Mid range Computer
#1
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 40
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
Mid range Computer
looking to replace my Toshiba laptop. What brand do you recommend? Looking at HP and Dell as no one here seems to stock Toshiba anymore. I've had good luck with mine. Just suft web and will do some free database programming for local food bank and help center with office 2016.
#2
Member
Laptop
I vote for Dell. I have no affiliation with the company. I own a Dell desktop and a Dell laptop. Just my 2 cents.
#3
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 446
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
DELL are fine....we've had several. I have found it difficult to work with their sales and customer service folks. I called once and had trouble understanding the employee's accent and asked to speak to somebody in the USA. I was told that DELL is a multinational company and I would have to deal with whoever took my call. DELL also has a business relationship with an anti/virus security company (PC CILLIN) that caused lots of problems on our PC. I removed it and downloaded AVG.
The only reason we keep buying DELL is because my wife wants to.
Get hold of a copy of Consumer Reports and read their PC reviews.
The only reason we keep buying DELL is because my wife wants to.
Get hold of a copy of Consumer Reports and read their PC reviews.
#4
Now days most any brand is fine. I will however caution you to not go cheap. Spend about $300 to $500 on a desktop or laptop. You don't need a gaming platform but you do want a large hard drive and lots of memory. It's worth paying a little extra for both. You'll be sorry later on if you don't. And get Windows 10. It's a good OS and eventually you will be forced to get it. You can get more for you money by shopping on the Internet instead of buying retail at Beastbuy. Besides most of those clerks no little about the product line.
#5
Group Moderator
I like HP myself. Dell was founded as a cheap computer company and I personally have seen no evidence that they aren't still that. ASUS is another manufacturer I like.
#7
Group Moderator
As Norm mentioned, one is as good as the other today. You can buy one model of one brand today & another model of that brand tomorrow & they can be totally different. One can be a lemon & the other last for years problem free.
Computer companies continually make & offer many models & they all vary in some way. Its not just one brand vs the other.
This is one of those Ford vs Chevy things. It all boils down to preference. Since 1985, I have owned many brands. Mostly Compaq, HP & Toshiba. I have had good ones & bad ones. I have also owned Levono, ASUS, Acer & others. My personal preference is HP but I also like Toshiba. But again, it all comes down to the model. Personally, I like Intel, but that doesnt always mean you have a good processor to work as expected. Depending on what you want it to do depends on the spec you need to look at... & again, along with preference. There is no one right machine. Its a matter of getting the machine that has the "guts" to get that done.
Again, I refer to automobiles. If you need an SUV, dont by a VW Beetle. While the Beetle is a good vehicle, its only good for "this". If you need to pull a 12,000 lb load, you need a (Ford) dually with a diesel engine. Buying a half ton (Chevy) pickup wont work. Its still a pick up, but its designed to do "this".... not "this".
I know I am making this complicated but I am just trying to get the point across that it aint always about brand.... its whats under the hood.
Buy whatever brand that is your preference. But get minimum an i5 processor with a 2.5 processor & 8 gigs of ram..... minimum. Any thing more than that is just better. Look at spending $500 - $700 for a good machine with these minimum specs. These specs will do the things you mentioned easily.
Look at Office Depot or Best Buy etc, for sales & get it as low priced as possible. Again, just preference, personally, I am a OD guy.
Computer companies continually make & offer many models & they all vary in some way. Its not just one brand vs the other.
This is one of those Ford vs Chevy things. It all boils down to preference. Since 1985, I have owned many brands. Mostly Compaq, HP & Toshiba. I have had good ones & bad ones. I have also owned Levono, ASUS, Acer & others. My personal preference is HP but I also like Toshiba. But again, it all comes down to the model. Personally, I like Intel, but that doesnt always mean you have a good processor to work as expected. Depending on what you want it to do depends on the spec you need to look at... & again, along with preference. There is no one right machine. Its a matter of getting the machine that has the "guts" to get that done.
