HEHEHE.

I had not considered refurbished, and the key element of "factory refurbished" is interesting

DÁrcy sent me a beautiful PM on this. We are/were big time fans of Marc B. He seemed to like ASUS, but seriously, I bought two of them for my wife and both had a tendency to be fragil...

I like Frank 12's suggestion of a 2 for. I use my laptop for ppts in my classes so HDMI connections are important.
The HDD and SDD issue is something I will have to study a bit. The 27" monitor might be an issue, if it can't fit inside my suitcase...I use 22"monitors....

I suppose I could get CPS to ship me a 27" which would certainly help these old eyes.

Olease keep up the opinions and thoughts regarding this purchase, I find them all quite interesting.

Very much appreciated,

HB