Laptop shopping!

Monketi Ghost · 31st March 2015, 08:27 AM

Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07.
That's right, I run em into the ground. Have been using workarounds to keep the one I have functioning.

So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth.
That probably wouldn't affect price though.

My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that.

Obviously I'm way out of the loop. Fielding all recommendations ASIDE FROM "Buy some stupidly overpriced shiny Apple product for idiots with more money than sense."

alfaniner · 31st March 2015, 09:04 AM

I went to the Toshiba site and had mine built to my selected preferences. It probably cost a lot more than just getting one from Best Buy or some such (and I may have been just as satisified with one of those).

I hardly use the new one yet because it has Windows 8 (I have it set to show Desktop instead), but my older one has all the programs on it already and I know exactly where everything is. It's going to take weeks to migrate or re-install to the newer one.

Just make a list of the features you absolutely must have and go from there.

Gawdzilla Sama · 31st March 2015, 09:14 AM

"Laptop dancing" thread in 5, 4, 3,...

Childlike Empress · 31st March 2015, 09:20 AM

Are you sure you need a new laptop and wouldn't be better off with a puppy?

YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.

I AGREE

Joey McGee · 31st March 2015, 09:34 AM

Crackheads + eBay = Mad savings

Dr. Keith · 31st March 2015, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that.

I'll just note that you can get really cheap storage in the form of USB connected hard drives if you tend to use your laptop at home a lot. Although, most hard drives will be 500g anyway, so that may be a moot point unless you delve into SSDs, which undermine your value proposition.

malicus · 31st March 2015, 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07.

Good for you grandad.

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth.
That probably wouldn't affect price though.

My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that.

Off the top of my head, after researching laptops for my sis last xmas:

i5 processor
4GB RAM
1TB HDD
Intel on board gfx HD4400 (willing to be corrected on this).

In the UK you could aim to get something like that for around £350-400, which likely translates to the same amount of your earth dollars.

rjh01 · 31st March 2015, 06:10 PM

Get Windows 7. Then wait for Windows 10 and install that.

Or put everything you have onto DVDs and buy a DVD player? Buy a smart one and it would even play Youtube!

roger · 31st March 2015, 06:11 PM

Can you explain why you need the drive space and will spend weeks "reinstalling" if all you do is watch videos and play music? I'm not being snarky, it sounds like you have some unstated needs.

If you aren't doing any heavy duty processing/computation, look at something with the new Core M chips. They require no fans, and the result is a silent system if you also have an SSD.

If you plan for another 5-7 years, you may want to buy enough computer to work for that long. Especially if you are interested in the thin and light computers, as things like memory are soldered onto the motherboard, and hence not upgradeable.

Quad HD screens are great, but current software does not support it well now. Some icons are tiny, other software scales the resolution up but poorly, so the image is blurry. In that sense you are better served with a 1920x1080 screen. But in a few years that stuff will be ironed out, and if you are going to live with this laptop for 5-7 years you may be disappointed. Quad HD will make your video viewing experience much better.

SSD drives are the bees knees. In 2.5 format you can get 512GB for $200, so soon it will be free. If you end up buying a computer with a spinning disk you can upgrade in a year or so for next to free, or just do it now and avoid the annoyance.

Does battery life matter to you (those overpriced Macs will run for 12 hours, compared to 4 hours for a cheap Windows laptop)?

Does ruggedness matter to you? For example the thinkpad series are built for the road warrier, and are tough as nails. Also bulky and heavy.

Does weight/size matter? an ultabook typically has very long battery life, is very slim, but often has soldered on components to make that thin size possible.

Monketi Ghost · 1st April 2015, 03:59 AM

Originally Posted by roger

Can you explain why you need the drive space and will spend weeks "reinstalling" if all you do is watch videos and play music? I'm not being snarky, it sounds like you have some unstated needs.

If you aren't doing any heavy duty processing/computation, look at something with the new Core M chips. They require no fans, and the result is a silent system if you also have an SSD.

If you plan for another 5-7 years, you may want to buy enough computer to work for that long. Especially if you are interested in the thin and light computers, as things like memory are soldered onto the motherboard, and hence not upgradeable.

Quad HD screens are great, but current software does not support it well now. Some icons are tiny, other software scales the resolution up but poorly, so the image is blurry. In that sense you are better served with a 1920x1080 screen. But in a few years that stuff will be ironed out, and if you are going to live with this laptop for 5-7 years you may be disappointed. Quad HD will make your video viewing experience much better.

