PC Laptop

[sevencyclist]

Looking to get something basic that allows good internet access with decent speed. No gaming, but need to open up 20 webpages.

Lenovo, HP, Acer, Asus, Samsung. Any recommendation that fits the bill well?

[Matthew Strongin]

I've always had good luck with IBM and Lenovo ThinkPads. Pretty much everyone at my company gets to pick their own computer and of the PC users, Lenovo and Dell are the most common. The Dell users have consistent issues. The Lenovo users don't. One guy I work with loves his Sony Vaio.

[treadonme]

What Matthew said...no Dell.
& put mint or ubuntu on it.

Or get a Macbook.

[SteveP]

man,
i wanna get one of those apple air jobs.
my kid has one..
its wicked light and fast.
not cheap i know but man, that thing kills.
doesnt have a mechanical hard drive either.

the one im on is her old dell..
w/ w-7 installed.
works great actually... just kinda bulky.

[jitahs]

Chrome Book.

[Matthew Strongin]

man,
i wanna get one of those apple air jobs.

I'm a long time macbook user. I'm on a 3+ year old MB Pro and likely picking up the new retina display. But my wife has the 11-inch macbook air...it's my favorite computer of all time. It's just a little small for my all day usage at work. Otherwise, I'd steal it from her.

sevencyclist, the good news is that if you don't want a mac, there are tons of good options out there and prices can be pretty reasonable. I also used to hear good things about toshiba laptops, but don't have first hand experience.

[-HvA-]

Thinkpad with a SSD.

[Eddie]

I was on a Toshiba laptop from...2005? until just recently when some Windows update gave me the BSOD. Pretty good run on that thing - only issue is that the battery sucked (second one stopped working after a couple years and I just plug in). Need to track down a Windows XP install disc to try to revive it since the hardware is still good to go.

[Matthew Strongin]

Thinkpad with a SSD.

+1 on SSD. Not a cheap addition in general, but so so nice.

[-HvA-]

+1 on SSD. Not a cheap addition in general, but so so nice.

At least with a Thinkpad you can upgrade the ram and the drives yourself. I used to be able to buy them cheaper without Windows on them too (I run Linux only)... those were the days...

[sevencyclist]

Thanks for lots of feedback. I have a MacAir 13" which is great for me.

The new computer is for my wife to replace her PC notebook (a lenovo with electric plug issues after 4 years). She does some Microsoft Office stuff with Word and Excel which needed to be compatible with other PC Office documents. No massive calculations. Otherwise, she uses it to surf the net, and she has habit of opening 20 different web pages all at once because she is "comparison shopping." I am trying to lower the cost and wonder whether any of the Netbook or lower memory 1GB or 2GB would work well for this purpose. Thanks.

[Tristan]

Thanks for lots of feedback. I have a MacAir 13" which is great for me.

The new computer is for my wife to replace her PC notebook (a lenovo with electric plug issues after 4 years). She does some Microsoft Office stuff with Word and Excel which needed to be compatible with other PC Office documents. No massive calculations. Otherwise, she uses it to surf the net, and she has habit of opening 20 different web pages all at once because she is "comparison shopping." I am trying to lower the cost and wonder whether any of the Netbook or lower memory 1GB or 2GB would work well for this purpose. Thanks.

For my last notebook I got conned into a high-spec netbook. Basically it doesn't do anything well: it's not as portable as a tablet and is a bitch to work on. I barely use the thing. To do it again I'd go for a proper full-sized notebook like the Toshiba I had previously.

In general lots of webpage windows means lots of ram but requires less processor power.

[sonny]

1GB or 2GB would work well for this purpose. Thanks.

4gig min atmo
anything with less is likely a piece of shite anyway

[sk_tle]

Looking to get something basic that allows good internet access with decent speed. No gaming, but need to open up 20 webpages.

Lenovo, HP, Acer, Asus, Samsung. Any recommendation that fits the bill well?

Any laptop from the last 8 years can do that. Except gaming, only things like editing/converting/encoding/decoding large images or movies tax our cpu nowadays.

