Going to need a new laptop soon - need advice

grengadgy

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I have nothing against Apple, in fact I bought my grandson a Macbook (laptop) for high school graduation. My daughter in question by NV has a Macbook, two iphones (she a Virginia # on one) and and an Apple watch but she by no means is an Apple puke which I hate.

end of rate, well almost, Did I say say that I hate Apple pukes? :)
 

chferg

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Honestly Ox it really depends on what you are needing the laptop for...

AMD's Bristol Ridge/Stony Ridge 7th generation APU's are good bang for the buck...if you don't go that route grab one with an i5 Skylake variant in it.

If it's for basic office route go with one of those types of laptops...if all you are doing is using it to browse the internet then go with a small ultrabook...

Today there is absolutely no reason to drop the big $$ on a Mac. Most of the programs are cross platform now and any repair or modification of a Mac requires you to send it in while you can do most of the work fixing a laptop on your own.
 

g8tr72

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That's why my advice about laptop purchases always includes a "If money aint an issue" disclaimer.
 

LagoonGator68

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85 to 15.

Get a laptop. IMO if you really liked Apple it would be MUCH higher in iPad favor.

I bought a Dell with i5 chip and touch 2 years ago along with iPad Air....my ratio is 1 to 99 as I rarely turn the Dell on.

YMMV as you well know.
 
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oxrageous

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I can't manage/update/upgrade the Gatorchatter software from a tablet.
 

Swamp Donkey

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As a Miata driver, I think it is required that you also have a Mac, preferably with a purple case.

Tell me more about the Gatorchatter software. What is it? I assume its Tapatalk. Do you download something or do you administration thing from a webpage?
 
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pilot-in-fla

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You can get Windows laptops with detachable keyboards which lets you use them as a tablet or the kind where the keyboard stays attacked but rotates all the way around so that you don't see it (HP's systems like that are called X360).

With Macs using the same hardware as PCs these days, it is much easier to compare systems. For equivalent hardware, you'll pay about double for Apple equipment. And, of course, all of their ports and connectors are proprietary and software is limited.

There is no high end gaming done with Apples since they don't support state-of-the-art graphics cards.

For basic software, I recommend either Libre Office or Open Office which are both freeware and are file compatible with Microsoft Office programs.

I've done very well with HP laptops over the past several years. Sometimes you can get a better price from HP direct than you can from places like Best Buy or Amazon.
 

Swamp Donkey

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I have one of those and it fvkking sucks. The keyboard is trash and terribly slow. Not sure if it is Windows 10 or the keyboard, but it works better as a tablet. That being if the reason he cant administer Gatorchatter with an Ipad is bc it wont work in mobile view on a website, then I expect little difference on a Windows 10 tablet. Windows 8/10 is EASILY the worst tablet option available IMNSHO. Of course, he isn't looking for a tablet.

I will say my daughter got a Lenovo (IBM Thinkpad successor) and it's pretty solid. I'd at least LOOK at those particulary if you aren't wanting to run games.

However, even a low end computer should have much more than 3 year useful life. Have you tried resetting everything? Maybe you just downloaded something stupid during the years.
 
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pilot-in-fla

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I have one of those and it fvkking sucks. The keyboard is trash and terribly slow. Not sure if it is Windows 10 or the keyboard, but it works better as a tablet. That being if the reason e cant administer Gatorchatter with an Ipad is bc it wont work in mobile view on a website, then I expect little difference on a Windows 10 tablet. Windows 8/10 is EASILY the worst tablet option available IMNSHO.

What "one of those" are you referring to?

In my experience over a variety of hardware configurations, Windows 10 is pretty much rock solid.
 

Swamp Donkey

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The combos, keyboard and tablet. I have a bluetooth keyboard on my Ipad, works fine. This keyboard has a physical connection to the W10 tablet but the whole damn machine is a nightmare. I don't know how much is W10 and how much is the keyboard or tablet.

I dont think it matters because Ox says he wants a 17" screen.
 

pilot-in-fla

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The combos, keyboard and tablet.

There are two types I am aware of. There are some small ones (10") or so that have a detachable keyboard and there are some others where the keyboard flips all the way around and sits under the screen.

From what I can tell, the detachable keyboard models are typically fairly light in CPU power and memory, both RAM and persistent although most do allow you to augment persistent onboard memory with a microSD card.

The ones where the keyboard flips around can be pretty powerful. My girlfriend was looking at an ASUS with an i7, 8GB RAMp, DVD RW drive, 1 TB drive, bluetooth etc for just under $600.
 

Gatordiddy

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I've used HP laptops for years... solid stuff (even though I was a bit biased) but they held up very well.
Their new stuff looks awesome ...

I was at a Microsoft event last night and they had their Surface products on display.
Those look pretty good ...but as soon as you bumped up your RAM and SSD it got real pricey.

PIF is right... HP has a Factory Direct type program as well as Refurbs still under warranty.
They typically have good deals.

I've heard Dell ain't too bad either.
I just couldn't get the hang of the Mac thing.
 

oxrageous

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Tell me more about the Gatorchatter software. What is it? I assume its Tapatalk. Do you download something or do you administration thing from a webpage?
:facepalm:

The software is Xenforo. The mobile app version of the software is Tapatalk.

It's all administrated from the web.
 

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