SSD drives are the bees knees. In 2.5 format you can get 512GB for $200, so soon it will be free. If you end up buying a computer with a spinning disk you can upgrade in a year or so for next to free, or just do it now and avoid the annoyance.

Does battery life matter to you (those overpriced Macs will run for 12 hours, compared to 4 hours for a cheap Windows laptop)?

Does ruggedness matter to you? For example the thinkpad series are built for the road warrier, and are tough as nails. Also bulky and heavy.

Does weight/size matter? an ultabook typically has very long battery life, is very slim, but often has soldered on components to make that thin size possible.

I think you confused my post with someone else's.
I never said anything about weeks or reinstalling.
All needs stated.

The rest of your reply is helpful, as are all others, with thanks, folks.

Wudang · 1st April 2015, 04:06 AM

I did well with a warehouse deal on amazon uk. Sounds like your needs aren't cutting edge so check end-of-line deals etc

Monketi Ghost · 1st April 2015, 04:08 AM

Originally Posted by Wudang

I did well with a warehouse deal on amazon uk. Sounds like your needs aren't cutting edge so check end-of-line deals etc

Yah, hardly cutting edge.
I'm not a gamer. Just a musician.

Monketi Ghost · 1st April 2015, 12:57 PM

After lots of thought...
I'm probably going to buy a notebook style laptop, a big screen TV, and just run my drives through the HDMI hookup.
It seems the best solution.

So now I'm shopping notebook style laptops!
I'm sure I can judiciously get a two year old laptop for pretty cheap. Don't need the latest stuff.

Childlike Empress · 1st April 2015, 01:09 PM

WTF is a "notebook style laptop"? Is it something like an "elevator style lift"?

Monketi Ghost · 1st April 2015, 01:37 PM

Originally Posted by Childlike Empress

WTF is a "notebook style laptop"? Is it something like an "elevator style lift"?

That was outdated me trying not to sound outdated.
I knew of notebook laptops but didn't know if it was appropriate to refer to all dinky laptops as notebooks.

Childlike Empress · 1st April 2015, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

That was outdated me trying not to sound outdated.
I knew of notebook laptops but didn't know if it was appropriate to refer to all dinky laptops as notebooks.

I think these terms are synonymous. Maybe you meant "netbook".

Seriously, is there anything really out of order with your current thing? If it's just slow or the software is a mess, you should really try it with what I recommended in my first post in this thread.

In addition, as others have said external hard drives are dirt cheap these days.

Monketi Ghost · 1st April 2015, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by Childlike Empress

I think these terms are synonymous. Maybe you meant "netbook".

Seriously, is there anything really out of order with your current thing? If it's just slow or the software is a mess, you should really try it with what I recommended in my first post in this thread.

In addition, as others have said external hard drives are dirt cheap these days.

My current laptop is seven years old and failing. I've had to use a logon workaround for months, some shortcuts no longer work reliably or at all, mouse functions are different every day, sometimes she doesn't boot up unless I coax her. Nearly toast.

But nice as your suggestion is, I'm not going to use a new OS.
I simply need a Windows notebookorwhatever that's not so recent that it hasn't dropped in price.

And since I don't own a tv, I may as well set my thing up in a way that integrates a few components. That way my computer is still portable.
So I'm going to buy a sensibly priced notebookorwhatever, an external drive for backup to the one I already have, and a big screen teevee.

Childlike Empress · 1st April 2015, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

My current laptop is seven years old and failing. I've had to use a logon workaround for months, some shortcuts no longer work reliably or at all, mouse functions are different every day, sometimes she doesn't boot up unless I coax her. Nearly toast.

All sounds like a messed-up OS nobody took care of. What I suggested is to download a 100MB file for free, burn it to a CD (as an .iso), boot your computer from it and see if the "commercial" promised too much. It barks when it's ready.

Anyway, good luck with your shopping.

fuelair · 1st April 2015, 07:02 PM

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07.
That's right, I run em into the ground. Have been using workarounds to keep the one I have functioning.

So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth.
That probably wouldn't affect price though.

My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that.

Obviously I'm way out of the loop. Fielding all recommendations ASIDE FROM "Buy some stupidly overpriced shiny Apple product for idiots with more money than sense."

Go for at least a TB of memory if you can!!! Many now have two.......

William Parcher · 1st April 2015, 07:38 PM

How can you people say these things about laptops?

