Recommend a decent quality basic home laptop? May 2019

Forums › Laptops and mobile computers › Recommend a decent quality basic home laptop? May 2019

timmmay

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#250632 19-May-2019 21:27

Looking for a laptop for my Mum. I had her get a Lenovo a few years ago, it worked well, but she broke it.

It will always be used at home on a table or maybe on the sofa, so battery life and weight isn't that important. I would prefer an SSD for her if it's not too expensive, just because it'll boot faster, but I doubt she'd care that much. It will be used for basic things like internet and email, doesn't need to run office, but would like to store some photos on the machine and maybe do very basic editing with Picassa or similar.

No fixed budget, but she mentioned $1400 so that or less

Brands I've found good in the past: Lenovo, Dell, Asus. I'm hoping someone else has done the research recently so I don't have to bother. I looked at the Lenovo and PBTech websites and there are just too many options.

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#2241381 20-May-2019 13:18

I'd go for the SSD if she tends to move the laptop around quite a bit. Sorry, can't recommend a particular model except to say that you have pay quite a lot to get one with a decent screen.

openmedia

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#2241388 20-May-2019 13:23

Look at the new Thinkbook 13s from Lenovo. Had a play with one at the Ingram Showcase the other day and they're due out locally reasonably soon.

I'd personally be looking at one if I needed a new machine

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

wratterus

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#2241392 20-May-2019 13:31

For $1400 you could get something very nice. What is your screen size preference? The HP Probooks are a very good all-round notebook.

If you want 13"-14" something like this, or 15.6" one of these

Normally I'd say try and get something with a 1080p panel, but especially with the 13"-14" screens, people often end up running them at 125 or even 150% DPI which sort of defeats a lot of the benefit of the higher res in the first place.

timmmay

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#2241442 20-May-2019 13:49

Just checked, no fixed budget but would rather pay less for a lesser machine than more for a better machine.

Eyesight is a problem, so need a good size screen and probably low resolution so that the writing isn't too small.

Does not need Microsoft Office, just really wants a web browser so she has a decent size screen to surf the web for email and to plan travel. Has around 3000 medium resolution photos, it would be nice to run Picassa or similar to view them.

Given the basic requirements is a Chromebook feasible question mark

Handle9

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#2241701 20-May-2019 16:52

If she's happy using Google photos then a Chromebook would work well.

Great battery life and cheap sounds like a winner.

timmmay

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#2241792 20-May-2019 19:40

I know nothing about Chromebooks... do you store photos locally or is everything in the cloud? I've never used Google Photos, is it storage, editor, or a bit of everything? Is it one of those services they might kill off any time?

nickb800

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#2241824 20-May-2019 20:15

Went through this for grandma recently. Only requirements were cheap and 15" screen for eyesight.

Went for an acer aspire - most retailers have a variation of the A315 - all slightly different so they don't have to price match lol. Got one with 128gb SSD drive and 8GB ram for $700 from Smiths City.

Used the Windows 10 fresh install tool to get rid of the Acer bloatware, just had to manually download/install drivers. Pretty quick machine, case is a bit plasticky and wouldn't hold up to being shoved in a bag and taken to work everyday, but perfect for this use case

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zezayer

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#2241830 20-May-2019 20:21

timmmay:

I know nothing about Chromebooks... do you store photos locally or is everything in the cloud? I've never used Google Photos, is it storage, editor, or a bit of everything? Is it one of those services they might kill off any time?

Think of it as the opposite of windows, Microsoft started with everything on the computer and has added the cloud. Google started with everything on the cloud and now has laptops with storage to keep things on them. You can use a chromebook fine offline but everything is backed up online, so if you break it you can just start where you left off. Like most modern phones.

Google photos will be around for a long time. Its one of google's most successful pieces of software. It's basically storage and backup of photos that has been adding more and more features. It's now quite a comprehensive photo editor and photo album system. With the extra of google AI. Download it on your phone and give it a go.

I just picked up this for a older family member. Its a windows laptop.

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKASU406212/ASUS-E406MA-BV212T-Education-Laptop-14-1366x768-In

timmmay

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#2241878 20-May-2019 21:51

Thanks @nickb800 that's useful. Mum did have a plastic Acer a while ago, she bought it without my input - horrible thing. I'll look at that one thoguh.

Thanks for the Chromebook info @zezayer. Sounds like it might be worth looking into more. I'd probably be shooting for a 15" screen for Mum with her eyesight.

tukapa1

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#2241981 21-May-2019 06:21

If weight and mobility isn't a problem, and eyesight is an issue then perhaps a 17" laptop is a better option - maybe like this one;

https://acquire.co.nz/p/hp/computers/notebooks-laptops/hp-probook-470-g2-notebook-pc-energy-star-l9a61pa-117027/

No SSD but you could add that yourself at that price.

timmmay

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#2242003 21-May-2019 07:30

17" is definitely worth considering. Is 1600 pixels sufficient for a 17" laptop when someone isn't perfectly sighted? My Mum has perfect sight in one eye, very limited in the other.

martyyn

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#2243847 23-May-2019 15:32

I may be a little late to this party but I'd be careful with either the Dell Inspiron 3000 or 5000 (I'm sure I'd seen them mentioned on one of your threads).

A client of mine had a 15" 5000 but it was an ugly TN panel. When I say ugly it was horrendous, we both had headaches after ten minutes of using it. In the end we bought an IPS panel and I fitted it for him, the difference was night and day.

Chromebooks are fantastic but in my experience some people just struggle to understand the concept of everything being online and they've heard too many (incorrect) stories about not being able to use them offline.

FineWine

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#2243851 23-May-2019 15:40

timmmay: Just checked, no fixed budget but would rather pay less for a lesser machine than more for a better machine.

Not being rude, but is she going to outlast the machine or is the machine going to outlast her ?

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

timmmay

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#2244244 23-May-2019 21:24

FineWine:

timmmay: Just checked, no fixed budget but would rather pay less for a lesser machine than more for a better machine.

Not being rude, but is she going to outlast the machine or is the machine going to outlast her ?

I got a text today that she's spent more of the day using a sledge hammer to break up concrete, which probably answers your question.

I wouldn't have her buy something expensive, because she broke the last one with both water damage and mechanical damage to the screen, and that was a Lenovo.

sqishy

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#2244251 23-May-2019 21:39

Many options to go for here are some Dell.

Dell 15"

https://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/laptops-ultrabooks-notebooks/new-inspiron-15-3000/spd/inspiron-15-3583-laptop/c510123nz

Dell 17"

https://www.dell.com/en-nz/shop/laptops-ultrabooks-notebooks/new-inspiron-17-3000/spd/inspiron-17-3780-laptop/c510142nz

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