[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by chrisinva

Ineed new laptop & I'm not tech savvy. Please recommend something: I need a laptop to run WORD, & EXCEL. I surf the web & shop online. I use hotmail/outlook. I save lots of pictures (.pdf, .tiff. jng) from my iphone to my laptop. Currently I have used 100 GB of my 225 GB Dell laptop that we got 5 yrs ago. I don't do any gaming & don't want to. Weight is important, current laptop weighs 2.2 lbs.; I'm willing to go to 3 lbs. Backlighting is VERY important. Battery life not so important. Chromebooks look interesting but I tried a MAC years ago & could never adjust to it so went back to WINDOWS. Thanks for any recommendations.

Make sure you get a solid state board. Boots up much faster. Looks like you do not need anything better than what you already have. Personally would get the biggest screen that fits your budget and which you feel comfortable with

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

You didn't say why you need a new one. Did the old one die? You're going to be very disappointed in the replacement. It will be slower and buggier. It will refuse to run your old software and try to make you rent Word and Excel from Microsoft instead of using the programs you've already own. It will freeze whenever it feels like downloading an "update" -- which will be almost constantly. It will periodically download an update that breaks everything and forces you to recover from backups.

Personally, I've been keeping my old Win-7 laptop running for at least the last 14 years. I've replaced the battery twice and the hard drive once. I keep my wife's old Win-8 Dell in backup, against the day when I'm forced to replace mine. She insists on the latest and greatest, and is willing to wait for her computer to try to keep up with her typing, just to be able to say she's running the new stuff. I'm not. To each their own, I guess, but it sure is annoying when I'm forced to fix her computer every time some moron at Microsoft breaks it. I have turned off the updates on that stupid thing every way I can think of, using all the skills I learned in a 40 year career as a coder, but they keep finding ways to turn it back on so they can break it again.

But good luck with your new laptop. If I were you, I would scour the garage sales for an old one.

Scour garage sales for a replacement computer in world with planned obsolescence? Go to these sales more than I care to admit to and have never seen one. Who knows what is still on any older computer?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

You can get free upgrade to Win 11 from Win 10 before cut off for support in 2025, from Microsoft.

Only if your computer isn't too old to update further. While most computers built in 2019 will update to Win11, some will not. The exact reverse is true for 2018 machines - most of them will not update, but some will.

People with Windows should have already received a notification from the Microsoft Defender (the security system built into Windows) that their computer can, or cannot, update.

Mine cannot. Neither can my laptop.

[PoolBrews]

Originally Posted by buzzy

This looks like a great idea. Do I download the product and then buy a key, or buy the key first and then download?

You buy the product, they send you a download link and a key via email.

[PoolBrews]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Only if your computer isn't too old to update further. While most computers built in 2019 will update to Win11, some will not. The exact reverse is true for 2018 machines - most of them will not update, but some will.

People with Windows should have already received a notification from the Microsoft Defender (the security system built into Windows) that their computer can, or cannot, update.

Mine cannot. Neither can my laptop.

It's fairly easy to install Win 11 on just about ANY computer. I've done it for a number of friends. Do a google search on installing Win 11 on incompatible hardware, and you'll find plenty of guides.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by mntlblok

Warning: stream of consciousness posting. OrangeBlossumBaby and Blueblaze have lots of Bs and Ls and orange and blue are complementary colors which always reminds me of Thunderball which was out when the 47 year coder wifey and I learned that color fact together in 7th grade. We got together at our 25th high school reunion. :-) It's quite the luxury to be able to run the various points made in this thread by her, as my tech savvy is extremely limited (niche?), though I'm learning a fair bit in this thread. Fascinating to see that so many old farts here have come to know so much about tech. Had coincidentally read through the Wikipedia entry on Edward R. Murrow last evening. There have been some changes since that era, though I do (barely) remember seeing him on TV. BTW, got down *that* rabbit hole via reading up on King Edward VIII, about whom I had also known very close to nothing. No fan of "royalty", BTW.

I don't know why you're surprised about tech savvy seniors. The "father" of the Personal Computer, Ed Roberts, would have been 82 years old this year if he hadn't died in 2010.

The only reason I'm not a certified Microsoft Software Professional was I was too lazy to take the test. I also took BASIC computer programming in high school in 1978, then took Visual BASIC and C++ and then advanced VB and C++ somewhere around 2005. I also was certified as a CompTIA A+ bench tech (qualified computer repair person who had to actually take a course and pass two tests to get a certification). While I can't deal with MAC products at all, and don't like them, at all, and I don't know my way under the hood of a laptop of any type, I can take a desktop computer apart, identify most of the things inside it, reseat a heat sink, and put the machine back together again.

People who say they're "too old" to learn how to use a computer are simply incorrect. Age has nothing to do with your ability to learn the computer. Three possible reasons to not learn: 1) mental disability, 2) physical limitations** 3) stubbornness.

