Looking for advice for buying a new laptop

[Ken N Tx]

If a Chromebook is out of the picture and you are just looking for a laptop to do simple tasks then I would suggest you research this Acer Acer Aspire Go 15 Slim Laptop: 15.6″ . I have used Acer laptops for a few years now and have had little issues. The only bloatware that has come with my laptops is the Acer Performance app but it's not obtrusive.

Wait for suggestions from others though. There are several good choices at the price range that you are looking for if you aren't wanting to do anything intensive on your laptop .

I just double checked on that model and the one big downside is that it has limited storage capacity.

If you are looking for a laptop that has a higher storage capacity then I would suggest this Acer instead https://www.acer.com/us-en/laptops/aspire/aspire-intel/pdp/NX.KVUAA.002

It's a little higher in price but has a newer processer and more storage space.

For simple things like surfing the Internet and reading email and light office tasks like typing a note, I would recommend a Chromebook.

Ditto.......

 

[Trish]

Recently I have been making large cash withdrawals from the bank. We are preparing our house for sale, which has been quite expensive. To that end I have paid cash for the likes of floor covering, decorating, garden makeover and so on. Each expense was paid in cash and each time I withdrew the money the bank cashier would ask me what it's for.

The cheek of it, holding eye contact with her I said that it's for an expense that I don't want profiled, not by the retailer, the card company or you, the bank, so that you can buy and sell that information, so that's why I pay cash. It was clear that I had rattled her, but she didn't deny that profiling account holders expenditure was part of the bank's agenda.

You might not care about your personal information being profiled and subsequently bought and sold, but I am not willing to such underhand practices.

For larger sums of money, they are probably questioning it as part of Money Laundering Regulations. Banks these days will also question withdrawals as a safe guarding exercise because, sadly, many people become victims of scams, frauds and other financial crimes.

It is, I suppose, quite possible that the banks are protecting themselves because, when people are victims of financial crime, they tend to blame the bank for not questioning the transactions. I am always surprised when people, despite warnings, continue to hand over large amounts of money to scammers and then expect their bank to refund them

 

[bobcat]

Costco always has good deals on them, and often sales (Like $200 off), so you could get one from around $700 to $1000.

 

[StarSong]

I was shocked when a bank official asked me why I wanted cash. I asked him why he wanted to know. He said that it's not uncommon for seniors to be scammed out of their hard-earned money.

I told him there was no fear of that.

When in his late 80s, my father-in-law was victimized by scammers. I've described it, chapter and verse, in these threads. During earlier years he would never have fallen prey, but my MIL had died, he was living alone, and their stories sounded reasonable to his slightly addled ageing brain.

Believe me, it could happen to anyone. Maybe not you or me right now, but as we get older and these creeps get more skillful, what we dismiss today could seem very plausible in 5-10 years.

 

[gruntlabor]

When in his late 80s, my father-in-law was victimized by scammers. I've described it, chapter and verse, in these threads. During earlier years he would never have fallen prey, but my MIL had died, he was living alone, and their stories sounded reasonable to his slightly addled ageing brain.

Believe me, it could happen to anyone. Maybe not you or me right now, but as we get older and these creeps get more skillful, what we dismiss today could seem very plausible in 5-10 years.

I agree. My point was that we don't actually have to tell them why we need cash, but we can skirt the subject while easing their concern.

 

[Timewise 60+]

I was shocked when a bank official asked me why I wanted cash. I asked him why he wanted to know. He said that it's not uncommon for seniors to be scammed out of their hard-earned money.

I told him there was no fear of that.

My late father worked in banking his whole life. In his last few years, he was a VP of Operations and trained his staff to always ask elderly folks withdrawing an unusual amount of cash what it was for. Even then, back in the 60's and 70's scammers were getting elderly to withdraw money so they could steal it.

You off course do not have to tell anyone why you need it but know that good bankers will always try to protect their customers.

 

[Trish]

I get frustrated because laptops—and desktop PCs, for that matter—used to always come pre-loaded with Word, Excel, etc. Now all of that has to be bought separately. I accept that, but I'm not happy with it.