I'm currently using a Dell Latitude D400 at home. It is a crappy business laptop from 2003 but it is still completely fine for basic internet usage. I just added some memory 2y ago (3GB now instead of the original 512MB), replaced the battery and installed a decent operating system. Total cost was less than 60$. Most people think their current laptop should end up in the bin but most of the time it is only a case of a self destruction of an old microsoft windows install and/or the consequences of bad practices like installing/deinstalling any crap that is available on download sites and/or clicking randomly at the OK button of any window without actually reading it.

[sk_tle]

Just another thing. Most laptops internals are made by a very small set of companies (clevo, compal, asus...). You shouldn't follow recommendations based on brand name. What you need to get is a laptop build for business use. Avoid at all cost laptops made for the general public.

4 key points are :
-screen resolution : choose higher resolution than the crappy 1366x768 (15.6") and 1600x1200 (17") they try to sell people these days
-avoid glossy screens, choose mat screens (often only available for business range laptop)
-ergonomy : choose a laptop with a nice keyboard and a trackpad that doesn't get on your way when typing text.
-runtime on battery

a used business laptop with an old core 2 duo processor and "only" 3 or 4GB of ram + a new battery is a much better deal than a brand new laptop from the "home & family" range with a core i7 / 8GB ram and a crappy glossy 15" screen.

[Matthew Strongin]

What you need to get is a laptop build for business use. Avoid at all cost laptops made for the general public.

In the realm of PCs, this is very good advice. They won't be available in nifty colors, but they'll use more established components that are built to run all day.

[SteveP]

stupid question.
what makes a laptop built for business use?
vs. just a laptop?

[sk_tle]

stupid question.
what makes a laptop built for business use?
vs. just a laptop?

A business laptop is build and tested to not become an overheating and noisy p.o.s. after ten minutes of use, having easily replaceable components (batteries are availables years after end of production), usually a screen with a better resolution and build to avoid glare. More reliable parts, thinked to allow more airflow inside and avoid interferences between each components. While just a laptop is made of throwing the better speced (think cpu speed and amount of memory) components in not too bad looking yet affordable package (think cost saving in areas like display) that should at least last until the warranty expires while not caring that much about heat, fans noise, ergonomy, etc.

Some "high ends" home laptops are as reliable as "business" laptop. The difference is more about the look, parts that can be more exortic or less easily serviceables as in the high end ones. Macbook air/pros are good examples of that.

[YO!!!]

A business laptop is build and tested to not become an overheating and noisy p.o.s. after ten minutes of use, having easily replaceable components (batteries are availables years after end of production), usually a screen with a better resolution and build to avoid glare. More reliable parts, thinked to allow more airflow inside and avoid interferences between each components. While just a laptop is made of throwing the better speced (think cpu speed and amount of memory) components in not too bad looking yet affordable package (think cost saving in areas like display) that should at least last until the warranty expires while not caring that much about heat, fans noise, ergonomy, etc.

Some "high ends" home laptops are as reliable as "business" laptop. The difference is more about the look, parts that can be more exortic or less easily serviceables as in the high end ones. Macbook air/pros are good examples of that.

I have had excellent luck with buying off lease "business" laptops from an independent local computer store.They are usually 3 years old, wiped clean, refurbed, & use Windows XP.
I run some memory pig programs and need lots of space. It also sees a lot of jobsite activity where there is a lot of dust and dirt. Usually they are HPs

[Matthew Strongin]

Some "high ends" home laptops are as reliable as "business" laptop. The difference is more about the look, parts that can be more exortic or less easily serviceables as in the high end ones. Macbook air/pros are good examples of that.

For what it's worth, my current MB Pro has been the best business laptop I've had in the last 15 years. It helps that my company is very Mac friendly, and we provide infrastructure for all type of work styles so I haven't had to do any wonky dual-boot configurations to run PC apps. But I am very hard on my equipment and this thing just runs and runs and runs.