DocAndersen
- Processor – the first thing to consider is getting as much processor now, as you can afford. If the processor is only a little more to upgrade one level, do so. I7 chips that are roughly four years old now are still great laptop processors. The goal is to get as much as you can; most people don’t get a new laptop every year! The other side now is that both Apple and the many PC makers use the processors. You can’t run the macOS on non-Apple produced hardware, but you can get a Mac for a lower cost now than in the past!
- Operating system: I will tell you that the relevance of the OS is wholly a choice.
- macOS – the newest macOS was released just before the Holidays. Macintosh computers are a closed system; Apple makes the hardware and the operating system. They are the creators of the easy upgrade. You can go from one version of their OS to another without issues. You do tend to pay more upfront for an Apple Computer.
- Windows (8 or 10) – Windows 7 is hours from no longer being supported (the 13th of this month). Windows 8 and Windows 10 are the current versions. Windows 10 is a solid and stable upgrade and allows for a great integration for most people with the things they have and use.
- Linux (many flavors) many flavors, I’ve played with Ubuntu, Mint, CentOS, and a couple of others. All work well.
- Chromebook – a new entry was running the google ChromeOS. You are limited to the Google office suite, but you gain battery life, and it is a very cheap option!
- Battery – The battery life argument is one that continues to rage. I have a laptop for work that has an 8-hour battery, and I use that all the time. I have a laptop at home that is mine that has a 3-hour battery, and frankly, that works also. It is about how long you want to be disconnected.
- Memory – get as much as you can afford. An older computer with more memory will be usable longer!!!!
- Hard drive – you can get a two terabyte external USB drive for under 100 bucks. I strongly recommend you get an SSD drive to load whatever OS you choose
- Onboard graphics chip, this is optional today unless you do a lot of gaming, or you are into producing graphics.
- The cost now the biggest argument. That will be the last component for today.
- Service interesting issue and will be part of the cost discussions for now!
So let’s talk about cost and extended it a little bit by adding service. Service is the ability to have your computer not functioning and being able to get it fixed. Many people have a friend that fixes their computer. Or a spouse or family member. But, for the most part, without several specialized tools, that person most likely can’t fix a blown motherboard.
The range today for the cost (I looked on Amazon, sorry easiest way to do this)
- Chromebooks starting at 199 US (I’ve seen them as low as 99)
- Laptop running windows – I’ve seen them as low as 199 US.
- Linux I’ve seen laptops as low as 99 US
- Macintosh or Macbooks I’ve seen as low as 799
The next thing that we will talk about tomorrow is what you are doing with your laptop today!
Link to the first post
https://virily.com/virily_poll/on-choosing-a-new-laptop-what-to-consider/
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Question of
Do you use your laptop to edit pictures?
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Yes
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Question of
Do you use your laptop to edit videos?
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Yes
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Question of
Do you use your laptop to connect to a 3d printer?
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Yes
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Question of
Do you want to use a laptop as you connect to Virily or online?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you know where you can get your computer fixed today?
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Yes
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No
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Question of
Do you have a printer at home?
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Yes
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No
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Q: DO YOU USE YOUR LAPTOP TO EDIT PICTURES?
Yes (7 votes) – 100%
Q: DO YOU USE YOUR LAPTOP TO EDIT VIDEOS?
Yes (3 votes) – 100%
Q: DO YOU USE YOUR LAPTOP TO CONNECT TO A 3D PRINTER?
Yes (2 votes) – 100%
Q: DO YOU WANT TO USE A LAPTOP AS YOU CONNECT TO VIRILY OR ONLINE?
Yes (7 votes) – 78%
No (2 votes) – 22%
Q: DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR COMPUTER FIXED TODAY?
Yes (9 votes) – 90%
No (1 votes) – 10%
Q: DO YOU HAVE A PRINTER AT HOME?
Yes (6 votes) – 60%
No (4 votes) – 40%
Great analysis. Very interesting. Yet, which city are you showing on the picture???
that is Miami Florida, the harbor.
It is a great view. Really beautiful.
Miami is a great city to visit. Little Cuba is one of my favorite places!
Yes, they have plenty of Cubans living there who do not like the Castro regime. Have you been to Cuba???? I have to visit it, I believe Havana must be incredible.
