Laptop recommendation needed

April 22, 2023 4:38 PM

Please recommend a laptop, that can be purchased in Canada, ideally online

Looking for a replacement for the family laptop (Windows), which will be most often used for streaming Netflix, online shopping, downloading shows to watch on vacation (decent storage/memory), and very occasionally Word or Excel. Needs decent speakers, a 17" screen, and a good life expectancy. Doesn't have to be light or have a touch screen (though that may be unavoidable). This the the laptop that gets juggled one handed into the kitchen for someone to half watch a show on while making dinner. I'm not saying it will get dropped, but it won't get handled with kid gloves.

Budget is $1000, and needs to be buyable online in Canada. Thanks in advance

posted by walkinginsunshine to Technology (8 answers total)

This HP laptop is $826 on Amazon.ca. Not sure about the speakers, but it seems to fit your other criteria.
posted by akk2014 at 6:37 PM on April 22, 2023

lord god no that laptop has an HDD in 2023, sorry i can't recommend anything better, i don't know the Canadian market at all but if you do nothing else, do not get a laptop with a mechanical hard disk drive (that's the "Hard Drive - 1 TB HDD" in the specs table).
posted by glonous keming at 8:49 PM on April 22, 2023

Are you willing to compromise on the 17 inch size requirement? 14 and 16 inch screens seem to be becoming the norm so you'd likely have many more options with a 16 inch.
posted by piyushnz at 12:55 AM on April 23, 2023

Here is a site that may help you.
posted by LOOKING at 2:47 AM on April 23, 2023

I've had good experiences with Lenovo Thinkpads and Ideapads, though I don't know if they have a 17 inch screen.
posted by Jessica Savitch's Coke Spoon at 5:30 AM on April 23, 2023

Not 17" and not sure about the speakers but this looks pretty good System76. You could install Windows on it relatively easily.
posted by VyanSelei at 5:45 AM on April 23, 2023

My recommendation is actually ~ $1,311 CAD so please disregard if too far out of budget.
posted by VyanSelei at 6:32 AM on April 23, 2023

I just got an open-box IdeaPad for ~$800 from a best buy.ca marketplace seller. It's a great machine and robust feeling, BUT it is 14-inches.

Best buy.ca is a good place to look. In addition to Best Guy's own stock, they have a lot of small re-sellers for open-box, refurbished, etc. The search filter is good: you can specify size, ram, hard-drive, etc.
posted by jb at 2:40 PM on April 23, 2023