Thread: advice on replacing an aging craptop

I don't know. I got an HP G62 with an corei3 processor a couple of years ago. It runs well and with an upgrade to 8Gigs of ram, I don't need anything faster. It runs music restoration software, Lightroom, Photoshop with no problems. I don't do much video, but what little I've worked with has not been a problem on the machine. I always do critical work on photos on my desktop, with a real monitor, mostly because it's calibrated with my printer, so it makes life easy.

Oh! I know for those who use them, it can be almost a religious experience, but I've always hated Macs. The interface justs frustrates the hell out of me. I've had to use them at work, so it's not lack of practice -- a conflict of personalities I guess.

Originally Posted by Yeats

You can get a Windows laptop with a decent screen for much less than the MacBook Air.

But its not going to have *that* screen or the portability. (1440x900 on 13" is gorgeous)

Originally Posted by Yeats

Perhaps a 2011 MacBook Pro?

Only if it were the 15" with the hi-res screen and you are getting into v expensive there. I have a low end 13" which suits me OK, and when needed, pair it to a Dell U2410 screen. With the benefit of hindsight, (always 20/20) I ought to have simply got myself another iMac. But... didnt... oh well.

my current screen is crap. My next screen will be crap as well. I'm fine with that.

I buy nice cameras because I love cameras and I love taking photographs. Computers bore me to tears. I will not spend real money on one. Last time I did was one named after a fruit and it died a few weeks after the 2 year warranty was over. That was $1,000 down the drain. Now I buy Windows-based crappy ones (the cheaper the better it seems) and they work fine and I replace them while they still have a bit of life left. I want a cheap one that will do what I ask of it. I was kinda just wondering if someone could tell me which $400 craptop was best. But maybe they are all the same.

Maybe I'll just go to Best Buy tomorrow and look them over.

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

But its not going to have *that* screen or the portability. (1440x900 on 13" is gorgeous)

For $150 less than the MacAir (which, granted, is not *much* less), you can get an Asus Xenbook with a 13.3", 1920x1080 IPS screen.

Of course, I have a feeling we are doubling what Luke is looking to spend!

Only if it were the 15" with the hi-res screen and you are getting into v expensive there. I have a low end 13" which suits me OK, and when needed, pair it to a Dell U2410 screen. With the benefit of hindsight, (always 20/20) I ought to have simply got myself another iMac. But... didnt... oh well.

1.5 years ago my brother's boss won a MacAir in a raffle... he's unpacked it, but never turned it on!

Originally Posted by Luke

my current screen is crap. My next screen will be crap as well. I'm fine with that.

I buy nice cameras because I love cameras and I love taking photographs. Computers bore me to tears. I will not spend real money on one. Last time I did was one named after a fruit and it died a few weeks after the 2 year warranty was over. That was $1,000 down the drain. Now I buy Windows-based crappy ones (the cheaper the better it seems) and they work fine and I replace them while they still have a bit of life left. I want a cheap one that will do what I ask of it. I was kinda just wondering if someone could tell me which $400 craptop was best. But maybe they are all the same.

Maybe I'll just go to Best Buy tomorrow and look them over.

Well, I can't tell you which one is best, but I can tell you this:

A few years ago, I contracted with a company which supported mobile technology to pharmaceutical companies all over the world; Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, etc. We literally managed and did warranty work on 10's of thousands of Windows-based laptops per year. Our own internal tracking found that the repair rate of laptops were generally split into 2 tiers: the consumer-grade laptops, like Dell Inspiron, HP Pavillion, etc. had a greater frequency of repair compared with "business-class" laptops, like Thinkpad, Dell Latitude, HP NC series. What it boils down to, essentially, is that budget laptops are generally all built to similar quality standards, no matter the brand.

All else being equal, I would be inclined toward Lenovo Ideapad, as there is (hopefully) a trickle-down effect from their premium Thinkpad line, and they do have a decent reputation for support, unlike Dell & HP.

Originally Posted by Luke

my current screen is crap. My next screen will be crap as well. I'm fine with that.

I buy nice cameras because I love cameras and I love taking photographs. Computers bore me to tears. I will not spend real money on one. Last time I did was one named after a fruit and it died a few weeks after the 2 year warranty was over. That was $1,000 down the drain. Now I buy Windows-based crappy ones (the cheaper the better it seems) and they work fine and I replace them while they still have a bit of life left. I want a cheap one that will do what I ask of it. I was kinda just wondering if someone could tell me which $400 craptop was best. But maybe they are all the same.

Maybe I'll just go to Best Buy tomorrow and look them over.

Imagine how much nicer the nice photographs would be on a nice screen? If you shoot digital, the computer screen IS a photographic product. Buy a junk box but at least allow yourself to fully appreciate your images with a good monitor.

Gordon

Originally Posted by flash

Buy a junk box but at least allow yourself to fully appreciate your images with a good monitor.

Gordon

Gordon, I agree with you 100%, except for the fact that my workflow is "process photos on the couch while my wife watches horrible TV." Much as I would prefer a cheapo tower with a kick-ass screen in my office.....that doesn't work for me.

My days are filled with work. And my nights are time to spend with my wife (and lucky for me that she allows me to play with my pictures). I can't reconcile the difference in price between a great screen on a laptop and a crap screen on a machine that does (ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME THING).

Imagine if there were 2 cameras that were nearly identical except the viewfinder was WAY better on one. And one cost $399 and one cost $1,399.

Maybe I just lucked out, but when I print my photos, the colors very nearly match what I'm getting on my four year POS laptop. Maybe the way I decide should be to bring a memory card with some favorite shots that I have printed out and see if I can get the screen to come close to displaying what I see in print.

Luke see if you can find your brand of laptop somewhat updated.. maybe the results and the price will be similarly acceptable. Good for you btw for knowing what you want and and need and not being compelled to get shineys. :)

Originally Posted by Yeats

Of course, I have a feeling we are doubling what Luke is looking to spend!

Indeed. For $400 he's going to get something OK but not startling. Pity about his previous mac. Its amazing to me it died at 2 years, but I suppose it happens. All mine were going strong at 5+

Originally Posted by Luke

...Maybe the way I decide should be to bring a memory card with some favorite shots that I have printed out and see if I can get the screen to come close to displaying what I see in print.

Good idea. If you dont want to spend much, you need at least to be able to see if what you shoot is going to be usable on screen.

I had a craptop from Acer for about 30 seconds, I thought I needed it for some Windows programs (one diabetic logging tool which linked to a meter, and another logging tool for my sleep apnea machine) so I thought I might be able to use it for photography also, but the photographs looked worse on that 15" 1366 screen than they do on my current 13" 1280 screen. It was dead cheap too, under $400, would have been great if I could have kept it, but it was just unusable, as far as I was concerned.

I love my 13" screen, its just the right size, and most of the time its in the loungeroom whilst *I* watch horrible TV, but if I want to do a bunch of processing (not just one or two) its off to the study and a quick plugin of the Dell, for a really good experience. I'd probably be in there all the time if it were not both the hottest (in summer) and coldest (in winter) room in the house.