Cuba is a place I would love to go to, but to date I have not been.
I am learning more of what I didn’t know. What about the screen size? For a writer and graphic designer, is 13″ and 14″ good or should I go for 15″? I like windows 7 a lot but sad to learn it will no longer be supported.
external monitors are inexpensive overall. The flexibility of plugging your laptop into a docking station is coming up today in my last in the series!
Getting a bit too technical for me. At the present time I only have my desktop PC but in time might consider a small laptop
sorry about that was trying to balance too technical with information.
since functionality is more important to me than portability, I’m a desktop man
my gut is you probably have a dual video 4 plus gig video card and a water-cooled computer!
my system isn’t water cooled sadly. so there is a hurricane lamp pointed right at it
this is the time of year for crazy renders…
i figured you had a liquid cooled system.
well, sadly not the only time I was wrong yesterday.
believe me, I dearly wish you were right
i have one that I got from a company that went bankrupt (back when I was doing consulting and they couldn’t pay).
they are interesting. it is much cooler than the other computers i have. It uses a form of freon to suck heat away from the processor and motherboard.
they’re so damn cool (pun intended)
haha
yeah, they are cool.
I am using the box as a VMWare system. It is currently housing 7 VM’s. it lets me capture information quickly on virily from a variety of types of systems
it also lets me keep a windows 7 box alive without risk!
not worried about ms sunsetting win7, I am worried about vendors no longer developing for it…
Win 7 was a fairly unsupproted OS the last 5 6 months.
The code base under 7 has more holes than swiss cheese.
lovely. unix here I come
Unix has holes as well, the only advantage it has is obscurity. Security through obscurity doesn’t work forever.
117 days to fix for Linux on some zero-day bugs.
I currently have an HP laptop with Windows10. I had a Lenovo before but it disappointed me a little.
different pcs work for different people! i had a Lenovo I loved, and one I couldn’t stand.
I have an Apple MacPro laptop and am very satisfied with it.
without question Mac’s are great!
Thanks Carol!!!
No complaints from me. You are welcome.
I have one in my office that i use to edit pictures and sometimes to post my virily blog!
Just today I went to see a little …. currently the most favorable for me is Lenovo S 200, which has already loaded Widows 10 and costs 280 eur … the seller advised me to wait a little longer so that they will be short sales and they will be even cheaper from 10 – 20%
that is a good seller! that is a very good computer you will like it!
Thanks for the tip …. I’ll wait a little longer if it’s really even cheaper … since it’s not a problem for those 50 Euros just why not spend it if that’s the option
it becomes a balancing act. i try to get a minimum of 4 years from every computer I buy.
He served me wonderfully …. he was 4 years old in October …. but now he’s gotten really slow
there are many reasons for slow. sometimes the computer just needs to be reorganized (it is called disk optimization).
Thanks for the tip, my friend …. I’ll ask how much it costs …. if it’s more expensive than $ 100 it’s probably not worth it
actually you should be able to run it (are you windows 7, 8 or 1?) in the start-up menu type disk cleanup. that should help!!!
I have two working laptops and desktop, but all they already need to be changed into faster ones. Computers so quickly develop that it is hard to rush after them.
that is exactly why I am doing this list to help figure out how you can make your computer last long enough!!!
now a days i am looking for fastest laptop
well then get the best processor you can afford, add an SSD drive and lots of memory~
For the most part my computer works amazing; it has gotten me through my associates degree, but going to replace it probably either at the end of the year or beginning of next. I have a ASUS! Beautiful laptop. I remember thinking to myself, damn this thing is huge when I got it because I had a tiny one prior to purchasing it.
i had an Asus for a long time, great solid laptops!
Thank goodness I have nephews who can help me with everything. I am sure you will get a perfect option for you. I am afraid if I had a lap top it would always be with me – not good.
not for me – sharing this to help others choose a new laptop!
This is very helpful! I have been shying away from those with SSD, but it seems a good idea to consider them now.
SSD short term adds cost. Long term will perform much better. Plus with 99 bucks for a 2 TB drive (USB) you don’t have to get a huge SSD drive!
That’s good to know, thank you!
you bet, will try to wrap this into an easy to use system later.