Shopping for a lap top..

[Hfan]

I’m working from home due to da covid.  I have a nice desktop with two big monitors in my office cubicle. Currently stuck with my oldish 13” Dell laptop that serves the purpose but if it kicks I’ll be screwed. I’m trying to be proactive. I’ve considered Apple as well as a windows unit. Never used Apple except for my phones. And a good sized Apple laptop would be big bucks I assume  I can live with Windows.

 I typically have a shit ton of windows open on the company VMware. Various programs etc. Healthcare apps and excel and windows docs. 
 
If I go Windows I’m assuming dual core. Really I’m kinda clueless on the subject. Any clues would be cool. I have a Bestbuy in the neighborhood Costco too  If I could keep it to 500 or 700 great A bigger screen would be nice too. Asking too much maybe for the price.

Thanks. 

[killerteddybear]

Dell good, HP bad.

I had a Dell for years. Replaced it with a HP to save a few dollars. Functions well but the plastic case has cracked at the hinge so it now remains open.
Wish I'd bought a Dell.

 

[mathman]

Apple cost more initially but are well made with top quality components so they usually last quite a long time.  You can install windows and dual boot, or run emulator software for Windows compatibility if needed.  I have 2012 model Mac Mini and Macbook Pros that still function well.  Follow others advice if you want a PC.

[velorush]

I have had tremendous success buying refurbished Dell PCs sold through WalMart.com. Win10 Pro and sans bloatware. I am provisioning installers, so I always buy the notebooks with the aluminum case rather than plastic (Inspiron?), but I generally pay around 50% to 60% of the original price. 

[scottcald]

I f you're going with Windows, Lenovo ThinkPad is a good option.  

[stobro]

All I can tell you is when work from home was mandated by our corporate overlords, the IT department issued Dell laptops for everyone in the office. Mine says "Precision 7540", I don't know where that ranks in the PC-based laptop hierarchy. I also have a Dell dock and a second P2419H monitor. I use the laptop screen for Outlook and other day-to-day functions and the larger second monitor works well for 3D solid modeling I do using Autodesk Inventor. I also use a mouse and not the track pad- I can't stand those things. Your mileage may vary.

[Hfan]

Thanks for the responses I appreciate it.

[alantig]

My HP also cracked near the case.  We bought that for work at home purposes and for when we need Windows.  Apple stuff is very durable.  My Macbook is finally starting to die, and it's old enough that I think the last OS I could put on it was OS X 10.5 or 10.6.  My main iMac is running El Capitan, it's an early 2009 model, and is still chugging away.  If not for needing newer OS stuff, I wouldn't be thinking about a replacement.

[Lockbody]

13 hours ago, scottcald said:

I f you're going with Windows, Lenovo ThinkPad is a good option.  

My daughter’s laptop died right at the end of the school year and I bought her a Lenovo Yoga. Latest gen. 4 core I5 CPU, 12g ram, 256g SSD hard drive and a 15.4” touchscreen, so it also doubles as a tablet. She loves it. It’s also on sale at Best Buy right now, too.
 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-c740-2-in-1-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-12gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-iron-gray/6367803.p?skuId=6367803

 

 

[velorush]

Just checked pricing on WalMart.com - through the roof (relatively speaking).  On average, just eyeballing, I'd say at least a 50% jump in prices since before the outbreak.  Static supply / greatly-increased demand.

[Dutchman]

I’ve been using an ASUS for 4 years. Solid State, so it’s fast. Never an issue. I carry it in a leather over the shoulder case and it’s pretty beat up. But the laptop has never given me an issue. 
Just another option. I think the case is aluminum it’s a little on the heavy side.

[Thundersteel]

I've got a circa 2009 Apple MacBook Pro that I haven't used since I installed a solid-state drive. It's got a small dent that'll "buff right out!"

[Carl.B]

See if your company has a employee computer buying option? I worked in Healthcare IT for over 20 years and all the place's had some deal with Dell or HP on buying a laptop.  At the time I was able to buy a top of the line Dell and docking station for less than the price of laptop from any place else. At that time they would ship it to work and then Desktop support would load the software I would need on it. Doesn't hurt to ask if work will give you a new computer too. 

