Laptop Recommendations

[ccasanova]

My family needs a new computer. I think a laptop will suffice, and be preferred to a desktop.

Intended uses: Son is 9, learning to type and uses occasionally for homework, looking stuff up online. Wife does some medical charting online. I use Word and Excel occasionally. That’s basically it. This will be our primary computer

I have an original Mac Mini which is incredibly cumbersome to do anything with. Pulling up Excel to edit a spreadsheet may take 20-30 minutes...seriously.

I don’t know computers at all and need some advice...vs calling up Dell or stopping at Best Buy.

I’m fine with used/refurb and prefer not to spend more that $5-600, but will if necessary. Just want a reliable working basic laptop computer that can help get my kids through elementary/jr high school. Thanks

 

[Not a Sniper]

My family needs a new computer. I think a laptop will suffice, and be preferred to a desktop.

Intended uses: Son is 9, learning to type and uses occasionally for homework, looking stuff up online. Wife does some medical charting online. I use Word and Excel occasionally. That’s basically it. This will be our primary computer

I have an original Mac Mini which is incredibly cumbersome to do anything with. Pulling up Excel to edit a spreadsheet may take 20-30 minutes...seriously.

I don’t know computers at all and need some advice...vs calling up Dell or stopping at Best Buy.

I’m fine with used/refurb and prefer not to spend more that $5-600, but will if necessary. Just want a reliable working basic laptop computer that can help get my kids through elementary/jr high school. Thanks

Whelp, kinda one of those subjective things but I'll take a generic stab at this. Based upon what you said it sounds like weight and screen size may not be an issue. You could, for instance, plug in a full size monitor at a desk and use that with laptop, so 13" screen or 17" is of little consequence.

That leaves two main things to consider: RAM and disk space for storage.

RAM is "fast" memory that makes everything you are running perform faster. So more is better. Disk space is much cheaper these days, so again more is better (pics, music, files, etc.). Use your budget as a guide and look:

Refurbished Laptops and 2-in-1 PCs: Dell Outlet | Dell United States

outlet.us.dell.com

I have had great luck with these guys since they were a new company back in the day (I am old); and "Certified Refurb" is ideal. Cheaper, as someone reurned it and it had a bad part (or similar) that was replaced and made like new and guaranteed by Dell.

Anything on that page should do the trick, even the cheapest listed. You want faster running programs, get one with more RAM, if you need more storage find one with bigger disk size, etc.

 

[...]

Lenovo ThinkPad's are damn near indestructible...definitely worth a look

 

[Not a Sniper]

What happen to the old one?
Porn hub virus do it in?

That didn't take long....

 

[n0glock]

+1 on the Dell refurbished I have had great luck with them.

 

[ccasanova]

Dell refurbs and Lenovo L340 are 2 I’m looking into at the moment.

No pornhub, lol just OLD I guess...10+ years old

 

[Franko]

Your needs are very basic. Pretty much anything made within the last 10 years should be able to get it done for you. Here is how I would try to solve your problem:

1. Check with your employer's or your wife's IT department for old laptops that are being taken out of service. A 3-5 year old laptop that is being retired will do everything you need and you should be able to get it for free. If this doesn't work ask your friends and relatives to check around with the IT folks they know or can get access to. You might get lucky...
2. If that doesn't work then look for an e-waste recycler. They get old laptops businesses are retiring and fix them up. You should be able to get one for 200 to 300 dollars. The only problem is that with the Covid lockdown many more people are in the market for laptops for working and learning from home.
3. If that doesn't work go to Dell's website and look for their refurbished or scratch and ding section. Aim for a 15 inch display as it will be easier to use and you don't seem to need the compromises that come with a 13 inch model (portability and low weight). Aim for 8 gigs of ram and a solid state drive (128 gigs should work but try for 256gigs). If you can, hold out for Black Friday, there should be lots of deals

 

[army_eod]

Acer. Amazon. Aloha.

 

[Steel+Killer]

My .02
Screen size 15.6" minimum if home use primarily.
Touch screen really comes in handy when trying to zoom in on stuff......like you do on your smart phone.
Don't get hung up on all the other specs if your not playing video games or a graphic designer it doesn't matter most computers will do 99.99% of surfing the web, checking email, and Microsoft office stuff.
Something like this HP from Costco is all you will ever need...HP From Costco

 

[Ravenworks]

Here's the reality nice thing about Dell.

There is a company that sells Genuine Dell parts (cheaply) and has detailed videos on how to install said parts.

I have one little Dell that's been rebuilt half dozen times.
I would probably never get an extended warranty because parts are so cheap.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

I'll give another shout-out for Dell, and will say that myself and My Lady have been set-up with incredible abilities, by another member here.

