Cheap Laptop

[George K]

D3 has a Chromebook (a HP) that she got a couple of years ago. It was, iirc <$200. It's fine for what she's doing now, but there are a couple of issues: 1) She can't do any work on it (Outlook, work spreadsheets, etc) and 2) Her cat peed onto the keyboard. It's functional, but she wants to have something that she can use for work. Though a Mac person, she wants something that would be compatible with the Windows machines that her work uses.

So, she's wondering what's a reasonable laptop that she can get for a cheapo price. She's not gaming, doing video, etc. All she needs is

1. Internet access
2. Windows compatibility
3. Office compatibility

Really, REALLY, basic stuff.

Should she go for Windows 10 compatibility?

I really don't know enough about all this. She needs cheap and functional at the most basic of levels.

Thoughts?

[Aqua Letifer]

I'd say stick with Chromebook.

[George K]

@Aqua-Letifer said in Cheap Laptop:

I'd say stick with Chromebook.

She can't do Outlook, Office, etc, can she?

[Aqua Letifer]

@George-K said in Cheap Laptop:

@Aqua-Letifer said in Cheap Laptop:

I'd say stick with Chromebook.

She can't do Outlook, Office, etc, can she?

Online, she could. But she should try it to see if that's too much of a PITA. In my experience, Outlook online is fine. Word online can suck.

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K said in Cheap Laptop:

2. Her cat peed onto the keyboard.

[George K]

@taiwan_girl said in Cheap Laptop:

@George-K said in Cheap Laptop:

2. Her cat peed onto the keyboard.

We were talking about this this afternoon. Mrs. George asked, "Why don't you just wash it?"

[Copper]

@George-K said in Cheap Laptop:

the Windows machines that her work uses

If work uses Windows, then Windows.

Probably Windows 10, but check, there are, believe it or not, some Windows 8 holdovers.

Tell work to buy her one.

[Doctor Phibes]

I bought a cheap laptop a couple of years ago. What a great deal - $400 and I got Windows 10, an SSD, thing worked really well.

Then, after about 18 months it just stopped working out of the blue. We took it to be looked at and were told the motherboard had failed. It could be fixed for $300.

Never again.

My feeling is that you should either get something absolutely dirt cheap (Chromebook), or bite the bullet and get something decent, with good build quality.

[Mik]

We all three have Lenovo Yogas and like them a lot. Plus you can use them as a tablet too. Not exactly cheap, but you can likely pick one up around $700 or so on sale.

[Doctor Phibes]

@Mik said in Cheap Laptop:

We all three have Lenovo Yogas and like them a lot. Plus you can use them as a tablet too. Not exactly cheap, but you can likely pick one up around $700 or so on sale.

I've got an HP Spectre, which does much the same thing. I love it, but it wasn't cheap.

[Axtremus]

Last Windows 10 machine I acquired is a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 and so far it’s been good.
It’s Microsoft hardware running Microsoft software. You cannot get any more compatible than that.
So I recommend taking a look at the Microsoft Surface line of computers to see if you can find one that hits your desired price/performance sweet spot.
Good luck.

[George K]

@Axtremus I know nothing about the Surface line of Microsoft machines. Based on what I posted above, which model of Surface would you recommend?

I imagine an attached keyboard is a must.

No need for gaming, video editing, etc. Just a basic notebook that'll do Office, web, etc.

[Klaus]

For a cheapo price I’d buy a refurbished Thinkpad.

What are the priorities in the battery life vs performance vs size triangle?

If small form factor and long battery life are important: I've always been a fan of the X series laptops. Very reliable. Lots of compatible accessories (such as docking stations). Easy to maintain (e.g. extend memory) - the opposite of Apple's "let's glue it all together" philosophy. Good availability of spare parts.

[Axtremus]

@George-K said in Cheap Laptop:

@Axtremus I know nothing about the Surface line of Microsoft machines. Based on what I posted above, which model of Surface would you recommend?

I imagine an attached keyboard is a must.

No need for gaming, video editing, etc. Just a basic notebook that'll do Office, web, etc.

See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/compare-devices ... I'd say look at the Pro X, Pro 7, or the Laptop 3. The Pro X and Pro 7 need separate keyboard/cover. The Laptop 3 comes with an attached keyboard, this is most like your traditional laptop.

There is a cheaper option called the "Go 2" at half the cost of the other options, but that comes with a weaker/slower Intel m-series processor. Performance wise, you can probably compare that to the entry level MacBook.

[mark]

I have zero experience in the Non-Apple laptop market. I am probably going to start looking at Win laptops, soon. Of course, mine will be a business purchase and will be on the "high end" of the equation. "Cheap" and me, do not get along well.

[Aqua Letifer]

I have a Surface. A rather cheap one. No problems.

[George K]

@Axtremus said in Cheap Laptop:

Performance wise, you can probably compare that to the entry level MacBook.

That's probably good enough for her needs.