Laptop ideas... does brand matter?

Question

Hii I'm just trying to get an idea if brand even matters anymore I just want to do like word and excel We got chrome books at school but they are terrible Anything specific to look for? Thank you

MrOracle · Accepted Answer

Brand name doesn't matter much - the manufacture is all farmed out to contractors anyway. What may matter more is the LINE or SERIES of the laptop from that brand.

Most laptop manufacturers have an entry-level laptop built to a low cost - it'll be relatively cheap to buy compared to the components that are into it, but corners will be cut. The entire case will be plastic, the keyboard and trackpad will be made of lower-quality components which will wear out more quickly, the WiFi is often only single-channel, there may be fewer expansion ports (or lower-speed/lower-featured ports), and so on.

They'll usually also have a middle-level, and a "business-level', and as you move up through the levels, the prices will go up quite a bit, but so will the build quality of the machines, and the components inside. A business-level machine will often have a metal case, a higher-grade display screen (better viewing angles, more accurate colors, faster refresh rate), better WiFi, perhaps easier to upgrade internal parts like RAM or storage, a higher-quality keyboard and trackpad, etc. But you'll pay for that.

One of the reasons why Apple laptops are so expensive is that they generally build all of their laptops like business-line laptops, with metal cases, higher-quality keyboards, etc. You can get a much cheaper laptop with essentially the same performance from a PC maker, but that's because it'll be all plastic and have lower-quality screens, keyboards, trackpad, WiFi, etc. You can also get a laptop with the same or even better build quality as an Apple laptop, with the same or better performance - but you'll have to pay a similar price as an Apple laptop.

Honestly, for your use, you don't need anything super-fancy or super-powerful. I would suggest something like an HP Pavilion, which is HP's mid-grade level. These aren't quite as good as their Envy line, but they cost a lot less and still have a metal case and higher-quality components than their entry line. A 15.6" i5 Pavilion should give you 5 years of good service and can be had for under $700, and can still hold up to daily use and being banged around a bit.

RavVid · Accepted Answer

I bought one brand name laptop and it failed one month after the warranty expired. A work colleague was big on Dell as they would ship out parts on reported failures but I pointed out my no brand laptop didn't fail like his did.

I would not buy a brand name unless it was cheaper than the no brands. Just make sure you back up frequently which you should anyway with any laptop.

Get an SSD disk (rather than magnetic) as big as you can afford and as much memory as you can afford. Prioritize SSD over memory in my opinion.

Word is not that demanding. Excel can be if you have large amounts of data and doing lots of recalcs. I suspect products have become network bound but haven't recent experience after Windows 7 (hate giving more money to MS).

Don't let yourself be talked up on processors. New ones come in at $1500 and leave at $500 so buying the best and greatest is a poor deal losing $1000 in value fairly quickly. Get a CPU above entry level if you can afford it.

Cheers

Tanya456 · Accepted Answer

I have an Apple computer and a Microsoft computer. I only use my Chromebook. I know this doesn't answer your question. I doubt the brand matters that much. But consider dumping on Linux Ubuntu on it. I gave a nice computer to a single mom on this site. I had Lubuntu on it, and her brat son put Windows on it. lol

Her other son grabbed the Chromebook and mom grabbed the Android tablet.

If you just want a good product, get an Apple.

Nikki1989 · Accepted Answer

Most are all the same on the inside.

bingbongbangbung · Answer

Well generally you get what you pay for, unless it's certain brands like Alienware, Lenovo, MSi, Razer, or Apple, but otherwise as others pointed out, it doesn't really matter since they use the same/similar components. And for Chromebooks, those that existed before 2020 are garbage but afterwards typically aren't as the newer models come with Ryzen CPUs and Vega iGPUs, which are far faster than potato Celeron or Pentium or A# Series CPUs and Intel HD or AMD Radeon iGPUs. Ok sure, Vega graphics are outdated with RDNA being the latest, but you're not into gaming or AI or content creation so whatever.

If you only care about the bare minimum, then I suggest avoid getting a laptop altogether, and go for a tablet because they have better price to performance and you can use them all day without charging them; yes, there do exist ARM laptops via Apple MacBooks and Microsoft SurfaceBooks, but they cost at least 1000 dollars and are overkill. The only laptop brands you should stay away from at all costs would probably be Sony, Toshiba (they stopped making laptops though), and Acer due to their low quality; Dell, Samsung, HP are ok but avoid their lower end models/line ups.

ASUS, Gigabyte, Eluktronics, MSi, Microsoft, and Apple generally are consistent in quality across all price ranges/models (yes I know I mentioned some of these are overpriced). I'm unsure of XiaoMi and Huawei laptops as they've only been releasing their own in the last few years, but from what I heard about XiaoMi is they're basically like MacBooks but with Windows lol. And that's about all I've gotta say to you; if you want any recommendations for specs and models, then you can DM me or comment below. I recommend buying laptops or tablets from ecommerce sites like Amazon or directly from the manufacturer (going to Apple store to get an iPad).

TheorionMage · Answer

Foremost, look into factory-refurbished laptops like Dell or HP. This past Thanksgiving I bought a Dell 17" I-7 business laptop that retailed new for $2,300 and got it factory- refurbed w/ 2 yr warranty for $735!

