Help. Need a new computer. What to buy?

I need a laptop for our second home in S.C.. We will NOT be traveling with it, so size and weight does not matter. However I need a laptop, as opposed to a desktop, so we can just bring it back and forth by car with us when we leave our SC home and when we leave NY. I might use it in NY as a second computer once in a while but primarily use my desktop. This way we have all our documents with us in both places. I am not a wiz on computers at all. The main specifications we want are that it is fast, has a CD/DVD to play movies and also a 17 in. screen for failing eyes. I need some office software, but I do not use much more than excel and word processing. I would also like to purchase one that has customer support. Any suggestions?

Our choice

Ann-Marie said:

I need a laptop for our second home in S.C.. We will NOT be traveling with it, so size and weight does not matter. However I need a laptop, as opposed to a desktop, so we can just bring it back and forth by car with us when we leave our SC home and when we leave NY. I might use it in NY as a second computer once in a while but primarily use my desktop. This way we have all our documents with us in both places. I am not a wiz on computers at all. The main specifications we want are that it is fast, has a CD/DVD to play movies and also a 17 in. screen for failing eyes. I need some office software, but I do not use much more than excel and word processing. I would also like to purchase one that has customer support. Any suggestions?

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We bought a Dell with screen approx. 7x12" about 18 months ago and it has worked fine.

Ann-Marie said:

I need a laptop for our second home in S.C.. We will NOT be traveling with it, so size and weight does not matter. However I need a laptop, as opposed to a desktop, so we can just bring it back and forth by car with us when we leave our SC home and when we leave NY. I might use it in NY as a second computer once in a while but primarily use my desktop. This way we have all our documents with us in both places. I am not a wiz on computers at all. The main specifications we want are that it is fast, has a CD/DVD to play movies and also a 17 in. screen for failing eyes. I need some office software, but I do not use much more than excel and word processing. I would also like to purchase one that has customer support. Any suggestions?

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Your only choices are Mac or PC. And if you're thinking PC, brand name doesn't matter. Most of the world's laptops are built buy a small handful of companies in Taiwan and China. They then slap a label on them. Dell, HP, Compaq -- all basically the same computer built in the same factory from identical parts.

But from the kind of questions you're asking, I'd bite the bullet, spend the money and buy a Mac. Otherwise you're going to be asking "how do I fix my laptop" and "I think I have a virus" questions in a matter of months.

If you're going to want to ensure that you have the same documents on both, I'd recommend either getting a large external hard drive that you can use on both, or going Mac and using Cloud, which will automatically synch everything for you wirelessly. But if your existing desktop is already PC, then just keep your docs on the external hard drive and plug it back and forth. Or you can use backup and synch software.

I purchased an Apple Mac Book about 4 years ago and for personal use have so enjoyed it. We have an Apple store close by so support is excellent. I have not used the phone support, because of that, so I don't have any thoughts on that. One the other hand, for business use I must have a PC as the software is not available on a Mac. Apple computers are so easy to use.

Donna

Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

Personally if I were into MS Windows laptops I'd check out QVC's deals, I'd also check out CompUSA.com

Hp is pretty decent again after wandering into Packard Bell territory. Toshiba & Sony make pretty good machines.

That being said, I haven't bought anything but Macs in years.

Mac or PC

Having been a PC user for almost 20 years i recently (6 months ago) switched to a MacBook Pro & 3 months later bought a iMac27" desktop.

Best two decisions of my recent life & I haven't regretted for a second.

Finding you way around the Apple products takes a week or so, but is very logical & straight forward.

Definitely an "Apple convert".

Would agree with Scoop. You seem like a perfect candidate for a Mac. Be aware, however, that a 17" Macbook Pro starts at $2499.

Elan said:

Would agree with Scoop. You seem like a perfect candidate for a Mac. Be aware, however, that a 17" Macbook Pro starts at $2499.

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And it will not protect you against viruses, malware etc. Pay the big dollars if you want but for a secondary machine with basically the same hardware as a sub-$400 PC why pay $2000 extra? It's not as bad as a retail timeshare but at the price the value just isn't there. That's a ton to pay to be "simple". Using a MAC makes no more sense to me than using a PC did when I first started out. It's all what you get used to and what the programmers stream of actions ended up being. Once you grasp either world the other doesn't seem right.

I'd save the money, buy a cheap PC laptop and enjoy it.

I like Toshiba laptops myself.

