Laptop for my Wife

AKBill

AKBill

En-Route
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Messages
3,735
Location
Juneau, AK
Display Name
Display name:
AKBill
I would like to get a new laptop for my wife. Thinking of spending between $350 to $450. She uses it for check book balancing and programs like turbo tax. I like HP and Dell myself. Wondering what type of security program to purchase? Should we get the extended warranty they normally offer?

Will most likely use Office Max to order. What size hard drive should we be looking for? I'm no computer wiz, what questions should I ask when purchasing?

Thanks
Bill B
 
I gave up on the subscription antivirus (or at least, the major ones.) I use "AVG Free" and they've done a really good job of pushing out updates for current viruses in the field. You could go to the paid version (I've thought about it) and get more functionality, but so far AVG Free has been rock solid for me.

In terms of laptop, it seems most are pretty decent anymore. I would just go to Costco and purchase one since you can return the laptop up to 90 days after purchase in case anything goes wrong with it.
 
Regarding antivirus...seriously no need to buy one. I've used Windows Defender for a long time and never had a virus, but I don't go to sketchy sites. Windows Defender will automatically come on any Windows computer. So technically you don't need to download anything. If you want a little better protection Bit Defender FREE is great because it is very light on resources.
 
HP is a good brand. Dell isn't bad and lately I have had good luck with Lenovo. $350 to $450 isn't going to go very far. I get that she isn't a power user, but spring for an SSD drive (way, way faster boot times). Get at least 8 GB of RAM. A 15" display is usually a good size for casual users. You will pay more for light weight models, but if you don't travel a bunch, weight shouldn't be a factor. For accounting, an i5 will be better than an i3 (i7 even better, but not needed). There are probably better places to buy than Office Max (unless you are getting some type of employee discount). Check out Newegg.com, for example.
 
I have a three year old HP running Windows Professional 64 bit that I'm very satisfied with. A 500GB HD should be more than she needs.
 
John221us said:
HP is a good brand. Dell isn't bad and lately I have had good luck with Lenovo. $350 to $450 isn't going to go very far. I get that she isn't a power user, but spring for an SSD drive (way, way faster boot times). Get at least 8 GB of RAM. A 15" display is usually a good size for casual users. You will pay more for light weight models, but if you don't travel a bunch, weight shouldn't be a factor. For accounting, an i5 will be better than an i3 (i7 even better, but not needed). There are probably better places to buy than Office Max (unless you are getting some type of employee discount). Check out Newegg.com, for example.
Click to expand...

Way, way what John221us said. I've got a $900 Lenovo that does everything I need, which is MS Office (Word, Excel, etc...) These days though a decent laptop will come with an SSD. That is an absolute requirement in my mind. Cheapest performance feature/upgrade you can get.
 
I have been using this Lenovo laptop for three years now. It has survived 2 trips to Alaska in a car.
 
Agree I can't go back from SSD now. Also agree Lenovo is a good brand although mine is six years old and doesn't have the SSD but now that I put them in my desk tops I really miss them in the laptop . It's almost time to upgrade. Agree 15" is a good size unless she plans to travel a lot.

Also agree Newegg. I've been a loyal customer for years.
 
Rushie said:
Also agree Newegg. I've been a loyal customer for years.
Click to expand...

Costco has some pretty good discounts around this time of year as well as a pretty good return policy and a 4 years of extended warranty if you use their Visa card (2 years extended if you don't).
 
If it was me I'd go with a Lenovo, Asus, or Dell.
 
Maybe if you throw in a boat you'll be able to get a laptop in trade for the wife. Post pictures of the boat for best results.
 
CC268 said:
If it was me I'd go with a Lenovo, Asus, or Dell.
Click to expand...
Never used a Lenovo, seems like a few folks agree with you. My wife wants to buy locally so she has support close, not a lot of suppliers in Juneau. OfficeMax seems to fit her needs.

Thanks for all your info
 
For what it's worth, I had to ship my Lenovo back for a repair this summer (I dropped it on the floor). No local could fix it. Called Lenovo, they sent me an empty FedEx Box and shipping label. They kept it for a month before finally calling me and saying they could fix it for $156. They emailed me a link which I followed and paid the $156. A few days later I received it back. Works perfectly. No real info what they did but the part of the case that was broken had been replaced and whatever was causing it not to boot had been fixed. There was just a note that my battery was getting old and I might want to buy a new one and that the laptop was out of warranty so I had paid for the repair (I already knew that.) The $156 included all the shipping.

The month it was gone I tried to check the status by going to the "check the status of your repair" link and getting the message that I was located in a country that could not perform that action. So I concluded they'd shipped it to China to fix. I'm sure they didn't, the center it went to and came from was New Jersey IIRC.

I guess the good thing is they get the job done. But in an assembly line kind of way without much personal communication. When the lady called me to give me the repair estimate she said it had taken that long for them to diagnose the problem because of backlog but once I authorize repair they'd get to it quickly, and they did.
 
AKBill said:
Never used a Lenovo, seems like a few folks agree with you. My wife wants to buy locally so she has support close, not a lot of suppliers in Juneau. OfficeMax seems to fit her needs.

Thanks for all your info
Click to expand...

Could you order from NewEgg? Even if you purchased something from online I am sure OfficeMax could "service" it if need be. OfficeMax carries a lot of HP. Truthfully, HP would be one of my last choices in the lower cost "priceline" computers. Not saying it won't do what you would like it to do, but you might get better quality, reliability, etc in the long run from something else. You will also probably get more bang for your buck ordering from an online retailer. Heck you could call NewEgg, tell them your budget, needs, etc and you will probably get some great help and recommendations.
 
Yeah, I doubt you are going to get local support for a laptop where you are at. It probably isn't a factor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top