Magnolia
Jedi
Does anyone have suggestions for a decent laptop?
If you have horror stories or positive reviews about specific brands/models, I'd appreciate knowing about them.
I'm leaning towards a Mac, based on customer reviews.
Thank you!
Background Info:
I have ~9 year old Dell desktop, Win 10, no camera, no mic, core 17. Cost $750. Nice big screen. Built in ethernet port and DVD drive. Lots of usb ports. No frills, it's terrific, works great. I'm told it can't be upgraded to 11.
I need something portable, with newer OS, + camera and mic, mostly for zoom and remote use, and to be my Dell replacement if/when it gets obsolete.
Costco has Black Friday laptop deals.
The less expensive ones are HP (I had a bad experience with HP), Chromebook (seems too dependent on the web), Dell (the reviews are awful).
I've liked Lenovo Thinkpad (but today they run ~$1000+ and the reviews are not very good).
This one seems good: MacBook Air Laptop (15-inch) - Apple M4 chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB Memory, 512GB SSD Storage. It's ~$1100 (high, but my computers last about 10+ years). Wired Mag recommends it.
The Mac Pro (only 14-inch) is even higher (+$300) - Apple M5 chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 16GB Memory, 512GB SSD Storage.
There's not much difference between the pro and air, but the pro has better reviews.
Wired says the pro will be obsoleted in about a year by a new M5 chip in the Mac Air.
With a laptop, it seems you also have to buy an Ethernet adapter, USB C to A adapters and a DVD player. Plus the macs only have 2 usb ports.........What a mess. It used to be so easy.
Wired has articles, one reviewing Win and one for Mac. I could spend weeks researching laptops, but the deals only last 1 or 2 more days. If I have to wait, so be it, but any suggestions may tilt the scale so I can take advantage of the sales.