If you buy from Costco, customer support is included. This is why Costco prices are higher than what you'd pay elsewhere.

timeos2 said:

And it will not protect you against viruses, malware etc. Pay the big dollars if you want but for a secondary machine with basically the same hardware as a sub-$400 PC why pay $2000 extra? It's not as bad as a retail timeshare but at the price the value just isn't there. That's a ton to pay to be "simple". Using a MAC makes no more sense to me than using a PC did when I first started out. It's all what you get used to and what the programmers stream of actions ended up being. Once you grasp either world the other doesn't seem right.

I'd save the money, buy a cheap PC laptop and enjoy it.

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I'd personally never buy a Mac as they're hideously overpriced, but then again, I'm not interested in "support" either. After I posted, I went and checked what a comparably equipped PC would cost (relative to $2499 Macbook Pro 17"). One can save anywhere from $600 to $1K by going with a Win7 machine. That's significant to me, but perhaps not to everyone. After all, lots of people pay a $10K premium to get a big gold "L" on the grill of their Toyota. To each, their own.

I do think Mac's are good machines and they are well suited for certain types of people. But the price premium for the same hardware/functionality is unjustified, IMO.

Elan said:

Would agree with Scoop. You seem like a perfect candidate for a Mac. Be aware, however, that a 17" Macbook Pro starts at $2499.

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If you do go Mac, I vote for refurbished - pick what you want at a real Apple Store, then go to apple.com, store, scroll down to the bottom left and hit refurbished. Same warranty, and several hundred $ less. The one time (out of 6-8 at least?) I got a refurb that had a problem out of the box (something on the screen was physically loose) they swapped it out overnight with no hassle at all.

PJ

Although only a 15.6" screen, here's a pretty decent laptop for $905 after coupon code:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...stination=review&config_id=6761188&aoid=35252

No argument here about the price difference between Macs and PCs - Mac is definitely the more expensive option. But if I measure the levels of computer-related aggravation and software-updating expenses suffered during the years we owned PCs to what we've (barely!) suffered since we converted to an all-Mac household, there is simply no contest. Macs win hands down, and to me the price difference is worth the aggravation avoidance and time saved.

The one and only time we had problems with the iMac it was due to a memory upgrade - the Genius Bar at the local Apple store took care of that issue with absolutely none of the on-the-phone "that's not a Dell/HP/whatever-brand issue, you have to contact the vendor of the memory chip/software program/USB device etc" crap that happened repeatedly with our old desktop PCs. It took two trips to the local store to get it fixed, granted, but they didn't give up until it was working correctly.

And don't even get me started on how many laptops are destroyed beyond repair by network issues - do you know how difficult it is to stay ahead of the zillion viruses that flourish through campus systems? You can't, not when your kid is hours away from home and your local computer guru, and the IT department on campus has a 2-week waiting list for help. Steve bought his own MacBook the summer before he started sophomore year after suffering through freshman year with what we thought was a "lemon" of a laptop. Eileen killed two laptops before we helped her upgrade to a MacBook when her current Piece O' Crap laptop ate a term paper three days before it was due. My MacBook Pro is a fantastic machine, have nothing but good things to say about it.

We've NEVER had virus issues with any of the Macs. That's not to say it doesn't happen because others have said that it can and I don't have any reason to think they're not telling the truth. But again going by our experience, viruses (and related anti-virus software issues) are simply not the all-important issue with Macs the way they are with PCs.

If you do go Mac I have one other suggestion for you. Purchase the One-to-One option ($99/year) and make good use of it by scheduling frequent sessions with the local Genius Bar. It's been so easy to learn everything about my laptop through these session.

timeos2 said:

I'd save the money, buy a cheap PC laptop and enjoy it.

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But you and I are also capable of fixing a PC. Most people, I've found, are not. So while the PC is cheaper in the short run, paying $50-100 per hour for service makes it as expensive as a Mac in no time. Try to explain what the registry does, IRQs, or drivers, or any of the other zillion little things that can be the difference between a trouble-free experience and crash after crash.

I, too, think Macs are complete and utter rip-offs. But I've also never needed professional computer help in my life.

I spent $500-1000 each for 4 HP laptops over 8 years.

Then I spent $2000 for a Mac that I've had for almost 5 years now.

I liked them all. Both solutions are valid. If you're not going to use it much, the cheaper Best Buy Windows machine might very well be the right one for you.

But that doesn't mean that a Mac doesn't have value. It does. It might not be what's best for you; but it's worth what it costs. When my daughter was going to get a laptop for college, we got a list of brands they'd fix for free at the university's help center: Mac, Sony, Dell, Gateway, and Lenovo (formerly IBM). I took the specs for the Macbook Pro and built machines of comparable spec at each of the other websites. All of them were within a couple hundred dollars of the Mac, and the Sony was more. Dell was within $100, Lenovo and Gateway were less than $200 less.

