Time for a new laptop.

[BWR1953]

I typically “jump in” to learn about recent tech when I need it, then I buy it and get back out. I generally don't stay up to date.

Such is the case now.

I prefer Windows.

My current laptop is a Dell e6500 running Windows 7, which was built in 2008 and which I purchased used 3 years ago for $125. Prior to this one, I’d had a Dell e6400 which I’d owned from 2010 and I got that one used for a couple hundred bucks as well. When it went bad, I swapped the hard drive out of it into the e6500. Quick and easy.

So: the e6400 from 2010 until 2017 and the e6500 from 2017 until today.

Before those, I’d had desktops.

So now I’m researching and learning and trying to budget for what I really need, not something that’s the latest and greatest just for fashion sake. And sticker shock is setting in, as it always does when a person is on a fixed income like me.

My uses:
In addition to routine email, ‘net surfing, etc., I also need a pretty strong machine to do video editing. But I’ll also be live-streaming and downloading TV shows and movies from the internet, so storage and speed are factors. I also may give the new laptop to my stepson when he leaves home in a few years when he turns eighteen. So, I don't want something "too ancient" for him.

I’m learning that I’ll probably want an SDD drive with NVMe. I’ve been looking at 1TB SSD storage, 32gb RAM and at least an Intel Core i5 processor or better. I'm open to AMD but I haven't owned one in 25 years. :noidea:

Some of the computers that I’ve checked out have over-clocked the CPU such that it’s as much as 3 times faster than original. But these machines are from resellers who take the original machines and hop them up. I’m fine with that, but I’ve read some reviews where customers have stated that they couldn’t get OEM warranty support because the modified machines were considered “used” since they were purchased previously by the resellers to install the upgrades.

Thoughts and suggestions?

 

[tpenfield]

I think your days of finding a $125 laptop maybe done. COVID has consumed much of the supply of laptops throughout the world, as many people are now 'working from home'. i5 might not be enough processor for video editing.

At my place of work (I'm VP of IT) we now buy i7 Intel w/ 16 GB of RAM. I happened to be in the office yesterday as was our Helpdesk person. I mentioned that my current laptop (2 year old Dell tablet 2-in-1 style - MS Surface clone) was giving me fits, and asked him to 'wipe' it and start fresh. Instead, he gave me a new 2-in-1, as the processors over the past couple of years are that much better/faster. So, now I have a new laptop


I'd stick with Dell or a similar direct source and not go through resellers/aftermarket. Your cost is going to be in the $700+ range, but you should get some longevity out of it, plus the warranty will be honored, as you mentioned.

FWIW - I use Windows for Work and Mac at home. You will typically get 7-8 years out of a Mac and 3-4 years out of a Windows machine. So, something to consider if that is an option for you. Mac's have gotten pricey in the past few years, as have the Windows machines to some extend. I think the days of a $300 Laptop that can actually do anything in a reasonable fashion are pretty much over. People tend to buy at the 'low-end' and then actually use a the 'higher end' of performance needs.

 

[dingbat]

Got a new Dell Latitude laptop for work last fall.

Picking the latest and greatest model CPU (iX-series x) will cost you dearly.

Watch for the dual and quad core switch...higher number doesn’t mean faster. Hex core and higher are now available

Did some research on the CPU options and come to find that the i5- series 8 as on par with the current, much higher priced i7-x series offering at the time.

As always buy as much memory as you can afford.

Hard drives are hard drives and they all fail sooner or later. Fortunately they are cheap and easy to come by. I always default to the “stock” drive and go from there.

Software distribution will be a shock

 

[southkogs]

I'll echo what Ted said, including the Mac part. We just replace the Admirals MacBook: I had one that I retired about three years ago and I rebuilt it for her. The one we replaced for her was my working MacBook from 2005. Macs are pricey, but they tend to have a killer longevity. My daughter bought a used MacBook for less than $1K four years ago and is still using it pretty comfortably.

I also would suggest people look at the Mac Mini. You can use most of your peripherals with them, but get a feisty little box to run with.

I'll also add video editing on the Mac Platform via Premier is a NICE user experience.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Going with SSD is a huge improvement over spinning drives. They are so much faster... for storing large quantities of video files, though, SSD is still a pricy way to go. I'd get a decently large SSD drive for the OS and applications, and then a 1TB or larger traditional drive to use as storage.

Personally, for heavy duty work like video editing, I prefer a desktop. To get similar performance in a portable machine means you'll pay a premium, especially now with the high demand for laptops.

 

[BWR1953]

Okay guys, I'm looking really hard at this one: https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaP...011|562241011&rnid=562234011&s=pc&sr=1-1&th=1

Overall reviews are great in this particular configuration from Amazon. However, that 1.0gHz processor with "turbo boost" concerns me.

To use an automotive analogy... "There ain't no substitute for cubic inches!" A big block engine loping along at 3500RPM, producing 400HP, is not working nearly as hard as a small block screaming at 6500RPM to produce the same power.

