Laptop Recommendations

[Hank Camacho]

Paddock,

This morning while listening to Spotify and getting ready to head to my family home, I managed to knock over my trusty P.O.S. Lenovo laptop and send it to the great hereafter. Now I have to replace it. I have a Chromebook and tiny little laptop used by a former employee, so I don't have to find something tomorrow morning but it would be nice to get a new computer set up over the holiday weekend.

I am self-employed and basically make my money with my phone and my computer so I can justify a substantial investment if I need to because it is something I will use for hours on a daily basis.

I am (obviously) hard on electronics and do not take the time to baby them, update them, etc. So my normal course of business is to just buy the cheapest $400 windows laptop that Best Buy sells and wait until I inevitably break it,

But this time I am thinking about seeing if a better laptop might be worth it. I might even consider a Mac, if it makes sense. (It is the time of the year where I would rather pay Apple than the IRS.)

Here's what I use a laptop for:

• Basic web surfing (duh)
• Microsoft Office (I can't get away with using Google Docs, etc or I would probably just stick with a Chromebook)
• That's pretty much it. I don't do any gaming. I could conceivably use it for some video editing but that would be a random situation. I mostly just use a laptop for Word, CATPAW, Youtube and other (ahem) video sites, and spreadsheets.
• I hate updates, apps, and basically anything where a computer doesn't just do what I tell it to. I want to type, hit print, and go on with my day. (Whoever designed Windows to do that weird thing where it closes off your screen and brings up a pop-up question to install things can DIAF.)

I'm willing to pay for a computer that is easy to use and won't bug the crap out of me, if that is available. I don't care about specs or RAM or gigaherz or whatever else. I just want a simple computer that is easy to use, runs Office and Chrome, doesn't need to be updated all the damn time, and is reasonably priced.

So, dear Paddock readers, I would appreciate any recommendations you have.'

Thanks,
Hankshaker

 

[K-GAR]

Not even joking, just get a MacBook and add office to it.

The ease of use, lack of viruses, updates, etc is heaven sent. The only thing I regret about my MacBook from a year ago is not making the switch earlier.

I just bought my mother in law a top of the line HP, beats audio etc, and it still felt terrible vs Mac when I was setting it up

One of the underrated aspects of a Mac, you open the lid and 5 seconds later it's 100% up and running ready to go

 

[Hank Camacho]

Probably leaning that way.

Does it interface well with Dropbox?

 

[funKYcat75]

Yes. Dropbox is fine. OneDrive for Business is the only thing that doesn't work on Mac for me.

 

[Hank Camacho]

OneDrive for Business

That's just Microsoft's Dropbox knock-off, right?

(Clearly I'm an idiot.)

 

[funKYcat75]

Pretty much, yes. It's more integrated with Office, though. If you don't use it already. No worries.

 

[Rex Kwon Do]

Mac of some kind. About as non pain in the *** as they come. Dropbox is fine on it. If you don't mind springing for one, get a Retina display. If you are spending a decent chunk of time on it you'll love it and never have less.

 

[Hank Camacho]

Is there any reasonable difference between a Macbook and a Macbook Pro to justify the price hike?

 

[AustinTXCat]

Another Mac Sucks verses Micro$oft Sucks thread inbound. I work daily with both OS in production environments as a senior tech. Both are good, and both posses inherent quirks. Try a reboot before bitching.

Continue your usual snarky comments in 5.... 4.... 3.... . Positives and negatives exist in each environment.

Old school linux owns you all.

 

[Hank Camacho]

Another Mac Sucks verses Micro$oft Sucks thread inbound. I work daily with both OS in production environments as a senior tech. Both are good, and both posses inherent quirks. Try a reboot before bitching.

Continue your usual snarky comments in 5.... 4.... 3.... . Positives and negatives exist in each environment.

Old school linux owns you all.

Ummmmmmm.........yeah.

This is gibberish to me. But thanks, though. Really appreciate the help.

 

[AustinTXCat]

Ummmmmmm.........yeah.

This is gibberish to me. But thanks, though. Really appreciate the help.

