Help Jim pick out his new LAPTOP

Ok boys and girl !
I have been through a lot of laptops in my time. Some good, some terrible, none great, and none have survived more than 2 years (you're asking "what does he DO to these laptops ??").  

Here are my needs:
1. Starting with the CPU, I need something gutsy enough that can handle multiple open windows: programs such as Photo, Video and Audio editing, along with the basic web browsers and stuff (all at the same time). This is the area I am least educated in. Back in the old days, it was easier to know which CPU was the best - the higher the number, the more powerful the CPU. Today I have no idea what all the technical stuff means and what makes one better than the other.

2. RAM must be 8GB or higher

3. HDD must be 750GB or higher (I cannot yet afford a SSD, nor do SSDs have the large storage I need... yet)

4. O.S. = I WANT Win7 32 bit... but I can be a little flexible with that - if it HAS to be Win8, I will bite the bullet. (unfortunately some of the programs I use often will not work on 64 bit... don't know why)

5. I need the "F-Keys" to be operable (without having to hold the Fn key) - so, for example, when I hit F5, my screen refreshes and doesn't change the brightness of my screen.

6. Standard DVD-RW/CD-RW drive, 3 or more USB ports, hdmi, vga, basics...

7. Bonus (but not a necessity) would be a number pad to the right, which means the screen would need to be 15" +
    and the touchpad should be in the center or slightly left - not on the right (yes, I've seen those).

Here are my financial limits:
I cannot exceed 800.  I know I ask a lot for a little amount of money, but I'm sure there's something out there that could come close to my needs/wants.

What I've had:
My last 2 were hp Pavillions. The first one was great, but I abused that thing to death and so replaced it with another pavillion that was the latest on the market at the time. It was junk ! Nothing but problems for 15 months before it kicked the bucket (had a bad video card). I haven't owned a Dell in about 10 years. Years ago, I was most happy with an inexpensive Acer (of ALL things). And my daughter's Toshiba she took to college survived almost 5 years.  I am now considering a Toshiba.

Opinions and recommendations and warnings are welcome (perhaps you can tell me what YOU have and if you're happy with it)

A Commodore 64. Cheap, doesn't get viruses and set it in your lap and you have a laptop!!!

I never thought of that !! Thanks Mike !!    

Look at a Lenovo. As far as what you need, it's probably there but I'm no expert. My parents own two and we had one until I dropped it and killed it...

Also, the Toshiba idea is good. We had a Toshiba Satellite for 4 years and it was great. It didn't quit but it got to the point where the technology was so far ahead of the computer that it was easier to just replace.

Cool ! Thanks ishmael ! From what I've seen in my shoppings, the Lenovos are pretty expensive (most are in excess of 1000+).

That's another vote for Toshiba. I was looking at one that had 90% of what I wanted, but it was Win8 (which I really don't want to do...)

BTW, SSDs come up to 1 TB now though quite expensive of course.

You do NOT want 32-bit Windows or your RAM requirement is pointless (can't access more than 3.5 GB). I doubt Windows 10 will even be offered in 32. Better switch to newer programs.

Lenovos are steep and they keep making them worse but if you're OK with buying used, the T520 would be what I'd get (I now have a T510 I picked up for a killer price). I just bought and resold a T520. I would have kept it except it was Home Premium instead of Professional. If you don't mind the 6-row Chicklet keyboard the T530 is OK, too. I'd skip the T540 though (they totally redid the trackpad).

Anyway, all I've ever used is Thinkpads (I've had 9 so far plus an Edge my wife uses). I was using my 2004 T42p until this summer. Love the Thinkpad keyboards, trackpoints, ThinkLight, robustness, screens, etc). They were the premiere business laptop until a couple years ago. Still better than most though. Only downside is as a business laptop they don't have direct HDMI output (use DisplayPort instead so you need an adapter).

I wouldn't touch anything you can get at Walmart.

I personally will stick with Lenovo for now. The only other ones I'd consider are the business units from HP or Dell.

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You do NOT want 32-bit Windows or your RAM requirement is pointless (can't access more than 3.5 GB). I doubt Windows 10 will even be offered in 32. Better switch to newer programs.

Very good to know. Thanks ! I use the Microsoft Office Document Imaging to save things as .tiff extensions and for some reason the 64 bit does not run MODI.  I'll have to find another way is all.

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They were the premiere business laptop until a couple years ago.

The Dr we work for shelled out 2K for each Lenovo thinkpad in our office about 6 years ago. Today they are sitting in my garage - old, beat up, XP, missing parts.  She told me to clean the storage room and take all the computers and PC supplies so she could write them off end of this year. I have no idea what to do with them. Real shame. One year they sell for 2000 bucks, another year they're sitting in my garage getting dusty. Wish I knew how to build and rebuild laptops. I also have around 8 towers, most of the HDD are shot. I used a couple of them as makeshift external storage. Works great !

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I wouldn't touch anything you can get at Walmart.

100% agreed. Someone told me to get my next laptop at Costco since they have good warranties and return policies. Idk though.  I'll look into a new Lenovo, but doubt I'll be able to afford one (can't go over $800). Scared to get another hp as my last Pavilion was crap ! cheap parts, bad disc drive, video card crashed the laptop every couple days, etc etc...  Had some pretty good Dells back in the day, but it's been a long time.

MikeInFla wrote:

A Commodore 64. Cheap, doesn't get viruses and set it in your lap and you have a laptop!!!