**physical disability doesn't really stop people from using computers. I had a friend with ALS, who was 100% physically disabled other than his eyesight and hearing. He couldn't move his head, but he could move his eyes. He had machines breathing for him, eating for him, and expelling waste for him. He used a computer to communicate via a specialized device placed on the surface of his forehead, similar looking to a bindi dot that married Hindu women have. It was hooked up to eye-tracker software, and a monitor hung over his hospital bed. Tucker was an amazing digital artist. He passed away a couple of years ago but he was paralyzed fully for over 10 years, and continued to communicate daily from his home hospital setup, until a week before he died.

[PoolBrews]

Originally Posted by Blueblaze

You didn't say why you need a new one. Did the old one die? You're going to be very disappointed in the replacement. It will be slower and buggier. It will refuse to run your old software and try to make you rent Word and Excel from Microsoft instead of using the programs you've already own. It will freeze whenever it feels like downloading an "update" -- which will be almost constantly. It will periodically download an update that breaks everything and forces you to recover from backups.

Personally, I've been keeping my old Win-7 laptop running for at least the last 14 years. I've replaced the battery twice and the hard drive once. I keep my wife's old Win-8 Dell in backup, against the day when I'm forced to replace mine. She insists on the latest and greatest, and is willing to wait for her computer to try to keep up with her typing, just to be able to say she's running the new stuff. I'm not. To each their own, I guess, but it sure is annoying when I'm forced to fix her computer every time some moron at Microsoft breaks it. I have turned off the updates on that stupid thing every way I can think of, using all the skills I learned in a 40 year career as a coder, but they keep finding ways to turn it back on so they can break it again.

But good luck with your new laptop. If I were you, I would scour the garage sales for an old one.

This is the worst possible advice I've seen on here.

I too came from a 40 year career in IT. I started as a programmer, moved into system design, and ended up as the Director of Solution Architecture at Coca Cola.

Windows 11 is the cleanest, safest, and fastest version of Windows ever released. Win 11 will run faster on old hardware than Win 7 does - I know, because I've done it for a lot of friends. If you have fairly current technology - not technology from 10-15 years ago - you will have no issues with updates or running any software. The evolution of processors, system design, and peripherals has increased at a ridiculous rate over the past 10 years. Software that is processor intensive and took minutes to run on old systems now run in seconds.

When buying a new laptop for casual use, I would look at what I want in the following order:

1) Screen size. How big a screen do I want? For me, I want at least a 16" screen. The older I get the bigger screen I want
2) Screen resolution. Cheaper laptops will offer full HD (1920 x 1080) or less. I like a sharp screen. For me, I want a 2.5K (2560 x 1440) or higher. Getting a higher res screen will add quite a bit to the cost.
3) Backlit keyboard. I always want a nice bright backlit keyboard. It makes the keyboard much easier to see, especially in dim lighting.
5) Processor. All of the newer processors are decent. The Intel i3 and Celeron are the slowest, and the newer Intel Ultra are their latest. The AMD Ryzen processors are faster than the Intel's, and you can often find a deal on them. The latest processors in the Windows realm are the ARM (Snapdragon) processors. They are very fast and use far less power than either Intel or AMD (so battery life is much better), but they are so new that there are some incompatibilities. I wouldn't recommend an ARM processor for a casual or basic user.
6) RAM. 8GB is the minimum I would get and will run everything fine for most tasks. I usually get 16GB, but I do some fairly intensive graphic and video work.
7) Hard drive. Any new laptop will have SSD (Solid State Drive) drive. You don't want a laptop with an older physical spinning drive. An SSD drive will make a system 3 - 10 x faster. 250GB is fine for a casual user. Windows will use up about 100GB, leaving 150GB for your use. 500GB is fine, but you don't need to pay extra for 1TB - most folks will never come close to using 500GB.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by dawabeav

Make sure the machine has Windows 11. Win 10 will lose support 10/25. If you use the internet and buying new, Win 11 is a must. I'm researching a new desktop and finding out that even old generation I-5 and I-7 are bottom end machines now days. Just educate yourself before you buy.

i5 and i7 refer to the Intel Core processor, not the computer's model. If you're using your laptop for basic tasks, an i3 is fine. And i5 is great for home, if you're using your laptop to stream video and do MS Word and Excel and e-mail and general stuff like that. And i7 would be most appropriate for gaming computers, online content creators, high-end digital artwork and the like. Intel's Core processors are currently on their 14th generation, but the 12th and 13th are 100% totally and completely perfectly useful.

12th generation Intel Core i5 would probably do the OP fine, with plenty of wiggle room to expand functionality for several years.

Of course not all computers use Intel processors, AMD has their Ryzen processors which do the same job by a different company. Ryzen is often considered to be superior in benchmark tests of similar generation. I'm an Intel gal, I have stock in the company. But I wouldn't turn down a Ryzen machine if everything else was equal and I could get it for less money.

For MOST people, an AMD 5600 series Ryzen 5 is all they'd need in a laptop. The Ryzen 7 is considered high-end, is much more expensive, and can do things most people will never need to do, thus being totally wasteful. Ryzen 9 is for - I don't even know who would need a processor that powerful. You could probably run a state government computer system on something like that.

