Windows 'S', Chromebooks and ultra cheap laptops for dummies
Hi,
Missus wants a device for running Office suite. All I need is some torrents and effective streaming. We do zero gaming, graphics or audio work with it. My current laptop is 10 years old and the motherboard just crapped out.
Looking to replace this evening, honestly with likely the cheapest laptop we can find, maybe spring a bit for something like the Asus Flip so she can easily use it on her spin bike or something.
One laptop comes with "S" mode - I understand what it is, but is it a good warning sign to just not waste the money?
Anyone experienced with any of the bottom of the barrel laptops currently on the market (350-500 range)?
I understand Chromebooks essentially can't run programs that don't come through Play. F that. Unless I shouldnt?
Thanks for any advice guys. I seriously don't care much about performance or graphics quality...it'll be used to for fitness apps and maybe downloading some old shows or something.
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No, no…I’m not sloppy, or lazy. This is a sign of the boredom.
You can switch out of S mode if you want to which is a permanent change. S mode severely limits what you can install to what is in the Microsoft store.
Looking to replace this evening, honestly with likely the cheapest laptop we can find, maybe spring a bit for something like the Asus Flip so she can easily use it on her spin bike or something.
One laptop comes with "S" mode - I understand what it is, but is it a good warning sign to just not waste the money?
Anyone experienced with any of the bottom of the barrel laptops currently on the market (350-500 range)?
S-mode means you can only run Windows Store apps. If you don't like that, you can simply turn off S-mode and run full Windows applications. However, it is a one-way switch and S-mode will be permanently disabled if you choose to do so.
As for the cost, my parents have basically the same usage requirements with their laptops. As a result, they used to buy bottom of the barrel machines too, and ended up needing to replace them every other year... so I'll tell you what I told them: instead of buying a piece of crap every two years, spend a little extra money to get something good and it'll last you much, much longer which will be cheaper in the long run.
Or just grab an older used laptop and put an SSD in it. I've brought many back to life with that. It won't run Windows 11, but you should be able to find something for cheap.
Or just grab an older used laptop and put an SSD in it. I've brought many back to life with that. It won't run Windows 11, but you should be able to find something for cheap.
As long as it has a decent processor and a good amount of memory, then this is a good option.
As for the cost, my parents have basically the same usage requirements with their laptops. As a result, they used to buy bottom of the barrel machines too, and ended up needing to replace them every other year... so I'll tell you what I told them: instead of buying a piece of crap every two years, spend a little extra money to get something good and it'll last you much, much longer which will be cheaper in the long run.
I’ve wondered about this. My current laptop (one that’s crapped out) was the cheapest thing in WalMart at the time, and has lasted a decade with nothing more than AVG Free for protection, all the while being subjected to Torrents and Porn. What exactly makes an inferior machine less enduring, for basic users?
__________________
No, no…I’m not sloppy, or lazy. This is a sign of the boredom.
I’ve wondered about this. My current laptop (one that’s crapped out) was the cheapest thing in WalMart at the time, and has lasted a decade with nothing more than AVG Free for protection, all the while being subjected to Torrents and Porn. What exactly makes an inferior machine less enduring, for basic users?
Sometimes you get lucky, but cheaper machines are cutting costs somewhere and that is usually through the use of lower quality components.
We got 200-300 dollar chrome books for the kids for school and they work fine. I just replaced the 5 year old one and the 3 year old one is still running fine.
I’ve always been a cheapest possible when it comes to computer.
I don't know about Torrent stuff, but my wife and I have used Chromebooks as our daily personal devices for years and love them. So little to go wrong, and everything is fast and quick to get what you want. I have the more expensive Pixelbook go now, and love it. We have the kids gaming computers, and I have a work issued windows laptop if we ever need Windows for some reason, but it's been years since I've found that necessary.