The biggest thing I can say (and recommend) is look at Linux Mint - Cinnamon for an OS. We both did, and wish we'd each done it many years ago. There isn't ANYTHING that we can't do, and we don't have MicroHell OR that oRange/bANANA company garbage, either.

Just my opinion, and you get change back.

 

[varano14]

I have a dell with an i5 that’s been great for like 4 years. Definitely get something with a solid state drive my laptop doesn’t and once I got one in my desktop the boot time became unbearable.

Also consider something with a full keypad and by that I mean including a number pad. Most laptops don’t have them. I did some accounting work and used it a ton, couldn’t have lived without it. Even now in normal use I feel it’s very convenient. This may be something your wife would appreciate for charting.

Brand wise I have a dell it’s been great. An IT friend always recommends Lenovo as a valid option. As other have said you have a very basic use case.

Last thought that’s goes against your preference of getting a laptop. You could pick up a used dell optiplex on eBay for probably under 200 that would do everything you need an more. Another 150 would get a the peripherals you need. Just another option as I prefer a desktop for work.

 

[Moe Ron]

That didn't take long....

I was going to suggest the Motivational Pictures thread. I’ve seen a lot of nice lap tops over there

 

[W54/XM-388]

Don't go sharing the computer, it's just going to give you a big headache.

Get one for each of you and have a happy life.

I'd suggest IF you are sticking with Windows 10, that you look at getting the Microsoft 365 family subscription, as it will probably come in handy for your son's school and I'm sure everybody in the family will wind up using it.

That being said, you can easily live without M$ to varying extents depending on how adventurous you want to be.

Or you can hold out for the Microsoft distribution of Linux coming probably in another year or three.
(As as stand alone instead of already built into Windows 10).

 

[diverdon]

Not Dell. Made in China with poor quality and poor support.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Not Dell. Made in China with poor quality and poor support.

I hate to break it to you, but most of the laptops you'll find in the world from just about everybody are generally made by one of 4 large OEM houses.

Don't bother with worrying about support, get something used with good basic build specs and then customize it yourself as you want it and be good to go.

 

[kenny1773]

I would recommend Dell or HP (Lenovo, maybe, depends on model and they are mothership in china)
price and features rule all, and they are pretty much all made in china or mostly china

Right now this minute I would get this HP, best bang for th buck I have seen in a while (laptops went up in price with Covid and work from home school from home demand)

https://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&catEntryId=3074457345619472818&urlLangId=&quantity=1&color=mineral+silver&source=aw&subacctid=129295&subacctname=TechBargains&adcampaigngroup=111627&awc=7168_1600578560_2d73f62cf3e0c697cd6de690f14551e5&jumpid=af_gen_nc_ns&utm_medium=af&utm_source=aw&utm_campaign=TechBargains

I just had a couple family members order this exact deal $569 +tax and had free shipping right now, no idea how long it will last.


If you really don't want to spend that much, you can troll ebay for a 3 year old off lease Dell. I have had some really good luck finding those for less than $300 (but not as nicely equipped as the HP linked above

 

[0dd]

I have had a lot of good luck with dell .
One thing to note is there is a large difference between the business and home. Keep with the business side support and quality are much better from my experience.

To reiterate some of the previous comments. look for the following:
8 gb ram or better
128- 256 gb ssd (solid state drive)
i recommend i5 processor first but you could settle for a i3.
15 in screen very rarely would i recommend anything smaller or larger. smaller screens tend to mean other sacrifices and larger tend to have a premium attached.

2 locations you can usualy find good deals on dell systems.
Dell outlet https://outlet.us.dell.com/ bought lots from here and have yet to be able to tell where any damage is on any of them.
dell refurbished https://www.dellrefurbished.com/ off lease systems usualy cheaper and a bit older

I encourage my family to get the 3 year pro support. Being able to have a tech come to your home/business to repair it (most of the time next day) is worth the small up charge. i have had this fix all sorts of issues ranging from keyboards and track pads to motherboards. ~ 15-20 repairs across 13 years and over 100 laptops.

 

[Ravenworks]

Not Dell. Made in China with poor quality and poor support.

Say what?
Dell support rocked , I made all my family members have their next day warranty.
Believe me, you are treated like royalty with the next day repair/service.

 

[Yasherka]

I have had a lot of good luck with dell .
One thing to note is there is a large difference between the business and home. Keep with the business side support and quality are much better from my experience.

