Need a new computer...

[Martinjmpr]

Hey, remember back in the old days when getting something new was exciting and fun? If you got a new stereo, or a new TV, or a new car, you were eager to try it out and explore all the new possibilities, remember that?

Yeah, I don't know if technology has gotten worse or if I'm just getting old but now the thought of a new computer, phone or even a new truck fills me with existential dread. Especially computers. I just wonder how many hours I'm going to have to spend trying to get the damn thing to do what my current computer does already.

Anyway, enough bitching! So my current Toshiba is getting a little long in the tooth (I got it in 2011.) I really need to upgrade to something newer and faster. Any recommendations?

It's hard to cross-shop Windows computers because there seem to be so many infinite variations of processors, memory, hard drive or SSD, screens, etc.

I'm not a gamer and I'm not a programmer. I need a computer that I can do work on (spreadsheets and such) as well as a computer with a decent video capability. Storage capacity has to be 1TB minimum because I have lots of files (music and photos.) A touchscreen is NOT required (in fact, I don't see much value in a touch screen for a PC.) Decent video/audio for watching Netflix and running iTunes would be nice. A backlit keyboard seems like it would be a good thing. 15.6" display is what I have now and it's plenty big for me, no need for anything bigger.

I know computers change so quickly that a specific recommendation is not easy but general recommendations for/against would be appreciated. Right now I'm leaning towards HP just because that's what I see most of in the stores. I've owned a couple of Dell's in the past and they seem somewhat cheaply made. My current one is a Toshiba but I guess they don't make laptops anymore? What about Acer or Lenovo?

Don't know much about processor types/speeds, so I don't know what would be better. Basically I want to keep this computer as long as I can so not looking for something that is likely to need upgrading soon. I'm looking to spend under $600.

I do have PX privileges and the nice thing about buying there is no sales tax. I saw a couple of likely candidates on my last trip. 1 is an HP with an Intel Core i5 8250U 2.o to 3.4GhZ processor, 1TB HD, 8GB RAM and a non-touch screen for $499.

I'm also seeing some interesting ones on Amazon but I'm always a little leery of buying from them (though to be fair I've had good luck buying computers from them in the past.)

So, just looking for recommendations or tips (OTHER than "Get a Mac." )

[Mazin]

Honestly if you want a good stable machine don't discard gaming laptops, Specs are specs, Decent CPU, ram, SSD hard drive. I'm running a Lenovo Amd A12 @ 2.4ghz, 8gb of ram, 120GB ssd w/ 1tb Secondary HD. I'm running win 10 fully patched and honestly I cant complain tooooooo much. I've had Acer, Lenovo, HP, Apple, MSI, And I would only consider an MSI and Acer and apple. My system now is great for what I spent about 3 years go ($300 open box at BB) but I wouldn't say I would be looking at the Lenovo for my first choice next time around.

BTW I feel your pain, I hate buying a new laptop. Its right up there with getting a new car to me.

[DireWolf]

I just went through this when my main desktop crapped out and needed replacing...

I found some really good pricing direct through Lenovo (depending on products) between sales and their Veterans discount program (they do an instant records lookup/verification), most definitely worth checking out...

Also, are you set on getting a new laptop? If not, these are pretty sweet and may still have some sales in place (what I ended up with):

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/think-w.../p/33TS3TP330X

Ended up being a great deal speced out w/ i7 8700T, 32GB RAM, 1.5TB NVMe M.2 Flash, discreet graphics with quad-DP out, etc., etc.

Cheaper than a laptop, more powerful, and disappears behind multiple screens (friggin tiny)...

[Delfuego]

I know computers change so quickly that a specific recommendation is not easy but general recommendations

It's actually quite the opposite. The machines are all similar in specification. My recommendations have been the same for a while.

Intel i5 CPU (any speed)
8GB RAM (any speed)
256 SSD HD (any speed)
Windows 10 Pro
3 Year "Pro/Domestic" warranty & support

The internals on most machines are the same. The differences you pay for are in the packaging, uniformity and support. A entry level laptop is the cheapest plastic they can source, low-end screen, keyboard, battery, etc. A business level laptop, while sharing the same spec, is made much better. Magnesium, aluminum, highend plastic/polymer, etc. They also may have better display panels, keyboards, etc. I also only recommend getting 3 year+ US based support. If you don't get this and have an issue, you will regret it and might end up just throwing away that machine and buying a new one out of frustration.

