Need Help picking a laptop
 

My desktop is old, and we are moving and may very well be without our stuff for a while before we settle in. For now, I don't think I can lug or even mail my current computer or another desktop model. I need to have a good, functioning computer instead of my ipad or iphone. Eventually I plan on using it as a "desktop" and get a monitor.

Requirements:
windows
ports for scanner, printer, several ports to plug in backup drive and monitor
need a keyboard & mouse

I do not need it for gaming, nor any heavy duty processing. MS Office, Quicken, & Turbo Tax are my most used items. So real power isn't an issue. I do not need, or will I likely use, a touchscreen

I have never owned a laptop so I'm totally overwhelmed at the options out there. I keep computers until they are old :) My desktop is about 7 years old, and my previous computer was even older than that.

Can someone point me towards a brand and ideally, model? Pretty please ;)

What plugs are the scanner, printer, back-up drive and monitor? Do you want native ports for the equipment you're keeping, or are you comfy with using adaptors if needed? A lot of laptops are moving to USB-C only and expect you to use a hub off the USB ports for anything you attach.

For the use you're describing, and without knowing the ports you need/prefer, I'd suggest looking at almost any of the mid-range Lenovo or Toshiba laptops. They both still turn out solid, durable, long-lived options. Expect something in the US$500-$750 range. Alternatively, if you're looking for a desktop later and the laptop idea is justa temp thing, then maybe a mini-computer? They will outperform most laptops for a given price point, and will have more ports and a greater variety of them. You can pick up good mini-computers for US$350-$500.

Some burning questions...

What size screen do you want? The three typical choices are... 13.3", 14", and 15.6". If you're unsure, I would highly recommend going to a store that sells laptops and compare the screen sizes.
How often do you think you'll be mobile with the laptop? A lot of people actually just plop it on a desk and never move it. When on a desk, the laptop is hooked up to a docking station (aka hub)--and from there, you can hook up an external monitor, scanner, printer, etc. to it. If you want to be mobile somewhat often, then weight and size should be a factor for you.
When mobile, how often are you going to need to print/scan? Does your printer and scanner have the abilities to operate on a wireless network?

Just for a bit of future proofing, I would highly recommend looking at 12th generation Intel processors, 16GB RAM (though 8GB should be absolutely fine for you), and 256GB SSD hard drive.

Any of the midrange consumer-grade laptops from the name brands would probably suit your needs. Add a USB hub for more ports. I agree with swede for min specs.

Acer netbook. 512gb for $299 in 2012. I still use it almost daily and it’s fine.

3 usb plus sssd - wireless mouse, printer cable, so a spare usb for storage etc



https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c20e9138c.jpeg

Costco has a 90 day return, try it,and they have tech support ll

My netbook is light weight like 2-3 pounds max. That’s why I love netbook. I’ve taken it all around Europe / Hawaii and other places. It’s so light. I love netbooks.

You realise this forum is not all about you? The OP asks a question, and you just respond with some random fact about yourself that has no relevance (Netbooks haven't been produced for about 10 years).

To the OP... As mentioned above, any Dell, Lenovo, Toshiba mid range would be good. Most will have some USB-A ports, along with the newer USB-C ports.

I own a Lenovo X280. While it's a few years old, it is an excellent performer.

Find something you like at Costco and be done with it. :D :D :D

Or one of these on Amazon - including refurbs that are great deals:

You might also consider a desktop all-in-one like this:
When you say printer and scanner ports: Everything these days plugs in via USB. Old style exclusive printer and scanner ports simply don't exist on modern laptops. If 2-3 USB ports are not enough for you, consider adding a USB hub like this:
I'm assuming you want a "common" laptop - 14 inch or 15 inch screen, running Windows 10 or 11. I recommend an Intel Core i5 processor or better; 8 GB RAM or more; 256GB hard drive or larger; ALWAYS a solid state drive (SSD), NEVER a spinning disk drive these days; screen resolution 1920x1080 or better.

I actually just bought at a replacement laptop this morning -- a 16 inch Dell Vostro 5620 Dell as currently having a semi-annual sale at their website and added on a wireless mouse since I lost my last one. Normally I would get an Inspiron but there was a really good deal on the Vostro and it has Windows 11 Pro. I have tried a few other PC brands over the year but have always end up back to Dell afterwards. I just get regular non-touch screen laptops. I have a big iPad Pro for app sort of things, the laptop is for real computer stuff.

FYI, Toshiba hasn’t made laptops for a few years.

The one comment I'd make on the above suggestions is that if you're into photography - let alone video - or think you might be during this computer's lifetime, get a 512G hard drive (more likely to be a solid-state drive today). Sensor pixel counts keep going up, file sizes track them (not the same, but more or less keeping the same relationship), and nobody wants to throw out old photos/videos if they don't have to. Most laptops give you that choice. The incremental cost of 512G over 256G is small and getting smaller. "I wish I had less storage space" said nobody, ever.

