What laptop should my parents get?

April 3, 2009 7:27 AM

What laptop should my parents get?

My parents currently have a 4ish year old Toshiba laptop that is on its way out. As far as I know, they use this laptop ONLY for internet, IM, and solitaire (lol).
They're currently in the "I'm just gonna go buy whatever's cheapest at Best Buy" mode. This scares me.

Price is definitely an issue. They'd like as cheap as possible. I might be able to talk them up to $600-700, maybe.

They like a 14"-15" screen best, however they don't care much about resolution. Not much else is a concern hardware-wise, though the techie in me says to stay away from the Celeron or Pentium Dual-Core (non C2D) or Athlon lines.

They currently use Windows XP. I'm hoping to convince them to try Linux. If not, XP would be ideal, though if Vista is unavoidable, I guess I'll deal.

If I had my way, I'd get them a ThinkPad T series. The durability in those laptops is great. Everything else scares me. I think I can bend their current Toshiba laptop a full inch due to all the flexing. Eww.

Other options I guess would be a Lenovo IdeaPad (or SL series), Dell Inspiron 15 (or Studio 15?). Not sure what I'd consider besides that. The reliability and build quality of HP/Compaq/Toshiba/etc does not thrill me at all.

I have mentioned the idea of a netbook to them as the price/performance is right on par with them. However, they say netbooks are too small.

Help!

posted by Tu13es to computers & internet (21 comments total)

Looks like you have a PC orientation..but, for non-tech folks, Macs are always a good way to go, no virus worries to speak of, GUI is very intuitive.. you could look for a used or refurbed (on the apple site) machine in that price range...
posted by HuronBob at 7:29 AM on April 3

Oh, I forgot to mention that. I'm a huge Mac fan, all my computers are Macs, but they're generally out of my parents' price range. I'll see if I can find a refurb MacBook somewhere...
posted by Tu13es at 7:31 AM on April 3

If all they're going to do is play solitaire and browse the internet, there's no reason to spend $600-$700 on a laptop. I always buy my parents Dells, because they're cheap, reliable, and powerful enough to do what they need. I don't see any reason why you'll need to spend over $450. Just make sure you're there to set it up -- the Dells come pre-installed with so much god damned garbage, they require a fresh reinstall on arrival.
posted by nitsuj at 7:36 AM on April 3 [1 favorite]

I've had a GREAT experience with a high-end ASUS that was ridiculously inexpensive compared to competing VAIOs, Dell laptops, etc. I would definitely check out the lower-end ASUS laptops - they're fairly cheap for laptops with C2Ds, Nvidia 8 series cards, decent HDDs, etc.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 7:36 AM on April 3

One thing I've learned while helping my parents and other non-technical people with buying decisions is to not take the decision personally. By this I mean don't try to guess what their needs are, because you really have no idea.

Your parents, if they're anything like 99% of non-technical, casual users, will just want to check their email, browse the web, print some photos and maybe the occasional letter. For that, a cheap laptop running XP ought to be fine. I haven't had a laptop of any type go wrong (other than eventual hard drive failure or a worn-out backlight) for several years, despite mostly buying whatever's cheapest; I think your worries about reliability and suitability of different processors is typical 'shopping for yourself' behaviour. Sadly, laptops are still not particularly upgradeable (aside from memory and hard disk), so it'll only be another 3 or 4 years before they replace this one too.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 7:40 AM on April 3

If they really are just going to use it for Internet, IM and solitaire, I don't really see why "the cheapest at Best Buy" won't do. Nor do I see, for that matter, why the four-year old laptop they already have won't work. None of these tasks requires a powerful machine.

If what they have now is too slow, it's probably just typical Windows cruft that can be fixed by wiping the disk and reinstalling Windows (or Linux) and applications. In the case of Windows, it's a chore you'll have to repeat every six months when it gets crufty again.

