Buying a Laptop ...

[badkuk]

Just wanna hear your opinions; i'm wrestling between two upgrade strategies. To put things into proper perspective:

- i don't travel much;
- i don't lug a laptop around daily, but occassionally i may need to bring one for support calls.
- 13 inches seems like a sweet spot for me -- too much scrolling going aroudn on an 11- incher
- i really don't need the extra power, Celeron or Pentium M should be fine for me -- mostly browsing, reading docs, Excel, coding(possibly Eclipse)
- most of the time it will be used around at house, >6 hours battery life is a want, not a need




1. Buy cheap, light notebook, 20-30k(Dell Inspiron 11/13 or Asus X series), upgrade every 2 years

Pros:
- upgrade options(bump up RAM to 8GB, storage to SSD)
- if it gets stolen or damaged, hindi masakit
- don't mind the extra thickness/weight


Cons:
- build quality generally sucks at this price range
- extra weight
- typical battery life of 4-5 hours
- i expect to upgrade every 2 years




2. Buy midrange/ultrabook, 35-60k(Asus Zenbook, Dell XPS 13), upgrade every 3 years

Pros:
- super light
- >6 hour battery life
- while cost is an issue, i don't mind spending extra if it lasts longer


Cons:
- cost
- not too many upgrade options; expensive to upgrade
- i'd expect to upgrade every 3 years or so
- masakit kung masira/manakaw




The upgrade options are a gray area; who knows by the time i need to, baka phase out na rin yung components.
tia

[Walter]

Apple Macbooks seem to have high resale value. So if you upgrade every few years, it might be a good option.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Why upgrade every 2-3 years?

1. Get a laptop with ample RAM from the start. Windows OSes love RAM. 8 GB should be plenty.

2. Choose a laptop with an Intel CPU and graphics. I think they sip the least power.

3. Make sure the laptop still has a user-replaceable battery. Many laptops now have an internal battery (a la tablets) that require bringing to a shop for service. Disregard if you don't mind an internal battery.

I have a 14" ASUS G46VW gaming laptop from 2013. Although it will have a harder time running new games, it's still overkill for my non-gaming tasks. I plan to keep it for a very long time.

[1D4LV]

imho. you will never know when you need the power and the battery life until such time you need it.
and you will never appreciate the lightness of a laptop until there such a time that you need to carry it often.

i would agree on the macbook.

i carry around a lenovo thinkpad e130. 11 incher, 6 hour battery life, Intel i5, 8 GB RAM for three years now. ok pa din.
windows 10 primary OS, ubuntu and kali linux on virtual box.

[Walter]

It easy to replace internal battery of laptops. There are instructions in YouTube.

[Jun aka Pekto]

It easy to replace internal battery of laptops. There are instructions in YouTube.

There are also YT videos that show how to modify a car engine or replace it components. Not all people are comfortable taking apart devices, esp those that are not supposed to be user-serviceable.

[badkuk]

slightly OT: Dell is refreshing ther Inspiron line...now with backlit keyboards and aluminum chassis

Dell’s latest 2-in-1 laptops include models with 11 to 17 inch screens

[carwhacko]

I am planning to buy a laptop as well, leaning towards a Macbook Pro non retina display. I would usually use it at home and also for travelling. Editing photos and videos. Any pros and cons for the Macbook Pro?

[Jun aka Pekto]

I guess I too am in the market for a new laptop, this time for my youngest kid. She'll be needing one for the next school year. When my eldest kid used to attend school there, she got a MacBook free. I guess the school lost the contract. So now, students have to bring their own laptops.

Something cheap, something small like this one is what I have in mind.

Lenovo Thinkpad Premium 11.6"

• Intel Celeron Quad-Core N2940 1.83GHz
• 4GB DDR3L Memory
• 128GB SSD
• 11.6-inch Anti-Glare Display (1366 x 768)
• No Optical Drive
• Windows 10 Professional 64 bit

[badkuk]

I guess I too am in the market for a new laptop, this time for my youngest kid. She'll be needing one for the next school year. When my eldest kid used to attend school there, she got a MacBook free. I guess the school lost the contract. So now, students have to bring their own laptops.

Something cheap, something small like this one is what I have in mind.

Lenovo Thinkpad Premium 11.6"

• Intel Celeron Quad-Core N2940 1.83GHz
• 4GB DDR3L Memory
• 128GB SSD
• 11.6-inch Anti-Glare Display (1366 x 768)
• No Optical Drive
• Windows 10 Professional 64 bit

Be mindful of the battery life sir. There are a few Chromebooks that have excellent battery life, but apps-wise there are severe limitations.