Wudang · 2nd April 2015, 12:52 AM

Originally Posted by fuelair

Go for at least a TB of memory if you can!!! Many now have two.......

You mean storage? For memory 4GB seems to be standard these days.

Notebook/laptop http://computer.howstuffworks.com/no...-mobile-pc.htm

Dessi · 2nd April 2015, 07:59 AM

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth.
That probably wouldn't affect price though.

NewEgg is a good place to start, and it's search functionality is detailed enough that you can find the exact laptop for your needs.

Since you're just browsing the Internet, I suggest looking for a laptop with at least 4 GB RAM, at least 500 GB hard drive space, at least 14" screen, and Intel Core i5 processor or better.

Also make sure you read reviews on your laptop, and make sure it has all of the ports you need (HDMI, USB, etc). Definitely consider refurbished laptops too.

Here's a few laptops I found which might fit your needs, with my personal recommendation noted with a smiley:

Refurbished Dell Latitude E6420:

Price	CPU	HDD	RAM	Screen Size	OS
$290	Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz	750 GB	4 GB	14"	Win7 Pro x64
$310	Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz	750 GB	6 GB	14"	Win7 Pro x64
$320	Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz	500 GB	4 GB	15.6"	Win7 Pro x64
$340	Intel Core i5 2.5 GHz	1000 GB	4 GB	14"	Win7 Pro x64
$360	Intel Core i7 2.7 GHz	500 GB	4 GB	14"	Win7 Pro x64

If you don't like refurbished laptops, Acer Aspire laptops are very good:

Price	CPU	HDD	RAM	Screen Size	OS
$310	Intel Celeron 1.83 GHz x4	500 GB	4 GB	14"	Win8.1 x64
$350	Intel Celeron 2.16GHz x4	500 GB	4 GB	15.6"	Win8.1 x64
$373	Intel Pentium 1.70 GHz x4	500 GB	4 GB	15.6"	Win7 Home Premium x64
$398	Intel Pentium 2.40GHz x4	500 GB	4 GB	17.3"	Win7 Home Premium x64
$400	Intel Pentium 2.16GHz x4	500 GB	4 GB	14"	Win8.1 x64

Asus also makes a nice inexpensive laptop:

	Price	CPU	HDD	RAM	Screen Size	OS
	$320	Intel Baytrail 2.16 GHz x2	500 GB	4 GB	15.6"	Win8.1 x64

If you don't mind spending a lot of money, I would recommend:

Name	Price	CPU	HDD	RAM	Screen Size	OS	Notes
ASUS X555	$793	Intel Core i7 2.0GHz	1000 GB	8 GB	15.6"	Win8.1 x64	Good specs, this laptop will hold on to it's quality for a long time
Lenovo U530	$989	Intel Core i7 2.0GHz	1000 GB	8 GB	15.6"	Win8.1 x64	Has an NVidia graphics card, allowing 1920x1080 resolution, better than the laptops above. Touchscreen adds about $200 to the price of this laptop.
MSI GS60	$1100	Intel Core i7 2.5GHz	1000 GB	8 GB	15.6"	Win8.1 x64	Decent gaming laptop for the price
Gigabyte P35	$2139	Intel Core i7 2.6GHz	1000 GB HDD / 128 GB SDD	16 GB	15.6"	Win 8.1 x64	Gaming laptop with exceptional specs, but you could build a better gaming PC for the same price

xterra · 5th April 2015, 04:05 PM

I have the equivalent to the one in Dessi's first table, the one with the emoticon.

It's about three years old and has had only one problem, the hard disk failed about 15 months ago. Unfortunately, it was out of warranty by then. My local computer repair shop replaced it. Hardware and labor together were about $125.

Even with that extra expense, I think I got a good deal.

For backup, I bought a Western Digital Elements 1TB drive from Newegg for under $60. (I deleted the backup software that was on the drive and wrote a robocopy.bat file to copy only the files I want.)

The Man · 5th April 2015, 04:37 PM

Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost

Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07.
That's right, I run em into the ground. Have been using workarounds to keep the one I have functioning.

So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth.
That probably wouldn't affect price though.

My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that.

Obviously I'm way out of the loop. Fielding all recommendations ASIDE FROM "Buy some stupidly overpriced shiny Apple product for idiots with more money than sense."

Quitter! I just replaced my '05 laptop. Got me one of them there newfangled 2 in 1 thingamajigs

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-11...11-3147-laptop

Primarily to work with my digital camera (has a wireless tethering app). Heck they threw in a free 7" tablet as well.

