laptop recommendations

I've had 4 work Dell laptops over the past 15 years and never any hardware problem. I currently have a personal Dell laptop, and again, no problems with hardware.

I've only used 2 laptops, but my Asus has been a great machine. It would be old and outdated by now (say, 4 years old?) so you probably couldn't get the exact same model...

But Asus is a trusted brand, and I can recommend them. Not sure about pricing... (I'm in Australia, where a "cheap" laptop is usually $600+...)

For simple writing, I'd say you can't go wrong with any of the major manufacturers of laptops. HP, Dell, Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Samsung.

Samsung tends to run pricey. HP and Lenovo behind that.

But I'll also remind you that iPads will work with bluetooth keyboards. And now that MS Office will run on the iPad...

Do you have any requirements? Windows? Large screen?

$500 is in the meh~ area--where there's no great laptops breaking from the pack. They're all pretty bad, and pretty good at the same time. I run one for my mobile platform.

If you don't need Windows (as in, you can use Google docs in place of Word), I recommend a Chrombook. Something like the HP Chromebook 14.

jerrimander said:

Whatever I get, it does have to be capable of playing my hubby's war games. I'd prefer to go tablet route with attachable keyboard because I lurve my touch screen kindle so much. And they are so light weight. But. Tablets don't have disc drives for cds. Damn marriage and compromises. Bleh. I don't get to spend all our money on a toy for just me. It's not fair. [Pouty face, foot stomp]

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Playing games on a laptop under $500 isn't that viable--depending on the games, some older ones will do just fine, newer ones will have problems.
He could make due with a laptop that has a AMD APU, like this (it's a link, click it) It's got a 17" screen, so fair warning that it'll be cumbersome to haul around everywhere. Scratch that, this looks more promising (click it). This would be a bit faster for games, a 15.6inch screen (decent enough to carry), and running Windows 8.1.
I know some kids who play rather demanding games on APUs and do decently well--not as good as a gaming desktop.

You can go for a laptop without a CD-drive if you just snag a USB CD drive--I don't know of any that work with tablets at all.

I have a sample size of exactly one, but I've had good luck with my "scratch and dent" Dell. I bought a slightly more pricey machine (mine came in a little over $700), but that was after a 30% off coupon they had up on the site. The major manufacturers (Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.) all have online outlet stores that you can shop for refurbished laptops. Some promise to be in near-pristine condition, but mine had a tiny scratch on the lid. I am not at all bothered.

After the coupon I used, I got my computer for about half the price of buying new, which can be a big chunk of change when you're talking about something as expensive as a laptop.

Usually the computers you can buy there are going to be slightly older models, but you can definitely save a lot of money if budget is a priority (and IDK what kinds of games your husband plays, but most of them are a lot less frustrating with a dedicated graphics chip, and at full price you're probably not going to get that for $500).

It's just something to think about--like I said, I have the smallest possible sample size, so there might be a bunch of potential problems I don't know about.

Good luck with your purchase!

You can usually pick up last year's model of HP or Asus or Acer for about $300. Maybe one for you and one for the hubby.

Hmmph. I play a technologically-ancient game, now 21 years old... in fact my fastest complete computer (as opposed to still being a pile of parts or in some state of half-salvaged) is dedicated to that. Cuz it has ISA slots and can still do sound in DOS. You get stickum on my keyboard and I'll feed you to the cyberdemons.

External optical drives -- DVD are fairly cheap, Blu-Ray not atrocious. Frex:
http://www.directron.com/externaloptica.html
(I've done business with this outfit a couple times, no problems)
Given a choice, or if I'm paying money for it, I always go with a Lite-On (most durable, fewest issues), but they don't make many externals. My next choice would probably be Acer. Not LG if I can avoid it. Still:
http://www.directron.com/euau108.html

Oh, and happy birthday

Seems like a very fair price for performance and in my experience Lenovo is a good brand.

Whatever laptop-specific upgrades you think you might need in the future, buy them NOW.

RAM upgrade. Extra battery. Docking port. Protective casing. Screen shield. Attachable camera. Etc.

In this day and age, computer offerings have time limits and the model you buy today - and all of its possible upgrades - won't be available 6 months from now.

-cb

ETA: bolded RAM and battery. Those are the major ones. Especially if you are taking the laptop on long flights.

I hear Asus and/or Acer are great quality consumer laptops and PCs. I don't know for sure. I think Acer is cheaper.

I got my laptop as a birthday present from my husband, too! I love it. It's a Sony Vaio T Series Ultrabook. I was chained to a desktop computer for way too long! hahaha! Good luck on your search.

One final thought - we have a family policy of using a wireless keyboard with our laptops. There are several reasons for this - they tend to be better than most laptop keyboards, they let you sit further away from the screen and you don't risk damaging the laptop itself with excessive key pounding. Our 13 year old son nearly killed a laptop by bashing away at the space bar whilst playing minecraft. This pushed the laptop case down onto the DVD drive and made the whole thing vibrate as if it was trying to take off.

Once! said:

One final thought - we have a family policy of using a wireless keyboard with our laptops.

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Since the keyboard is the component most likely to fail (being there's really not much supporting it in a laptop) this is probably a good policy for anyone who can manage it.

And it need not be wireless; any USB keyboard will do.

(I use a USB mouse with mine, cuz I can't stand the touchpad.)

For what you want to spend I'd suggest you take a look at the Asus, 'Transformer' T100TA. It's received several decent write-ups; and you should be able to pick it up for less than $400.00.

If you want to spend a little more then checkout the Sony, 'Vaio Fit 14'. Personally, my next laptop just might be an Apple, 'MacBook Air'.

cbenoi1 said:

ETA: bolded RAM and battery. Those are the major ones. Especially if you are taking the laptop on long flights.

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Definitely. Aftermarket batteries might be cheap, expensive, or completely impossible to get, depending on the whims of the marketplace. And remember to swap the batteries regularly so the backup doesn't croak from sitting idle.

It's also a good idea to get an extra power adapter right up front. A lot of laptops can use a generic adapter (frex Dells can use a Panasonic adapter), but the oddball connectors and oddball voltages can become impossible to replace.

In my collection of Useless Junk I have a very ancient laptop (it runs DOS and Windows 3.1 if that tells you its age) where some prior owner got creative about a new battery, no doubt because a replacement cost more than the whole machine was worth. They'd taken the old battery unit apart, pitched out the existing innards, and replaced them with a whole bunch of rechargeable AA cells wired (soldered) in series, and left it rigged so they too can be replaced without too much trouble. Works fine, tho looks very strange.

I loved my HP touchsmart. It was a great computer and hardy. It went through hell and still works, including not one but two dog attacks.

I just gave it to my daughter.

Craftsman said:

For what you want to spend I'd suggest you take a look at the Asus, 'Transformer' T100TA. It's received several decent write-ups; and you should be able to pick it up for less than $400.00.

Click to expand...

I just got one of these, it's pretty nice but might take some getting used to if you're used to "normal" laptops. The fact that it charges with a micro USB is great, though.

I would recommend ASUS as they usually perform well and are available at affordable prices. You also don't hear of them failing anywhere near as much as Acer, either.

Once in a while, make sure you blow some air into the vents of the device (via compressed air can) to keep the inner components clean. You'd be amazed how much dust computers can collect over time. Dust will cause the temperature to rise, which may cause the eventual overheating (and sometimes this can damage a computer beyond repair.) It's preventative maintenance more than anything, really.