Word to the wise, get the largest RAM memory that machine can take and use your savings to ALSO buy a USB thumbdrive 2 Gig to backup your laptop's onboard solidstate hard drive.

Should you EVER have to have the machine in for service, so long as you've backed-up the laptop's hard drive weekly to the USB external, you're NOT dead in the water til your laptop's back up and running. ;)

jshm2 · Answer

Everything matters, kiddo.

You would be stupid to use your small family car as a pickup, why do you think laptops are different?

Most of the time people buy the wrong type of device, then claim it's the brand or devices fault.

You cannot compare a 3k laptop to a 300 bucks Chromebook as both are "laptops"

What you want is to get the best device for your budget. But the lower the budget, the more you need to compromise. Chromebooks at school are cheap and made to use network and Cloud resources- they are not gaming machines.

In your case if you're looking for something just to type on, and view content; then get a Lenovo Ideapad. They are fairly cheap and reliable. It won't be a gamer, but for the price, it's standard fare.

RebelinSteel · Answer

Asus zenbook are not bad, you can get decent deals on them, your budget really does matter. You pay more for some bits that you do not really need. Most come with an NVME drive, try to get one that can be upgraded. Nothing less than 16GB memory.

NathanDavis · Answer

as long as it is a known one... the brand doesn't really matter anymore

you should focus on practicality... get a light one, with a good screen for either outdoors/indoors (too much light or none) and also battery life

perhaps, a reliable battery would be the most important here... since you'll use it for school

HighValue · Answer

I have had good luck with HP laptops.

I would suggest getting an actual laptop instead of a chromebook. I got one with a HD and a ssd. I save stuff, including games to the HD, but the sad is for windows so in less than 10 seconds from pressing the power button, I can already be online. I also got it with an actual disc drive for movies, music CD, and my older PC games on disc.

stark04 · Answer

Durability, future proof, application, after sale services matters. Go for a brand that offers milatary grade tough built quality laptop that can be upgraded in future with RAM capacity, storage capacity. If laptop is essential part of your studies like IT/computer, photography/video editing/making, coding, programming then go for laptop with better processor and latest version of generation.

FunkyMonkee · Answer

I would go with Dell or HP. However, I've had several computers over the past 30-some years and nearly all of them, go bad eventually. So far, the two Dells I've got have lasted the longest. At least 10 years. I HAVE had to replace a few parts on the laptop but, I DID buy it used!

JacobJordan · Answer

Brand definitely matters. But for what you are looking to do not really. You can get a fairly standard dell or hp laptop and be just fine. If you want a good brand for the sake of a good brand you can go for msi, Asus, acer, Lenovo couple others

bolverk · Answer

Have a look at refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad (any of the business machines) they are built tough, and are reasonably cheap off Ebay, and If you buy one with upgraded ram and replace the Hard drive with a Solid state drive it would be reasonably fast, I'd also suggest have WIN 7 instead of WIN 10/11 as those two send your information back to Microsoft and dump a load of bloat ware onto your system.

lightbulb27 · Answer

apple, used to get the price down. maintain it... clean the dust out of it. ideally macbook pro, the other stuff I understand expires faster. can get for around $200 used sometimes... older ones.

BoopBoopBeep · Answer

Hardware trumps brand. The brand is just going to determine which bloatware you have on there.

Astarlessnightsky · Answer

No, they all got Amd or intel cpus and nvidia or readon gpus...  The brand outside doesn't really matter.

GoodGuyBreakingBad · Answer

I had an Acer, and it was a smooth and fast working Laptop, it was a Windows 7 back in the day.

Crankor · Answer

Brand name doesn't matter all too much. The only thing you want to look into is if a certain model has overheating issues. Your much better getting a windows based laptop over a chromebook.

Huntingnfishin · Answer

They all end up outdated junk in the end. Don't buy the cheapest and don't bother wasting the money on expensive ones.

exitseven · Answer

I usually stick with Dell or HP. Lenovo also makes a good product. My fave is Dell.

Anonymous · Answer

I'd suggest the Windows operating system, not a chrome book.

But as for brands (like intel, HP, etc), it really doesn't matter much. Especially if what you're going to be doing is like word and excell.

TallAnon · Answer

Yes, but it's easier to look at the reviews, brands get better and worse all the time, it changes a lot

msc545 · Answer

Brand matters. I have found Asus to be very powerful and reliable.

Breanna_nonbinary · Answer

Jennz06 said we should talk to each other.

Anonymous · Answer

Dell is pretty good

bowenw · Answer

Check the reviews on Consumer Reports.

Jennz6 · Answer

Garage in garage out

eagle1951 · Answer

to some it does

Danny_dan92 · Answer

Apple

urpapi69 · Answer

What's your budget?

Laptop ideas... does brand matter?

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What Girls & Guys Said

I had an Acer, and it was a smooth and fast working Laptop, it was a Windows 7 back in the day.

What do you think about Dell brand laptops?

Laptop ideas... does brand matter?

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What Girls & Guys Said

I had an Acer, and it was a smooth and fast working Laptop, it was a Windows 7 back in the day.

What do you think about Dell brand laptops?

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