31st March 2015, 08:27 AM	#1
Monketi Ghost Confusion Reactor Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 25,141	Laptop shopping! Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07. That's right, I run em into the ground. Have been using workarounds to keep the one I have functioning. So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth. That probably wouldn't affect price though. My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that. Obviously I'm way out of the loop. Fielding all recommendations ASIDE FROM "Buy some stupidly overpriced shiny Apple product for idiots with more money than sense."

31st March 2015, 09:04 AM	#2
alfaniner Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Sorth Dakonsin Posts: 25,076	I went to the Toshiba site and had mine built to my selected preferences. It probably cost a lot more than just getting one from Best Buy or some such (and I may have been just as satisified with one of those). I hardly use the new one yet because it has Windows 8 (I have it set to show Desktop instead), but my older one has all the programs on it already and I know exactly where everything is. It's going to take weeks to migrate or re-install to the newer one. Just make a list of the features you absolutely must have and go from there.
	__________________ Science is self-correcting. Woo is self-contradicting.

31st March 2015, 09:14 AM	#3
Gawdzilla Sama 121.92-meter mutant fire-breathing lizard-thingy Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Northern St. Louis County, Missouri. Posts: 42,180	"Laptop dancing" thread in 5, 4, 3,...
	__________________ Guns that are instantly available for use are instantly available for misuse. World War II Diplomatic and Political Resources Hyperwar, WWII Military History Buying conspiracy books is a voluntary tax on stupid.

31st March 2015, 09:34 AM	#5
Joey McGee Banned Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 10,307	Crackheads + eBay = Mad savings
Joey McGee Banned Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 10,307

31st March 2015, 09:46 AM	#6
Dr. Keith Not a doctor. Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 22,974	Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that. I'll just note that you can get really cheap storage in the form of USB connected hard drives if you tend to use your laptop at home a lot. Although, most hard drives will be 500g anyway, so that may be a moot point unless you delve into SSDs, which undermine your value proposition.
	__________________ Suffering is not a punishment not a fruit of sin, it is a gift of God. He allows us to share in His suffering and to make up for the sins of the world. -Mother Teresa If I had a pet panda I would name it Snowflake.

31st March 2015, 11:00 AM	#7
malicus Graduate Poster Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,766	Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07. Good for you grandad. Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth. That probably wouldn't affect price though. My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that. Off the top of my head, after researching laptops for my sis last xmas: i5 processor 4GB RAM 1TB HDD Intel on board gfx HD4400 (willing to be corrected on this). In the UK you could aim to get something like that for around £350-400, which likely translates to the same amount of your earth dollars.
malicus Graduate Poster Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 1,766

31st March 2015, 06:10 PM	#8
rjh01 Gentleman of leisure Tagger Join Date: May 2005 Location: Flying around in the sky Posts: 26,645	Get Windows 7. Then wait for Windows 10 and install that. Or put everything you have onto DVDs and buy a DVD player? Buy a smart one and it would even play Youtube!
	__________________ This signature is for rent.

31st March 2015, 06:11 PM	#9
roger Penultimate Amazing Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 11,465	Can you explain why you need the drive space and will spend weeks "reinstalling" if all you do is watch videos and play music? I'm not being snarky, it sounds like you have some unstated needs. If you aren't doing any heavy duty processing/computation, look at something with the new Core M chips. They require no fans, and the result is a silent system if you also have an SSD. If you plan for another 5-7 years, you may want to buy enough computer to work for that long. Especially if you are interested in the thin and light computers, as things like memory are soldered onto the motherboard, and hence not upgradeable. Quad HD screens are great, but current software does not support it well now. Some icons are tiny, other software scales the resolution up but poorly, so the image is blurry. In that sense you are better served with a 1920x1080 screen. But in a few years that stuff will be ironed out, and if you are going to live with this laptop for 5-7 years you may be disappointed. Quad HD will make your video viewing experience much better. SSD drives are the bees knees. In 2.5 format you can get 512GB for $200, so soon it will be free. If you end up buying a computer with a spinning disk you can upgrade in a year or so for next to free, or just do it now and avoid the annoyance. Does battery life matter to you (those overpriced Macs will run for 12 hours, compared to 4 hours for a cheap Windows laptop)? Does ruggedness matter to you? For example the thinkpad series are built for the road warrier, and are tough as nails. Also bulky and heavy. Does weight/size matter? an ultabook typically has very long battery life, is very slim, but often has soldered on components to make that thin size possible.
	__________________ May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves. - John Muir

