PC/Laptop suggestions?

[Darkpriest667]

Dell, a TX company, made my laptop in Vietnam, however I haven't noticed any punji sticks in the keyboard.

I work there, anything that the US government buys or military has including laptops is built in the US, per law, but yes we're moving our consumer stuff out of China to Vietnam and other places.

Servers have always been built stateside. They never outsourced that for security reasons.

 

[Brains]

Been quite pleased with my dell servers over the years. Still have an old R410 and R710 happily humming away in the rack along with the newer kit.

 

[jmohme]

My longtime geek buds tell me MS stops supporting an OS like Windows 10 and issues a new one just to make sure the license holders are legit, or words to that effect. MS won't tell you that part but instead says it's for security. At one time all the other software out there you use had to change also with each MS update to be compatible. That meant you and me had to upgrade MS plus all those programs to use on it. Afterall, you didn't want to be "hacked" do you ? The word is Win 11 is kinda like the versions of others we came to hate, like XP, Vista (what a loser it was) and Windows 8. The only MS versions worth anything useful were Win 98 (I really loved that one) and Win7 that followed. Win 10 is usable, why mess it up.....

The last Microsoft OS that I did not hate was MS DOS.

 

[dsgrey]

I've owned about every brand over the years. My current, is just an Acer Aspire that's probably 5 years old now with 20gb memory and an SSD. I don't play games so memory is more than what I need but get a solid state drive. I did replace the battery about a year ago. Prior laptop was an HP that lasted around 8 years. I think I dropped around $800 or so on the Acer and a similar model is around $600.

Next to the Acer is my Dell work laptop which hasn't had any issues.

I do work from home so I've got money tied up with 2 external monitors for EACH laptop, a desk big enough to hold everything, call center quality speakerphone and headset, 2 UPS's to run my desktop items and internet for at least 8 hours, etc.

 

[The Narrator]

For laptops - Dell all the way. Your listed budget will be able to get you a relative powerhouse that will last for years to come; with Bitdefender/a good antivirus + malware program. I highly suggest Bitdefender.

Dell also has a hell of a solid customer support program, it is worth upgrading the timeframe of support when buying new.

I use Dell XPS laptops for business (i9-vPRO CPU, 64g ram, 1t SSD).

If you prefer a desktop I highly suggest you build your own through https://pcpartpicker.com/list/. WAYYYY cheaper than buying prebuilt crap, and super easy to do safely.

 

[no2gates]

The last Microsoft OS that I did not hate was MS DOS.

Maybe that's because they didn't write it, they bought it from another company, then sold it as theirs.

 

[SARGE67]

For laptops - Dell all the way. Your listed budget will be able to get you a relative powerhouse that will last for years to come.

Dell also has a hell of a solid customer support program, it is worth upgrading the timeframe of support when buying new.

I always pay a few extra $$ for the extended time frame of support with Dell, great stuff since you get support up close and personal.

 

[SA_Steve]

No real problem brands out there except one: ASUS. Avoid at all costs, FTC is on them for shady warranty issues.
See northridgefix youtube for all their top end laptops that need mainboard repair. Also this guy has even met with ASUS execs to get them to promise better future behavior:

 

[SA_Steve]

Before retiring, I bought $1,000,000 of Dell servers for the company I worked for. Lots of research went into the buy.
Sales and logistics guys were idiots but the product was the best of the four brands we tested.

My son writes complex windows driver software for chips that go on motherboards and hates Dell PC's to this day for their squirrely bios work around issues. Not visible to the user of the computer at all, just a pain for the software guys.

HP is my favorite for laptops, I've got 3. Brother printers are way superior to every other brand.

 

[The Narrator]

Before retiring, I bought $1,000,000 of Dell servers for the company I worked for. Lots of research went into the buy.
Sales and logistics guys were idiots but the product was the best of the four brands we tested.

My son writes complex windows driver software for chips that go on motherboards and hates Dell PC's to this day for their squirrely bios work around issues. Not visible to the user of the computer at all, just a pain for the software guys.

HP is my favorite for laptops, I've got 3. Brother printers are way superior to every other brand.