To reiterate some of the previous comments. look for the following:
8 gb ram or better
128- 256 gb ssd (solid state drive)
i recommend i5 processor first but you could settle for a i3.
15 in screen very rarely would i recommend anything smaller or larger. smaller screens tend to mean other sacrifices and larger tend to have a premium attached.

2 locations you can usualy find good deals on dell systems.
Dell outlet https://outlet.us.dell.com/ bought lots from here and have yet to be able to tell where any damage is on any of them.
dell refurbished https://www.dellrefurbished.com/ off lease systems usualy cheaper and a bit older

I encourage my family to get the 3 year pro support. Being able to have a tech come to your home/business to repair it (most of the time next day) is worth the small up charge. i have had this fix all sorts of issues ranging from keyboards and track pads to motherboards. ~ 15-20 repairs across 13 years and over 100 laptops.

All of this information is great but I would caution against an i3 (or the AMD equivalent) for a basic computer. Stick with an i5 as the 3s "feel" a lot more sluggish even for basic/simple tasks

 

[Maggot]

Lenovo ThinkPad's are damn near indestructible...definitely worth a look

Agree here. Check Best buy, sometimes you can get excellent 0% down financing.

Satay away from Dell.

 

[diverdon]

Say what?
Dell support rocked , I made all my family members have their next day warranty.
Believe me, you are treated like royalty with the next day repair/service.

Not my experience, they refused to assist with my inoperative 45 day old pcs 13.

 

[rtB]

If you don't NEED to be able to carry it around, I'd recommend a small desktop, with a real keyboard, mouse and nothing smaller than 23" monitor. I use a 32" screen...

I have an external monitor and keyboard for all my laptops. It gets to suck working for any length of time on a tiny laptop screen and keyboard.

 

[Mister Ridge]

I think dell was on the list of blm supporters that was floating around a few weeks back.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Intel changed their home page during that time to a big solid BLM banner and this really asinine statement about if you didn't worship BLM get lost or such.

 

[Ravenworks]

Not my experience, they refused to assist with my inoperative 45 day old pcs 13.

Did you pay for the in house support?
It's a minimal extra that is worth it's weight in gold.

 

[kenny1773]

Support from any and every company sucks these days if you judge by one call or one incident that didn't go well (ask me about Apple support sometime, fucking bafoons). With Dell you have to learn how to work them to get what you want. It helps to have some computer knowledge.

I have spent 30 years in IT, a great many of those years I was doing desktop support or managing desktop support for a fortune 500 company that used Dell and HP. I have personally made more calls to the support at both these companies than I can even remember. I have personally taken more of their computers apart than I can count.

The support is reasonable at both, you just can't say the wrong thing If dell refused to help you they either determined you caused the problem, the problem was a windows problem not covered under warranty, or something along those lines. They have exclusions, the warranty does not cover 100% of everything imaginable, not even the extra damage warranty you can buy as a supplement is 100% there are still exclusions.

 

[acudaowner]

and now with the 3080's you could melt your mind or make your kids cry with envy . And I am sure you could hold a work spread sheet your edited movies , or run a few movies for date nite and the quiet fire place screen saver and candles to set any mood you want .

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I treat laptops as disposable.. no love for them. They live hard lives. I wear through the keys and the finish on the face.

But my most recent computer (18 months ago) is an LG Gram. And it is the best laptop I've owned.

I don't know much about the features, etc. I call my buddy "Pervdog" the IT Guy and ask him what he buys. This is what he recommended. And it's the first laptop I've had that I think is really killer!

Sirhr

 

[W54/XM-388]

Warranty and support is great and all, but unless I'm specifically getting a laptop with some really expensive GPU and CPU SMTed to the motherboard (It REALLY sucks they all have gone to that now), I'd just buy a common somewhat recent Dell Model of a Latitude or Precision and customize it to what I wish then if something goes wrong, a couple minutes on eBay will bring up the correct part and order it and install it when it comes in, for less total time then mucking around with factory support.

Lots of good deals to be had on 14" and 15" i5-6xxx and i7-6xxx CPU based laptops.
Put in your own memory, your own SSD and load your own OS and good to go.

HOWEVER I would caution based on the link someone posted above of a discount HP model, DON'T buy one with a screen resolution lower than 1920x1080 unless you have vision issues. Also don't bother spending money to get a 4k resolution in that form factor, it's a total waste and you'll just be running it at the same effective settings as you would for 1920x1080

14" is actually a pretty good form factor that balances out size and portability if you carry it around a lot.
The 15.6" size is better if you don't think you will be carrying it much.
If you are really on the go, a 13" one can be super handy.

IF you are a full on touch typist, you'll want to pay attention to if you like the keyboard.
I'm very picky about the laptops based on that alone.

