She needs something better than her pathetic Asus E200HA which won't even update because of the lack of HDD space and screen is too small at 11.6". The Atom processor is weak also. https://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ASUS-Vivobook-E200HA/ She wants something slim for basic web browsing, new or refurb. Anything under $200?
Sub $200 Laptop for 15yo?
figarow on 09/03/2019 - 22:23
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No wants a laptop, looked around eBay tonight but mostly old chunky window 7 machines, she really wants windows 10.
What is the oldest hardware that you would tolerate? 3rd gen Ivy Bridge, 4th gen Haswell?
You can buy 2nd gen Sandy Bridge era laptops for very cheap, all the notebook refurbishers would be throwing them out for less than $200.
Newer generation notebooks like Haswell would be roughly $300~400 depending on the condition and who you buy from.
I bought my business grade HP Elitebook Folio around $300, although I did have to spend quite a lot of money on buying spare parts for it (battery, LCD display and a new backlit KB), its still vastly superior to cheap newer notebooks.
You will probably be best looking at used products.
You will not get anything for under $200 new, probably not refurb. Get used. You can always put windows 10 on something running windows 7, god knows why you'd want to though. First thing I've done with my win 10 machines is install classic shell.
Yep when I said refurb I meant used, my bad… Happy to upgrade to Win 10 but the cost add? Would be cheaper to get used with 10 installed would have thought… also I'm a big fan of classic shell but wouldn't use Win 7 because no updates and less secure, just my preference.
Well, I've heard you can get it placed for free, but I wouldn't really know anything about that…
Google search shows win 10 can be had fairly cheaply. Or there is this https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.zdnet.com/google-amp/articl…Or just buy one with win 10 if that's your preference, last used laptop I bought was a Lenovo x230t, i5, touchscreen 4gb ram and win 10 for around $200, maybe $250 from memory. Don't be afraid to lowball people on gumtree, there are lots of people asking near new prices for "old" laptops, they are worth nowhere near what they are asking.
Edit - I would highly recommend a fhd screen if she is doing a lot of reading on it, was one of the main things I looked for when getting a laptop for my 14 year old. Much easier on the eyes.
Is she a student? If she you could get her to check out this site: https://onthehub.com/download/free-software/windows-10-educa… and grab a copy for free!
This would be my suggestion.
Tell your daughter her new pc will not be slim. After the disappointment subsides move to next paragraph.
Identify a family member who is computer literate and can perform basic upgrades or follow YouTube instructional videos.
Find a good condition 5+ year old laptop with an i5 processor and minimum 4gb ram (dell maybe?)
Have computer literate family member install an ssd (120gb $30) and purchase a hdd caddy ($8) from eBay to put old hard drive in place of now useless DVD slot.
Install windows 10. It's a free download. If you really want to activate then try the code on the sticker of the bottom of laptop. It may well work. If not your computer literate family member will know where to get cheap codes from.
Source: I did this and the machine loads in 20 seconds and is perfect for surfing, emails, Google docs, downloading illegal sh!t etc.
AT that price point I'd be looking at places like gumtree (in larger cities).
3-4 weeks ago I picked up 4 systems (all legit purchases) for family members over a weekend period in Perth. All in very good condition with chargers, and no physical damage, but you need to bide your time and look out for a decent deal.
Asus GL552V (i7 6700hq, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD, GTX960m, 15.6" FHD LCD) $350
HP Probook 650 G3 (i5 6200u, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 15.6" FHD LCD) $180
Dell latitude E7440 (i5 4200u, 8GB RAM, 128Gb SSD, 14" FHD LCD) $190
Dell Latitude E6540 (i5 4300m, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, LTE/4G module, 15.6" FHD LCD) $150Couple came boxed with paperwork (Asus & HP), the Dell's were spare ex. business systems which sat on the shelf their entire life so look as-new.
At the ~$200 price point I'd look at ex business systems like the Dell E7440/E7450 in the 14" chassis, or the E7240/E7250 in the 12.5" chassis.
Condition of devices:
https://imgur.com/a/jUwsakMGood buying there. We'll done.
Well said and well played. I have the E7240 and it's great, only thing I miss is backlit keyboard. Dell support is great too with drivers and the like.
You can buy the backlit keyboard for the E7240 for ~$20 on Ebay.
Considered a tablet instead?