Topic: Considering buying

[Always THE HERD]

Considering buying a new "desk top" computer. I want to make sure it has Excel, Word, etc.
What and where would you suggest buying one?
Also do you think I should get a desk top, lap top, etc. ?
I don't know much about processors, etc. so I need your suggestions.
Thank you in advance!!!!

[HoPPy785]

Can you list your top 5 tasks you will be doing? You might find a Chromebook fits your needs perfectly. They get a bad rep, but mostly cause people don't understand them. They're very capable machines and cover most people's needs very well.

[CoachSkip]

Just bought the wife a laptop , cant tell you how much she likes it because it hasnt been turned on yet . The fellas at BestBuy helped me out . I was looking at Chromebooks but they showed me I could get more AND pay less for a regular laptop. I suggest asking those BestBuy guys , tell em what you plan on using it for , theyll help alot.

[Big Ol' Hillbilly]

I have an iMac. Bought the Microsoft programs separately (very cheap). I will always suggest Apple products. Around ten years ago, after fighting PC after PC and all of the problems that go with them for years,  my wife and I decided that we’d go the Apple route and we’ve never looked back. In our house, we have the iMac, two iPhones, a MacBook Air, three iPads and two sets of Air Pods. The only product I haven’t liked by Apple is the Apple TV. The remote and user interface sucks in my opinion. I use Fire TV sticks instead. Do yourself a favor, spend a little extra and save on maintenance in the long run. 🍎 🖥

[Always THE HERD]

Can you list your top 5 tasks you will be doing? You might find a Chromebook fits your needs perfectly. They get a bad rep, but mostly cause people don't understand them. They're very capable machines and cover most people's needs very well.

Excel
Word
Email
Media
Turbo Tax
Games (not too much into it)
Pictures
Power Point
I currently have a Dell Inspiron 539 w/ Windows 10 (2007 version of Word, Excel, etc.)

[HoPPy785]

I'd say you could use all those programs in the cloud with a Chromebook, but I'm not sure your comfort level with that. ChromeOS is quick, secure and very hard to break with viruses and malware.

If you go Windows, take a hard look at the Surface line. Microsoft is making excellent hardware these days. I also like HP and Lenovo.

Desktop is likely going to be more budget friendly but a laptop with a monitor to hook into would cover you for on the go and at home. I personally don't see the purpose in a desktop these days, unless you are into heavy gaming or some other specialty purpose.

I think your best bet is to figure out your budget first, then back into a device. You probably want i5 processor or higher for a windows device and m3 or higher for Chromebook. 8GB of ram minimum. Look for a SSD drive computer as opposed to HDD. Size of the drive is dependent on your own usage.

Budget is next step though.

[Always THE HERD]

I'd say you could use all those programs in the cloud with a Chromebook, but I'm not sure your comfort level with that. ChromeOS is quick, secure and very hard to break with viruses and malware.

If you go Windows, take a hard look at the Surface line. Microsoft is making excellent hardware these days. I also like HP and Lenovo.

Desktop is likely going to be more budget friendly but a laptop with a monitor to hook into would cover you for on the go and at home. I personally don't see the purpose in a desktop these days, unless you are into heavy gaming or some other specialty purpose.

I think your best bet is to figure out your budget first, then back into a device. You probably want i5 processor or higher for a windows device and m3 or higher for Chromebook. 8GB of ram minimum. Look for a SSD drive computer as opposed to HDD. Size of the drive is dependent on your own usage.

Budget is next step though.

~
The only issue I have with a laptop is I feel "challenged" trying to use the keyboard. I guess I am old school...and for that matter I am almost 69 too.

[bighat]

On some laptops you can add an external keyboard.  Not an IT guy but frequent user.

[bbcard1]

I would advise you to buy just a little more computer than you think you need. New things are happening all the time and you may develop a new interest that takes a little more computing power.

[mxman870]

I used to be a PC guy but after getting wife an Apple laptop I’ll never own another HP product.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Buffalo Bop]

~
The only issue I have with a laptop is I feel "challenged" trying to use the keyboard. I guess I am old school...and for that matter I am almost 69 too.

On a laptop, you can buy a wireless mouse to use, same as for a desktop computer.

[s1uggo]

I have an iMac. Bought the Microsoft programs separately (very cheap). I will always suggest Apple products. Around ten years ago, after fighting PC after PC and all of the problems that go with them for years,  my wife and I decided that we’d go the Apple route and we’ve never looked back. In our house, we have the iMac, two iPhones, a MacBook Air, three iPads and two sets of Air Pods. The only product I haven’t liked by Apple is the Apple TV. The remote and user interface sucks in my opinion. I use Fire TV sticks instead. Do yourself a favor, spend a little extra and save on maintenance in the long run. 🍎 🖥

this right here, but only if you dont want to have any problems!

[HoPPy785]

I'm curious as to what problems people had with their PC that went away with a Mac? I'm not disagreeing that Apple builds great hardware, just curious why people are feeling is better about their experience with one over the other.