I want to also point out that "the cheapest thing at Best Buy" could mean "inexpensive" rather than "without much value"; i.e. a relatively good machine that's on sale. You can away with a pretty good deal by watching their weekly ads, finding the loss leader and then buying it without the extended warranty or the other things they try to sell you to actually make a profit.
posted by tomwheeler at 7:47 AM on April 3 [1 favorite]

Their laptop works, currently, but the backlight is getting flaky, it shuts down randomly (not heat related) and the battery is dead (like most old laptops, I know). When it works, it runs okay. I have reinstalled Windows and gotten rid of the crap.

My biggest concern is that I've had bad experiences with cheap laptops in the past and am hoping to get them one that doesn't die one day after the warranty expires, or one that's in the shop for months.

I suppose I could check eBay for older but still new/refurbed laptops.
posted by Tu13es at 8:05 AM on April 3

Other then their screen size requirements they seem like they would be good candidates for an ubuntu netbook. You could just set it up so it looks like xp and not tell them.
posted by BobbyDigital at 8:24 AM on April 3

Just be aware that the spyware / malware menace on windows is everpresent. Save yourself a lot of grief and set up the computer before you give it to your folks:

- get rid of the crapware that ships with the box, since the AV stuff will expire in 60 days and then just nag your parents forever..
- Look into the apps that come with the latest google pack. I believe they are including some reasonable anti-spyware.
- Make sure the box is set to automatically download and install updates
- install Avast or other decent antivirus software

I'd also suggest setting up a limited access (non administrator) account for them, so you can at least put up a little bit of a roadblock in front of the malware.
posted by jenkinsEar at 8:25 AM on April 3

Bought my Mom a (for her) cutting edge 15.4" Inspiron last year for her birthday: built-in webcam so she could talk to my son daily, 4 GB of RAM, a 250 GB Hard Drive, C2D processor, Intel Graphics, Snazzy Paint, WiFi and Bluetooth. Price: $450.

Two words for you: Dell Outlet.
posted by Master Gunner at 8:25 AM on April 3 [1 favorite]

Just wanted to chime in with my opinion that a Dell might not be what you're looking for, if you want something of sturdy build quality for your parents. I know this is just anecdotal but I'm really quite unimpressed with my Inspiron 9300 in that regards - shortly after the warranty ran out I had to get the power jack replaced, and was only able to get that done after taking it to three repair shops in town and researching on my own alternative solutions to simply accepting the first two technicians' assessment that the problem was with the mother board and it'd be too expensive to fix. From what I'd read online this is a common problem with Inspirons - as is the side-effect I experienced due to the power jack replacement (namely, the laptop no longer recognizes my Dell power cord as a Dell-made cord, and will no longer charge up the battery). Beyond that I frequently have to re-tighten the screws to keep them from falling out, re-adjust the screen attachments to stop it from wobbling, and I've had to replace my keyboard once (and ought to do so again now as I'm missing several keys).

Again, all of this is of course just anecdotal (and at this point my laptop is a few years old so I realize some of this is to be expected now), but I've never had quite so many problems with a laptop before - especially not one that usually stays in one place and isn't exactly getting knocked around all the time. It could certainly just be bad luck on my part but then again it might be worth looking into if you do start leaning towards getting them a Dell ...
posted by DingoMutt at 8:30 AM on April 3

Enthusiastically seconding the Dell Outlet. Excellent bargains to be had, especially if you catch them right when they are rolling out a new line. I'm typing this on a Latitude D830 that I got for almost half price because they were rolling out the E series. Other cool thing is that with a little searching, you can get a kick ass warranty without the ass kicking price. (Usually, the stuff in the outlet is stuff that other people have ordered, and then cancelled. Or machines that failed testing post-production. They get set aside and repaired and retested. There is a also some scratch and dent stuff. The previous one I bought claimed to have a scratch or dent, but I never found it.)

With laptops specifically, but computers in general, build quality tracks with price fairly well. Also whether you pick a "consumer" model or a "business" model. I've found that if you start with a cheap model and then spec it up, you still end up with a cheap machine. But if you pick a higher end one that's already got what you want, it's a better option. Obviously, there are exceptions.

As for the Dell power cord issue, that happens on all laptops. I suppose Apple magnetic connectors are exempted. Laptops are delicate, and do not suffer anything but the gentlest treatment well.

