Which Should I Buy Or Is There Something Better Out There

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

I've worked in IT for at least two decades now,
best advice I can give is don't spend more than a hundred bucks on a laptop.

Find someone who works for a big company- make friends with the scrap bin. I see a dozen laptops a year worth more than anything I've seen in this thread being binned because the warranty ran out.
I bet I've got ten in a box headed back to the bin next time I head that way just because I don't want to deal with them.

Computers aren't worth money- better off spending it on something else.

originally posted by: lordcomac
a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

I've worked in IT for at least two decades now,
best advice I can give is don't spend more than a hundred bucks on a laptop.

Find someone who works for a big company- make friends with the scrap bin. I see a dozen laptops a year worth more than anything I've seen in this thread being binned because the warranty ran out.
I bet I've got ten in a box headed back to the bin next time I head that way just because I don't want to deal with them.

Computers aren't worth money- better off spending it on something else.

Great idea.
Most companies cannot even give them away though.
They have to bust the screen , shred the hard drive , and other nasty stuff....
Seems a waste.

originally posted by: LookingForABetterLife

originally posted by: blueman12
If you don't need 2TB a SSD is much better. I bought directly from HP because you can customize options. I got a i7 2core processor with a 500gb SSD, low graphics option for $500. It can play starcraft 2 though and that's all i need

I'm not sure what I need to buy from a TB to SSD's to most anything else hardware wise so I'll keep your suggestions in mind in my search. Thank you.

Stick in your price range and shop.
The larger , the faster , the more that fits YOUR range.
Look for the term "refurbished"
In most cases , the only thing NOT replaced is the case.
And you still get a warranty
Nothing wrong with an old fashioned mechanical SATA 3 drive at all.

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

yep, pretty, I tone down the action sequences in civ, and just play it straight up. after so many hours, its annoying hearing the same stuff. the nitty gritty of the game is the fact that every game is different. I play civ 5 exclusively. started playing on civ one almost 30 years ago. I probably have 50,000 hours in the franchise to be honest. like I play 3-4 hours a day, every day. its my addiction. Steam you buy the game, then you download it. once its download, you need a connection to inialize the online features, but realistically I don't really use that. I just use steam to keep my licenses, cause the license is tied to their servers, and they give you a different executable to let you play. no monthly fee etc. I got a 500 sdd, 12 gig of ram 64 bit. I increased my paging file, but other than that, its a shared graphics card. if civ is all your doing, and internet, really you dont need a gaming machine. all you need is a something slightly better than average. 250-350. that said the 409 machine looks pretty solid, so if you decide to do something else, kudos. Someone above said if you dont need the 2T of storage, go SDD, I agree, it reads faster. all I do is Civ, Star wars KOR, school, internet. My machine was 500. One thing to keep in mind with a laptop. get something with a removable battery. most batteries are built in nowadays. keeping your laptop always plugged in kills your battery come up with a plan to yank it and put it in periodically. make it last longer.

Camain

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

Sire, i would do this, but it does not mean that you have to.

Install a Linux operating system to your half-dead laptop. Use an USB external keyboard if the built-in keyboard sucks.

Then witness how speed is rising and bugs are gone.

If you are not satisfied enough, buy a new one but follow recommendations from other members here, i do not know enough. But i know stuff about bringing computers back from the dead.

Linux version? Ubuntu or Mint.

Search Amazon for "renewed laptops" or "refurbished laptops" they usually have some good bargains on there.

originally posted by: Allaroundyou
a reply to: LookingForABetterLife


Look up the price for a Acer predator Helios 300 from 2018.
That is the one you want on a penny.

Thanks. Found a few on eBay that are doable.

a reply to: lordcomac
Actually you reminded me of a local computer repair business that builds computers. I'll check them out.

originally posted by: Gothmog

originally posted by: LookingForABetterLife

originally posted by: blueman12
If you don't need 2TB a SSD is much better. I bought directly from HP because you can customize options. I got a i7 2core processor with a 500gb SSD, low graphics option for $500. It can play starcraft 2 though and that's all i need

I'm not sure what I need to buy from a TB to SSD's to most anything else hardware wise so I'll keep your suggestions in mind in my search. Thank you.

Stick in your price range and shop.
The larger , the faster , the more that fits YOUR range.
Look for the term "refurbished"
In most cases , the only thing NOT replaced is the case.
And you still get a warranty
Nothing wrong with an old fashioned mechanical SATA 3 drive at all.

I won't forgive myself if I shop over my price range until I could print my own money.

originally posted by: MapOfNowhere
a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

Sire, i would do this, but it does not mean that you have to.

Install a Linux operating system to your half-dead laptop. Use an USB external keyboard if the built-in keyboard sucks.

