Need Recommendation from computer pros

El Hijo de Manolo

It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous!
Dec 10, 2021
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Dominican Republic
My two cents? …from experience….stay away from HP … built with cheap materials etc …go with Dell …a good refurbished Dell is way better than a new HP IMO ….Others may beg to differ.
I always use Dell. certified refurbished has great deals. if you're in the states or going to have a trip soon.
 

El Hijo de Manolo

It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous!
Dec 10, 2021
3,937
2,586
113
Dominican Republic
I

I did study electronics in collage, work with computers at work, and have a small graphic design business on the side, I do know what reality is. Going below those specs will slow down your computer after 6 months of use, after loading programs and filling up your cacache and temp file.

You never know how many time people ask me to help them speed up their computer, that's it too slow.
I'm sure you do very well for yourself
 

NotLurking

Bronze
Jul 21, 2003
2,447
1,235
113
Sto Dgo Este
I need to buy a laptop for a student that is about to begin studies (university in Santo Domingo). She will be travelling from home to school each day and I assume it will get some heavy usage. I want to buy new. I can buy in the states and bring it here if that is best (meaning I know I can save money but are there any disadvantages?)

What are the recommendations from the pros on DR1?

Any graphic or video editing, CAD design, 3D modelling, FPGA HDL, Game programming, AI engine development, or any discipline with a heavy data crunching need, requires fast cpu and gpu, a sizeable amount of ram and fast and large storage - preferably m.2 nvme ssd in terabytes. Now if the field of studies is social sciences, humanities, languages, traditional arts, or medicine a nice laptop from Lenovo (ThinkPad), Dell, Asus, MSI should do the job and be well received. The rest depends on your set budget.
 

Yourmaninvegas

Well-known member
Feb 16, 2016
3,292
2,589
113
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My friend,

I didn't even know yutes used keyboards anymore.
Do they even know how to type?
I thought that thing was for tech dinosaurs like myself. 🤪

But if you are looking from a recommendation from an experienced user of computers (who also happens to like to have an alcoholic beverage on occasion, knows a lot about spirits, how to mix them and where to buy them in the Dominican Republic):

MacBook Air
Wait a month and get the M2 chip
Best in class
Period !

Respectfully,
Gringo Negro on EASTSIDE!!

P.S. But remember my friend. It does not stop there. You should also pick up a hard drive that will allow for back ups and a computer networking hub. And buy more computing power than you need. I have always found that you can grow into it. And it extends the operational life of your computer.

Full disclosure: I use a MacBook Pro (2017) and I plan to upgrade to the computer I have recommended to you very soon. I will hand my used one down. And I am sure there they will get tremendous use out of it, even though I feel like it is used up. I gave away a iPhone 6S about a year ago and the person had the battery changed. Had the screen replaced and fixed the home button. They are still using it to this day.

Low tech is high tech when you have NO tech‼️

Rant:
Quantitative Sociology takes computing power.
But if you are uneducated and ignorant...
Well you wouldn't know that now would you.

Nobody speaks
Nobody gets choked
 

josh2203

Bronze
Dec 5, 2013
1,574
528
113
To be clearer: I live in the DR near the capital BUT travel to the States every 27-29days for 10-14 days of business. So, yes, I can pack it in my bag as I have done before. What should I buy?

I have purchased laptops in the DR (Cecomsa Santiago) and abroad (Germany): My advise if possible:

1. Buy abroad, better selection, better pricing, better quality
2. I agree with others, go with Dell if at all possible. Also agree, no HP, I have had two and cannot recommend. Asus is another good brand. NO Chromebook
3. At least 8Gb RAM. Above it was said that 12gb ram is too much for this purpose. I disagree. It's pricier, yes, but not that much if you buy abroad. Chrome and other apps eat a huge amount of RAM. I have a backup laptop that has 8gb and it's rather slowish...
4. Screen size: 14 inches. If the laptop will be carried a lot, I have found that this size is pretty much perfect. I find even 15 inches to be a bit heavy...
5. Definitely SSD if possible, that makes a huge difference in speed.
6. If possible, matt screen is better than glossy

For heavy use in general, I would choose something that looks "boring" but actually has things that "sirve" inside... So professional laptops are the best here, even one that is used...
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
7,090
2,963
113
Many college students do graphics and video editing (not just TikTok) and some engineering modeling and Autocad.

Yeah if the student is a sociology major they can do it all on an 11" Chromebook.

But someone in a tech field might just need the horsepower and upgraded storage capacity.
Her major, if accepted, which we will know in the 7-10 day is "law". (If that changes the parameters )
 

AlaPlaya

Frequent Flyer
Jan 7, 2021
424
292
63
Texas
To be clearer: I live in the DR near the capital BUT travel to the States every 27-29days for 10-14 days of business. So, yes, I can pack it in my bag as I have done before. What should I buy?
I've always found the best success with Dell gaming laptops because they have super high processing specs that are conducive to opening multiple programs (Word, Excel, internet browser with lots of tabs) and flipping between open windows without freezing.

Edit: Just seen she's doing a law degree. I'm doubling down on my recommendation because you inevitably open many windows when flipping between laws and cases. I usually get 5-7 years out of gaming laptops with heavy usage. I once tried a "professional" spec laptop and it lasted me 4 months before I wanted to throw it out the window because it was constantly freezing.
 

