I have to get a new laptop computer. I haven’t had to buy one in many years and there doesn’t seem to be any computer stores with knowledgeable staff anymore, just stores that sell laptops.
can anyone suggest a source for a laptop computer and a decent brand. it would be for general use online purchases, banking, bills, not gaming or anything like that.
I like Acer and Asus for cost to feature ratio, but for workhorses, Lenovo and HP are the way to go.
The Best Buy in Eatontown actually has a decent staff, fairly knowledgeable. If you already know what you want and don’t need a geek, Costco has a good selection and good pricing.
If you want to order on-line I’d stay away from Amazon as you cannot tell if u r getting new refurb or a knockoff. For on-line buying, I’d go with NewEgg.
Lastly, if your laptop is working just fine but aging out because of the OS and lack of support for updated apps, consider blowing it out and installing Ubuntu Linux. It’s free, stable and more secure than any OS out there. Caveat, there will be a small learning curve.
I absolutely hate Mac computers, but their laptops are phenomenal for the “basics”. I have 3 windows desktop machines i use for all sorts of programs, and a dell issued laptop for work. Fusion 360, 3D printing slicers, Visual studio and IDE for programming microprocessors.
If im doing basic stuff at home, i grab my 12 year old Macbook thats still going strong.
Agree with this. I’ve been using Lenovos and have had good luck. If you purchase from Costco using their credit card they will double the mfg warranty.
I agree with this. We’ve been using HP for the last few cycles. If wifey can’t screw it up, then it’s good to go!
I just recently bought a new laptop a few weeks ago, as the old one was slowing down. After looking around at Costco, Best Buy, I ended up ordering it from Amazon. It actually has the power to game, but that’s not my focus. Was in the mid $500 range on sale.
Suggestion, make sure you pack the new one with lots of RAM. These new operating systems really eat up resources.
Oh, and did I say I hate Windows/Microsoft… yeah, there I said it… along with Google and others…
Macbooks and Lenovos are what I’ve been using for years and highly would recommend. About 90% of what I do I use a Macbook. When I need a Windows machine, I grab a Lenovo.
My use is the same as OP’s, no gaming, no graphics etc. I buy used and upgraded corporate trade-ins from recyclers on Ebay. I’m typing this on a Dell Latitude that was less than $100 delivered.
Same here – I have bought many ex-lease computers from dellrefurbished.com. My needs are low-end; I don’t need a cutting-edge screamer, and these are solid computers that arrive in like-new condition and work great.
Using a nice one right now that I got for $110 a year and a half ago. Its only negative is its limited to Win10 only-it can’t do a windows 11 upgrade. So… after 3 years it will hit the end of OS support (at an outlay of $36 a year).
Watch for their sales during various holidays. They also meter-out the deals during those holidays, so keep looking until they have one you want.
At which point, you blow out the HDD and install free Ubuntu Linux and get another 5 years out of it.
Perhaps. Or just keep using it. I don’t follow Micro$oft’s orders.
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One of my IT jobs used to be supervising support for desktops & laptops, so I once knew the subject well, although that was a number of years ago. We chose to lease Dell Latitude and Lenovo LTs, based on reliability and bang for the buck. I personally used Dells for many years, but quality seemed to be declining on the last couple. I also found that if the LT began to fall for some reason, the place the Latitudes offered for a quick grab seemed to be the same spot most likely to produce a cracked LCD (had 2 of those in 6 months). I am currently typing this on a Lenovo X201 LT that I bought from the lessor when I retired in 2015 that is about 12 years old. I replaced Windows 7 (I can’t stand any later versions) with Linux Mint (a Debian-based Linux that can be set up with a user interface similar to Win 7) and after a minimal learning curve, it has been working like a champ for me, to the point that I’m sorry I didn’t make the switch years ago. Start up takes about 20 seconds, shut down about 10 seconds. Update installation (including reboot) averages about 4 - 5 minutes if I wait a month to apply (totally at user’s discretion). If you do any work on your own puters, I would also steer you away from the Dell Inspiron line. Those are typically slightly cheaper than an equivalent Latitude, and can work well, but having repaired a couple for friends recently, I found that access to commonly replaced parts like DRAM, hard drives, graphics cards, etc. is significantly more difficult that for the Latitudes.
I’d consider that a positive. Win 11 is hot garbage. My company issues HP. My current one arrived with Win 10 and was pretty solid. Since I was forced to upgrade to 11, it’s a headache. I could easily go weeks without needing to reboot on 10, now some days I need to reboot twice a day.
My former boss and two coworkers have both needed new motherboards, one three times. I’d say I see 4-6 guys a year have one fail while in my class. Most common failure is the Ethernet port, which requires a new motherboard. We need the RJ45 to connect to the equipment. It’s gotten to the point that I keep a couple USB to Ethernet adapters on hand.
Apple/Macbook is the best, will work years as new.