Then witness how speed is rising and bugs are gone.

If you are not satisfied enough, buy a new one but follow recommendations from other members here, i do not know enough. But i know stuff about bringing computers back from the dead.

Linux version? Ubuntu or Mint.

Using an external keyboard already as the build in one is dead. No clue as to how to install a Linux nor of how to work it. Thank you for your suggestions none the less.

originally posted by: LookingForABetterLife

originally posted by: Gothmog

originally posted by: LookingForABetterLife

originally posted by: blueman12
If you don't need 2TB a SSD is much better. I bought directly from HP because you can customize options. I got a i7 2core processor with a 500gb SSD, low graphics option for $500. It can play starcraft 2 though and that's all i need

I'm not sure what I need to buy from a TB to SSD's to most anything else hardware wise so I'll keep your suggestions in mind in my search. Thank you.

Stick in your price range and shop.
The larger , the faster , the more that fits YOUR range.
Look for the term "refurbished"
In most cases , the only thing NOT replaced is the case.
And you still get a warranty
Nothing wrong with an old fashioned mechanical SATA 3 drive at all.

I won't forgive myself if I shop over my price range until I could print my own money.

If I want something PC related , I take some time to shop.
Look for sales .
Watch .
Patience is the keyword here.

Look on the Internet for a new keyboard for your laptop.

Most are cheaper $20 and $60 than replacing the computer.

www.pcworld.com...

Another thing that will help a lot in getting rid of windows and go to a faster OS like linux mint.

Get a smaller ssd around 250 GB and put Linux mint on it and use it as an external drive as you set it up and when you find it faster just copy your data and replace the drive with the Linux mint drive.

www.suse.com...

windows is way to bloated for gaming and the longer you use it on a computer the worse it gets

i got rid of windows 6 months ago and never have regretted it.

If i need windows i can still use it because i saved it on the old hard drive and mounted it in a external drive case.
www.popsci.com...

a reply to: ANNED

Great reply!

I have been using Linux Mint or Ubuntu for many years. I have brought back from the dead, some windows machines by doing that.

To anyone who has always used Windows and hesitates about the Linux like "Will i learn it?" Well, both Mint and Ubuntu offer Graphical user interfaces. It is easy to navigate around and keep it updated. It is.

But there are some points which talk for the benefit of Windows. Native programs and games. Yes, the Windows emulators for Linux are quite okay these days, but... native is native. And if you are happy with your current Windows operating system, then of course do not change it, that is cool!

Dual-boot is usually an option. That way you can have both Windows and Linux on the same computer. Or just make a live flash drive, and boot from USB port and give Linux a shot without changing anything, regarding your hard drive.

It is not an information security issue for me. But some ATS members might appreciate that also, at least a bit. It is just that i never watch TV. Unless there are ice hockey world championships going on. During May. May 2020 i did not have to plug TV back in because of... a flu. I hope this year is different. So i am online A LOT! I want, i demand, that when i click a link, it is there instantly. If i open a program it is there and the computer does not get stuck, contemplating about the meaning of life for like half a minute.

My intention here is not to start Linux vs. Windows war, it is a worn out debate. Just my 2 (euro) cents.

Have a pleasant weekend everyone!

originally posted by: akiros
a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

MY PLEASURE!

Just about any laptop with a dedicated graphics card and at least a 2nd gen i5/i7 would do just fine(even some cards with a first gen i7 will play civ vi maxed out I would think). probably $250-300, but the more you spend with used things, the performance gains are kind of exponential.
.

I don't game but use a Lenovo T410 think pad business grade laptop computers with a duel i5 core.
The first one i bought was a reconditioned one with Linux mint for $199.

Later I found one on the internet selling for $59 being sold for parts that booted to bios but had a fan error.
Since I just had to fix a bad fan on my T410 i bought it for "parts" as I had a spare $8 fan and that is an easy fix.

I got it and booted it with a cloned Linux drive in it and there was NOTHING WRONG WITH IT and have since been using it. And I am using it to do this post.
I just found another T410 with a fan error on the internet that boots to bios with a fan error and sold for parts.
I bought it too for parts and as soon as I get it I will put in a cloned linux drive and test it to see if its for parts or just needs a new fan.

I don' know if you can play civ vi in Linux mint 20.1 but the T410 is a fast computer with a SSD drive and Linux.

well just about any computer is faster in linux then it is in windows bloatware.

a reply to: LookingForABetterLife

Try this...

upgradable ram and a decent Gpu with a quad core

www.amazon.com...=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1620031595&refinements=p_n_feature_fourteen_ browse-bin%3A2057441011&rnid=2057412011&s=pc&sr=1-1