Looking For a Reliable Laptop

[Traildust]

I hope that this does not start a brand war but I am in need of a good laptop for around $600 or less if that's possible. I prefer Windows OS, wifi etc. I will use it mainly to surf the net and watch videos via YouTube, Netflix or whatever. Touch Screen is not a necessity.
Thanks.
Bill

[halla]

You can get a nice Asus with a large HD screen for less than $600 at Best Buy. I have a smaller version with the wifi and windows, it operates great and I have had little problems. For my more important laptop at work I have a Lenovo, but that is far more than $600 and more computer than you need.

[450Donn]

Asus makes a lot of what goes into other brand computers. I have had one for three years and not had one problem.

[TQ60]

Wallmart was many good and lower quality units for about best price.

Toshiba and gateway units are good as well as hp and others.

Christmass is soon so many sales comming.

Also look under the counters for the odd ones as often unsold older stock is placed there and no display due to newer models.

Often deep discounted.

Also have a smart phone to use so you can check price and reviews while looking.

Wallmart price matches...

[CountryFit]

i have been in data processing profession during my entire career prior to retirement. i have owned toshiba, dell and hp, all had hardware problems and dyed within 3 years of purchase. the last one i bought was a thinkpad 8 years ago. at this moment it still runs flawlessly. go with a thinkpad, you can't go wrong.

[sirpurrcival]

Asus is a good brand but whatever you do, look carefully to the laptop keyboard layout. Asus as one example has a very small shift key on at least one side. You end up getting the wrong thing time and time again (IRC it is the caps lock you tend to hit).

Most common brands these days. Lenovo (tend to be $$$), HP, Toshiba, Asus, Acer, Dell.

If I had to choose one, it would probably be a Lenovo but I did just recently buy an HP for the DW which seems to be performing pretty good so far.

[Wayne M]

I have owned 3 Toshiba Satellite laptops over the years. My reason for 3 was just upgrading the technology. I found the Toshiba to not have as intrusive proprietary software as other brands I have owned. You'll find prices at Best Buy starting at $249 on up to $1000 and you choose what you want and how much you will pay for their stock. I like their 15.6" screen or their 17" screen. Presently I have the 15.6 and it does fine sitting in my lap. Do consider if you put a PC laptop in your lap that the ventilation is typically on the bottom, so I use an inverted food tray to set it on, which keeps the air circulating nicely.

To get some ideas and pricing, go to Best Buy web site, click on computers/laptops, filter by Toshiba or whatever brand you are interested in, and see what's on the market. Personally, if I were in the market for another laptop PC I would go with Toshiba.

As far as problems, I replaced a hard drive once and it was a simple process. I had a good back-up, very important to back up your systems.

[Bobby.D]

This is my recommendation: I am an IT Systems Engineer and have been in IT for over 16 years.

The simple answer to your quest for a reliable laptop is: buy a Mac. There is nothing more reliable that a Mac or iPad. They are easy to use and are no where near as affected by virus's or malware. Again I am an IT professional and could own any flavor of Windows based laptop on the market and could fix in my sleep if the need ever arises, but I choose to own Mac systems. This is because I never have to worry about fixing them, they just simply work all the time. Mac's also don't get slower over time like every Windows system out there does.

I personally own an iMac 27" desktop, a MacBook Pro, and an iPad 2.

My recommendation if money is not part of the equation, buy a new MacBook Pro. If you are trying to save some money I would look on eBay for a used MacBook pro with the i5 processor and at least 8gb of memory and you can't go wrong.

[MSHappyCampers]

I would NEVER buy another HP! I bought a HP G62 notebook from Best Buy a few years ago and it has been nothing but trouble! JMHO!

[ed6713]

I bought a Chromebook from Amazon a few months ago. $179.
An interesting device. Would seem to handle all of the needs you described in your post. Excellent built in anti- virus program.

Might be worth a look.

[Hogbus]

I was waiting for someone to give a shout out on the macbook pro. Both my daughters have had them for years. As I went through a few windows based laptops, Dell, HP, Fugitsu their macs kept running. DW bought me one a couple years ago and I will never ever go back. Battery life is solid today as when I bought it. No carring around cord all the time. No virus, and all the pop up stuff with windows. The darn thing just works.....all the time. JD

[Wayne M]

Originally Posted by Wayne M

I have owned 3 Toshiba Satellite laptops over the years. My reason for 3 was just upgrading the technology. I found the Toshiba to not have as intrusive proprietary software as other brands I have owned. You'll find prices at Best Buy starting at $249 on up to $1000 and you choose what you want and how much you will pay for their stock. I like their 15.6" screen or their 17" screen. Presently I have the 15.6 and it does fine sitting in my lap. Do consider if you put a PC laptop in your lap that the ventilation is typically on the bottom, so I use an inverted food tray to set it on, which keeps the air circulating nicely.

To get some ideas and pricing, go to Best Buy web site, click on computers/laptops, filter by Toshiba or whatever brand you are interested in, and see what's on the market. Personally, if I were in the market for another laptop PC I would go with Toshiba.

As far as problems, I replaced a hard drive once and it was a simple process. I had a good back-up, very important to back up your systems.

===========
Okay! I left off the MAC's because the original poster said he preferred a Windows machine. So saying that, I presently own iMac-24, MacMini, MacBook Pro, iPad (1st gen), iPad (4thGen) iPhone6, iphone 5s (DW), AppleTV (1st Gen), Apple TV (hockey puck), and I'm thinking of upgrading the iMac24 to an iMac27, but only because they don't make the 24 anymore. I still have the Toshiba but I have not operated it for a year. Time to update it.


Yes, they are a little more costly but in the long term, and as stated, they have way less problems that Window's machines. I have updated my iMac24 to the present "Yosemite" software that just came out, and I'm doing that on the MacBook Pro as we speak. Guess what, it's free. Time before this was $29 or $39 for upgrade. "Most" of the programs are much cheaper than Windows software.

Those are some pro's and con's but whatever you buy it will be suited for you. Window's user's prefer Windows platforms, and MAC user's are just MAC users. Both have problems but the MAC platform seems to have the least.

Whatever you get will be outdated, at most, in 3 years. Bigger and better will be available.

[Gocoffeer]

I work in an IT Dept and we are an HP laptop type company .... but at home the only laptop I will buy...TOSHIBA. I tend to buy the Toshiba Satellite models for my wife and I...When Best Buy has special back to school or Xmas sales....I will gather the Intel I3 or I5 CPU type models and they all come with enough features to make me smile. Occasionally I will shop for an upgraded battery to get a longer lasting charge.

[Traildust]

Thanks to all of you. You have given me my homework for sure.
Bill