(And crapware- this must be a consumer level thing too- both of the machines I've bought from Dell were basic installs, except for Dells drivers and touchpad and wireless applets. Or maybe it's a holdover from the old days where every PC came with that crap. I don't know.)
posted by gjc at 9:03 AM on April 3

My Inspiron (hate that stupid name) works just fine. It's 2 years old. I would avoid Apple. I also recommend Dell and Lenovo (T). I bought one for a older brother in law and the Lenovo for my mom. They love them. The Lenovo X's are even lighter and easier to maneuver.
posted by Zambrano at 9:04 AM on April 3

Stay away from Dell Vostro boxes...crap.

Why not a netbook?
posted by littleredwagon at 9:06 AM on April 3

I have a compaq CQ-60 that I picked up @ best buy for $350. It's far from great but would fit their needs pretty well, I think. My needs from the computer are pretty similar to theirs.

I agree with those that say spending $600-$700 is probably not necessary.
posted by PFL at 9:07 AM on April 3

Dell Vostro (small business)? No crapware, XP downgrade potential, cheap, fairly sturdy, black like your lusted-for Thinkpad....
posted by rumbles at 10:32 AM on April 3

I just bought a Dell Inspiron 13 laptop. I bought it from the Dell Outlet and with a coupon it was $509. It seems solidly built, and there isn't much 'flex' to the keyboard. It came with Vista (but no other bloatware). I was able to put Ubuntu Linux on it, and everything worked, even wifi which I always seem to have trouble with on other computers. I'm pretty careful with my laptops, so I can't give advice on how reliable things are, as my computers usually last a long time because they are usually just parked on my desk and rarely moved.

If all they're doing is surfing the net and playing games, I think a netbook (one of the ones with the full size keyboards) would be awesome; that's exactly the target audience. My mom has a Lenovo IdeaPad netbook, which she uses for exactly the purposes you outlined for your parents. The build quality is definitely not as good as the T series, but it's fine.
posted by bluefly at 10:48 AM on April 3

Don't push linux on them if all they do is surf and solitaire. Seriously: I hate windows as much as you do, but why inflict that kind of learning curve (and software/installation issues) on them?
posted by paultopia at 11:56 AM on April 3

My girlfriend's 5-year-old old Toshiba (with XP) was getting long in the tooth. But since she really only needed it for DVD viewing, internet, and basic word processing, I installed Ubuntu on it (actually my first experience with Linux) and haven't had any problems at all. She wasn't crazy about some of the changes at first, but once I showed her how easy it was to download new software and some other basic Linux/MS differences (file locations, etc.), everything was fine. This was about a year ago and she still uses the laptop regularly.

My recommendation to you: Try installing Ubuntu on the old laptop and see if it fixes any of the problems. If not, pick up a $500-600 laptop at Best Buy, install Ubuntu, and let 'em have at it.

4 years ago, buying a cheap laptop was something of a crapshoot. Today, you can get great quality in the $500-600 price range. (But you're right to avoid Celeron's and other low-end processors -- don't get the cheapest thing you can find).

"why inflict that kind of learning curve (and software/installation issues) on them?"

I'm far from a Linux fanboi, but the learning curve is negligible once the install is complete. If anything, the less technically literate someone is, the better fit Linux will be.
posted by coolguymichael at 12:25 PM on April 3

If you don’t mind Vista, There are some great deals from Fujitsu that are good values. You have to wade through the expensive garbage, but you can usually find a good buy between $600-$700. This is a good alternative if you are not familiar with Linux or don’t have a friend that can walk you through it.

Here are more Cheap Laptops from other manufacturers; however the prices here vary a great deal. Be sure you know what you are getting into when you shop for sub $1k laptops as you might be getting a great value, or garbage depending on the laptop.
posted by jnorwood at 2:17 PM on April 13

Do they actually need a laptop? Do they ever move it from their desk? If not, what about an eeePC desktop machine?

You could also get them a netbook w/ an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. That way they'd have the mobility if they ever really need it, but a larger, more comfortable setup in their usual location.

If I were buying my mother a computer today, that's what I'd do.
posted by reddot at 6:23 PM on April 13