So a 1.0gHz processor with turbo boost makes me just a little leery. I often have a dozen or more tabs open while researching and sometimes I'm also editing video (at a simple level) at the same time.

I've read that it may be possible to force the CPU to stay in turbo mode, but I'm concerned about overheating the thing.


I read this review that sums it up.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1543438-REG/lenovo_81yk004bus_15_6_ideapad_5_14.html/reviews

This was a fairly good deal for the specs (I got it when it was on sale for 699, and it came with Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 which is nice too), for a laptop with 16 GB ram and 512 GB ssd. These are good specs, even though there is no ethernet port (but you can use an ethernet adapter), and the screen is the LEAST bright/colorful screen I've seen on a laptop even with settings changed to try to improve it. Also, the Bitdefender Total Security 2020 that came with it can't even work properly on it because the 1 GHz processor isn't enough - it says it needs 1500 mhz / 1.5 GHz to work properly, so that was wasted. If you're planning on trying to use this laptop for both work-related things and light browsing/light hobbies/light games (I know this isn't a laptop meant for gaming, but it's supposed to be good for work), I'm not sure if it's reliable enough for either. For work-related things, the keyboard feels nice to type on, but, see my explanation of what I think is the laptop's overall worst drawback: The worst drawback is how often the laptop / screen just completely freezes sometimes even when only running one browser tab or one thing at a time (you would think it's supposed to be able to handle more than one thing with the amount of RAM it has, but that 1 GHz processor really limits it. Even just having 1 thing open at a time, it still freezes). Every time it freezes, you need to hold the power button, to force it to shut down and then completely need to restart the laptop each time. The freezing had started ever since the 2nd day after having the laptop, and it freezes occasionally but too often especially for a new laptop. It makes me wonder about the durability of the laptop (and how long it may last) and doubt the quality of the brand. I don't want to go through the trouble of returning it during this pandemic, and it does have somewhat decent specs for the price, but I don't think I would buy a Lenovo laptop again.

 

[dingbat]

So a 1.0gHz processor with turbo boost makes me just a little leery. I often have a dozen or more tabs open while researching and sometimes I'm also editing video (at a simple level) at the same time.

Your old system was a dual, not quad processor. Four times the processing power right off the bat.

Having said that, 1.0 GHz is pretty doggy by today's standards even for a i5 chip. Dell's current base processor is a i5-8365U with a base of 1.6 GHz.

 

[tpenfield]

The only thing is that I would check out some performance benchmark number of the i5 processor, since they are not all created equal.

 

[BWR1953]

Well, after a year of sorta/kinda thinking about it... and a couple months of thinking more casually about it... and a few weeks of paying more attention to it... then a week of seriously looking into it (including on here)... and the last two days of completely focusing on it... I've reached a decision...

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... I'm gonna fix my truck! :lol:



Seriously though, after all the research, I've decided that I'm not going to buy a new laptop right now. It's just not the right time.

I'll hang onto what I have for a couple more years and then upgrade to something "new" at that time. That way I can do other things with the funds now and give the boy a newer computer when he leaves home.

Meanwhile, I'd installed a new keyboard ($20) onto my Dell a couple weeks ago and it's holding up just fine. The hard drive was the major issue.

To deal with my current bad hard drive, a few minutes ago I ordered a newer, bigger one with Windows 10 already installed. Cost? $50. So I found a cheap way to just hang on for awhile. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seagate-50...ca5e:g:xHQAAOSwR9BfHzaz&LH_ItemCondition=1000

My truck really does need a lot of attention, including 5 new tires. So I'll use my funds for that and just roll along.

THANKS AGAIN for all the great help! :joyous: :thumb:

-BWR

 

[BWR1953]

Well guys, I thought I'd give y'all an update.

The $50 hard drive with Windows 10 preinstalled that I bought didn't have a key, but I knew that at the time of purchase. I figured that I could use one of the 3 legit keys that I already had from the two prior hard drives and the case of the Dell itself. No joy. I ended up buying a legit key online for $30 and that worked out well.

Then I upgraded the laptop's memory to the max of 8GB for $80.

Next was to buy MS Office 2016 for $80 and I got that installed a week or so ago.

I have everything tweaked now and am happy with the results. So, for $250 I was able to get an updated, stable system that should last me for another 4-5 years.

Meanwhile, I have a question. Do I need any protection other than Windows Defender? On my W7 installations I'd always had Avast! for virus protection and liked it quite a bit. I've used others over the years for malware and spyware protection too.

Thoughts?

 

[BWR1953]

Oh yeah, I also got my truck back on the road! New tires, shine job, etc.

Check out those reflections.

 

[MRS]

Nice work on the truck! Looks good.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Defender is pretty good. Xfinity has provided free Norton antivirus until now, and I think we’ll rely on Defender, with an occasional scan by Malwarebytes (the free version).