OT: Recommendations for a cheaplaptop computer for home use

[ellen1159]

My HP Pavilion is falling apart. I'd like something with a comfortable keyboard. Cost is an issue. I don't use it for games, music or photos, mostly internet access, MS Office applications, home budgeting, etc. I've notice on my temp jobs that a lot of businesses use Lenovo Thinkpads and I've also seen a lot of Acels. Any suggestions are appreciated as I am technology impaired. Thanks!

[CapnLoki]

I've found that the best deal is a "refurb" Dell purchased directly from the Dell clearance web site. Sign up so you get periodic discount emails offering 20-30% off the discounted rate. Make sure you buy from Dell (not NewEgg, etc.) to get the proper factory warranty. My primary laptop is a 17" screen, "quad thread" I5, purchased for under $400; currently typing on a 13" XPS "Apple Air Clone" that cost about $600. Also recently got a high end 13"XPS for a graduation present for $700.

I've now purchased 5 Dell refurbs or "dent and scratch" over the years and none have had any flaws, not even a scratch or dent. The warranty coverage was the same as new and I was able to get extended warranties for my kid's machines (well worth it if hard service is anticipated.)

If you're an AARP member look for their discount plan - they often have tie-ins to HP, Dell and Lenovo for "employee discounts."

[chunkyfrog]

Most of our laptops have been superceded floor models, (Best Buy, Office Depot, Office Max, or Nebraska Furniture Mart)

[BlackSpinner]

My HP Pavilion is falling apart. I'd like something with a comfortable keyboard. Cost is an issue. I don't use it for games, music or photos, mostly internet access, MS Office applications, home budgeting, etc. I've notice on my temp jobs that a lot of businesses use Lenovo Thinkpads and I've also seen a lot of Acels. Any suggestions are appreciated as I am technology impaired. Thanks!

You can buy a cheap keyboard that uses a USB port. We did that for my father- it lights up and the keys glow! It is made for seniors I think we paid $25 for it.

For a cheap hardware look at Dell, Lenovo Think pads are more expensive. You might check out computer sales & repair places, they often have machines that people have traded in for new machines with the latest bells & whistles. Try to find a windows 7 as the 8 is hard to use.

[jamiswolf]

Hi Ellen,
Capnloki mentioned Newegg and I agree...they have lousy customer support. But Tigerdirect, another internet bulk electronic retailer is a great company that supports it's sales. Sometimes amazing deals can be had.

One important point is to be sure to buy one with the latest software since a system software upgrade can cost you almost as much as a good refurbished laptop.
Jamis

[Pugsy]

You might check Frys.com. They do have some brick and mortar stores but I don't think there is one close to where you live.
I lived in Las Vegas for a while and they had one there. They have some killer deals on refurbished laptops.

[purple]

if you are a member of Costco. In the past, they have only sold computers which they were willing to do their own (Costco Customer) phone support on. They can not afford to sell junk models, as it costs them. Probably true is the least expensive is the somewhat random one, that is sold at the store itself. Problem being the one you are looking at, is usually the one you will get, not a new one of the same model from a shelf somewhere.

I have seen one or two laptops in Sam's Club store that were jaw droppingly good in price versus the advertised hardware inside the laptop.

Newegg is not going to hold anyones hand, it is a website to sell to mostly geeks. If there is actually something wrong with what you buy from them, then they are great, fantastic, quick, cheerful about refunds, although you might have to pay for the shipping. I have seen a lot of laptops, that I suspect what happened, someone got them, the first owner did not pay attention to what the screen said when it talked about setting up the new laptop, and it installed the Ukrainian Language version of Windows, as the person did not scroll the tab down to English when it starts. Newegg gets it back puts the laptop back in original software state, and sells it as a refurb. YUM. Although surely not all refurbs had that issue.

ASUS is a company that, as of two years ago, ASUS had the highest reliability rating of all computer companies. Higher than even Apple. However, ASUS does not do any customer support to the end user. You might be able to find some downloads of things online, but ASUS itself will not answer questions to the normal user. But if you buy it through Costco, Costco used to have a customer support to answer questions.

Might be best to have a geeky friend help you do the initial setup of the laptop. Windows has some trick questions.

And the idea that someone else's answer mentioned. I know a guy who has a small computer store down the road, who sells used business laptops at pretty good prices. If you can pick the laptop that some exec got, stuck in his office drawer and never really even used. And the computer tech has replaced the battery, pretty good dollar versus value.

If your inner geek is yearning for processing power, a used computer, or a low end computer is never right.

It is strange what people want, versus what they think they want and what they really expect. A guy came over to my house yesterday, and wanted me to show him how to convert a home video type file to play on his big screen TV. After the conversion went on for two hours, and the end not in sight, he starts complaining about how it is taking too long. Dude, he bought a low processor power Dell from Wal Mart. He should be happy it could even hope to do that kind of process without overheating and crashing. If he wanted to play with videos, converting, burning discs, he had to buy a lot more CPU power, and it would probably be better to have a more expensive than average tower. DUDE, you bought a Dell.

Once I spent hours scavenging for a good deal on a laptop for that guy. In the end, he never really looked at the ones I suggested, and his wife went down to Wal Mart and bought the least expensive, cheapest laptop Wal Mart had at that moment. Which was a lot less computer than the one I found, because the one I found was like a hundred twenty dollars more.

