Laptop Recommendations

Anyone know much about Windows laptops? I need one that will run Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Office 365 well. Needs to run large external monitor/tv. Not going to game on it. Smaller and lighter the better. Used is fine too.

 

What's your budget? I would say go with a reputable brand (because, shit always happens) and usually you can snag one for under $1K new if you search for it, Amazon usually has a few name brand that are nicely priced. Not sure how fast you need it or how good (storage, CPU, GPU, etc) you need it, but Teams/Zoom, Office and other minor things, even most Chromebook would work, not sure about Teams but Zoom.
Suggest to get at least i5 and higher and 16G ram and 1T storage (512G is fine if you are just browsing) but again, only you know your own needs and wants.

 

$500-600. Used is probably going to be best.

 

Most likely, take a look:
https://www.woot.com/category/computers/laptops?ref=w_cnt_cdet_pc_3
Stay away from those "tablet turned laptop" ones, they are usually not as good/useful as they are advertised.

 

Pretty much any laptop from a reputable vendor (Lenovo, Dell) will do what you need. Get minimum 32 GB of RAM, and check the video card/video specs to make sure it will run the monitors you want to run. And I agree to stay away from chromebook. They will not run what you want to run.

 

Thanks. Not really a fan of Chromebooks. Usually under powered for anything other than browsing.

 

Check this out on @Newegg: HP ProBook 650 G2 Laptop, 15.6" LCD, Intel Core i7-6600U 2.3GHZ, 16GB DDR4 Memory, 256GB M.2 SSD, Windows 10 Pro, Grade B https://www.newegg.com/black-hp-pro...c=snc-social-_-sr-_-9SIA6A3J7H1435-_-12142022

Even has a backlit keyboard.

 

Asus or Lenovo are at the top.

 

Heck of a deal! Thanks.

 

Yes, I didn't mention Asus, but they are good.

 

Check on the RAM upgrade to 32 GB before jumping in.

 

Yep. I have an Asus 2-in-1 that I bought in 2017 or 2018 with a SSD. That thing is still as fast as it was new and the battery still holds charge for a couple of hours.

 

Super easy to up the RAM in a laptop. If the mobo will allow it.

 

I work in IT and I recommend the Lenovo brand. The battery life is really good and they seem to be durable and hold up. They are probably a little more towards the pricey side but you do get what you pay for and everything has gone up. I found some pretty decnet deals at Costco if you happen to be a member. Be careful as there is a very stripped down version of Windows that they are now putting on the cheap laptops.

I used to like Dell but I think their quality has really gone down over what it used to be. Surface Pros are stupid overpriced for what they are.

 

I second the Lenovo. (I've actually got one that I no longer use, but it 'only' has a Core i5 and 16GB of RAM. lol)

I'm also a fan of Mac - just bought a MacBook Air - but you said Windows laptop, I think.

 

I’ll have to check my work laptop. It’s a dell used for engineering for a few upgrade components, memory, processing, video / graphic? ~ a few other things. I get a new one every two years. It has a docking port on the bottom of it that connects to a docking station that works two external monitors that the laptop screen can also be used open as a 3rd display. been at my company over 14 years and these laptops have never failed me. If I had to get one for personal use I would over any apple products. Even though I have iPhone / iPads company provided

 

I won't disagree with you there but I got talked into a Dell G16 7620 and it cooks.

 

Lenovo thinkpad carbon x1 i7 with 16gb ram. Look for a used one gen 6 or higher.

 

I've had more than 1 HP that failed rather early (2+ yrs), Sony that did the same, Asus also.

So in 2016, I bought 4 Acers for self and family. All are still working 100%, so I'm sticking with that brand for now. Luck deciding. Yet for your uses, most any late model PC will work.

 

I wasn't going to go overboard but someone else started it. Lenovo is the Tundra of laptops. I have had about a dozen Lenovo ThinkPads (and their IBM predecessors) in my family (me, wife, two kids) and the quality, reliability, and support have been amazing.

 

I'm typing this on my personal new-in-year-2010 Hewlett Packard (aka: HP) Pavilion dv7. I did swap in a SSD ~6 years ago, run 16GB RAM and upgraded to Windows 10 1.5 years ago.

For my business it is only ThinkPads.

 

Lenovo thinkpad. Mine is on all the time. Built to take it.
They are available used for $500 -600. 16 meg.
I have had my ASUS products (laptop and cell phones) fail on me.
Just my experience.

 

Agreed. I've got a Lenovo Thinkpad T480s; Core i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD. I bought a MacBook Air purely because I wanted one, but the ThinkPad still works awesome and is plenty fast.

OP - if you're interested, let me know.

 

I've purchased from these folks a couple times.https://www.bhphotovideo.com/ My latest purchase was a couple Lenovo laptops. They have decent prices, both on new and used.

 

Lots of recommendations for Lenovo. I use one at work and that surprises me since I work for a gov corporation. Lenovo is a Chinese government owned company and have a history of security issues. In 2006, the US Gov banned Lenovo computers from their networks. Call me paranoid, but I don't like the idea of the Chinese having a backdoor into my personal computer. Maybe those concerns are unfounded?

 

Let just say that over half of the stuff is made in China, so would they have somewhat of a tracking/backdoor devices/way? It would be stupid to assume no, but I will also say that, Lenovo IS owned by China (which is state owned regardless how you skin that cow) and it was IBM before that. I have Lenovo for work, Surface Pro 3 when new (didn't like it wouldn't stand like a laptop because it is a tablet with a keyboard) and MBP and pretty much everything in between.
I will say this though, most machines nowadays, be prepared to replace them every 5 years or so, if not earlier. That's just the way things are going to be. If you can get one to work for 20 years, kudos to you, but I would not say that will be the norm going forward. Besides, tech does leap and bound every few years, even if you don't need the latest and greatest, you do find yourself left behind at some point....

 

My homemade PC goes thru a major overhaul every 5 years anyway. Not really because I have to either

 

I wouldn't say they're unfounded...but if I remember correctly, the shenanigans reported by the media concerned chips that were found to be on motherboards for servers utilized in datacenters. They were banned from networks out of an abundance of caution.

I run Unifi (Ubiquiti) stuff for my home network and use the threat detection features, and aside from the obvious ad reporting network stuff, I've never seen any attempts to 'phone home' or what have you.

 

For work I use a HP laptop & an IPad. I transfer my field work from the IPad to my laptop to work on my reports. It all works ok & I'm mostly computer illiterate