I’ve wondered about this. My current laptop (one that’s crapped out) was the cheapest thing in WalMart at the time, and has lasted a decade with nothing more than AVG Free for protection, all the while being subjected to Torrents and Porn. What exactly makes an inferior machine less enduring, for basic users?
Two main aspects.
1. If the heat dissipation is inferior, you'll have a higher chance to "hot box" the laptop which causes the unit to fail when electrical components are exposed to excessive heat.
2. If the components are cheaper and/or weaker, it means that it has to work harder to maintain basic performance (ie: Red lining all the time in a car destroys your engine faster).
You could get lucky and it lasts for a while, but cheap laptops I find often do not last beyond 2-3 years and I find they are a chore to use (especially if the keyboard sucks). One thing that might help your budget is if you go buy a laptop at Shoppers Drug mart and see if you have access to bonus PC points, redemption etc. on a laptop purchase. Another I've found is to go to Bestbuy and look into open box deals.
The best combination of future proofing and making sure your laptop doesn't prematurely die because it's working at load all the time likely would be an i5 with SSD combo. Most of the other specs of the laptop are likely beyond what you need based on what you're describing.
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^Refurbs are a good option too, I've had success with finding great deals on mid to high-end refurbished electronics, and they've lasted me a long time.
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-James
GO FLAMES GO.
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^Refurbs are a good option too, I've had success with finding great deals on mid to high-end refurbished electronics, and they've lasted me a long time.
Business grade computers/laptops and mid/high end electronics for refurbs are pretty good, I agree.
But on occasion you get some absolutely bad stuff. I once bought an HP Elitebook from Staples. It had dents in it like someone had attacked the magnesium frame with a screwdriver then tried to hide the damage with a silver sticker. The stickers had Israeli words on it. Some of the buttons were stuck and didn't click. I literally found sand in inside it. It almost literally looked like it had been dragged through a war zone. I had to exchange it.
The replacement Elitebook was great. It looked like it had come from a company. I swapped to SSD and I've been using it for over 8 years now for a legacy program without problems.
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Missus wants a device for running Office suite. All I need is some torrents and effective streaming. We do zero gaming, graphics or audio work with it. My current laptop is 10 years old and the motherboard just crapped out.
Looking to replace this evening, honestly with likely the cheapest laptop we can find, maybe spring a bit for something like the Asus Flip so she can easily use it on her spin bike or something.
One laptop comes with "S" mode - I understand what it is, but is it a good warning sign to just not waste the money?
Anyone experienced with any of the bottom of the barrel laptops currently on the market (350-500 range)?
I understand Chromebooks essentially can't run programs that don't come through Play. F that. Unless I shouldnt?
Thanks for any advice guys. I seriously don't care much about performance or graphics quality...it'll be used to for fitness apps and maybe downloading some old shows or something.
My mom just picked up an Asus L410 for $270 from Walmart, which runs Windows S, and asked me to set it up the other week.
First thing I did was disable 's' mode and now it's perfectly useable for her purposes with just-good-enough specs to upgrade to W11 once that is available for it. My only nitpicks are that 4GB of ram is a little low, and it seems to run a bit hotter than any laptop I have owned in the past decade, I assume because it is fanless and not a lot of metal heatsinking to reduce size and weight. Even the processor, a Pentium 1.1ghz, seems decent enough for basic tasks and watching movies. It has a 128GB ssd which is the bare minimum I would deem acceptable, and I did notice some other L410s online dip down to 64GB ssds which I would not find useable since modern OSes take up a huge chunk of that.
I had no difficulty getting Tixati working and running video files on MPC-BE once I exited 'S' mode.
I probably wouldn't settle for it for myself due to how warm it gets on the underside, but it's definitely a strong option for a new basic use laptop. I doubt other options in the same price range run much cooler? And I do like Asus as a brand
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"May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."
Last edited by GranteedEV; 02-25-2022 at 08:47 AM.
Windows 'S', Chromebooks and ultra cheap laptops for dummies