Truthfully, Hank, I'd go Mac, even though I f*cking despise those proprietary rat bastards. You want simplicity without a lot of ********, then go for it. Their **** requires much less attention. Be a dweeb. Be a simpleton. I gives a god didly damn. You want something with a larger user base, go Micro$oft and a much larger footprint and a greater support base.

 

[Chuckinden]

I bought an Imac a few months ago and the operating system (OS) is really different. First off, I couldn't transfer my Quickbooks or Quicken to it without buying their version. Then I read where Apple's version of Quickbooks doesn't have some of the features that Windows version does so I didn't order it and will wait until my CPA forces me to update Quickbooks with his before I buy. I have my old Windows computer set up beside my Imac and just use it for when I need to work on Quickbooks, which is almost daily.

Secondly, if you run multiple computers like I do at my office, it is annoying switching back and forth between Windows and Mac. If I had to do it over, I would have just stayed with a Windows base system for that reason alone. However, the Apple has been a good computer, but I don't do but simple and menial tasks so the double price I paid is not worth it to me.

 

[UKserialkiller]

Go Hewlett-Packard because everybody is suggesting Mac or that Bill Gates computer.

 

[Elbridge]

MacBook Pro is the way to go. Had mine 4.5 years now. No problems.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

Love my Mac. It's pretty simple, a lot harder to screw it up as well. If you have an iPhone it makes a lot of sense. And it's a good build quality. If for some reason you really need Windows for something, if you have a Windows install disc, you can buy Parallels or get something like VirtualBox to create a virtual Windows installation that you can boot up when you need to access Windows for whatever reason.

For the Windows world, get a Surface Pro. Having a tablet that can also be a legitimate laptop replacement (based on your needs) would be awesome. If the screen size is too small, you can always get an HD monitor to hook it up to when you are putting in work at the desk.

 

[LadyCat92]

As hard as you are on electronics, it might seriously be worth it for you to get a MacBook and purchase AppleCare for 3 yrs. I've had my current Air for 4 years. I beat the hell out of it. Rough on it tossing it in my backpack, toss my backpack around, abuse it seriously on airplanes, etc, and I've only had one issue which Apple fixed in 48 hours after I dropped it off. The aluminum cases are built to take the beating. I'm not sure how many corners I crushed, cracked, or popped apart on Dell's treating them the same way.

If you want to stick with windows, get a Surface Pro.

 

[dgtatu01]

Not even joking, just get a MacBook and add office to it.

The ease of use, lack of viruses, updates, etc is heaven sent. The only thing I regret about my MacBook from a year ago is not making the switch earlier.

I just bought my mother in law a top of the line HP, beats audio etc, and it still felt terrible vs Mac when I was setting it up

One of the underrated aspects of a Mac, you open the lid and 5 seconds later it's 100% up and running ready to go

That has to do with a solid state drive in most Mac's. A solid state hard drive and at least 8GB of RAM would do the trick.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

That has to do with a solid state drive in most Mac's. A solid state hard drive and at least 8GB of RAM would do the trick.

Yep, all solid state or flash storage. My old Chromebook booted up that quick as well.

 

[fatguy87]

I just bought my mother in law a top of the line HP, beats audio etc, and it still felt terrible vs Mac when I was setting it up

One of the underrated aspects of a Mac, you open the lid and 5 seconds later it's 100% up and running ready to go

Setting up a computer? What the heck is that?

 

[K-GAR]

Setting up a computer? What the heck is that?

To make it as simple as possible for her... I.e. This icon = your email already set up, this icon = world news, etc

 

[Perrin75]

I all you are doing is basic web surfing and office there is no way I would suggest a Mac. I would even suggest you go the other route and logo into a chromebook. My only reservation would be that I have no idea how well office works with it. There is nothing magical about a Mac. It is just a high end computer. Drop over a grand on any of them and they are going to function well. All of them will sell you an extended warranty.

And all of them are going to have updates. Most of the latest versions of Windows and Mac OS do more of the updates behind the scenes so you won't see much of it. Windows 10 has a notification center now so you usually have to look there to see what updates have been done or that are available.

