Looking for recommendations for a cheap laptop

[Britishbane]

My MacBook Pro died last night and I'm in need of something rather quickly. I haven't the funds to replace it and haven't paid attention to PC/windows based machines in a long while. Can anyone recommend something cheap and not too bloated with software?

[monadnocky]

Inquiring minds want to know... me as well, I need an inexpensive PC laptop to run some psychology testing software (notoriously doesn't run on Macs and I don't want clients using my personal laptop anyway), also hoping for something not too pre-bloated with useless crap. So I'll glom on to the thread...

[Matthew Strongin]

My MacBook Pro died last night and I'm in need of something rather quickly. I haven't the funds to replace it and haven't paid attention to PC/windows based machines in a long while. Can anyone recommend something cheap and not too bloated with software?

Do you need to install Windows apps or could you get by with cloud apps? Chromebooks are very cheap and a good option for many people who just need to get online and can use Google's docs/drive/etc. tools.

[Britishbane]

Do you need to install Windows apps or could you get by with cloud apps? Chromebooks are very cheap and a good option for many people who just need to get online and can use Google's docs/drive/etc. tools.

Yeah, unfortunately I need most Office products.

[Matthew Strongin]

Yeah, unfortunately I need most Office products.

Gotcha. Decent computers have gotten pretty cheap these days so it might help if you narrowed down some preferences around screen size, price range, etc.

[Britishbane]

Gotcha. Decent computers have gotten pretty cheap these days so it might help if you narrowed down some preferences around screen size, price range, etc.

Understood. Let's say Less than $1000 (preferably way less), needed mostly to take notes, run power point, and stream tv on the rare occasion. I'd hope for a screen between 13-15".

I'm really intrigued by the acer chrome book but having tried to use google docs and sheets was mildly annoying but not a total deal breaker. I may be warming to the idea.

[donevwil]

I've purchased two refurbs off the Dell Oulet per the recommendation of my employer's IT guy. We spec'd what I needed, wanted and would be lucky to get and I waited. The best deals on particularly well spec'd and high end units sell quickly so persistence in required. Most recently (a year ago now) picked up a 17" with 8GB DDR4 ram and a 128GB Solid State HD for about 40% of retail. We discussed going TigerDirect or similar for another brand, but his experience has been best with high end good ol' Dell units so I went that way.

[Matthew Strongin]

Understood. Let's say Less than $1000 (preferably way less), needed mostly to take notes, run power point, and stream tv on the rare occasion. I'd hope for a screen between 13-15".

I'm really intrigued by the acer chrome book but having tried to use google docs and sheets was mildly annoying but not a total deal breaker. I may be warming to the idea.

I've mostly switched to Google Docs and Sheets at work. They're close enough for my purposes and the ability to share and collaborate in real time far exceeds any other limitations for my needs. Occasionally I need to use full fledged Excel, but that's rare and I could probably do what I need in Sheets. Slides is the one that I feel lacks too much compared with PowerPoint, at least for the types of presentations I need to do. But for simple slides it actually works well. There's also the option of Office 365, which I believe works on Chromebooks now. TV streaming shouldn't be a problem at all.

But if you don't fully warm up to the idea, for under $1K and 13-15" screen you could probably find some good options. I'm a Mac user 99% of the time so I'll let someone else chime in on recommendations for Windows machines.

[sk_tle]

FWIW Microsoft Office 365 is available for chromebooks. It is subscription based and I think publisher isn't available.

That said I'd buy a second hand business laptop. Even if you factor in the purchase of a new battery you will end up with a much nicer laptop (core i5 or i7, 16GB ram, nice screen/resolution, a decent keyboard, ssd and/or double harddrives), gsm/3g modem for the price of an entry level laptop. I've gone that route and do not regret it. Both me and my partner purchased an HP laptop at around the same time and a similar price. Yet my 5y old business laptop is much faster and comfortable than her brand new entry level one.

[j44ke]

My niece is a computer destroyer. She just got a Lenovo X260 on my wife's recommendation. Pretty sure there was some sort of deal and it was around $800. Seemed like a nice computer. Maybe refurbished you can get it for less? Anyway, my wife has used computers from Lenovo/IBM's X series for years. She's also pretty hard on her equipment, primarily because she travels with it and is always using it. She just got a new one - an X1 Carbon. That one did not go for less than $1K that's for sure. But if the durability of the X260 is anything like the X1, then it's going to be a pretty bulletproof computer.

[SteveP]

i just got a nice dell...
ssd drive, 512g, 13"
i like compact to travel w..
this is light and compact.

i use google drive now.. it comes w a year of office i will prob never load.. no longer need excel but can work w drive anyway.
a little over a g.. less for a smaller ssd. like it so far.
fires up fast, nice keyboard.

[Noteddy]

I second the notion of refurbished or slightly used business reconditioned computers. Cheap laptops are cheap. I've had very good results multiple times.

Unless you can make do with a chrome book, e.g cloud.

[giordana93]

huge fan of chromebooks here. you could snag a cheap one for $250 or so, and even if it doesn't work out (because yes, there are limitations on MS Office apps, but some decent work-arounds) it's still a brilliant machine for vsalon and other social media, and for just writing and sharing docs with easy access (because docs are stored with google who auto-saves every few seconds) from any device with internet. I also use mine for streaming through hdmi port and I understand the chromecast thingie is pretty good.

[giordana93]

follow up: I did just buy my son a decent windoze machine for $400. if you focus on what you need and ignore hype about what you don't, it is easy to come in at your budget. hint: huge processing power, hard drives, and so-called hd screens are easy to live without, kinda like 4k curved tvs vs a good mid-range set (or 105/veloce vs dura-ace/super record, if you know what I mean)

[bigbill]

woot.com has good deals on refurbished computers.

[Scott G.]

Refurbed business laptops.

Lenovo Outlet | Lenovo US
Stock changes often, I checked for a couple weeks before a first class deal showed up.

Apple does refurbs too, stock is very spotty.

[Britishbane]

Thank you for the replies everyone, lots of options. Stilling holding out hope for one last long shot to revive the old machine.

[vertical_doug]

slight thread hijack, what's the best free software for editing video for windows?

[monadnocky]

Thanks all for the input.