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Post by trailboss on May 9, 2020 20:08:56 GMT -5
Years ago, I bought an Open box laptop from Best buy and it has been a tank, a Toshiba 55-T A5102. My It Buddy put a solid state hard drive that really sped things up, and the batteries are dirt cheap. But, after a long day I would post online and would only return the next day, to see so many mis-spellings that was getting downright embarrassing. I chalked it up to weariness.
I found a replacement keyboard and a youtube video that shows how to replace the keyboard in 3 minutes and change. I switched it out in 3 minutes flat, and now there has been a dramatic decrease in mis-spellings. No promises on replying from my Iphone though in that regard... fat fingered Charlie that I am.
 my work computer is an HP Elite x2 G4 with Bang and Olufsen...it is is rocket-ship out on the road, and the Verizon card gives great connectivity. |
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Post by Darin on May 9, 2020 20:34:57 GMT -5
I've been a Toshiba laptop fan for many years now … great value.
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Post by Ronv69 on May 9, 2020 21:13:59 GMT -5
The Toshiba notebooks have always been tough, and a solid state drive is better than twin turbos. You just screwed some poor service guy out of $150!
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Post by swampgrizzly on May 9, 2020 22:05:23 GMT -5
Years ago, I bought an Open box laptop from Best buy and it has been a tank, a Toshiba 55-T A5102. My It Buddy put a solid state hard drive that really sped things up, and the batteries are dirt cheap. But, after a long day I would post online and would only return the next day, to see so many mis-spellings that was getting downright embarrassing. I chalked it up to weariness.
I found a replacement keyboard and a youtube video that shows how to replace the keyboard in 3 minutes and change. I switched it out in 3 minutes flat, and now there has been a dramatic decrease in mis-spellings. No promises on replying from my Iphone though in that regard... fat fingered Charlie that I am.
my work computer is an HP Elite x2 G4 with Bang and Olufsen...it is is rocket-ship out on the road, and the Verizon card gives great connectivity. I've owned 2 Toshiba laptops that have been the most reliable pc's I've ever experienced of any pc's whether desktops, laptops, tablets, etc. Unfortunately Toshiba has discontinued it pc line of business about a year ago. My current 10 year old Toshiba Satellite A665 has developed a speaker problem. Still works fine in every other way. I am not mechanically inclined, but sure would love to be able to replace the amplifier/receiver or cracker speaker whichever is causing the problem. Once I give up on this laptop, I have no idea which laptop maker to turn to in finding as good a quality laptop as I have experienced with my 2 Toshiba's. |
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dingobob
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Post by dingobob on May 10, 2020 7:40:40 GMT -5
Years ago, I bought an Open box laptop from Best buy and it has been a tank, a Toshiba 55-T A5102. My It Buddy put a solid state hard drive that really sped things up, and the batteries are dirt cheap. But, after a long day I would post online and would only return the next day, to see so many mis-spellings that was getting downright embarrassing. I chalked it up to weariness.
I found a replacement keyboard and a youtube video that shows how to replace the keyboard in 3 minutes and change. I switched it out in 3 minutes flat, and now there has been a dramatic decrease in mis-spellings. No promises on replying from my Iphone though in that regard... fat fingered Charlie that I am.
my work computer is an HP Elite x2 G4 with Bang and Olufsen...it is is rocket-ship out on the road, and the Verizon card gives great connectivity. I've owned 2 Toshiba laptops that have been the most reliable pc's I've ever experienced of any pc's whether desktops, laptops, tablets, etc. Unfortunately Toshiba has discontinued it pc line of business about a year ago. My current 10 year old Toshiba Satellite A665 has developed a speaker problem. Still works fine in every other way. I am not mechanically inclined, but sure would love to be able to replace the amplifier/receiver or cracker speaker whichever is causing the problem. Once I give up on this laptop, I have no idea which laptop maker to turn to in finding as good a quality laptop as I have experienced with my 2 Toshiba's. You wouldn't think it by the price, but I've had good luck with Lenovos. I set everybody at work up with one, and in 3 years, I've only replaced one (ol' boy dropped it down the stairs). |
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Post by Ronv69 on May 10, 2020 8:39:15 GMT -5
The boss banned Lenovo computers from work. They are now a Chinese brand and he heard at a business seminar that they all have a "back door" access. I don't know, but in the payroll business I didn't want to take a chance. We were Dell Premier Partners, and we had great luck with the Dell top lines. I am using a Dell top line 17" notebook that's 10 years old that does everything I need and is still very fast. The less expensive models, well, you get what you pay for.
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Post by sperrytops on May 10, 2020 9:24:41 GMT -5
Also used Lenovo when it was an IBM brand. They cheapened up when they moved to China. Ten years ago switched to Apple and never looked back.
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Post by trailboss on May 10, 2020 10:07:13 GMT -5
That is quite an endorsement, but sad to hear that Toshiba exited the laptop market.