Great! Let's make this happen!

Guilty/Forgiven wrote:

Very good to know. Thanks ! I use the Microsoft Office Document Imaging to save things as .tiff extensions and for some reason the 64 bit does not run MODI.  I'll have to find another way is all.

If MS stopped supporting it, they must have something else now. I'd think any number of free image editors could save TIFF.

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The Dr we work for shelled out 2K for each Lenovo thinkpad in our office about 6 years ago. Today they are sitting in my garage - old, beat up, XP, missing parts.

What models are they?

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Someone told me to get my next laptop at Costco since they have good warranties and return policies. Idk though.  I'll look into a new Lenovo, but doubt I'll be able to afford one (can't go over $800).

We don't have Costco here so don't know what they carry. I doubt you could buy any of what I recommended new. I always buy used to save lots of $$$. I've never bought a new one in my entire life. I've built a new one, but everything else I got used.

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What models are they?

I'll letcha know when I get off work.  I wish we lived closer, I'd hook you up with my PC graveyard storehouse.  I've been planning on restoring the factory settings and selling a bunch at a yard sale for real cheap (the Dr originally told me to find a service that picks up old PCs and Laptops and pay them to take them - I blinked twice and said, ummm, can I have them ? She said absolutely. So now they've sat in my garage for months... but there's no way I'd have her PAY someone to take them away ! I figured if anything I could create a couple Frankensteins. Matter of fact, the current laptop I'm on is one I pieced together and it runs ok so far. It's an eMachine with the lowest RAM, CPU, tiny HDD, etc... but it's better than nothing. I took some parts off of another eMachine to replace broken parts. Only problem [besides being painfully slow] is the touchpad is broke. Both right and left clicks bring up only a right click - annoying. So I plugged in a usb mouse - that works fine)

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I always buy used to save lots of $$$.

I SO wish I would've taken classes to keep up my knowledge of building and rebuilding. My skills stopped back in the early 2000s cuz I didn't keep it up. Today I don't really have what it takes to tinker with anything anymore for fear of causing more damage. The emachines were easy cuz they were the same model and interchangeable parts.

This is what's collecting dust in my garage - be nice to get some cash for them, but I doubt they're worth anything. Thinkpad X60

I still think you should use this!



The "new" version has a Dual Core 525 Atom processor, an Nvidia Ion2 graphics chipset, 2GB of RAM (upgradeable to 4GB), a 160GB hard drive, and built-in Wi-Fi. On the left side of the keyboard there's a slot or tray-load DVD (upgradeable to Blu-ray), and on the right side there's a multi-format card reader, along with a USB 2.0 port. The rear features four additional USB 2.0 ports; mouse and keyboard PS/2 ports; DVI, VGA, and HDMI ports; Ethernet; and support for 6-channel HD audio. It runs Linux, but you can install Windows if you like

^ that's crazy ! I didn't know they were still making those ??? Or is that a joke ? 

No, it's real! They started making them again and have the original price of $595, which is what they cost back when they were first released in the early 80's.

THAT is a trip ! I'm a pretty faithful reader of PC World magazine so you'd think I would've come across that at some point. haha

So for TopShot - here are the specs on the Lenovos:

Yep, they have their cords. At least one has a brand new battery, and I've replaced the swivel mechanism (on 2 or 3 of them) that commonly breaks on these things.
1. WinXP Service pack 3
2.Tablet edition 2005 Verson 2002
3. Intel Core Duo CPU L2400 @ 1.66GHz  980MHz
4. 1GB RAM
5. 80GB HDD

and yes, I am still shocked she paid almost 2K for each one brand new. Crazy ! I think our office got about 4 to 5 years out of them, which is good. But then once Vista past us, and Win7 had been out for quite some time, she retired the Lenovos and got cheapo laptops from Tiger Direct (as in "$200" laptops- and most didn't last 1 year)
 

I def would have gone for the non swivel version!

Well, Dr wanted small laptops that could be folded around to become touch tablets for the Nurses... but that was the first things that broke. Spent a fortune on the little die cast metal swivel part and they shipped all the way from Japan !

I'm not surprised. For as much as the laptops cost, they should have machined such a critical part and they would have lasted forever.

I should be able to get at least 25 to 30 bucks for each Lenovo... the Screen Swivel Hinge by itself goes for 26.75 on ebay and other part suppliers.  Surely someone would want to buy them cheap. They're still working, despite their age.


Back to MY new laptop.  I need a recommendation for the best CPUs at a budget... not cheapo walmart crap, but not $2K Alienware quality either... something that can handle a good load of graphic work, multiple programs - but not an arm and a leg.
Anyone ?

I think any Core i3/5/7 would be sufficient for nearly anything the average person will do. The most pressing tasks are watching HD Youtube (maybe Netflix if they use Flash too), gaming or doing video editing. Older/slower ones may take a little longer but it will still work. What I'm saying is I wouldn't get too hung up on what CPU it has as long as it's not more than 6 years old. Mine is a first gen Core i5 but I don't game and it does fine with the 720p videos I make.

Cheapo Walmart stuff will still have OK processors. It's other components, build quality, etc that suffer.

If you aren't going to buy used then you have nothing to worry about as far as CPU.

If you will be doing gaming or intense video editing, I'd look to something that has discrete rather than integrated graphics though. However, it will cost more in general.

Hey, I really appreciate the info. That really helps me a lot !

Why don't you provide your top 3 that you narrow it down to and we can chime in.

Roger !