 

[plong]

XPS in the screen size and resolution of your choosing.

 

[0dd]

From my experience with dell there is a huge difference of support between the home side and business side of things.

That may be the difference you are seeing in the experience many users have.

 

[GordonFreeman]

This forum is going to flame me for this.....

Go Apple if your entire family is using it.

Alleviates virus concerns and they last forever. 7-8+ years longevity is no issue at all. PC laptops are meant to expire with a short half-life and be replaced in a few years.

edit: for Excel and Word use google drive sheets and docs from your gmail account. Takes 5 seconds to open, auto saves every key stroke so your kid's paper doesn't go missing, and you can access it on any device anywhere you go. Microsoft productivity products are garbage

 

[Ravenworks]

This forum is going to flame me for this.....

Go Apple if your entire family is using it.

Alleviates virus concerns

I seriously hope you don't believe that Apple is immune

 

[BytorJr]

I've had my HP Pavilion since 2012 (3rd Gen Pentium i7). I just semi-retired it and went with a NUC (not a laptop). I retired it mainly since it was on the edge of my temporary work-from-home desk and wires out of every port to drive my mechanical keyboard, USB3-to-HDMI, HDMI-to-HDMI, 2-factor USB card reader, headphones and was always at risk of falling off the desk. But, I swear it runs better than my work PC . I've only replaced the HDD with Samsung SSD (850 Pro).

 

[kenny1773]

read the OPs comments

isn't a computer guy, looking for a family machine, doesn't want to spend a whole ton of $$$$$
things like $1200 -$2400 Apples are probably not what he is after
high res screens may or my not matter (I personally don't care for them, makes everything too tiny)

basic form and function, meet basic needs, little hassle = basic HP or Dell or possibly Lenovo IMO

I have plenty of experience with the home owner (not just corporate) tech support lines at both HP and Dell, they are 'offshore' and read from scripts with bad accents, you can work them to get what you want if you answer their scripted questions the right way. Their scripts try to rule out helping you as step one - Oh I am sorry sir, that is a windows problem and not a hardware issue, bye

Dell / HP laptops will 'odds in your favor' run for 4 years without giving you much trouble (of course its probabilities, there are ones that don't make it that far, there are ones that blow up the 3rd time you turn them on) many run much longer, but the odds turn against you at the 4 year mark.

The HP laptop I am typing on right now and that I use exclusively for bullshit web surfing is closer to 6-7 years old (its an Intel Ivy Bridge to help date it). Had to replace the original mechanical hard drive with an SSD by choice not by need, no 'repairs' and the machine is still kicking. Most days it is powered on for 3-6 hours. I will replace it when it dies at this point.

 

[Srikaleak]

My family needs a new computer. I think a laptop will suffice, and be preferred to a desktop.

Intended uses: Son is 9, learning to type and uses occasionally for homework, looking stuff up online. Wife does some medical charting online. I use Word and Excel occasionally. That’s basically it. This will be our primary computer

Is your kid doing online distance learning? 9 years old would be 4th grade? That means middle school in 2 years where computer usage is going to go through the roof (and I'm only talking about school work let alone gaming, media consumption, etc). What kind of medical charting does your wife do? Is the software something you have to load on the computer or is it cloud based accessible through the browser? Are you absolutely tied to Word and Excel or can you use free alternatives? Linux has a built in free productivity suite that has you covered. Using Google Sheets and Google Docs offers a cloud based alternative as well.

If you are tied to running Windows OS, 8Gb RAM is recommended MINIMUM. As I sit here with just a Chrome browser open I am consuming 6GBs of RAM.

One of the greatest improvements in speed and responsiveness to modern computers is an SSD hard drive. 100% make sure your PC has one.

 

[HammerForged]

Tons of laptops will handle what you want.

Avoid HP! I have been overseeing IT for church with about 30 PC's on site. Over the last 7 years the HP systems have really gone downhill. Some of the laptops sound like they have things loose in them when you lightly shake them.

Personally I like Dell but there are other good brands.

If you have a Costco near you their selection isn't big but they add a year to the warranty of any computer or TV you buy there. That's a big plus.

 

[plong]

Apple... Ugh! Nothing wrong with them... Nothing special about them either... except the price, now that’s special! Hardware will be at least one gen behind, but will come in a really pretty wrapper, . MacOS... UNIX with a pretty GUI... whatever. Apple puts more energy into locking out “unapproved” hardware than it puts into legitimate innovation, but hey... did you know they are really pretty...?

