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Old 05-09-2017, 11:49 AM   #361
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browsing the web, having outlook open 24/7, pdfs.

Needs windows and a decent amount of ram I guess but video card specs are unimportant and so is hd space.
Do you know how to clone a HDD and swap an SSD into a laptop?

Personally, I'd suggest something along the lines of buying a clearance/open box i3 laptop and swapping in a 120-250 GB SSD.

I'd love to suggest something like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Asus-T102HA-D4...eywords=laptop

But a 10 inch screen seems like a poor choice for parents.


This one seems to excel in all facets that your parents may need, but it's above your price point.
https://www.amazon.ca/Zenbook-Ultra-...eywords=laptop

It's very light weight and it has an SSD and cannot be hot boxed by accident.


Another option IMO is look for open box i3 laptops for cheap and clone the HDD to SSD yourself. That's what I did for my parents.

Last edited by DoubleF; 05-09-2017 at 11:51 AM.
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Old 05-09-2017, 11:56 AM   #362
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DoubleF View Post
Do you know how to clone a HDD and swap an SSD into a laptop?

Personally, I'd suggest something along the lines of buying a clearance/open box i3 laptop and swapping in a 120-250 GB SSD.

I'd love to suggest something like this:
https://www.amazon.ca/Asus-T102HA-D4...eywords=laptop

But a 10 inch screen seems like a poor choice for parents.


This one seems to excel in all facets that your parents may need, but it's above your price point.
https://www.amazon.ca/Zenbook-Ultra-...eywords=laptop

It's very light weight and it has an SSD and cannot be hot boxed by accident.


Another option IMO is look for open box i3 laptops for cheap and clone the HDD to SSD yourself. That's what I did for my parents.
Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I am capable enough to clone and replace drives.

Probably need to stick in the 14" range for familiarities sake, but they already have an ipad, the laptop needs to be a bit more robust than a chromebook or one of them fancy 2 in 1s
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Old 05-09-2017, 12:26 PM   #363
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A ten year old processor won't do a good job running star citizen when it's released.
Maybe not, but my 2009 refurbished AMD Phenom X4 9650 CPU could at least run the hangar... the i7 would be much better than that.
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Old 05-09-2017, 02:41 PM   #364
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Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I am capable enough to clone and replace drives.

Probably need to stick in the 14" range for familiarities sake, but they already have an ipad, the laptop needs to be a bit more robust than a chromebook or one of them fancy 2 in 1s
I just realized there was an echo in my other post. Oops.

Anyways, I think all the computers I've purchased then gifted my parents were used deals from friends/Kijiji, refurb, open box or display. I personally don't have any issues acquiring such types of electronics but I'm not sure if you have any apprehension to buying anything other than new. The main thing I focus on afterwards is clearing out bloat ware, clearing out temp files and excess backups as well as installing all software updates. Every few months I help them do some maintenance and they generally last quite a while.

I am always surprised how often very usable laptops are thrown away/replaced because X time has passed. Usually with just a SSD replacement, the thing is as good if not better as something <$500 at many retailers, often due to the HDD bottleneck. Some people do things as dumb as junking i5s because "they're slow" even if they're only a year or two old. If you know someone or a business getting rid of them for nearly nothing, always worth the time to see if you can acquire it.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Clearan...5-91728b56ddef

This one popped up. i5 computer, 8 GB ram for $420 (Probably $460 ish after GST/recycling?). All it needs is a SSD. A 120 GB one should be inexpensive. You can always convert the 1TB drive into an external drive (after you wipe it out) with a $20 enclosure if that tickles your fancy. Main annoyance is Win 8.1 and I'm not sure if 5 lbs is too heavy. LED-backlit display (1366 x 768) is kinda gross IMO, but older folks don't generally notice anything.

I often ask the staff at a store to demonstrate to me that the refurb computer works fine and confirm what the return policy is before buying. Usually you can figure out whether the computer is perfectly fine/junk within that time frame.

The only junk refurbs I've seen are from Staples and those are few and far in between. Bestbuy, Memory express, London Drugs etc. generally look more like reasonably new returned units with whatever fixes (probably just software) done and called "refurb" instead of open box.
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Old 05-09-2017, 08:57 PM   #365
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General purpose mostly I guess. Surfing internet, serving Plex, playing games like Civ5 and eventually Star Citizen (if I can figure out the controls).

