Computers & Electronics

Reliable & Cheap laptop suggestions. (mainly for web and word processing use)

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  • Mar 7th, 2017 10:45 pm
Newbie
Nov 3, 2014
87 posts
32 upvotes
Hamilton, ON

Reliable & Cheap laptop suggestions. (mainly for web and word processing use)

My 5 year old Lenovo is acting up. I just need something to get me by. I mainly use my computer for browsing the web and writing in microsoft word.

Any insight and/or opinions is greatly appreciated. Anything to even point me in the direction of doing the research myself would be great as well.

Thank you.
17 replies
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May 5, 2007
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Lots of options but also depends on your overall usage. Will you be taking the laptop around with you alot? I was in the same boat as you last week but I carry my laptop everywhere so something durable was what I needed.

What about refurb? Are you ok with that? There's thr Dell and lenovo refurb threads to check out.
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Jun 7, 2013
457 posts
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GATINEAU
I find a cheap Chromebook to be a better experience than a cheap Windows laptop.
Newbie
Nov 3, 2014
87 posts
32 upvotes
Hamilton, ON
Aggy wrote: Lots of options but also depends on your overall usage. Will you be taking the laptop around with you alot? I was in the same boat as you last week but I carry my laptop everywhere so something durable was what I needed.

What about refurb? Are you ok with that? There's thr Dell and lenovo refurb threads to check out.
The laptop will be a main stay at my place. Refurb is no problem.
I find a cheap Chromebook to be a better experience than a cheap Windows laptop.
Its funny. I believe you (not being sarcastic, I really do), but when I mention a Chromebook I am told to stay far away from them.

ROYinTO. Thank you for the link. I will check out his page and hopefully find something.
Member
Feb 23, 2017
363 posts
457 upvotes
ThomasHunter wrote: My 5 year old Lenovo is acting up. I just need something to get me by. I mainly use my computer for browsing the web and writing in microsoft word.

Any insight and/or opinions is greatly appreciated. Anything to even point me in the direction of doing the research myself would be great as well.

Thank you.
Whats your budget?
Newbie
Nov 3, 2014
87 posts
32 upvotes
Hamilton, ON
Gee wrote: If it is used in the house, why not get a good desktop instead?
My preference is for a laptop because I take around the house while cooking, eating, cleaning and having family use it as well.
Whats your budget?
It would be great to get something below $400.
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2004
38383 posts
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East Gwillimbury
Lenovo ThinkPads are quality notebooks, anything else is just average.

Does the screen size matter? Do you want something smaller so you can carry it around the house? Is 15" too big (heavy)?
Deal Addict
Jan 23, 2003
1027 posts
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Mississauga
Windows 10 is resource heavy. Spend at least $400 if you are going to use Windows 10.
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May 5, 2007
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Gee wrote: Lenovo ThinkPads are quality notebooks, anything else is just average.

Does the screen size matter? Do you want something smaller so you can carry it around the house? Is 15" too big (heavy)?
Good points here.

I have 15" Asus Transformer, but wanted something smaller so I opted for a 13" Thinkpad 13 last week. Huge difference in size between the 2. Even bigger difference if it were the XPS 13. I know those laptops are well over the $400 of OP's budget, but just stating the fact that there's going to be a difference in portability even if it's just around the house.

I'd maybe look for a used Thinkpad. $400 should get you a decent 3 or 4 year old machine.

If you want 11" then the Thinkpad 11e can be had for under $400 plus tax for the Chrombook version through the EPP site.
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Oct 28, 2004
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I'm a big fan of the Lenovo T420s or T430s....can pick a nice used one off Kijiji...

Just make sure that it has at least 8gb ram and a 120gb ssd with 1600 x 900 resolution..

If you can get a T430s, go for that over the T420s....I find the 13" - 14" form factor the sweet spot between portability and screen size...

The T420s/T430s is 14" and slimmer so easier to carry around though you sacrifice battery life....

Though you mention you have a 5yr Lenovo....the T430s/T420s were made around that time...so not sure if you have one already....lol
Newbie
Nov 3, 2014
87 posts
32 upvotes
Hamilton, ON
@ Gee - I agree that Lenovo Thinkpads are great quality. 15" screen size is not an issue whatsoever.

@ Aggy - Thanks for the awesome insight. Will definitely check out used and the 11e.

@ ji2o0k - Thank you very much for the informative post. Definitely learned on what to be on the lookout for. I do not own the T430s/T420s.

Great stuff, guys. Thank you for your suggestions.
Deal Addict
Jan 10, 2017
1536 posts
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GTA
intx wrote: Windows 10 is resource heavy. Spend at least $400 if you are going to use Windows 10.
Not really, since it's design to run on $25 Intel CPUs, which exist in the tablets you can buy from China. Thanks to the whole tablet space, windows 10 can run on much smaller resources than windows 7. I use a vm and I give it 1 cpu core, 512mb and runs fine with Microsoft office 2016.
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May 2, 2010
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Markham
Many refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad laptops under $400 are available here:
http://ca.refurb.io/collections/lenovo

All come with 1 year warranty and are freshly installed with Windows i.e. no bloatware.

Windows 10 running on this ThinkPad T430 (@$450) with a 128GB SSD and a 3rd generation Intel i7 cpu should be quite fast.
http://ca.refurb.io/collections/lenovo/ ... lim-laptop
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Dec 12, 2009
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ThomasHunter wrote: Just wondering what anybody's thoughts are on these models.

Acer Aspire E 15.6"

ASUS X Series 15.6

ASUS 15.6
I would go with the Amazon option because the screen is full HD. There is also a USB C port which the others don't have. Up the ram to 8 gigs and replace the HDD with a SSD and you have a machine that should be good for years.
Newbie
Nov 3, 2014
87 posts
32 upvotes
Hamilton, ON
@ drdtyc Thank you very much for the links.

@ will888 Replacing the HDD with a SSD and upping the ram is a great idea if it needs to be done. The amazon link with a the full-hd laptop is tempting. I definitely have plenty of options now. Thanks!

Again, I thank everyone who took the time to respond and give me an idea of what I should be looking for. I really appreciate it.

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