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Cheap, Excellent Laptops
Elvenshae
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, my office manager (a really nice lady in her 50s) just got laid off.
Her only computer access has been through work and a really old laptop her sister loaned her.
She is in need of a more permanent laptop solution. Help me, MSTT! You're one of only several hopes I have!
Her current plan is to go to Best Buy and get whatever they're offering. I think that this will likely end up a suboptimal solution. So, I turn to you guys. She needs something that offers:
Excellent portability
Good-size screen
Heavy MS Office usage
Internet browsing
She won't be playing any screaming games on this, but bang-for-the-buck is important. I'm not 100% certain of her budget, but I expect something around $500 - $800 will be the most she can spend (she was, after all, just laid off, and this is coming out of her severance pay).
Since I know practically nothing about who's who in laptops these days, what brands should she be avoiding, looking for, etc.? What specific systems do y'all recommend?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Her only computer access has been through work and a really old laptop her sister loaned her.
She is in need of a more permanent laptop solution. Help me, MSTT! You're one of only several hopes I have!
Her current plan is to go to Best Buy and get whatever they're offering. I think that this will likely end up a suboptimal solution. So, I turn to you guys. She needs something that offers:
Excellent portability
Good-size screen
Heavy MS Office usage
Internet browsing
She won't be playing any screaming games on this, but bang-for-the-buck is important. I'm not 100% certain of her budget, but I expect something around $500 - $800 will be the most she can spend (she was, after all, just laid off, and this is coming out of her severance pay).
Since I know practically nothing about who's who in laptops these days, what brands should she be avoiding, looking for, etc.? What specific systems do y'all recommend?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220659
http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1871,iid=242801,00.asp
http://www.pcworld.com/article/187407/reliability_and_service_technologys_most_and_least_reliable_brands.html
Avoid HP, Dell, Gateway, and Compaq.
Go for Toshiba, Lenovo, Asus, and Sony.
You want a 15.6" screen. Ignore anyone telling you to get her a netbook -- she's not a college student, she's in her 50s, and eyesight isn't the same. Everyone I know around that age prefers larger screens, often kicking their resolution lower just because it artificially makes screen elements larger. That's a big deal, and if you get her a netbook, you'll be screwing her over in this respect. Without the benefit of optical drives, netbooks also require a bit more technical experience to maintain.
Watch for keyboard and touchpad -- they're a deceptively important part of the user experience, and unlike on a desktop, on a laptop they're irreplaceable. They're also something that for some reason after 20 years, laptop manufacturers STILL can't get right. Luckily, Sony, Asus, and Lenovo all mostly have great ones. (Toshiba is hit or miss, I've seen some great and some subpar)
Finally, look out for battery life factors -- since she's not using this for games, stick to something that uses Intel integrated, preferably a core i3 or i5 if you can get one for the price. They'll be better on battery, and you don't need the graphics. And always make sure that battery is a six-cell -- all too frequently, vendors like to smuggle four-cell batteries into the cheap laptops; they simply aren't sufficient for most uses. Especially if she's planning to spend any appreciable amount of time at cafes or the library doing job-hunting.
I'M A TWITTER SHITTER
My mom is older than that and loves her netbook. That's mostly because it's easier for her to use it while laying in a comfortable position. She has Parkinson's, so that can be an issue.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
As I mentioned, she'll need it for heavy MS Office use - Excel, Word, FrontPage, PowerPoint - and not just basic word processing. Also, I don't want to recommend that she get a netbook with a screen that ends up too small for her to read.
I'll mention them as a cheaper, less powerful, smaller-screened option, but I think she'll still be happier with a real laptop.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone; damn, this is a fine board.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
She can check out out in stores and decide for herself if its too small.