[scottcald]

Yeah, if you're using it for work, I'll also say if you buy a laptop targeted at home users, buy a copy of Windows, then use it to erase the drive.  Then install Windows and whatever other applications you need.  The "home user" latptops have a bunch of garbage on them that you can't always get rid of and could be a resource hog. 

[gorch]

For about 5 years, I’m having a 17” MSI with an i7 CPU. It had been bought for the large screen, portable and hybrid business and private use cases. Had to be capable of comfortably displaying a DAW. Apple easily fell off for the screen size. Even though the MSI had not been cheaper.

For business only purposes, I wouldn’t spend more than 300 bugs and even save a big disk inside. You still have your monitors. I had bought a very slim and light weight 250 bugs no-name notebook for my wife last year. It works perfectly, is highly mobile and does it all for her.

Today, I’m using the MSI for music, Cubase, Kontakt etc. and recently a bit more business. I haven’t reached the boundaries of it yet. So, I assume it will last forever.

[Hfan]

On 6/13/2020 at 3:29 PM, Lockbody said:

My daughter’s laptop died right at the end of the school year and I bought her a Lenovo Yoga. Latest gen. 4 core I5 CPU, 12g ram, 256g SSD hard drive and a 15.4” touchscreen, so it also doubles as a tablet. She loves it. It’s also on sale at Best Buy right now, too.
 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-c740-2-in-1-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i5-12gb-memory-256gb-solid-state-drive-iron-gray/6367803.p?skuId=6367803

 

 

Good tip I’ll check that one out. 

On 6/13/2020 at 3:40 PM, velorush said:

Just checked pricing on WalMart.com - through the roof (relatively speaking).  On average, just eyeballing, I'd say at least a 50% jump in prices since before the outbreak.  Static supply / greatly-increased demand.

Yes prices are higher than what I recall in recent memory. I was surprised. 

On 6/14/2020 at 6:56 AM, Dutchman said:

I’ve been using an ASUS for 4 years. Solid State, so it’s fast. Never an issue. I carry it in a leather over the shoulder case and it’s pretty beat up. But the laptop has never given me an issue. 
Just another option. I think the case is aluminum it’s a little on the heavy side.

Not sure what the solid state means in this context. I’ll google that later. Thanks. It wouldn’t  be getting carried anywhere so weight is not an issue. 

On 6/14/2020 at 1:59 PM, Carl.B said:

See if your company has a employee computer buying option? I worked in Healthcare IT for over 20 years and all the place's had some deal with Dell or HP on buying a laptop.  At the time I was able to buy a top of the line Dell and docking station for less than the price of laptop from any place else. At that time they would ship it to work and then Desktop support would load the software I would need on it. Doesn't hurt to ask if work will give you a new computer too. 

Great idea. I’ll ask that question. It’s been 3 months and I can’t be the only one with aging equipment. I dont see us going back til a vaccine happens. Their standard line is you can go work in the office but you have to wear a mask. My two teenagers are home. God knows what would be going on if they were left unsupervised. 

On 6/15/2020 at 12:36 AM, scottcald said:

Yeah, if you're using it for work, I'll also say if you buy a laptop targeted at home users, buy a copy of Windows, then use it to erase the drive.  Then install Windows and whatever other applications you need.  The "home user" latptops have a bunch of garbage on them that you can't always get rid of and could be a resource hog. 

I use my companies VMWARE all the MS Office  stuff is installed on that. I’d have to figure that out. Currently doing 12 hr days at my dining room table. Too freaking burnt to figure out much. 

Thanks again to all advisers!! You guys are great     

 

[killerteddybear]

8 minutes ago, Hfan said:

Not sure what the solid state means in this context.

Solid State refers to the hard drive (SSD). Now they are replaced with static RAM. No more mechanical bits, as fast (almost) as computer memory.
Start ups are now lightning fast! No time for that coffee you had time for - get to work!

On the down side. they are still a 'new' technology so the prices are higher than traditional hard drives. And they tend to be less capacity.
In the best of both worlds approach you buy a SSD for the OS and applications and keep your data on a traditional hard drive.