Laptops

Megmary · November 07, 2013, 04:48:26 PM

Has anyone had a reliable laptop? It seems like these things are always crashing and braking down after a couple years. Well, ours do, anyway. Is it better to spend a large amount of money on an Apple laptop? Will it last longer?

I have a PC laptop right now. The guys who sold it to us said they would have all the parts if it broke down. Well, it broke and they don't have the parts.

Kaesekopf · November 07, 2013, 04:50:22 PM

I would never recommend an apple product.

What do you use your computer for? Are you computing on the go? Word processing? Surfing the internets?

Giving an average use case would help in deciding what to get.

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Megmary · November 07, 2013, 04:52:11 PM

For everything. Internet browsing, Word Processing, saving lots of documents, music.

So far I hear nothing but positive reviews for the MacBook Air. But, we really don't have the money for that.

Kaesekopf · November 07, 2013, 04:55:40 PM

Does it need to be a laptop or can it be a desktop?

I've had good experience with HP laptops. My HP has taken a beating and it held up well. Admittedly, it's a workstation so it's a bit higher-end.

Asus laptops I've heard are very good. Were I to buy a laptop, I'd get an Asus.

I like the little 11" notebooks paired with a larger "home station" monitor. Small enough to take everywhere, and plugging into a larger monitor at home for ease of use/seeing.

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Kaesekopf · November 07, 2013, 04:57:08 PM

Also, what's your ballpark budget? $300? $600? $1000? Obviously cheaper would be better (no one wants to uselessly spend money), but whats the most you will spend?

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Megmary · November 07, 2013, 05:09:58 PM

Well, probably less than $700. We spent around $500 on this last laptop, and we're limping along with it and we've only had it for a year.

Preferably a laptop; I've done some research and the Asus looks pretty good. I might keep that in mind for the future.

Pheo · November 07, 2013, 05:13:44 PM

Quote from: Megmary on November 07, 2013, 05:09:58 PMWe spent around $500 on this last laptop, and we're limping along with it and we've only had it for a year.

At that rate, that's way more expensive than my MacBook Pro. Mine's 4.5 years old and still perfectly useable...heck, even the battery still retains 92% of its original charge (these are supposed to last a full 1000 charge cycles).

Kaesekopf · November 07, 2013, 05:15:42 PM

I would wait until Black Friday/Christmas and try to get a good deal on an Asus, if you wanted my input.

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Megmary · November 07, 2013, 05:41:28 PM

yeah, I've heard about people having their Macbook Airs for a long time. I appreciate all the input!

OCLittleFlower · November 07, 2013, 07:41:20 PM

I wouldn't go with Apple, either -- they charge way too much for the equivalent product and there isn't much freedom in how you use it.

I have an almost 3-year-old Lenovo. It's done fairly well by me, but I have had to have the tech come out and work on it a few times. My advice is to spring for a protection plan with accidental damage coverage (so there's never any debate about what happened or if it was your fault -- it's just covered, so they don't care -- literally, they replaced the whole screen, for free, because my dog stepped on it and the screen was cracked) and in home repair service.

Bernadette · November 07, 2013, 08:46:25 PM

I had a Dell laptop for about six years: it served me well through the end of high-school, all of my time at college, and a 3-month trip overseas. I'd still be using it, but I needed a bigger screen. And one of the hinges broke, so it's pretty useless unless I'm really careful.

Parresia · November 07, 2013, 08:52:20 PM

I've had Dell laptops that have each lasted about 6+ years without major issue. The key is that you have to be at or near the top of the line to begin with. Dell's Inspiron series is their bottom end, but their Latitude series is made to last. If you are not willing or able to spend a couple grand on one so that you can get solid hardware, memory and RAM, you are going to end up buying them every 2 years or so. I'm not trying to be mean or judgmental as you know your financial situation and I don't. However, that's just the way computers, particularly laptops, work.

Pheo · November 07, 2013, 08:59:42 PM

Quote from: OCLittleFlower on November 07, 2013, 07:41:20 PMI wouldn't go with Apple, either -- they charge way too much for the equivalent product and there isn't much freedom in how you use it.

They're no more expensive than comparable Sony or Samsung laptops - keeping in mind that you'd have to compare somthing with a decent display and that isn't made out of cheap plastic to make any realistic/fair comparison.

I wonder, what are the freedom issues? I use both operating systems, and I don't find their capabilities all that different. Heck, you can even open Terminal and play around with that to your heart's content.

As far as I can tell, the only difference is in gaming...which is probably the least important thing you can do with a computer

The Harlequin King · November 08, 2013, 10:18:32 AM

Pheo: surely you meant the most important thing you can do.

My laptop is an Alienware 17x, which is made for gaming... but it's so heavy that I can't actually carry it anywhere comfortably.

Penelope · November 08, 2013, 01:27:33 PM

I recommend saving up for a MacBook of some kind. Neither of my siblings nor I have ever had a PC last more than two years. My only bad experience with a MacBook, however, involved my own stupidity and a bottle of water (shut up, Kaesekopf). My husband purchased his MacBook Pro when he began grad school in 2007 and it's still going strong. There have been some minor issues (the magnet that holds the lid closed has weakened, for example), but nothing major. He had a tech-y friend update the OS last year and everything runs like a dream. Also, I recommend making a tech-y friend.