If the OP wants to go bare-bones, they could try an updated Athlon (they were basically discontinued and then resurrected recently by AMD). You'd need to look around to find a machine that comes with it though, and you'd be looking for a 7000-series Athlon.

[Gfnorris]

I recently bought a Dell laptop from Best Buy. It will do everything you described. I paid $399 back in August. Very happy with it. You want an i5 or higher processor.

[Pinball wizard]

Originally Posted by jamorela

I just bought this one. My Computer guy recommended it. It’s a steal right now at Best Buy.

Lenovo Ideapad 1i 15.6" FHD Touchscreen Laptop - Intel Core i3-1215U with 8GB Memory - Intel UHD Graphics - 256GB SSD - Cloud Gray $249.

Very good deal.

[mikempp]

Originally Posted by chrisinva

Ineed new laptop & I'm not tech savvy. Please recommend something: I need a laptop to run WORD, & EXCEL. I surf the web & shop online. I use hotmail/outlook. I save lots of pictures (.pdf, .tiff. jng) from my iphone to my laptop. Currently I have used 100 GB of my 225 GB Dell laptop that we got 5 yrs ago. I don't do any gaming & don't want to. Weight is important, current laptop weighs 2.2 lbs.; I'm willing to go to 3 lbs. Backlighting is VERY important. Battery life not so important. Chromebooks look interesting but I tried a MAC years ago & could never adjust to it so went back to WINDOWS. Thanks for any recommendations.

OfficeMax, Office Depot, etc have the best prices. Look at their weekly sales, they are consistently cheaper than Amazon and Best Buy. Plus if you have a problem they are right down the street. Never buy a reconditioned computer, they returned it for a reason.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Windows 11 is out, and Windows 10 is being officially retired next October. A machine that's 5 years old MIGHT not be updateable. Mine isn't. I just bought a new desktop because some of my old apps were updated for Windows 11 and weren't working properly anymore. They still worked - just not well.

Security updates will cease to exist for windows 10 next October. That means they're already barely stable now, and will be UNstable next year.

Thanksgiving sales are when you find the best prices, so Windows has basically forced everyone into having to buy a replacement a full year before they turn windows 10 into legacy machines.

I'll have to buy a new laptop too for the same reason.

This Dell laptop Precision 7510 was $4,000 in 2017, upgraded myself to 64 Gigs RAM and 1 T solid state drive. To replace it today is like $5,000 but there are used corporate laptops which are about 25% of a new list price. I had found a site for with cheap like new and a friend bought one very cheaply. . OBB you can probably get something very reasonable with great specs looking at the used market.

I have to replace this laptop due to Win 10 being pastureized. . .

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by PoolBrews

It's fairly easy to install Win 11 on just about ANY computer. I've done it for a number of friends. Do a google search on installing Win 11 on incompatible hardware, and you'll find plenty of guides.

Sure, you can install a Win11 on a legacy computer but it will be unsupported, because the bios is unsupported. It won't work efficiently. Legacy computers tend to also have legacy audio, legacy chipsets, you'll probably want to replace the fans and re-gunk and reseat the heat sink, and you'll be dealing with legacy graphics cards that no longer are supported and can no longer update the drivers. Unless of course the graphics are integrated. Anyone with a 10-year-old computer would be better off just buying a new computer. None of those 10-year-old components are designed to deal with the functionality of Windows 11, which is why Microsoft says these older machines can't be updated with Windows 11.

Technically they can. But no one who expects their computer to actually work efficiently without having to swap out every component and card under the hood would want to.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by CoachKandSportsguy

This Dell laptop Precision 7510 was $4,000 in 2017, upgraded myself to 64 Gigs RAM and 1 T solid state drive. To replace it today is like $5,000 but there are used corporate laptops which are about 25% of a new list price. I had found a site for with cheap like new and a friend bought one very cheaply. . OBB you can probably get something very reasonable with great specs looking at the used market.

I have to replace this laptop due to Win 10 being pastureized. . .

You couldn't pay me to own a Dell. That's what Southern CT State University used when I was a bench tech there. They were reasonably good machines but their IT department and customer service were HORRIBLE - and we had a million dollar contract with them. Most of the time the problems were just idiot professors who didn't password protect their department machines and the students would download porn and warez on them, which of course would cause endless popups, ransomware, and annoying viruses. But the hardware failures were pretty serious, and Dell IT wouldn't even answer the phone, and hardware was all contract work.

But yeah I'll be getting a new laptop this year at some point. Will get either an HP or a Lenovo. HP has a less-than-stellar reputation among serious tech geeks but to me an HP is like the old Volkswagen Beetle - it's not sleek, it's not super powerful, it doesn't come with a lot of doodads and sparkle. But it's really hard to kill it - as long as you don't do really stupid or abusive things to it, it'll outlast the operating system, software, and all your peripherals.

[Freeda]

Go to Best Buy. They have people there who can help you choose. Also they have a hour return policy if you need to exchange etc.