I do have a Radeon R9 270 and 750W PSU (IIRC) from my 9-ish year old computer that just died (fan on CPU spins for a sec on power up then stops - fan on different header works fine and same fan behaviour with different PSU)
Anything else you can salvage? If you have a case, mouse/keyboard, and copy of Windows you can buy a decent cpu/mobo/ram combo for around $500. I'd look at the i5 7500 and B250F motherboard.

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/XzvkzM

You definitely don't want to buy that HP if you plan to put a video card in it. Without knowing what motherboard and power supply it has you don't know if your card will work in it.
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Old 05-09-2017, 11:32 PM   #366
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My pc kinda died on me, so I needed to make something quick, my custom loop plans died with it...so now I have a strip club on my desk.

Everyone knows RGB = FPS right...
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Old 05-10-2017, 01:48 PM   #367
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Everyone knows RGB = FPS right...
I just got my Black edition SC instead of the RGB SC2 1080 ti.

The thing is awesome though.
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Old 05-10-2017, 02:08 PM   #368
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Nice looking rig, RinkRat. Not my cup of tea as I like my gamin area as dark as my soul but that looks slick.
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Old 05-10-2017, 02:33 PM   #369
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Anything else you can salvage? If you have a case, mouse/keyboard, and copy of Windows you can buy a decent cpu/mobo/ram combo for around $500. I'd look at the i5 7500 and B250F motherboard.

https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/XzvkzM

You definitely don't want to buy that HP if you plan to put a video card in it. Without knowing what motherboard and power supply it has you don't know if your card will work in it.
Thanks for the parts... I'll definitely look at some options.

I know benchmarks are hit and miss, and there is a lot of variation in systems, RAM, etc... but does this say that the old i7 processor is faster or more capable but more expensive than the newer i5 one, despite being 4.5 years older?
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare.php?cmp[]=896&cmp[]=2910
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Old 05-10-2017, 02:43 PM   #370
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I know benchmarks are hit and miss, and there is a lot of variation in systems, RAM, etc... but does this say that the old i7 processor is faster or more capable but more expensive than the newer i5 one, despite being 4.5 years older?
CPU performance has been pretty stagnant in the last few years so an older i7 (especially overclocked) is still quite capable. You should however see noticeable improvements in newer software that can take advantage of new instructions (like video encoding).

Anandtech has a nice comparison tool with various applications and games:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1828?vs=551
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Old 05-10-2017, 03:36 PM   #371
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CPU performance has been pretty stagnant in the last few years so an older i7 (especially overclocked) is still quite capable. You should however see noticeable improvements in newer software that can take advantage of new instructions (like video encoding).

Anandtech has a nice comparison tool with various applications and games:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1828?vs=551
Thanks! I think that I had looked at that one before but couldn't find the exact CPUs I was trying to compare.. I had obviously missed them in the list.

BTW.. what does the "K" on the end mean? I thought the K meant it could be overclocked... is that it? Is an i5 7600 and a non-overclocked i5 7600K the same thing?

Last edited by calculoso; 05-10-2017 at 03:38 PM.
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Old 05-10-2017, 04:00 PM   #372
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They have all the same features, but the K-chips have a higher clock from the factory. Additionally, the clock speed on the iX cpus is generated by multiplying a base frequency by a multiplier. On K-chips that multiplier is adjustable, on the normal line it's locked. If you're looking to do significant overclocking, you need to be able to adjust the multiplier.
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Old 05-11-2017, 09:38 AM   #373
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What's cool these days in laptops?

My wife's 10 year old Macbook pro is on it's last legs and it's time for something new. We are not doing Macbook again, definitely PC.

- she mostly uses it for browsing, FB, word processing and spreadsheets. Nothing crazy.
- I definitely want to get her something really good that will last (in theory) another 10 years.
- I kinda want this to be the family laptop too so I'm not interested in a $500 bargain.
- Selfishly, I want something a little snazzy. Ultra-thin perhaps, or even a Surface Pro looks really cool and functional.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Let's say the budget is between $1000 and $1800.

PS: I have a gaming rig already, but if there is something out there that can support mid level gaming, I'm open to that too.
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Old 05-11-2017, 09:50 AM   #374
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What's cool these days in laptops?

My wife's 10 year old Macbook pro is on it's last legs and it's time for something new. We are not doing Macbook again, definitely PC.

- she mostly uses it for browsing, FB, word processing and spreadsheets. Nothing crazy.
- I definitely want to get her something really good that will last (in theory) another 10 years.
- I kinda want this to be the family laptop too so I'm not interested in a $500 bargain.
- Selfishly, I want something a little snazzy. Ultra-thin perhaps, or even a Surface Pro looks really cool and functional.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Let's say the budget is between $1000 and $1800.