You might want to consider a netbook. I say "might" because, as I posted there, I don't think it has the horsepower or the screen size to be as useful as you want it to be when it comes to doing actual office (like Microsoft Office!) stuff. However, it will be, generally, cheaper than a real laptop (like, "half-the-price" cheaper). In exchange, it will have a much smaller screen and keyboard (making it harder to see but much easier to carry around), less powerful (everything will run more slowly - but since you aren't going to be doing large database work, it may be fast enough anyway), will have a longer battery life (so you don't have to plug it in as often), and will probably be a little bit less reliable (i.e., more likely to break). I, personally, would not get a netbook unless I already had a working laptop, but that's just me. You should try one out in the store and see if you like it.
Copacetic?
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Given that I just read a study that demonstrated that netbooks were less reliable than notebooks, that isn't a lie.
The screen is demonstrably smaller, so that isn't a lie.
Netbooks tend towards single cores at lower clock speeds and have less memory, so it's demonstrably less powerful.
Netbooks are available starting at $200 to $300, which is about half the price of the recommended laptops in this thread, so they're about half the price.
And, you just mentioned the longer battery life as being a point in their favor, so I assume you weren't lying then ...
So, where's the lies?
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
The processing power is plenty for any of those situations. Office uses NIL when it comes to processing power, unless you're talking about large Powerpoint presentations with heavy video/audio usage or something? I don't think Word or Excel are going to be an issue. Computers these days (and essentially have been for years) are overpowered when it comes to consumer use. They really are. Even netbooks are overpowered for most of what people use them for. Now, if she wants to use it to watch DVDs, then I can understand wanting something larger with a DVD drive. Otherwise, she is the target demographic for a netbook.
I wouldn't spend less than $300 on a netbook though unless it's on sale. You are probably going to want a 2GB RAM model with Win7 on it, and they usually run $350-500. I've been pleased with the ASUS Eee models, though the Samsung and Gateway models have worked fine for the people I know who have them as well. Oh, and netbooks are often coupled with a year of "cloud" storage she could use for keeping backups of her important stuff. Or you could set her up with Live or Google for documents as there is Office Online or Google Docs available which would keep them available in case something did happen to her netbook.
If you really want a nice, new "full"-sized laptop (13.3" but has Core i3 and DVD drive), the new Toshiba Portege R705 just got glowing reviews on Engadget for it's design and build and runs $800. It's available at Best Buy as well so she can go see it in person.
1. battery life
2. ergonomics
Battery life is self-explanatory, but ergonomics you can only evaluate by using one. Hell, it's half the reason I just buy Apple all the time - I know I can count on Apple to have non-shitty keyboards and trackpads that are actually suitable for a day's work. 90% of PC laptop manufacturers can't even get the damn trackpad anywhere close to right (recessed mouse buttons that can only be pressed using your other hand are my personal favorite design gaffe), and include amazingly-shitty driver software for the "scroll strip" that doesn't even work half the time.
I am surprised at everyone recommending netbooks. I have 20/20 eyesight and I can't stand them and definitely wouldn't recommend one for my mom (though a lot of my hatred has to do with the difficulty of typing on them). You should have her try one to make sure though.
A smaller screen which means less workspace, a smaller keyboard that will tire you out after a long session, and of course even less keys than a laptop.
Yea, you don't get a numberpad, I will admit this point. However, most 10'' models have a near full-sized keyboard.
Because it feels like looking at postage stamp. And yeah, there is some eyestrain past two feet I find, depending on the shittiness of the brand.
Shock.
As far as getting used to they keys and screen size, I work in IT on a 22" monitor and full sized ergonomic keyboard with a trackball at work all day. I service computers with 17-19" monitors and full sized normal keyboards and mice. I use a 14" laptop with nearly full size keyboard and trackpad at work and home. I also use a 10" netbook with a 89-90% keyboard at home as well. I don't find any problem switching from one to the next to another. The netbook is just as functional as my work laptop in both ease of use and reading things in the screen, and given that when I'm sitting at my desk my 22" screen is ~3' from my eyes and when I'm home the 10" screen is more 1-1.5' from my eyes, there is even less of a difference. Sure I scroll more, but it's not terrible.