If there is one thing about Dell that irks me - its the BIOS protocol. They put way more time into bricking it than they should.

Having said that, for those that don't like to tinker with it, its a non-issue.

 

[SARGE67]

If there is one thing about Dell that irks me - its the BIOS protocol. They put way more time into bricking it than they should.

Having said that, for those that don't like to tinker with it, its a non-issue.

And there it is. Most normal folks don't like to fiddle around in BIOS.

 

[Grumps21]

……Personally my next computer will be a Mac. I'm tired of Microsoft's issues, and Microsoft announced a date they will cease to support Windows 10, which I run now. My computer is old enough it does not work with Windows 11 or newer. I made the jump from Android phones to an iPhone a year ago, and won't go back to an Android. In order to simplify life I intend to buy a Mac when I get the extra cash.

I’m contemplating the same. My only hesitation is paying the Apple premium and not liking the operating system. Oh, and then there’s the learning curve as well

 

[Brains]

I first made the move to a Mac in 2008. I still use Windows daily for some things, but I spend most of my time on my Mac. The transition was tough, especially for someone who was so used to the Microsoft way of doing things. But I made a very dedicated effort to learn the platform. Took me about 2 weeks to be 'good' and about 2 months to basically unlearn all the bad habits you don't even realize you've accumulated. There will definitely be some frustrating times when you're banging your head wondering why things won't work or you're just fighting it to make it do something you're used to doing. But eventually a light comes on and you realize that you're trying to make the Mac do things the way Microsoft built them to work. That is the point you start to love the platform and realize you're not going back.

Once you get through that whole process, maybe about 6 months in, the clouds lift and you realize a few huge differences. First, you're no longer spending hours of your time maintaining your PC. You start using your computer more as a straight forward tool and less as a multi-levered contraption. The best analogy I can give is it's more like using your phone. You pick it up to perform the task you want, you do that task, and put it back down. You're no longer scared of updates, and they take a fraction of the time. Years down the line you don't even realize the performance hasn't bombed; your computer still runs like it did when you bought it.

Now if you're a gamer, you'll probably still have Windows around, but that's about all you'll use it for.

 

[deemus]

Your peripherals- wired? Wireless? Bluetooth? I'd want enough ports for all of these.

I bought a set that has a wireless keyboard and trackball (limited desk space). $120 at Office Depot.

Also bought a 27” monitor for my tired old eyes. Love it. It plugs into my Dell laptop via HDMI cord. Under $200. The monitors I have are an Acer and a Dell.

Used with a Dell laptop. Bought the fastest one they had that day. They get outdated quickly, so get the fastest one so it lasts longer.

Laptop sits out of the way, just my keyboard, monitor and trackball. That also allows me to take all but the monitor with me should I travel.

This is my favorite setup I’ve ever had. And I’ve had computers since the 90’s.

 

[Brains]

I use a fair bit of screen real estate, so I bumped up my monitor size a few years back. That's a 27 inch monitor, on the left.

 

[oldag]

I use a fair bit of screen real estate, so I bumped up my monitor size a few years back. That's a 27 inch monitor, on the left.

View attachment 472173

told one of my kids he might as well just have all four walls as screens.

 

[SARGE67]

MG, what’s the latest on your new laptop quest ?

 

[Tnhawk]

I first made the move to a Mac in 2008. I still use Windows daily for some things, but I spend most of my time on my Mac. The transition was tough, especially for someone who was so used to the Microsoft way of doing things....

Now if you're a gamer, you'll probably still have Windows around, but that's about all you'll use it for.

Before I retired several years ago, it seemed the use of Windows was necessary in my work, business and other activities. But there was a time when a knowledge of Fortran was necessary.

 

[no2gates]

Before I retired several years ago, it seemed the use of Windows was necessary in my work, business and other activities. But there was a time when a knowledge of Fortran was necessary.

HA! I took a Fortran class in college. Used punch cards. Those were LOADS of fun.

 

[Tnhawk]

HA! I took a Fortran class in college. Used punch cards. Those were LOADS of fun.

I still remember (not with pleasure) taking those classes.