If you are a touch typist, beware of some of the keyboards of the smaller laptops, which have been reconfigured slightly to allow all the keys to fit. Which is one of the reasons it is nice to shop in person at a place where one can look at the computer, touch it.

Try to keep in mind that you can get an antivirus that is pretty good for free, (not the one that initially comes ready to install on your PC) but Microsoft Word is nice to have, and after so many uses, costs $$. Plus, getting a dictionary that will work with Microsoft word is a really nice addition, even if you have to pay for it.

Companies like Dell and HP go through cycles where they try to get the cheapest components for the laptops, and they sell a lot of really poor quality computers. Try to stay away from the very bottom of the line. Although it is tempting.

IMO: Some companies. like Home Depot are not there to sell quality at a good price. Some places are not a good place for an inexperienced person to buy at because the sales person has too many good reasons for you to buy from them, and obviously, once you buy it, it is yours, with all the problems as well.

For others besides the OP reading this I, like anyone who has bought an Apple, and joined the "Cult of Apple." If you want to know where in the US one can buy a high quality computer, (or anything they make), that the company will support, then that company is Apple. But you will have to pay about two and half times more for it. Every time you want to have add functioning of some kind (like a program), get out the plastic, it is going to cost you more. If Money is not the issue, then buy Apple, and buy the longest term of Apple Care (Apple Speak for customer support) that is available. For a laptop, Apple Care is hardware replacement for any part due to manufacturing for three years. (except the battery which has two year warranty. BTW, my battery is three and half years old, and the apple techs say they think it holds its charge just fine). Apple does not fix 'for free' damage to the laptop from dropping it, stepping on it, or letting liquid getting into it. Plus 24/7 phone support, with a pleasant person who knows their stuff, who speaks (at least in the US) English as it is spoken by those in the US. I tended to do a lot of things to my Apple one is not supposed to do. Apple Care cheerfully helped me to get my laptop back to functioning. (That might be because they were laughing about what I did). But unless you think you can be a geek and take it apart, or run odd software or hard ware plugins. you will surely never do those things.

[Goofproof]

Laptops aren't the best option for home use, they have short life (over heating, poor costly batteries) higher cost for what you get and many times not repairable cost wise.

I keep two tower systems for my main, my laptop sits as a unused emergency back up, but any more I use my Samsung 10.1 inch tablet, it can almost do anything the towers can, has 5 times the battery life of the useless laptop and is easy to carry. I use to spend 4 hours a day in my cave working with the tower units, now I spend 5 hours a week, the rest I do in my rocker on the Android tablet, its the best investment I ever made in a computer. Jim

P.S. I never buy anything "Refurbished", most times it means poor quality, many laptops are of poor design, have overheating problems, poor battery life, and difficult to repair (costly) non standard parts.

Refurbished generally means wipe it off, reinstall the system to factory, bless it and let the buyer beware. I use only NewEgg, in my dealings, I don't require hand holding just good deals and standing behind their products. Always read the product feedback, many times it will guide you in what's up with a product.

[Babette]

You can buy a cheap keyboard that uses a USB port. We did that for my father- it lights up and the keys glow! It is made for seniors I think we paid $25 for it.

WHERE??? All the light up keyboards I've seen are PRICEY, and aimed at gamers! I'd love to have a light up keyboard! Tell me where you got it!
B.

[Janknitz]

Maybe you only need a netbook for what you're using it for. They are much cheaper. Watch the sales as we get close to the holidays, if you can wait that long.

Our town has a computer recycling center. They refurbish the computers and they are really affordable--might be worth looking into.

[purple]

Netbooks have a non standard keyboard for those who touch type. Some people get used to the keyboard. I did not.

If you buy a Netbook to get it to work at a reasonable speed, usually one buys a RAM upgrade. 18 months ago I did that. If found that the only RAM upgrade that functions well is to purchase a specific high end gaming RAM for over a hundred bucks. Maybe prices have come down.

[Babette]

In my town we have a number of computer recyclers who also sell used and refurbished machines, AND one actually builds custom machines (in addition to the rest of that).

I had a custom desktop built for me a year ago that is all souped up like for gaming, but I don't game. It's just that I like the high speed to keep up with my brain.

It was considerably less than buying online or at a regular retailer. The monitor had some scratches on the side case, so I got it for far less, even though it was new.

Look online for a computer recycler in your area and give them a holler. Might just be the ticket for you.

Cheers,
B.

[sleeplessinaz]

Check Walmart. They have Dell laptops that start at $375.00 for a 15 inch. They also come with a warranty. We all have Dells in our house and never had ANY problems with any of them. My Dell laptop is over 8 years and only replaced the battery.

Good luck,
Carrie

[Sir NoddinOff]

A year ago my ASUS laptop model x53e with a i5 CPU, 15.5" screen model was about $350 from Adorama in NYC... free shipping and insurance. It has a good keyboard and a bright screen. Also I like that they installed Win 7 for free rather than Win 8. It also comes with a high def connector which will plug into your HD TV. There's one USB 3 port and two USB 2 ports. The speakers are crappy but that's easy to fix with some cheap external ones. The last two Dells I bought were not very good quality and didn't last long (they used to be the go-to laptops for pros, but that was back in the day) Also, it's not a bad idea to check with your local computer stores for used computers but get a one year no-fault warranty if you can.

[SabrinaFaire]

Not sure how cheap you want, but Groupon has a couple available right now.

http://www.groupon.com/goods?locale=en_ ... =computers