I want to buy a new laptop, but until this point I’ve always just built desktops. Other than my work unit I’ve never had any experience buying or looking for one. Won’t be doing too much with it MS Office, surfing, amd video streaming mostly. I wouldn’t foresee using it as a gaming device.
Can you recommend a good laptop brand and of any I should stay away?
Things I should know or keep in mind?
You gotta give either a price range or some feature(s) you need in order to narrow it down some, but I always say check out lenovo.com and see what tickles your fancy.
Under $800, but like I said it won’t be taxed so I may not need to spend that much.
I use Lenovo for work and have never had any problems.
I guess my real question is are there brands/types/hardware I should avoid?
Apple MacBook Pro. Would never use anything else. Have a Lenovo paperweight at work. Four MacBooks at home. And no damn antivirus either on any one of them.
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Do you live near a Microrosoft store? Get over there and check out what they have. All the laptops in the store as a special sku, have exacting standards for the software builds, and a very liberal return policy. Check out what they have and if there is anything that appeals to you.
Some questions to ask yourself:
what work loads
how portable do you need it
weight
size
battery life
convertible or detachable
there are a lot of great choices and it is much more about narrowing in what you would use it for and how you would actually use it.
Mine is a Toshiba Satellite which came with Windows 10 already installed. My husband gave it to me for Christmas last year after my 7-year old Dell finally permanently died.
I have absolutely no complaints. The battery life is good, it’s fairly lightweight for a laptop, I’m nowhere near taxing the memory even with stuff I’ve installed, the backlit keyboard is cool…and yeah, I’m not a fan of Windows 10 but I won’t quibble. I don’t even touch more than half its features, LOL.
If you’re a touch typist, consider keyboard quality. Today’s laptops are very thin, so the keys have very little travel. When it doesn’t fit your typing style (like my HP laptop at work), it becomes tedious really fast. This is something you can only evaluate in person, though.
Also, don’t underestimate the power you need. Web pages require more and more CPU and memory every year as they add more gadgets. So a laptop that surfs well this year may be overtaxed in 2019, especially if you’re a many-browser-tabs person.
If no one minds, what about Chrome books for high school students? A full MS laptop seems like more than my boys need - all of their collaboration/work is on Google drive. I want to look for “power” but I’m not really familiar with the Chrome book paradigm; I could be worrying about the wrong stuff.
Second. I get a lot of laughter from friends, as I keep at least a dozen laptops and desktops operational at one time, but the number one consideration is “typability.” Is the keyboard useful and sized correctly?
My recent Lenovo and ASUS laptops have acceptable keyboards.
As far as “raw power” (i.e., CPU, RAM), I don’t really care. I’m quite patient.
I love my Chromebook, but it’s important to understand what it is, and what it isn’t. If your boys do all their work in the cloud, especially on Google Drive, then a Chromebook would be ideal. In terms of power, they’re all up to the task of running Google Drive apps in a browser and surfing (although mine is starting to feel the increased weight of websites these days, it’s still OK after a couple of years).
However, if there’s any chance that your kids are going to need to install and use native software in the lifetime of the laptop (maths packages maybe? Programming languages?) then a Chromebook is a risk. The other turd in the fondue bowl is that printing is more difficult than it should be; you either need a compatible “Google Cloud Print” printer, or another computer acting as a print server. Whether or not this is an issue depends on how your kids will use the computer, I guess. I don’t need to print much, and if I do I email the file to a different computer.
Google made a big song and dance a while back about how Chromebooks can work offline with no internet connection, and re-sync when you get back online, but in my experience that’s very flaky and I wouldn’t personally trust it. I’d want to know there was decent internet access where my kids would be using the laptop if you go Chromebook.
I’ve tried to give an honest appraisal as to the pros and cons - hope that helps.
Rich.
Listen to Heracles, for he or she is wise.
The average “weight” of websites is increasing hugely. Browsing isn’t really the “low demand” activity it used to be.
Thanks for information. Good to know.
You need to think about what trade-off you want to make between portability, screen size, performance, keyboard quality, etc. There are ultra-lightweight laptops that weigh less than 3 lb, some less than 2 lb; these have 13.3" or smaller displays, and the keyboard have very little stroke, which some people hate. A mid-size laptop would be around 15" display size and typically weigh 5-6 lb, with faster CPUs, better keyboards, etc. There are even larger laptops with >17" display size and more power; these are intended as “desktop replacements”, i.e. sit on a desk most of the time and very rarely transported.
You can check out the reviews on Amazon. They are written by people who own the laptops and should give you all the info you need.
This.
I’m in the biz. #1, if the laptop doesn’t fit your typing style, you will think it’s crap. Personal anecdote. I got the Asus ultrabook when they first came out, and it was hella expensive (company purchase). I still can’t make it through one sentence without a typo. I’m a 65 WPM typist, and it drives me nuts. It’s my crappy back up notebook simple because the keyboard, for me, is a steaming pile of shit.
Get to a store and test out the keyboards. I’m ex msft, but I still highly recommend both the MS Stores and the signature edition (crapware free software installs) that they offer.
I was in the same boat a few years back. I did fairly intense research - including asking Dopers - and went with a Lenovo.
Since then, I’ve bought the SO a Lenovo and recommended same to two siblings.
All four of us couldn’t be happier with our choices.
(also agree with the keyboard type-ability, in which my Lenovo excels)
mmm
Once you’ve gotten it narrowed down to a few models see what http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews had to say about them. That site’s reviews go into a lot of detail about the pros and cons of a given laptop and how it stacks up against other laptops in its category.
Get a MacBook. They cost more, but they’re worth it. No need for antivirus, and the savings in time and hassle makes it the device to beat. Four people in my family, and we each have our own MacBook. No regrets.
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The new Macbooks have the awful touchstrip at the top, that huge Mac fans like Andy Inhatko and Leo LaPorte have ripped up one side and down the other. Also, I haven’t heard one person who actually likes the keyboard. And of course you’ll have to pay a 50% premium for the privilege. Since Apple seems to have abandoned the creative community for their new identity as a lifestyle brand, photographers who need power and storage are moving to Windows.
I wish more Mac fans actually would have some experience with Windows 10 - everything I hear from them seems to date back to Windows 95 or 98. It’s every bit as secure when set up properly (with a “standard” account for every day use and an “administrator” one for software installation).
Judge a machine based on the keyboard, touch device and screen. Make sure it has the ports you need (SD card slot, HDMI, Ethernet - all things that Apple has decided are not important).
If you are only going to use web based applications (and you’d be shocked by how powerful they can be) definitely get a Chromebook. The new Samsungs are amazing, and it is the most secure operating system available.