I just don't see how buying an expensive machine is going to help what you are doing if the Chromebook can't handle your Microsoft office needs then I would suggest going to the Microsoft Store and buying something n the 400-500 dollar range. If you buy the machine from Microsoft they strip off the crapware that the manufactures install. Getting rid of that walk improve your experience greatly.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

I all you are doing is basic web surfing and office there is no way I would suggest a Mac. I would even suggest you go the other route and logo into a chromebook. My only reservation would be that I have no idea how well office works with it. There is nothing magical about a Mac. It is just a high end computer. Drop over a grand on any of them and they are going to function well. All of them will sell you an extended warranty.

And all of them are going to have updates. Most of the latest versions of Windows and Mac OS do more of the updates behind the scenes so you won't see much of it. Windows 10 has a notification center now so you usually have to look there to see what updates have been done or that are available.

I just don't see how buying an expensive machine is going to help what you are doing if the Chromebook can't handle your Microsoft office needs then I would suggest going to the Microsoft Store and buying something n the 400-500 dollar range. If you buy the machine from Microsoft they strip off the crapware that the manufactures install. Getting rid of that walk improve your experience greatly.

You are going to get terrible build quality buying something in the 400-500 range. The way he apparently uses laptops, the thing will be broken in no time, and the extended warranty might not even cover it depending on what the damage is. Even if they do cover it, chances are you'll have to go through the process of setting the machine back up all over again. And the machine likely won't work worth a damn in 2-3 years. When you go cheap you don't typically get good results.

Chromebooks = crap. Biggest waste of money in my life. I would have gotten more enjoyment just getting the $200 in $1s and watching them burn.

 

[LadyCat92]

It's his work computer, so while he says he is browsing the web and doing email, etc., it needs to be something that is tough and reliable. He can't afford to be without it. The only way Office works with a Chromebook is with Office365, meaning you always have to be connected to use it and sometimes that's not possible.

 

[Perrin75]

There are plenty of laptops in that price range that will hold up to a tremendous amount of abuse. Lenovo and Dell both have lines designed with either education, military or construction specs that have been ruggadized. My 7 year old has an HP Stream that cost less than $200 that has survived has been abused daily for a year, including a two story drop and it still works like new. If he wants to spend in the 700-900 range the Lenovo Yoga line or the HP X360 lines will give you high end performanance and high build quality.
As for Apple, if you go that route stick to the Macbook Air or Macbook Pro series. The new Macbook is terrible. It does not live up to the Apple reputation.
Also I haven't used the latest version, but every previous version of Mac Office was gimped and doesn't provide a full experience. Especially Excel which Microsoft should have been ashamed to have ever release. Double check and make certain Mac Office will do what you need it to do before going that route.

 

[Chuckinden]

It's his work computer, so while he says he is browsing the web and doing email, etc., it needs to be something that is tough and reliable. He can't afford to be without it. The only way Office works with a Chromebook is with Office365, meaning you always have to be connected to use it and sometimes that's not possible.

I think Perin was alluding to maybe what I said about "basic web surfing", not so much to the OP. I agree, my IMac seems to be a very durable computer and there are things I like about it, but for what I use a computer for, it has not been worth the trouble of a new OS or the price.

 

[LadyCat92]

Office for Mac works fine. The only issue is if you're doing excel and using ActiveX for some of the macros which isn't supported by OS X.

If you travel a lot, Dell has a new laptop out that is about the same size / weight as an Air that seems to perform well. I haven't looked at the price point but they've become the defacto standard for most people I work with.

 

[Perrin75]

It's the XPS 13 or 15 depending on the screen size you want.

 

[wildcatsboston1984_rivals]

There are plenty of laptops in that price range that will hold up to a tremendous amount of abuse. Lenovo and Dell both have lines designed with either education, military or construction specs that have been ruggadized. My 7 year old has an HP Stream that cost less than $200 that has survived has been abused daily for a year, including a two story drop and it still works like new. If he wants to spend in the 700-900 range the Lenovo Yoga line or the HP X360 lines will give you high end performanance and high build quality.
As for Apple, if you go that route stick to the Macbook Air or Macbook Pro series. The new Macbook is terrible. It does not live up to the Apple reputation.
Also I haven't used the latest version, but every previous version of Mac Office was gimped and doesn't provide a full experience. Especially Excel which Microsoft should have been ashamed to have ever release. Double check and make certain Mac Office will do what you need it to do before going that route.

The new Office is awesome.