Me too. I also remember buying an HP flat screen desktop computer and it came with Word etc plus games and the sales assistant even included anti-virus software. The battery on my big Dell laptop recently died. It was quite an old laptop and with the cost of the battery and other issues there might be, I decided it would be best to replace it and am surprised at how expensive computers are now, particularly if you want one which will be able to handle various photo editing and documents software plus graphics pad and whatever else I might want to add.

 

[KSav]

Me too. I also remember buying an HP flat screen desktop computer and it came with Word etc plus games and the sales assistant even included anti-virus software. The battery on my big Dell laptop recently died. It was quite an old laptop and with the cost of the battery and other issues there might be, I decided it would be best to replace it and am surprised at how expensive computers are now, particularly if you want one which will be able to handle various photo editing and documents software plus graphics pad and whatever else I might want to add.

Ah, yes, I'd forgotten about anti-virus software! Yet another add-on.

I am fortunate in that my paid word doesn't go much beyond Word, Excel, Adobe, and PowerPoint. I can only imagine how expensive the laptops with more power, that enable photo editing like you mentioned, are. I would think they get pretty pricey.

 

[StarSong]

Users of Windows 11 will still be fine but Windows 10 users will need to upgrade when 12 comes out. If you are not in a rush it might be a good idea to wait until then because I'm guessing that Windows 11 laptop prices will drop when 12 comes out. And you will probably get a free upgrade to 12 anyway, just like Window's 10 users were offered when 11 came out.

Thanks to all for your input.

After a fair amount of research including great consideration of the very helpful remarks in this thread I've decided to tough it out with my s-l-o-w laptop until Windows 12 is released.

At that point, I'll consult with a computer expert to make sure I've got a system where he (or ideally, I) can eliminate the massive amount of bloatware that Microsoft loads with 11 and probably 12 along with their operating system.

Apparently, newer versions of Win 11 make that a difficult task.

I'll also read up and YouTube some videos about Linux. About a year ago, DH's old Win 10 laptop was demoted to "the grandkids can play approved online games on this" status, so I can use that for a guinea pig.

Over the decades Microsoft has moved from marvelously helpful to a serious pain in the neck, and if I can ditch most or all of it, I will.

I'll keep you updated.

 

[Michael Z]

Those $1500 laptops are for gamers. I got a $300 Wipemik laptop last January and it is more than sufficient for me. I chose this brand because it had fairly good ratings.

I have 16 GB ram and 512 GB SSD harddrive. You will want that much RAM and the SSD (Solid State HardDrive) as opposed to a spinning drive found on older laptops.

 

[MarkinPhx]

Good choice if you are not in a hurry. I have troubles with each Windows 11 update that comes out. I just finished spending 20 minutes to fix things after an update early this week. I am a gamer so I do have compatibility issues with updates when it comes to my secondary graphics card on my laptop but I know when I do a search for the latest fix, many others are having issues also , regardless of what laptop they are using.

Windows 11 will be remembered much like Windows Me and Windows 8 as buggy releases. The only reason why I stick with Windows is because of the gamer part. If not for that I would only use Linux and have a Chromebook for a laptop.

 

[John cycling]

I'll also read up and YouTube some videos about Linux. About a year ago, DH's old Win 10 laptop was
demoted to "the grandkids can play approved online games on this" status, so I can use that for a guinea pig.

There are many different versions of Linux.
I settled on using Linux Mint Xfce, the lightest of the 4 Linux Mint distributions.

At the beginning I'd recommend getting LM 21.3 Xfce on a USB from Ebay.
Then follow the instructions to dual boot your computer with Linux and Windows.
This means each time you sign on you can choose to either go to Linux or else go to Windows.

Thus you are saving everything that's already there and not removing anything.
However when you choose to go to Linux you won't have the clutter thus it will be faster.

 

[Trish]

Ah, yes, I'd forgotten about anti-virus software! Yet another add-on.

I am fortunate in that my paid word doesn't go much beyond Word, Excel, Adobe, and PowerPoint. I can only imagine how expensive the laptops with more power, that enable photo editing like you mentioned, are. I would think they get pretty pricey.

Windows has a built in anti virus (Windows Defender) and, I have never been sure if that alone is enough. I guess it depends on how much time you spend online and which sites you visit.