Right now I recommend Microsoft Surface Laptops for a straight portable laptop only. If your looking for 2-1 (laptop/tablet) it's different. For Dell, the Latitude is a good machine. I don't really like large laptops. If you want something big, get a desktop unit. The new desktop units w/o DVD drives are the size a large paperback book and are fast. They are called "Micro form-factor".

Let me know if you need help.

[Not_A_Llama]

It's hard to buy a bad system these days. Especially for non-gaming use, you'll almost never exceed the capabilities of an off-the-shelf computer.

For noise and reliability concerns more than anything, I like 3-year-old off-lease former-corporate Dell and Lenovo. The AK/Glock of the computer world. Refurbishers on ebay are fantastic, because their churn operations guarantee you won't get bloatware.

There's also a really nice sweetspot at 5 years when MACRS depreciation renders ex-enterprise gear essentially "free".

Your 1TB requirement is going to conflict with the absolute modern requirement of a SSD main drive. Buy a cheap external drive.

Spend the $50/year on Backblaze or similar service. It is worth it.

If you require support post-purchase, buy new from a big company and buy an extended warranty.

[CS1983]

Ditch the 1TB HDD requirement for a smaller SSD and a 1TB external coupled with cloud storage.

[BigBear]

I know it sounds intimidating, but find someone to help you BUILD YOUR OWN! It'll be exactly and do exactly what you want. You'll also learn a ton of useful information on how to upgrade, etc. I built my current computer over a decade ago and it's STILL going strong and will rival anything (within reason) out there that I could buy for three or four times the cost. Just a thought for you. An additional plus is you don't have to have apps installed on the computer that you'll never use but don't know to delete, etc.

[whitewalrus]

I typically buy the off lease business model laptops. For cheaper than the cheap ones they always have on sale you get a better built machine. Though it?s mostly in how you take care of them, the cheapest laptops don?t seem to last.

For desktops I typically build my own and recommend this route if you want to select the components in it.

[DireWolf]

Just to chime back in on the build vs. buy and storage (and just cuz I'm still pretty jazzed about that new Lenovo) - for a workstation, that P330 is hard to beat...

Just for context, I've run just about every major brand (and many off-brands) of workstation/laptop at one point or another as well as custom builds (at one point I dumped about $15k into a custom liquid-cooled beast), and when my desktop puked recently I originally did a quick sanity-check on available options for buy/build, and reached the following conclusions:

1. I don't think it would've been possible to self-build something both smaller & faster than that P330 - the chassis for that is ridiculously small (smaller than a laptop, almost as small as some zero-clients w/ embedded OS).

2. All the direct/discount pricing incentives really tipped the scales on bang-for-buck

3. Regarding the storage, make sure you don't sell yourself short. That tiny system will hold 2x (internal) NVMe PCIe M.2 storage devices, which on average will come in around >5-6x faster than the fastest SSD available. I went with 1x 512gb and 1x 1TB flash drives (2x internal slots).

--With 32GB of RAM and the all-Flash storage, its "holy shit" fast with both Windows 10 and Ununtu 18.04LTS (and small enough to throw in my backpack if travelling/switching offices).

4. Setup cost about 1/2 what my Surface Pro ran me, and is by far the fastest machine I've ever personally owned.

side note: only time I would build now (since I don't do any gaming, which would be one other justification) would be for the next lab upgrade, but that's just cuz that project is looking at somewhere around 100+ cores, 1TB+ RAM, and at least 5TB of Flash...

[Martinjmpr]

Alright, thanks for the advice.

For those saying "build your own": Thanks for the input, but no, that's not happening. I have plenty of hobbies, computers are just a tool for me. Also I have ZERO interest in any kind of desktop computer. Laptops are nice because they are self contained - I'm not connecting monitors, keyboards, and having to have multiple power sources. I got rid of my last desktop computer in 2003 and I doubt I'll ever have another one.

WRT the drive, SSD vs. HDD: I know the bigger HDDs can be super slow, and that kind of makes sense.

Some of the laptops offer both a SSD and an HDD. I do have a lot of music files (well over 60gb) and tons of photos. For those with experience, would a computer with, say, a 256gb SSD + a backup external 1tb SSD be a good combo? Would the newer USB 3 be fast enough for an external SSD to be significantly faster than an external HDD?