Laptop recommendation

[JLTD]

Thought picking the collective intelligence might help guide the wife and me in getting a school computer for a couple of high schoolers.

They'll be sharing it for homework, Google Docs (most of their homework is submitted this way), and some research browsing. Nothing heavy duty required, and they already have gaming systems. Reliability and budget are major considerations, and it will need to last at least 4 years.

We're already a mac household, but $1000 for a laptop that will likely have an uncared-for existence is too much to spend.

So what is a good low cost reliable laptop these days?

 

[kschachn]

For what you describe I'd get a Chromebook. We have two, along with two Macbooks (and a Mac desktop) and the Chromebooks are very useful especially when you consider the price differential.

Amazon has decent Chromebooks in the $250 range.

 

[JHZR2]

Give them a set of chores to earn a shared MacBook.

Then make them earn it and appreciate it.

That will help reduce the uncared for aspect. Kids should be taught to appreciate and care for their possessions.

Otherwise I've been reasonably pleased with the hp elite book 8xx series.

 

[hemitom]

i thought the same as you , a lot of money for a apple laptop.

After much thought i bought the apple and glad i did .
Fours years no issues what so ever, most of her school friends went through two or more and always issues with some thing or another, she actually lent hers out quite often to help others get through assignments .

maybe sometimes it pays to spend a little more and save yourself the headaches..

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by JLTD
Reliability and budget are major considerations, and it will need to last at least 4 years.

Originally Posted by JLTD
We're already a mac household, but $1000 for a laptop that will likely have an uncared-for existence is too much to spend.
Stop being cheap and buy the Macbook already, either new used or refurbished. If you run macs, why would you bother with a PC if you're not playing games on it?

You're not getting four years out of a $350 windows laptop.

 

[Donald]

A Chromebook could be all they need. Need to see the actual programs they would use.

I always go and look at the CPU chip benchmarks for any laptop and its chip I am interested in. Too many chip names and numbers and there can be wide differences in performance.

 

[4WD]

Where does the criteria come from ? Aside from Google, is there anything like MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint needed …

Personally, I'd rather buy two cheap laptops than one high end so they could be doing homework at the same time and keep thier stuff organized on thier personal machine … No finger pointing/fighting … personal accountability … more work, less drama for you … That HD will clutter and bog down before 4 years …
We run a big company off cheap Dell laptops and get a new one in 2 years …

 

[wkcars]

Decent specs on this one for $519 https://store.hp.com/app/pdp/hp-laptop-15t-value-5jr88av-1

 

[JeffKeryk]

A Chromie makes sense; schools use them because of cost per performance.
A great Chromebook, like an Asus C302 is around $450; and entry level Air is about a grand.
The C302 will blow the doors off a $1000 Air because of the lightweight Chrome O/S.
The C302 will blow the doors off any $700 Windows notebook. And many more expensive ones.

Apple products are beautiful and very well built.
To get a comparable Windows notebook, look to a Microsoft Surface or Dell XPS with the Infinity Display (my favorite).
Top of the line Lenovos are certainly workhorses (I don't like 'em that much).
The best Chromebooks are the Google Pixlebook (not my favorite) or maybe the new Asus C434 for $550 with the Nano Edge screen (my favorite).

ASUS C434

FYI, we might have 50 notebooks in our home, from Chromebooks to high end Macs and Windows machines.
Not to mention "Duke", a 56 core Linux server Sue built with the prototype Intel chip...

I program on a high end Dell workhorse with a top of the line I7, 16GB RAM and 500GB Ultrafast Solid State storage. Cloud baby!
I used to carry my iPad Air everywhere; now it's my Chromie.
FYI, I love 'em all.

 

[csandste]

If you're using Google Docs then a Chromebook is a logical choice. If the computer is lost or damaged everything can be restored in a matter of seconds. Bought my grandson one last year and just found out that all students will be receiving them free this year.

 

[skyactiv]

Back to school sales are around the corner.

 

[Skippy722]

On one hand, the Mac will have superior build quality to most anything even in its $1,000 territory. And it's a Mac, they just work.

On the other, I don't think making teenagers share a laptop for homework is the greatest idea. The Chromebook idea isn't bad, just maybe get one with a screen resolution higher than 1366x768... that's like 4.7" iPhone screen resolution

1920x1080 or 2400x1600 Chromebooks can be had for $150-$250.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted by Skippy722
On one hand, the Mac will have superior build quality to most anything even in its $1,000 territory. And it's a Mac, they just work.


