Need a cheap laptop? Good luck!

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Jake said:

Hello Rich, I can easily spend hours just browsing through Best Buy.  But I learned to leave my credit cards in the car....he, he.  You guys have some nice toys.  

Excellent point about selecting processing speed, SSD for physical durability and memory cards that can be upgraded cheaply as compared to replacing the CPU.  We will certainly pick you brain for more advice.  Thank you sir!  

What I like about ssd is that they also speed up the operating system, especially startup.  I set up my old desktop for the kids schooling and it takes so looooooooooong to boot.

I bought my Dell laptop at Best Buy in 2017 and the 500 gb ssd was not common at the time, at least not in my price range.  I'm using a couple of big external drives for heavy storage like photos an videos, so the ssd stays fairly open.  For older computers, they would often slow down over time, but this Dell still is fast.

I think my next computer might be desktop like Heeb go, with a large monitor.  The problem is finding large monitors here in my area.

[Tommy T.]

13 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

The problem is finding large monitors here in my area.

Can you not use your TV as a monitor?

[OnMyWay]

3 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Can you not use your TV as a monitor?

Not on my desk.  We have 55 and 42 inch TVs, both mounted on the wall, and both used a lot by the kids.

I actually have a TV for the old desktop.  When I was looking for a large monitor back in 2014 or 2015, they just didn't have them here, so I bought a 24 inch Toshiba TV.  It is ok but not nearly as good as high res monitor.

I think I could find something now.  Perhaps online.  Not in the budget right now.

[hk blues]

6 hours ago, Rich in CDO said:

Acer is out of Shanghai also.  Lenovo used to be IBM. Didn't know they were built in China, good to know.

I was surprised to see that IBM are still in the laptop market - I assumed that when they sold their laptop division to Lenovo it was in its entirety but obviously not. 

They (Lenovo) are the No1 in the laptop market with 25% market share at the moment.

[carbpow]

About 90% of all notebooks are made in Taiwan by one of their ODMs Original Design Manufacturers. There are about 10 ODMs in Taipai and the surrounding area. Quanta is the biggest. Compal in Taipai makes for Dell, HP, Acer etc. Foxconn is another big manufacturer especially for Apple.

It's really an interesting place to visit. You can go to one of the little shops with a list of specs you want and they'll build it for you with the same components Dell, HP etc use. ,   they'll even put your own logo on it. But you won't save any money.

[Jollygoodfellow]

11 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I set up my old desktop for the kids schooling and it takes so looooooooooong to boot.

Perhaps go into the setting and turn off some programs that are starting at boot up if not needed. Should speed up boot up.

[graham59]

Yep...go into 'services'... and set the non-essential ones to 'manual'. in their 'properties' settings. 

Those programmes will only open then, when YOU open them. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by graham59

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Perhaps go into the setting and turn off some programs that are starting at boot up if not needed. Should speed up boot up.

I think I did that a few years ago.  Not sure.  I uninstalled most programs.  I had it stored since 2017 til now.  Still on Win 7.

[hk blues]

12 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I think I did that a few years ago.  Not sure.  I uninstalled most programs.  I had it stored since 2017 til now.  Still on Win 7.

The advice above is good, but I suspect it will help just a small amount.

My old laptop would take 10 minutes to boot up completely - my new one less than 1 minute.  Same boot up set-up with both. I suppose they are like us - the older we get the longer it takes us to get going!  

[OnMyWay]

On 9/1/2020 at 10:39 PM, Jake said:

Hmm.....never seen that one before.  But it looks like liquid or condensation issue.  Is it a touch screen model?  Possibly the layer between the touch screen and the LC panel had some moisture or liquid and now showing dried up residue.  

It's a bitch taking anything apart in a laptop, especially the panel itself.  You just have to live with it for now.  Sorry.  

 

On 9/1/2020 at 5:12 PM, OnMyWay said:

I have a Dell bought in the U.S. in 2017.  Probably not much point in transferring it, right?

I have never had any real problems with it, but about a year ago the top left and right corners of the screen started showing what looks like an internal separation.  In this picture of the right top corner, it looks like a wavy hair on the screen, but you can't feel it.  I suppose it might eventually need repair.

 

On 9/2/2020 at 1:41 AM, Tommy T. said:

I know this is wandering off topic a bit, but you can often repair your own laptop and save having to buy another or taking it to a shop for expensive service.

There is a Dell parts supplier in Texas - https://www.parts-people.com/ . They carry parts for machines that are even 5 or more years old. I used them many times and enjoyed great service and saved a lot of money.

I have totally dismantled and repaired two laptops. I find it to be a fun thing to do.

I found that removing and replacing the display lids is really not that difficult. The machines, themselves are very modular inside. You must just not be heavy handed since wiring and plugs can break if you are not careful. A bit of patience is helpful too. I wouldn't recommend trying to repair the display, just replace it altogether. As Jake mentions, trying to dismantle and fix a display is very fiddly and I would never attempt it.

You can access repair and replacement instructions from Dell directly. They are very detailed, include good diagrams and photos. If you are handy with and have some small screwdrivers and are organized with a nice table top and good lighting, you can do it. For me, the toughest part was making sure there are no parts leftover after you put them back together again. Hint: Make sure to have some Loctite thread locker (the blue kind) on hand, otherwise display hinge screws work loose over time...

By the way, I have always bought "refurbished" Dell laptops and found them to be good, reliable machines and significantly cheaper than "new." Of course, I bought them when in USA and brought them back here. Last time I bought two - one for me and one for L. They still work great.

Follow up to my post above about my Dell laptop touchscreen going bad.  I think I had better start shopping!  In addition to the problem in the upper corners, it now has a gray stripe, about the same color as the corners, right down the middle!  This picture is of one corner and the middle, with red lines to show the problems areas.  I'm not sure how well you can see the gray parts.