D'Arcy (Apostropheman)

Karma, it's worth waiting for ;)
Apr 10, 2022
553
521
93
Here and there
  • I always prefer & try and buy laptops that still let me upgrade RAM and HD after purchase. It's harder to find these days and Apple is not my choice because of it although I had a MacBook Air and it was awesome despite its limitations. If I still had an iPhone I might try a new Mac but I'm ALL android/windows now, for better or worse,.
  • Always SSD! I started with 256GB and recently upgraded to 1TB since they were so cheap.
  • I have 16 gigs of ram, again a worthwhile upgrade, and cheap as of fairly recently. My Desktop, probably my last one...has 32 GB ram and a 1TB HD as well and it flies.
  • You can "never" have "too much" Ram or hard drive size. I always max out, or know that I can upgrade cheaper after, and have never regretted it. Too little and things get slow, bogged down.
  • DELL is great for windows laptops. I've stuck or returned to Windows 10. Not impressed with 11 but that's a personal preference.
  • Get the best I7 chip or equivalent, or better, that you can. My laptop is getting old and still runs circles around any "reasonably priced" new one except for the newest/maxed-out offerings.
Just my take but I learned "from the BEST", R.I.P. ;)
 
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beeza

Silver
Nov 2, 2006
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She will be your best friend forever if you buy her an Apple.

Expensive on the initial purchase, but they last for years and support native operating systems for much longer than many windows machines. The bundled software that comes with Macs is more than sufficient for most students going through uni. And no need for that expensive/reoccurring Microsoft bloatware.
 
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cavok

Silver
Jun 16, 2014
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Definitely get a SSD - 500GB should be way more than enough for most people. Get an iCore 5 or AMD equivalent. I have 8GB of ram and have zero speed issues. With both Edge and Chrome open, plus Thinkorswim trading platform, Kapersky, iTunes, 5 internet pages, and Windows Explorer, I'm only using 81% of ram and nothing is running slow.

 
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JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
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Used/ refurbished Dell (Latitude series) can be purchased online for around $300 USD. Although not as many bells and whistles, it is ideal for a highschool/ college student.

Also take into account what could happen when a tiguere sees a young girl with a new laptop.
 

tht

Master of my own fate.
Oct 10, 2002
849
154
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Planet Earth
I agree on Dell. I have a Latitude E7250 250 USD from dellrefurbished.com. I partitioned the HD and have dual boot Windows and Rocky Linux. As soon as I can ditch Windows completely it's gone. I never use MS Office I use Libre Office also on Windows when I occasionally have to run it. The E7250 is small but as soon as I got used to it it's fine, core i5 500 Gb HD, All my important stuff is encrypted in the cloud. Rocky Linux is the free version (without tech support) of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I can't impress a potential new lady friend with this laptop, but that's not a problem, it works well.
 

D'Arcy (Apostropheman)

Karma, it's worth waiting for ;)
Apr 10, 2022
553
521
93
Here and there
She will be your best friend forever if you buy her an Apple.

Expensive on the initial purchase, but they last for years and support native operating systems for much longer than many windows machines. The bundled software that comes with Macs is more than sufficient for most students going through uni. And no need for that expensive/reoccurring Microsoft bloatware.
Does anyone actually pay for the MS versions of these programs? There are many free variants and I also use LibreOffice....free and for almost everyone, it's as good as or better than the paid products, and lighter and free! ;) :D

Apple is fine if the recipient is familiar w and used to that. For the other 99% of non-specialist users, Windows is the answer.

Just don't go too cheap. There's nothing that will most people more than a slow, cumbersome and heavy computer. Also, Dominicans are more aware and savvier about all that's available, current and cool than ever before.

I'd ask her for input and if she is not dreaming of Apple I would not go there. I also would not be cheap trying to save a few hundred bucks. This computer could well make the difference in how much and how hard someone works at university. If they're given an under spec, heavy, outdated, "cheapo" computer they're far more likely to not want to use it. It'll take more time to get things done and be a huge disappointment and even embarrassment. All that matters.

It'll be interesting to see and read about what actually gets purchased, and how the recipient gets on and if she graduates. Best of luck to her! :D
 

Yourmaninvegas

Well-known member
Feb 16, 2016
3,292
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Also take into account what could happen when a tiguere sees a young girl with a new laptop.
Do they goto university?

I do the the point.
Security in the streets is important.
If she has to worry about getting her laptop snatched on campus then the campus has a serious problem with their security personal.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,701
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I agree on Dell. I have a Latitude E7250 250 USD from dellrefurbished.com. I partitioned the HD and have dual boot Windows and Rocky Linux. As soon as I can ditch Windows completely it's gone. I never use MS Office I use Libre Office also on Windows when I occasionally have to run it. The E7250 is small but as soon as I got used to it it's fine, core i5 500 Gb HD, All my important stuff is encrypted in the cloud. Rocky Linux is the free version (without tech support) of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. I can't impress a potential new lady friend with this laptop, but that's not a problem, it works well.
I agree on buying a refurbished cheap laptop. Or a good, cheap one.

We all know what happens when somebody is given something instead of having to work and earn the money to buy it. (It's not just an island trait)
Buy something new and fancy, and once it's stolen/broke, are you going to buy another new and fancy one, or downgrade on your second purchase?

An example: I bought a girl an off brand 10" tablet instead of a Ipad. It lasted 3 days before she dropped it. I got her another one - she was robbed within a week.

Fool me once - shame on you. Fool me twice - shame on me.

In the past, I used to buy things for the GF of the moment. I'd buy something used or remanufactured and later be surprised by the "but this isn't new" disappointed face I would get instead of the joy of actually receiving something at all.

It didn't take me long to figure out why a few of them wanted new instead of used.

I'm am amazed at how important having an Iphone or Ipad or a PowerMac or whatever is to some of the women here when they have nothing at all and should be grateful they got anything at all.
 
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