What's the affordable laptop solution these days?

[Dreakon13]

My laptop is old, and I've abused it over it's many years.  Can't count the number of times I've reformatted the hard drive, installing and uninstalling operating systems for fun, trying to play games well beyond it's limits, throwing it around in fits of rage.  It's time for something new I think.

 

I don't want a tablet, I need something with a keyboard.  I'm not interested in any kind of Mac, nor do I want to spend a fortune.  I'd say like a $500 limit.

 

I know netbooks were all the rage for a while, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.  What kind of notebook/netbook or whatever would I want to look at with a $500 limit?  Is just a straight up laptop the way to go still?  It's not for gaming really... it's just for maybe streaming Netflix/Hulu, doing some coding/development work, surfing the web.  Maybe something to keep by my side as I boost trophies, with good battery life.   Some kind of HDMI out port would be nice.  Simple stuff like that.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated, I've been out of the laptop game for a while now.

[soniq]

I'd recommend something with at the very least 4GB of RAM (if you're installing a 64bit OS) and a SSD, but not sure how far $500 will get you.

[DEMON]

Most cheap budget laptops only have a lifespan of 2 years.  I recommend just building a PC or having a PC built for you, can work out about the same price.

PCPartPicker is a good site if you're not sure what parts would be compatible or if you just want to check power usage etc.

[DrBloodmoney]

I would look at a chromebook, that would probably meet your requirements, though I do question what a laptop would be needed for over a tablet in 2014? I got rid of mine 2 years ago and could count on the fingers of one post-woodchiper-accident hand how many times ive missed it.

[devourerplease]

If you're not planning on doing anything that requires a full-blown OS, a chromebook is definitely the way to go.  The battery life on them is outstanding.

[Dreakon13]

though I do question what a laptop would be needed for over a tablet in 2014?

 

Ever try coding or developing on a touch screen?  I haven't, and don't intend to.

 

If you're not planning on doing anything that requires a full-blown OS, a chromebook is definitely the way to go.  The battery life on them is outstanding.

 

Maybe, I like an outstanding battery life... what is the difference between a "full-blown OS" and what a Chromebook offers?  Do I have any ability to use Microsoft Office, or Office-like suites (ie. OpenOffice)?

 

EDIT: The more I look at this thing, it seems right up my alley.  If it has an HDMI port, I think I'm sold lol.  The whole "always online" Google Drive cloud setup might be a bit of a hinderance but it's still cool, and affordable... and maybe I'd even be able to get Ubuntu running on something like that and really get the ball rolling.

 

 

Most cheap budget laptops only have a lifespan of 2 years.  I recommend just building a PC or having a PC built for you, can work out about the same price.

PCPartPicker is a good site if you're not sure what parts would be compatible or if you just want to check power usage etc.

 

I'm sorry, I know you're just trying to be helpful... but in what world is building a desktop PC a logical conclusion to draw when I'm asking for a cheap laptop that won't be used for gaming?  And I already have a desktop that I built... I'm looking for a more mobile solution to have on the side.  Thank you though.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Dreakon13

[DEMON]

Ever try coding or developing on a touch screen?  I haven't, and don't intend to.

 

 

Maybe, I like an outstanding battery life... what is the difference between a "full-blown OS" and what a Chromebook offers?  Do I have any ability to use Microsoft Office, or Office-like suites (ie. OpenOffice)?

 

EDIT: The more I look at this thing, it seems right up my alley.  If it has an HDMI port, I think I'm sold lol.  The whole "always online" Google Drive cloud setup might be a bit of a hinderance but it's still cool, and affordable... and maybe I'd even be able to get Ubuntu running on something like that and really get the ball rolling.

 

 

 

I'm sorry, I know you're just trying to be helpful... but in what world is building a desktop PC a logical conclusion to draw when I'm asking for a cheap laptop that won't be used for gaming?  And I already have a desktop that I built... I'm looking for a more mobile solution to have on the side.  Thank you though.

 

Didn't say it had to be a gaming one, you can build desktops for everyday things as well, they don't need to be made for gaming.  More or less, just more stable as it was you who built it, they don't require you to send back the whole thing if anything breaks beyond repair.  Anyways, I didn't knew you had a desktop.

[devourerplease]

Maybe, I like an outstanding battery life... what is the difference between a "full-blown OS" and what a Chromebook offers?  Do I have any ability to use Microsoft Office, or Office-like suites (ie. OpenOffice)?

 

EDIT: The more I look at this thing, it seems right up my alley.  If it has an HDMI port, I think I'm sold lol.  The whole "always online" Google Drive cloud setup might be a bit of a hinderance but it's still cool, and affordable... and maybe I'd even be able to get Ubuntu running on something like that and really get the ball rolling.

 

Chrome OS only really offers basic stuff, like email and the like (which is done through Google anyway), but you'd be able to use Google Docs in place of Microsoft Office, which fits the bill as "close enough".  And yes, you can totally get Ubuntu up and running on it, although it takes a little finesse.  If you're going that route, make sure to get one of the chromebooks with a larger HDD.  Thankfully, Ubuntu also offers a cloud-storage solution, so you generally only have to worry about getting the OS to run on it.