1st April 2015, 03:59 AM	#10
Monketi Ghost Confusion Reactor Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 25,141	Originally Posted by roger Can you explain why you need the drive space and will spend weeks "reinstalling" if all you do is watch videos and play music? I'm not being snarky, it sounds like you have some unstated needs. If you aren't doing any heavy duty processing/computation, look at something with the new Core M chips. They require no fans, and the result is a silent system if you also have an SSD. If you plan for another 5-7 years, you may want to buy enough computer to work for that long. Especially if you are interested in the thin and light computers, as things like memory are soldered onto the motherboard, and hence not upgradeable. Quad HD screens are great, but current software does not support it well now. Some icons are tiny, other software scales the resolution up but poorly, so the image is blurry. In that sense you are better served with a 1920x1080 screen. But in a few years that stuff will be ironed out, and if you are going to live with this laptop for 5-7 years you may be disappointed. Quad HD will make your video viewing experience much better. SSD drives are the bees knees. In 2.5 format you can get 512GB for $200, so soon it will be free. If you end up buying a computer with a spinning disk you can upgrade in a year or so for next to free, or just do it now and avoid the annoyance. Does battery life matter to you (those overpriced Macs will run for 12 hours, compared to 4 hours for a cheap Windows laptop)? Does ruggedness matter to you? For example the thinkpad series are built for the road warrier, and are tough as nails. Also bulky and heavy. Does weight/size matter? an ultabook typically has very long battery life, is very slim, but often has soldered on components to make that thin size possible. I think you confused my post with someone else's. I never said anything about weeks or reinstalling. All needs stated. The rest of your reply is helpful, as are all others, with thanks, folks.

1st April 2015, 04:06 AM	#11
Wudang BOFH Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: People's Republic of South Yorkshire Posts: 13,595	I did well with a warehouse deal on amazon uk. Sounds like your needs aren't cutting edge so check end-of-line deals etc
	__________________ "Your deepest pools, like your deepest politicians and philosophers, often turn out more shallow than expected." Walter Scott.

1st April 2015, 04:08 AM	#12
Monketi Ghost Confusion Reactor Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 25,141	Originally Posted by Wudang I did well with a warehouse deal on amazon uk. Sounds like your needs aren't cutting edge so check end-of-line deals etc Yah, hardly cutting edge. I'm not a gamer. Just a musician.

1st April 2015, 12:57 PM	#13
Monketi Ghost Confusion Reactor Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 25,141	After lots of thought... I'm probably going to buy a notebook style laptop, a big screen TV, and just run my drives through the HDMI hookup. It seems the best solution. So now I'm shopping notebook style laptops! I'm sure I can judiciously get a two year old laptop for pretty cheap. Don't need the latest stuff.

1st April 2015, 01:09 PM	#14
Childlike Empress Ewige Blumenkraft Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Ivory Tower Posts: 19,107	WTF is a "notebook style laptop"? Is it something like an "elevator style lift"?
	__________________ If they want the pandemic to end, they just have to stop testing. Then people will die of the flu again, like they did before - Wolfgang Wodarg

1st April 2015, 01:37 PM	#15
Monketi Ghost Confusion Reactor Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 25,141	Originally Posted by Childlike Empress WTF is a "notebook style laptop"? Is it something like an "elevator style lift"? That was outdated me trying not to sound outdated. I knew of notebook laptops but didn't know if it was appropriate to refer to all dinky laptops as notebooks.

1st April 2015, 01:45 PM	#16
Childlike Empress Ewige Blumenkraft Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Ivory Tower Posts: 19,107	Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost That was outdated me trying not to sound outdated. I knew of notebook laptops but didn't know if it was appropriate to refer to all dinky laptops as notebooks. I think these terms are synonymous. Maybe you meant "netbook". Seriously, is there anything really out of order with your current thing? If it's just slow or the software is a mess, you should really try it with what I recommended in my first post in this thread. In addition, as others have said external hard drives are dirt cheap these days.
	__________________ If they want the pandemic to end, they just have to stop testing. Then people will die of the flu again, like they did before - Wolfgang Wodarg