Again, I refer to automobiles. If you need an SUV, dont by a VW Beetle. While the Beetle is a good vehicle, its only good for "this". If you need to pull a 12,000 lb load, you need a (Ford) dually with a diesel engine. Buying a half ton (Chevy) pickup wont work. Its still a pick up, but its designed to do "this".... not "this".
I know I am making this complicated but I am just trying to get the point across that it aint always about brand.... its whats under the hood.
Buy whatever brand that is your preference. But get minimum an i5 processor with a 2.5 processor & 8 gigs of ram..... minimum. Any thing more than that is just better. Look at spending $500 - $700 for a good machine with these minimum specs. These specs will do the things you mentioned easily.
Look at Office Depot or Best Buy etc, for sales & get it as low priced as possible. Again, just preference, personally, I am a OD guy.
#8
Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: United States
Posts: 2,412
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
I have a couple of Toshiba laptops one of which I am writing my response to this thread right now. I have used Dell though rather extensively and any other brand I can get my hands on cheaply. I always buy laptops used because I am not a gamer nor do I worry much about speed of use on my laptop or even how much memory either. On my Toshiba I know I have 4 gbs of ram and that really works for me and Windows 10 is running on it too with few problems. So it depends on whether you really need the latest and greatest or not.
Asus was mentioned and I do have a fairly new Asus but I am not really too thrilled with how they made my Asus. I think my model is about 4 years old of the Asus but I am not certain as I bought that at police auction online. It isn't too bad as far as speed is concerned but it has a small hard drive and a small amount of memory too. So I suggest looking at e-bay and Amazon.com whether you want new or not and then reading their customer reviews. You will get various opinions as you will here but those reviews will help you.
Asus was mentioned and I do have a fairly new Asus but I am not really too thrilled with how they made my Asus. I think my model is about 4 years old of the Asus but I am not certain as I bought that at police auction online. It isn't too bad as far as speed is concerned but it has a small hard drive and a small amount of memory too. So I suggest looking at e-bay and Amazon.com whether you want new or not and then reading their customer reviews. You will get various opinions as you will here but those reviews will help you.
#10
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 40
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes
on
0 Posts
I live in a rural area so am looking at new. I am retired so looking at 500-700 dollars, just this area quit carrying Toshiba. I am running win 10 and liking it OK. It seems HP is about 100 dollars cheaper than Dell for the same speed and memory. I have had good luck with my HP desktop.
Thanks for replies.
Thanks for replies.
#11
Forum Topic Moderator
Like others have said, every company has their good models and their not-so-good models. Since you're spending a bit more, I think you'll be fine with any name brand.
My biggest issues has been going with the $200-400 models, that are just cheaply built and last a year or two max. Spend a few extra dollars and you'll get what you pay for!
My biggest issues has been going with the $200-400 models, that are just cheaply built and last a year or two max. Spend a few extra dollars and you'll get what you pay for!
#12
Ten years ago, Toshiba and Sony laptops have a common problem. It won't start because of hardware failure (particularly the motherboard). More so with Toshiba than Sony. Had two Toshiba laptops hardware failed (during that time). That was 10 years ago. My wife have owned 2 Sony Vaio (in the last 5 years) and they are fine.
The only brand that I would recommend to stay away is Acer from Costco. At work, I use Thinkpad. But since you are looking for midrange, I would go with Dell.
The only brand that I would recommend to stay away is Acer from Costco. At work, I use Thinkpad. But since you are looking for midrange, I would go with Dell.
#14
I had a Toshiba for abt 5 years until it died abt 2 years ago. I compared the specs that I wanted and then looked for the best deal for the money. I've built my own desktop computers (and my kids) for 20 years. I found a deal on a Lenovo flex and bought one. It's been good. I've heard that Acer is not so good, but other major brands are reasonably equal. A side note... my neighbor down the street asked me about a laptop recommendation for his wife for Xmas, and after talking with him about it, I told him to get her an iPad. She loves it. Soooo, you really need to look hard at what you need and the options out there.
#16
Group Moderator
I've never owned a Dell but, you will like that i7. It'll do anything & more that you discussed above. Thanks for letting us know & good luck!