I move freely from Mac to Windows to Ubuntu; all of them are wonderful OSes, IMO. It's the hardware that defines the user experience these days. And like everything, you get what you pay for.

For over 10 years now I have bought near bottom dollar laptops with the idea I will trash them and buy a new one when they go bad. My first lasted about 6 years; my next one about 18 months; and my current one, a Compaq Presario is now 12 months old and doing great. Basically, my goal is to spend somewhere around $350 and have my laptops' lives average about 3 years. So far, so good.

George

SueDonJ said:

.. . . Eileen killed two laptops before we helped her upgrade to a MacBook when her current Piece O' Crap laptop ate a term paper three days before it was due. . . .

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In my former life I spent years in academic computer support. Kudos to Eileen for having the term paper in progress three days before it was due. Usually I'd hear "help, the computer ate my paper, and it's due in a hour!!!" Usually that'd be followed by "backup? what's a backup? Printout? Notes? Nope, none of those."

WRT cost differential, I'd invite anyone to take the HP system I cited above and go to Apple's web page and price out a similarly equipped Macbook Pro.

geekette said:

If you buy from Costco, customer support is included. This is why Costco prices are higher than what you'd pay elsewhere.

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Thanks everyone. Personally, our new PC is 4 years old and have never had an issue. I did not know that Costco offers customer support. That is very interesting.

bogey21 said:

For over 10 years now I have bought near bottom dollar laptops with the idea I will trash them and buy a new one when they go bad. My first lasted about 6 years; my next one about 18 months; and my current one, a Compaq Presario is now 12 months old and doing great. Basically, my goal is to spend somewhere around $350 and have my laptops' lives average about 3 years. So far, so good.

George

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This approach does have some merit. Some pitfalls though:

1. You need to have a backup of your data.
2. You need to be okay with rebuilding your environment (apps, favorites, etc)
3. You need to be okay with some downtime (between when your current system dies, and you get a new system up and running).

If your skilled, and needs aren't too critical, you can probably get away with this approach. But there are a lot of people where the computer, "just needs to work", and don't want to deal with, or can't afford, downtime.

Jeff

Elan said:

WRT cost differential, I'd invite anyone to take the HP system I cited above and go to Apple's web page and price out a similarly equipped Macbook Pro.

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Hehe, you have to multiply by two because they last half as long....

I'm just being snarky. I've gone both ways and been happy with my choice. One of our HP laptops has actually defied the odds and is in its 6th year. When Windows started to get flaky I wiped it clean and now it runs Ubuntu.

Edited to add:


MacBook Pro, $1594

Comparable Sony VAIO, $2250


Comparable Dell, $1599


Comparable Lenovo, $1489

Quality hardware costs money and is independent of the operating system.

Although I am very computer facile and can do repairs, etc., count us as happy Mac converts. We've had a Macbook Pro for almost 2 years now and I have my 27" Imac for almost a year without a single problem on either machine. Mine is always on (of course, it goes into sleep mode almost flawlessly) and I can go weeks without even needing to reboot it.

Back-up a Mac- connect an external hard drive and click the built in Time Machine- it is so simple it is almost embarrassing; seriously, you don't need any computer expertise to do it and the back-ups are continuous. Just buy an external hard drive that is twice the size of your internal drive for flawless back-ups.

On the Apple website there are tutorials for easy transition from a PC to a Mac. Oh- and that $99 Genius fee also includes them transferring any files from your old machine and setting up your new one. As a new Mac user I paid the fee for convenience- all I did was bring in my old tower and, voila, my new computer was up and running as soon as I installed my software.

It is nice not to have to deal with all the viruses and spyware, and the hogging of system resources by the programs necessary to prevent them. I think one of the biggest advantages to Macs is that they reboot almost instantaneously. It's funny- I now get impatient that my Ipad takes longer to start up than my computer.

Of course, once you switch, it is hard to stop at just one- first it was the MacBook Pro, then the Imac, then Ipad2, then we each had to get iphones, and now toying with getting another Ipad....

I converted from PC to MAC a few months ago and love it. So easy and seamless. My reasons...I had nothing but ongoing problems with resulting workarounds for my last 2 IBM/Lenovo PCs. I also purchased the 1 year one-on-one training sessions for $99 as well as the 3 year phone support for $349 and have used both as I'm not one with patience and reading instructions. For me, the decision-maker after taking to several people with Macs was the support they offered. I am not familiar with Costco's PC support, so depending on exactly what that is, it's worth looking into if going the PC route and customer support is important as the OP states.

As they say you get what you pay for.

Ingrid