I also have to make the comment that any HP in your house should be a printer not a laptop

I'll see your anecdote and raise it with: HP printers are horrific. :D :D :D

They don’t make netbooks?? Yikes. Well then any lightweight laptop ftw. We all recall when they weighed 10++ pounds. I’ll take a light one any day now :-)
and I guess Toshiba isn’t making them now? Weird.

Omg I’ve used the same hp color laser jet since 2009 and it still works!! Granted Tomer cartridges are like $140+ CYMK apiece. Brutal. Worth it.

I'd go with Dell or Lenovo.

When it comes to PC laptops, I find Dell's XPS series pretty good and Lenovo's Thinkpads (T series or X series). Depending on your budget, I'd go with one of those, and call it a day. When combined with some cashback sites, CC rewards and maybe promos, you can get one at a pretty decent price.

Yea, all my HP printers both home and office has lasted well over a decade with solid use. And true the toner is expensive and I have learned its best to not get the cheaper toner, just suck it up for the HP toner

Wow... The responses are overwhelming. Thank you.

They are the old style USB ports and I think there are plugs for the monitor & keyboard. I may keep the laptop until it's time for a new computer.

Not sure about the screen size. I will go look After our initial moving around, I doubt I'll be mobile with it. I do have to print periodically, and neither printer nor scanner can do wireless.

Thanks.

Thanks

Thanks. I just may do Costco. My desktop came from there too.

I planned on looking at Dell, just needed to know the product line. I always had them for work in a docking station.

I'm not into any of that stuff. I think I have a huge hard drive now and it's not even 1/4 full:)

When my former company moved away they let me have my HP laser Jet. It's at least 10 years old and works perfectly.

Thank you.

Totally concur. I (or family) have had 10 Thinkpads since the early '90s. Bulletproof.

My 2007 HP Laserjet 1018 still works excellently. I do a search on all of Craigslist for toner and always find someone willing to sell for 1/3 retail and ship cheap.

We have this small hub for my wife’s laptop that works great. Look below my monitor in the picture attached. I run two separate computers to the same monitor as well, one being a desktop. Also have an old HP Laserjet printer via usb connected. That thing is older than dirt but keeps plugging away. We have a color inkjet HP as well that’s from 2013 still working.

That said, working returns at Costco, I wouldn’t recommend HP for laptops or printers. The old stuff was good, the new not so much. I like the Lenovo and Dell products we sell though. If and when we need a new printer I’m going with Canon, not HP or Epson.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...fd56d0e5e.jpeg

As DenverBrian & other FTers know, I'm not the most techie person ;) :p :D

But - one of the things you'll need to consider is if your 10 yr old printer & scanner will work w/ a new laptop (or desktop) that's newest version/windows 11 - aka, are there even drivers for older model printers & scanners. Not saying there aren't, but you may need to take that into consideration as well.

Cheers.

FWIW, it used to be more important to pick laptops based on available ports. With the USB-C standard, that's usually no longer a concern since you'd likely use an external hub to connect all your peripherals so that you do a plug-once.

If you plan to use it without external monitor for a while, that should really influence how big of a screen you should go for. The smaller 13.3" ones might seem nice and portable, but can be uncomfortable if that's your primary monitor for extended time periods.

A lot of laptop models these days make it difficult to add RAM, so I'd suggest you go big right from the start - 8GB minimum, 16GB recommended.

With regard to drivers, HP started using "universal" drivers many years ago which have minimum viable support for old models. They make drivers for newer models which allow you to access specific features, but the "universal" ones will generally work for older equipment.

My HP 3015 is about as old as it gets but works fine with my modern PC. Last driver update is from 2017, but for something made in 2003 it keeps plugging/printing away.

You said you have an iPad and an iPhone. We've gone all Apple in our house and have MacBook Air computers. I love their ease of use.

Mary2e : It depends.

If your intent is simply replace your desktop with a laptop, then you've gotten quite a few inputs earlier in this thread.

If your intent is now to be more mobile in your computing, the laptop is only one element to be considered if you're now going to lift and shift to Hawaii. The fewer and lighter items are, the easier it will be to bring things with you as you travel - this includes a possible mobile printer/scanner, separate keyboard, etc.

Having a laptop that has a compatible docking station will assist in being able to plug the laptop back into the station and having your future monitor/keyboard/mouse/desktop scanner/etc. easily operational without having to re-hook up everything every time.

Also to note that, while smaller notebooks and netbooks are available, you'll also find that their keyboards are a bit smaller and many keys are overloaded by having a single key serve as many possible depending on ctrl / alt / fn press combination sequences which can be a pain. Larger heavier notebooks with fullsize keyboards are easier to transition too but also are larger and heavier and generally come with a larger heavier power transformer/charger block. And even more crap to carry.

I'd recommend going down to an electronics-type store or even Costco and putting hands on keyboards, looking and and touching those touchscreens and hefting the laptops to get a feel for what you think you'll prefer. Ask to see the cables and connectors to get an idea of what it will take to haul all of those items with you in order to use the device.