1st April 2015, 02:52 PM	#17
Monketi Ghost Confusion Reactor Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 25,141	Originally Posted by Childlike Empress I think these terms are synonymous. Maybe you meant "netbook". Seriously, is there anything really out of order with your current thing? If it's just slow or the software is a mess, you should really try it with what I recommended in my first post in this thread. In addition, as others have said external hard drives are dirt cheap these days. My current laptop is seven years old and failing. I've had to use a logon workaround for months, some shortcuts no longer work reliably or at all, mouse functions are different every day, sometimes she doesn't boot up unless I coax her. Nearly toast. But nice as your suggestion is, I'm not going to use a new OS. I simply need a Windows notebookorwhatever that's not so recent that it hasn't dropped in price. And since I don't own a tv, I may as well set my thing up in a way that integrates a few components. That way my computer is still portable. So I'm going to buy a sensibly priced notebookorwhatever, an external drive for backup to the one I already have, and a big screen teevee.
	Last edited by Monketi Ghost; 1st April 2015 at 02:55 PM.

1st April 2015, 03:00 PM	#18
Childlike Empress Ewige Blumenkraft Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Ivory Tower Posts: 19,107	Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost My current laptop is seven years old and failing. I've had to use a logon workaround for months, some shortcuts no longer work reliably or at all, mouse functions are different every day, sometimes she doesn't boot up unless I coax her. Nearly toast. All sounds like a messed-up OS nobody took care of. What I suggested is to download a 100MB file for free, burn it to a CD (as an .iso), boot your computer from it and see if the "commercial" promised too much. It barks when it's ready. Anyway, good luck with your shopping.
	__________________ If they want the pandemic to end, they just have to stop testing. Then people will die of the flu again, like they did before - Wolfgang Wodarg

1st April 2015, 07:02 PM	#19
fuelair Banned Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 58,581	Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07. That's right, I run em into the ground. Have been using workarounds to keep the one I have functioning. So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth. That probably wouldn't affect price though. My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that. Obviously I'm way out of the loop. Fielding all recommendations ASIDE FROM "Buy some stupidly overpriced shiny Apple product for idiots with more money than sense." Go for at least a TB of memory if you can!!! Many now have two.......
fuelair Banned Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 58,581

1st April 2015, 07:38 PM	#20
William Parcher Show me the monkey! Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 25,821	How can you people say these things about laptops?
	__________________ Bigfoot believers and Bigfoot skeptics are both plumb crazy. Each spends more than one minute per year thinking about Bigfoot.

2nd April 2015, 12:52 AM	#21
Wudang BOFH Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: People's Republic of South Yorkshire Posts: 13,595	Originally Posted by fuelair Go for at least a TB of memory if you can!!! Many now have two....... You mean storage? For memory 4GB seems to be standard these days. Notebook/laptop http://computer.howstuffworks.com/no...-mobile-pc.htm
	__________________ "Your deepest pools, like your deepest politicians and philosophers, often turn out more shallow than expected." Walter Scott.

5th April 2015, 04:05 PM	#23
xterra So far, so good... Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: On the outskirts of Nowhere; the middle was too crowded Posts: 3,735	I have the equivalent to the one in Dessi's first table, the one with the emoticon. It's about three years old and has had only one problem, the hard disk failed about 15 months ago. Unfortunately, it was out of warranty by then. My local computer repair shop replaced it. Hardware and labor together were about $125. Even with that extra expense, I think I got a good deal. For backup, I bought a Western Digital Elements 1TB drive from Newegg for under $60. (I deleted the backup software that was on the drive and wrote a robocopy.bat file to copy only the files I want.)
	__________________ Over we go....

5th April 2015, 04:37 PM	#24
The Man Unbanned zombie poster Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Poughkeepsie, NY Posts: 15,280	Originally Posted by Monketey Ghost Gonna replace my old Gateway from '07. That's right, I run em into the ground. Have been using workarounds to keep the one I have functioning. So: I'm getting another Windows system. My needs are simple: playing music and videos, and that's about it. I don't need a lot of the bloatware that usually comes on laptops, spreadsheets and so forth. That probably wouldn't affect price though. My old laptop has listed 452 gig capacity. The replacement has to have at least that. Obviously I'm way out of the loop. Fielding all recommendations ASIDE FROM "Buy some stupidly overpriced shiny Apple product for idiots with more money than sense." Quitter! I just replaced my '05 laptop. Got me one of them there newfangled 2 in 1 thingamajigs http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-11...11-3147-laptop Primarily to work with my digital camera (has a wireless tethering app). Heck they threw in a free 7" tablet as well.
	__________________ BRAINZZZZZZZZ