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Post by Darin on May 10, 2020 10:22:47 GMT -5
You can still buy Toshiba laptops right now … check amazon, etc.
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chasingembers
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Post by chasingembers on May 10, 2020 10:26:15 GMT -5
Other than my phone, I've never found the need for a computer or laptop, but I have friends that swear by them. Alienware and custom builts are mainly what they use.
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Post by Ronv69 on May 10, 2020 10:30:53 GMT -5
The Alienware are top of the line. The Microsoft Surface is something that we had great experience with. Both expensive, but cheaper in the long run.
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BrunoT
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Post by BrunoT on May 10, 2020 10:38:03 GMT -5
Way to go, Charlie. Before I switched to Apple I used Dell laptops because they didn't void the warranty when you opened it up, as long as you got with them on the phone about what are you doing it for. If something went wrong, I just ran some diagnostics and sent them the result, they'd ship me any part I thought necessary.
These days I only keep an older tower for gaming though.
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Post by Ronv69 on May 10, 2020 10:49:35 GMT -5
The Alienware Area 51 starts at $1981, and it's overkill for most of us, but it should easily give 10 years of service so that's less than $200/year of pure computing pleasure. It can be configured to over $5k,but only a serious gamer or SQL programmer could take advantage of this much power.
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Post by swampgrizzly on May 10, 2020 21:58:32 GMT -5
You can still buy Toshiba laptops right now … check amazon, etc. Interesting. I checked the Amazon listings and found laptops labeled Toshiba Dynabook. Toshiba had sold 80% of it's laptop business to Sharp. So, it appears the current laptops are Toshiba and not Toshiba. When I searched for the Dynabook web site I'm finding it's hosted by Toshiba. It's strangely confusing, but I will be anxious to see reviews on the capabilities and reliability of the merged product offerings at this time. I used to follow the practice of buying the most feature loaded capabilities of the Toshiba laptop lines I could afford at the time and know that I would have a very good value product that would last many years without issues. |
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Post by instymp on May 11, 2020 7:47:19 GMT -5
6-8 yr old HP Pavilion laptop that still runs great. Under $500.
When we were in business had 7-8 Dells & 2 Mac's, all running and happy.
Been waiting for this pavilion to crash but it just keeps on ticking.
Will replace it with another. For what I need it for.
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Mac
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Post by Mac on May 11, 2020 23:01:51 GMT -5
Seven year old MacBook Pro. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. My son has my previous MBP and it's ten years old. Just fine. My hat is off to those who fix their own PCs. I'd rather have an ingrown toenail than try to fix a laptop. <button class="wayback1996-RTclose">×</button> |
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Post by trailboss on May 11, 2020 23:40:22 GMT -5
The trick is finding a computer buddy that will do the work for beer and food.
A monkey could switch out the keyboard (at least on my model).
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Post by simnettpratt on May 12, 2020 0:05:56 GMT -5
The trick is finding a computer buddy that will do the work for beer and food. A monkey could switch out the keyboard (at least on my model). This is true. If you can work a Phillips head screwdriver, you can build and fix your computers. There's a couple of things you need to know, but it's all really easy, except for re-attaching the ribbon cable to the monitor on a laptop. That's a pain in the butt. Often the hardest part is figuring out how this stupid random case opens  |
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jay
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Post by jay on Aug 12, 2020 16:54:56 GMT -5
I dropped $20 on a law enforcement surplus Panasonic Toughbook, then $50 for a new hard drive and $30 for a power cable. So, for $100 I ended up with a great laptop that I can use for both my ham radio and state guard activities. While I try very hard to take care of my gear, it has been knocked into stuff and dripped on by the rain and continues to function very well. I use a Windows 7 OS kindly donated to me by my employer.
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Post by Kerley0319 on Aug 12, 2020 16:59:28 GMT -5
I need a laptop for school and fall semester starts in about a week and half . Any suggestions on an affordable but capable rig?
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Post by simnettpratt on Aug 12, 2020 18:32:11 GMT -5
Any suggestions on an affordable but capable rig?
1. What is your budget, ie what do you consider affordable? $500? $800? $1,000?
2. Capable of what? Will you just use it to surf, email and run Office like programs, or do you need it to game as well? Any laptop can surf and run Office.
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Post by trailboss on Aug 12, 2020 18:38:53 GMT -5
Any suggestions on an affordable but capable rig? 1. What is your budget, ie what do you consider affordable? $500? $800? $1,000? 2. Capable of what? Will you just use it to surf, email and run Office like programs, or do you need it to game as well? Any laptop can surf and run Office. Good questions to consider! |
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Post by Kerley0319 on Aug 12, 2020 18:47:40 GMT -5
Any suggestions on an affordable but capable rig? 1. What is your budget, ie what do you consider affordable? $500? $800? $1,000? 2. Capable of what? Will you just use it to surf, email and run Office like programs, or do you need it to game as well? Any laptop can surf and run Office. Not terribly worried about gaming but it would be cool. Internet - office programs - you named it. I'd like to get it for 500 or less I'm pretty strapped with the new house and new truck. |
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Post by terrapinflyer on Aug 12, 2020 18:52:44 GMT -5
I'd add processing pictures to 2. I use a dslr Canon and it makes the HP slog.