No one laptop will likely meet all of your needs. But some come close.

David

Honestly, Mary, I would just go to Costco and pick one you like in your price range. These days, laptops are commodities with the innards all produced by the same handfuls of companies. Costco has a great return policy. Get something with at least 8GB of RAM (preferably 12 or 16) and at least a 256GB solid state drive (SSD - this type of hard drive is MUCH FASTER than the traditional type and is generally pretty standard these days but make sure you get one). All laptops come with at least 1-2 USB-C ports (the new, smaller one) and usually just 1 USB-A port (the old fashioned rectangular type that's been around for 25 years). If you need more ports you just buy a dock that plugs into one of the USB-C ports and has a bunch of ports on it for power, monitor, keyboard/mouse/scanner/printer/whatever. Everything connects between the dock and you via the single USB-C connection, which also provides power.

We're a mixed marriage :) I've tried to use my husband's Mac, and it drives me nuts. We even had one in the suite in Waikiki and trying to change a flight drove me so crazy, I just called them :)

I fully appreciate this as a IPhone and IPad user but prefer a Windows computer.

Preach it! "It just works" has got to be the most inaccurate marketing claim ever.

Lenovo is having a decent sale today, but I agree with those who suggest going to Costco and trying out their Lenovos.g

I also completely concur - love my iPad and iPhone, strongly dislike Macs. Every now and then I have to use a Mac at hotel to print something out and I often end up irritated by the time its over

Miss Swede's Chromebook* is starting to fail (most likely a power supply/motherboard issue), but she needs a Windows laptop for college anyways. I just bought this from Acer's store on eBay for $414 plus tax. It ticks all of the spec recommendations I posted earlier. The exact same laptop is on sale for $550 (plus tax) from Costco. Both carry a 2-year warranty, so I figured it's a no-brainer to just pick the cheaper one even if it's refurbished. Miss Swede's biggest criteria for her next laptop is that it has to be light--her 14" Chromebook is about 3.7lbs, so shaving a pound will be welcome.

* - refurbished; bought for $300 from Woot almost exactly three years ago.

I'm not a Mac person.

My suggestion for Windows-based is to go to a physical store and at least get the look and feel of a variety. Didn't look to see what part of the country the OP is in. In the Washington, DC area, there are Micro Centers. These have a good variety of selections - occasional use, business use, lightweight, gaming, etc. Even if you decide not to buy at the store, at least you gather enough info to place an intelligent order. I started doing this after the last couple notebooks I purchased from Dell online, and I wasn't happy with size, weight, etc., and returned.

At Costco, you can play a bit with the 'puter to see if you like it; and if you get it from Costco, you can return it no questions asked within 90 days...and then it will reappear on eBay as a refurb for Swede to buy. :D :D :D

This one at Costco also meets criteria, and is $450 on sale: https://www.costco.com/acer-aspire-v...000055208.html

No specific recs here .. just some info ...

You can get bluetooth kbd/mouse/etc and wifi/ethernet printer/scanner, so you don't need ports for those. (are you going to lug your old printer/scanner with you or just get a new one?)

For the monitor, pretty much all modern laptops will have an HDMI port or multiple thunderbird/usb-c ports which can double as a DisplayPort port for the monitor. Simplest solution in that space for the monitor is probably HDMI. Depends on the monitor you pick.

If you need more ports you can always plug in a usb-c hub with the ports you need. For older usb-a devices, you can plug them into a hub or buy an inexpensive usb-c to usb-a adaptor/dongle if the laptop doesn't have any usb-a ports.

For external storage, most modern devices, for example, Samsung T7 are native usb-c. For older usb-a devices, see above.

-David

Good point I had completely forgotten. Toshiba sold their latop division to Sharp, which renamed it Dynabook, after one of the Toshiba product lines. They are still Toshiba systems underneath and built to the same standards. They're still a solid option IMO. And old stock original Toshibas are still available in a surprising number of places.

I wouldn't touch an HP printer with a barge pole. The only good thing about HP printers is that they're not Epson printers. Get a mid or high range Brother laser and be done with it.

ooh at home I have brother fax-copier (that “all in one” from last decade) so now I’m only using it for photocopying since we cancelled our fax number. I should switch to printing b/w to the Brother since it would be cheaper and most printed stuff eventually ends in the recycling. I still love the Hp color laser jet - brother toner is cheaper. Just hope I can get the driver if needed; I haven’t “added” a printer to my pc in years.
Good tip - thanks much!

No idea if you're right or wrong, but from my personal experience over the years, I'd have to agree!

PS - By the way, the Macbook Air M1 is going for $799, which is the cheapest I've ever seen; assuming one is more or less equally comfortable with both Win & iOS, might be the best value currently.

Toshiba is the brand other than Dell that I have good luck with over the years. I noticed I hadn't seen any for a while but didn't realize they stop making laptops as they were decent durability.