 

[hollydolly]

Those $1500 laptops are for gamers. I got a $300 Wipemik laptop last January and it is more than sufficient for me. I chose this brand because it had fairly good ratings.

I have 16 GB ram and 512 GB SSD harddrive. You will want that much RAM and the SSD (Solid State HardDrive) as opposed to a spinning drive found on older laptops.

16GB ram is really a minimum anyone should be looking for. Once it rises to 32GB.. 64 etc..then the prices rise dramatically...

 

[Radrook]

My Asus laptop has proven very durable.

 

[Lawrence00]

Buy a Dell with the on-site extended three year warranty for service and accidents. They "have" to send the technician to you. My daughters laptop has required 3 visits.

 

[Capt Lightning]

I bought a new Dell about 4 years ago and it is falling apart. The top row of keys don'y work and the plastic case has cracked.
I installed Ubuntu 20.04 with a dual boot to the original Win 10, but I never use it. As a laptop, it is fast and has good storage, but I doubt if it will last much longer.

I do have an ancient Dell latitude with a metal case. It still works OK, but is chronically slow. The fact that it was rugged and reliable was why I bought a new Dell, but I somewhat regret it.

 

[Trish]

The Dell laptop I had was disappointing and I would not buy another one.

I liked my Macbook but the screen was too glossy for editing and I didn't like the Apple software, it may just be that I am more familiar with Windows and most of my computer stuff is Microsoft.

I have my trusty old HP laptop which is, I think, XP (or is it Vista ). It is loaded with all my software and works fine albeit a bit slow and I wouldn't use it online.

 

[StarSong]

There are many different versions of Linux.
I settled on using Linux Mint Xfce, the lightest of the 4 Linux Mint distributions.

At the beginning I'd recommend getting on a USB from Ebay.
Then follow the instructions to dual boot your computer with Linux and Windows.
This means each time you sign on you can choose to either go to Linux or else go to Windows.

Thus you are saving everything that's already there and not removing anything.
However when you choose to go to Linux you won't have the clutter thus it will be faster.

Thank you for this excellent advice! I'm so grateful to SF members who share their expertise in various fields.

So something like this? ($14.99 including shipping.)

 

[John cycling]

Thank you for this excellent advice! I'm so grateful to SF members who share their expertise in various fields.

So something like this? ($14.99 including shipping.)

@StarSong - You're quite welcome!
That one looks okay but it isn't the latest version. Here is one that has LM 21.3 Xfce for $12.95.

The laptop has 8 GB RAM, 64 bit operating system, Windows 10. Would this still be appropriate?

@StarSong
Yes, and I'd get it on the USB, not the DVD.
The USB divides the hard drive so a portion of it will only have Linux.
Some computers make installing anything but Windows difficult but most of them are quite accepting.
I think it's worth the price to find out, plus there are helpful people here who use it, and LM has their own forum.

 

[Nathan]

@StarSong , you're on the right track! Once you have your system up and running, and get past the minor differences from what you're used to, you'll enjoy computing so much more than you'd imagine.

 

[StarSong]

@StarSong - You're quite welcome!
That one looks okay but it isn't the latest version. Here is one that has LM 21.3 Xfce for $12.95.

The laptop has 8 GB RAM, 64 bit operating system, Windows 10. Would this still be appropriate?

 

[Capt Lightning]

One thing to note when installing a dual boot with Windows is that Windows must be installed first. Linux distros will set up their own partitions etc and leave Windows alone, but if you try to install Windows on a Linux system, apparently it can overwrite some of the Linux space.

 

[AnneTeak]

On Amazon. I have an older version and it was basically plug in and play, after it recognized the WiFi.

 

[Packerjohn]

I get frustrated because laptops—and desktop PCs, for that matter—used to always come pre-loaded with Word, Excel, etc. Now all of that has to be bought separately. I accept that, but I'm not happy with it.

I remember that too! Today, buyers of computers are being "nickel and dimed" for what the companies can get out of them.

Every year I buy McAfee Anti-virus. I laugh every time, the program wants $35 CND for cleaning up my files. Get real!