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Post by Ronv69 on Aug 12, 2020 20:24:51 GMT -5
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Post by Kerley0319 on Aug 12, 2020 23:06:48 GMT -5
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Post by simnettpratt on Aug 13, 2020 4:11:20 GMT -5
Well, a 4th Generation i7 will do your surfing and Office type stuff. 4GB of DDR3 memory is pretty low and slow, and a 250GB non SSD is small and relatively slow, but it will definitely do the bulk of what you want. $375 isn't going to get you a monster, so for the money I'd say you did well. For your 'gaming would be cool', check out www.gog.com/ They take older games that will run on your laptop and make them work with Windows 10 (and 7 and 8). The games are cheap, and there's no copy protection - once you buy the game, you own it, and can install it as many times as you want. Just because there's better graphics and physics models out now, doesn't mean older games now suck. For straight shooters, the original Far Cry ($10) is a classic, and still my favorite FPS (looking at you, COD). The excellent WWII Allied Assault series is $10, which includes the first two expansion packs. KOTOR2 is the best Star Wars game ever, also at $10. Yes, you get lightsabers. If you want an old school D&D RPG, Baldurs Gate ($20) is considered one of, if not the best. gog.com has the Enhanced Edition, upgraded for modern computers with widescreen and a bunch of improvements. If you like that, you can get Baldurs Gate II and import your party from I. It's a lot harder; I'd start with I. Thief II is my favorite sneaker at $7. To invent a whole new genre, the First Person Sneaker, is quite an achievement. Tense, slooow paced, and very atmospheric. You might be able to run one of the greatest RPGs of all time: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on your Haswell dual-core with integrated graphics. The Game of the Year Deluxe Edition is $6 on gog. The lack of a graphics card will be your bottleneck on gaming with a 2013 laptop. |
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Post by Kerley0319 on Aug 13, 2020 6:08:16 GMT -5
Well, a 4th Generation i7 will do your surfing and Office type stuff. 4GB of DDR3 memory is pretty low and slow, and a 250GB non SSD is small and relatively slow, but it will definitely do the bulk of what you want. $375 isn't going to get you a monster, so for the money I'd say you did well. For your 'gaming would be cool', check out www.gog.com/ They take older games that will run on your laptop and make them work with Windows 10 (and 7 and 8). The games are cheap, and there's no copy protection - once you buy the game, you own it, and can install it as many times as you want. Just because there's better graphics and physics models out now, doesn't mean older games now suck. For straight shooters, the original Far Cry ($10) is a classic, and still my favorite FPS (looking at you, COD). The excellent WWII Allied Assault series is $10, which includes the first two expansion packs. KOTOR2 is the best Star Wars game ever, also at $10. Yes, you get lightsabers. If you want an old school D&D RPG, Baldurs Gate ($20) is considered one of, if not the best. gog.com has the Enhanced Edition, upgraded for modern computers with widescreen and a bunch of improvements. If you like that, you can get Baldurs Gate II and import your party from I. It's a lot harder; I'd start with I. Thief II is my favorite sneaker at $7. To invent a whole new genre, the First Person Sneaker, is quite an achievement. Tense, slooow paced, and very atmospheric. You might be able to run one of the greatest RPGs of all time: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on your Haswell dual-core with integrated graphics. The Game of the Year Deluxe Edition is $6 on gog. The lack of a graphics card will be your bottleneck on gaming with a 2013 laptop. Can a new graphics card be put into it? |
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Post by Ronv69 on Aug 13, 2020 8:49:36 GMT -5
It should serve your needs just fine.
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Post by simnettpratt on Aug 13, 2020 10:39:41 GMT -5
Can a new graphics card be put into it? No, sorry. It doesn't have a graphics card now - the graphics are integrated on your motherboard, that is, your board has a chip that does the graphics, there's no port that a graphics card can plug into. The things that are fairly easy to upgrade are the memory (you have 4GB and can upgrade to a maximum of 16GB), and the hard drive. You can upgrade to a much faster solid state 256GB SATA III drive. To upgrade the graphics, you would have to put a whole new motherboard in it, and take the computer completely apart. It's more a job for a tech. Also, it would likely cost almost as much as you paid for the whole pc. If you want to consider adding memory, or a solid state drive, or want to see how much trouble it would be to upgrade the graphics (you'd need teeny Torx head screwdrivers), here's your manual with part numbers for everything: h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05228980.pdf Part numbers for RAM, SSDs and new mobos are on pages 18-19. Bottom line is no, not really. Play older games that will work on your current machine If you really want to tackle adding RAM, a SSD or new mobo, PM me and I'll help, but your $375 budget will be shot. |
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