PS: I have a gaming rig already, but if there is something out there that can support mid level gaming, I'm open to that too.
A Dell XPS 15 might meet your criteria. There was someone selling one in the Buy & Sell forum recently too.

http://www.dell.com/ca/p/xps-15-9560-laptop/pd
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Old 05-11-2017, 10:02 AM   #375
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What's cool these days in laptops?

My wife's 10 year old Macbook pro is on it's last legs and it's time for something new. We are not doing Macbook again, definitely PC.

- she mostly uses it for browsing, FB, word processing and spreadsheets. Nothing crazy.
- I definitely want to get her something really good that will last (in theory) another 10 years.
- I kinda want this to be the family laptop too so I'm not interested in a $500 bargain.
- Selfishly, I want something a little snazzy. Ultra-thin perhaps, or even a Surface Pro looks really cool and functional.

If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Let's say the budget is between $1000 and $1800.

PS: I have a gaming rig already, but if there is something out there that can support mid level gaming, I'm open to that too.
If I had that type of budget, I'd love to acquire for myself a Lenovo X1. But if that's not to your fancy, the Thinkpad T and P series are probably in the same range of what you're looking for too.

I love Lenovo's laptop keyboard. It's super comfortable to type on. The only other keyboard to come close (and it's a definite 2nd IMO) is the HP Probook and Elitebook. These business grade laptops are designed to last a while and be comfortable to use. I used a Lenovo T40 for about 6-7 years before gifting it to someone to use. It worked great for many years and the SSD upgrade really rejuvenated it even though it had a 1.8Ghz C2D processor.

I think the Thinkpad P series workstation will meet your needs the best sans ultra portability. The X1 is more ultra portable than gaming and the T series is somewhere in between the two. You should wait for a deal or ask if anyone has a CPA designation to take advantage of the members pricing. Select laptops on occasion have membership offers of 20-30% savings.
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Old 05-11-2017, 02:42 PM   #376
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I have an Elitebook for work and I agree it's great. A dream to type on.

For the old lady though, probably something more multi-media oriented rather than business. The Dell XPS looks really cool. She does netflix on her laptop as well.
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Old 05-11-2017, 03:07 PM   #377
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I have an Elitebook for work and I agree it's great. A dream to type on.

For the old lady though, probably something more multi-media oriented rather than business. The Dell XPS looks really cool. She does netflix on her laptop as well.
http://www3.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops.../p/22TP2WPP51S

This one maybe? Dedicated graphics card, i5 and nice screen for just over $1,300

A nicer keyboard just means less corrections when typing up a Facebook post or replying someone on Facebook messenger. The above P51 should be a good multimedia computer.

The XPS are indeed nice, but with no discount right now, it is more expensive. Just over $1,300 gets you a laptop with i3 and integrated graphics. Whereas $1,300 ish for the P51 right now gets you a $1700 XPS hardware equivalent. The XPS keyboards I'd say are quite comparable to the HP Pro/Elite books as the XPS is also a business grade computer.

If pricing and hardware is the same all things considered equal, there's no reason not to choose them. Personally though, the current prices on the Thinkpad Lenovos are better value than the XPS. The Lenovo P51 regular price $1700 is currently just over $1300 ish and is a hardware comparable to the $1700 XPS 15 right now.

If you buy at a later date though, the price difference might be a moot point.
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Old 05-12-2017, 06:51 PM   #378
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http://www3.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops.../p/22TP2WPP51S

This one maybe? Dedicated graphics card, i5 and nice screen for just over $1,300
That Quadro graphics card is really really meh, though. The Dell XPS can come with a GTX 1050 which is 3-4x more powerful than the Quadro M520 Mobile and will have way more longevity. There are no upgrade options for the Thinkpad you linked.
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Old 05-12-2017, 09:18 PM   #379
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https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...97&isdeptsrh=1

I bought a refurb and have had no issues and saved almost 400$ on a laptop.
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Old 05-12-2017, 09:58 PM   #380
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The XPS are indeed nice, but with no discount right now, it is more expensive. Just over $1,300 gets you a laptop with i3 and integrated graphics. Whereas $1,300 ish for the P51 right now gets you a $1700 XPS hardware equivalent. The XPS keyboards I'd say are quite comparable to the HP Pro/Elite books as the XPS is also a business grade computer.
Ebates does have 15% cashback for Dell.ca right now, plus signing up for Dell Advantage gives back 5% as a promotional gift card which would bring a XPS13 down to a more competitive price level.
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