Been a Mac user since 2001 and only recently went "back" to Windows. That used to be true but not anymore. I'm coming up on year 3 with an HP Spectre x360 and it's built every bit as well as the previous 3 Macbooks I've had and the past 2 Macbook and 1 iBook the wife has had. It's been dropped and taken around a bit and still works 100%. It was not cheap at $1400 or so but built every bit as well as the Macbooks it replaced. I've been pleasantly surprised that it also "just works".

I am also going on year 1.5 with a low end Surface Pro. It also seems to be built well (although time will tell on the reliability front. It has been the tablet Apple should have built. Only complaint is I got the LOW end model with the m3, 4G, and 128GB SSD. I should have got the 8GB but for basic tasks it's great. It gets thrown in my laptop bag so it also gets banged around.

The newest generations of Macbooks have serious keyboard issues with the butterfly mechanism that they used. I still like Apple but as of late they seem to be content to charge premium prices for middle of the road stuff or remove features in each new iteration.

That being said for the OP I'd look into a Chromebook of the school system is in the Google camp. It will also just work and at the prices of them won't be too much of a financial hit if/when they get damaged. Storing nearly everything int he cloud they have advantages.

If that's not an option and you are comfortable buying refurbs I'd look for a refurb business class notebook like a Thinkpad or an HP Elitebook. They tend to be built a little better than the consumer offerings and should be relatively affordable. Probably won't have the greatest screen but for something that will be tossed around it would be fine. Look for an SSD for better durability.

 

[BobsArmory]

The last 3 laptops that I bought 2 and 3 years ago (one for me and 2 for my daughters) were bought as open box/refurbished from best buys website. As I recall I paid between $230 to $300. None of them looked like the box was ever opened. They are still running fine today. Probably the best money ever spent.

Best buy refurb/open box

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted by skyactiv
Back to school sales are around the corner.
That's what I'm waiting for. I just gave my son a laptop and I''ll be looking to replace it. Subscribed.

 

[JeffKeryk]

I don't like cheap computers. Yes, you can get a Chromie for $200 and a Windows machine for $300.
But they will have poor screens, cheap keyboards and will be plastic.

You need to spend a minimum of $300 to get decent quality Chromebook, much more for any other O/S.

From a build quality standpoint, Macs are top notch.
For the price, they should be.

If you use an Android cell phone, you will love a CHromebook; they use the same O/S, Google Chrome.
The real difference between a Chromebook and any other computer is the Chrome O/S was designed for the Cloud (vs. on prem storage) from the ground up.

Here is a great budget buy:

Acer R13

If your budget permits, the new ASUS C434 Chromebooks are near Apple build quality, but they are around $550.
Remember, a computer is a tool. Cheap tools break; quality lasts and can make the job easier.

 

[benjy]

a private computer repair guy noted computers are all assembled with similar parts bought gobally, yea like todays vehicles, so look for a good deal from a major manufacturer. i have been lucky with 15 inch screened HP laptops for about $250 on special. a note on smaller units that make more heat as do very fast ones + repairs are very hard as well, good luck

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
You're not getting four years out of a $350 windows laptop.

You will if the first thing you do is purge Windows.

 

[simple_gifts]

Get a refurbished business laptop from a place like www.arrowdirect.com; Authorized Windows copy but no try and buy garbage.

Consumer laptops suck big time, they suck because they have try and buy and aren't designed to be repaired; Business laptops have quick swap components because a field guy can't spend 4 hours with 100 tiny screws to get to a DIMM in an inaccessible spot. No one is going to convince me a $349 consumer model is the same quality as a $1500 lenovo;

 

[JeffKeryk]

Originally Posted by simple_gifts
Get a refurbished business laptop from a place like www.arrowdirect.com; Authorized Windows copy but no try and buy garbage.

Consumer laptops suck big time, they suck because they have try and buy and aren't designed to be repaired; Business laptops have quick swap components because a field guy can't spend 4 hours with 100 tiny screws to get to a DIMM in an inaccessible spot. No one is going to convince me a $349 consumer model is the same quality as a $1500 lenovo;


I use a $1700 Lenovo at work for serious database programming.
I like my $400 Asus C302 Chromie better for general use.
Starts immeadiately and does everyday computer basics far better.
It goes everywhere with me; charge lasts all day.
Lenovo lasts 4 hours. Weighs twice as much. Hardly portable.
Screens are roughly equivalent.
Depends on need and budget.

You are so right about the difference between consumer and business notebooks.
My wife is in charge of Computer Operations at a 10B Silicon Valley company.
Her notebook budget is down to $2.5M this year. All the vendors want to win her business.
Hey, have you seen the new Carbon? Beautiful and light. And it is full touchscreen.