 

[Aries256]

Intel core i5, if getting new and can afford it max out ram, ram is one of those thing that you cant have enough of, esp when windoze bloats shit up. Dont see anything about gaming so the the i5 onboard gpu should be fine. If gaming is on the horizon, nvidia gtx1060-1080 should suffice (not cheap tho) Acer, HP, MSI, and Asus makes damn good machines Acer tho read reviews, they’re hit or miss. Sager(what I have) is also a damn good maker (pricier tho because they cater to gaming) run screaming from a Toshiba these days, they used to be a rock solid workhorse, now..... I dont know what happened to them, but they’re cheap junk now. Dell is another good one for a basic lappy. If performance isnt much of a thought amd ryzen based ones can be decent for a cheap price also. One also should look at what they want to do, many laptops are ditching the dvd/cd drive to make the machine thinner. All in all just depends on your price point, what you want it to do, and how long you want it to do said things. Now desktops Acer, Dell, Hp makes good ones for pretty cheap. Then there’s the all in ones. Big screen that the computer is built into, tho they can be pricier.

 

[HeavyAssault]

For me it's a Mac. Buy what you can afford with the most ram. Today's hard drive space can be external so there's no need for 3TB on board. I'm not saying it's super easy to go from PC to Mac, but once you learn it's too easy. Super stable platform with tons of apps to do what you want. Not to mention you can run Windows on a virtual machine so using "PC" programs on a Mac can be done.
I use a Mac Mini as my media source for watching videos on my TV, and listening to music thru the stereo. There's plenty of "off-site" Mac/Apple certified support centers for repairs or work if you need it, pretty sure they can do warranty work too. No reason to go back to "Mother Apple" that I can really think of.

New or used they work great. My Mini has been upgraded with a larger drive and more memory.

Since you didn't say which Mini , if I were you see what is in your area for Apple support, consider building that Mini up.

 

[Redmanss]

I use both Windows (work) and Macs (personal). Between the two of them, MacOS is unbelievably more simple to use and keep up to date, as well as being an all in one system whereas Windows requires extra shit just to make it useable. Add in the incessant Windows updates, half of which fail to properly install in the background requiring personal attention to push the updates, well, I don't want to deal with that on my own time.

Open source Linux is even easier to use and personalize, but requires additional research, time, and computing knowledge to convert a machine over to it. It's easy and I absolutely recommend it, but it's not for the basic user. I don't care for it because, well, I have little enough time as it is.

My Macbook Pro Retina is a Late 2013 model, SSD and mid grade hardware processors, and it runs every bit as efficiently as it did when I bought it. I regularly run spreadsheets, photo editing, GUI intensive applications and other functions, no lag and no bullshit (unless I'm running TOR, but that has very intensive computing and network requirements in of itself). It has every latest software update installed and is still running just fine. I travel everywhere with it as I work on the road, including it having spent over a year in Afghanistan and another half a year in Saudi sucking dust. I blow it out every leap year, eat at it regularly, and in general beat the shit out of it. In the meantime, I'm on my second Toshiba for work in two years. So, one $1500 laptop to last me seven years to date, versus how many Windows machines I would have purchased in the meantime. But sure, Macs are overpriced and overrated...

Lenovo: If you're fine with Chinese government spyware coming with your laptop, well, go for it. Fuck Lenovo, they're worse than Huawei. Read up on it.

If you go with any Windows machine, when you get it read up on how to remove all the bloatware that comes with it.

As to the rest, agree with the above comments about making sure it has as much RAM as possible, 100% get a SSD only hard drive or immediately replace any HDD once you get it.

 

[W54/XM-388]

If you go with any Windows machine, when you get it read up on how to remove all the bloatware that comes with it.

IF you are going with a windows machine (which pretty much means Windows 10 at this point), my suggestion is don't bother removing the bloatware.
Just go to Microsoft's web site and make yourself a new installation media (usually USB memory stick these days) and do a complete fresh install.

Download Windows 10

www.microsoft.com

Just make sure to delete all the partitions on the drive then continue on from a completely empty drive.

Or better yet, get a good SSD, put that in, and then do the install.

For some folks doing OS installs are pretty difficult / scary, but it's "Usually" pretty quick and simple.
The long part is then beating everything into shape the way you want it for your own productivity preferences.

 

[Redmanss]

IF you are going with a windows machine (which pretty much means Windows 10 at this point), my suggestion is don't bother removing the bloatware.
Just go to Microsoft's web site and make yourself a new installation media (usually USB memory stick these days) and do a complete fresh install.

Download Windows 10

www.microsoft.com

Just make sure to delete all the partitions on the drive then continue on from a completely empty drive.

Or better yet, get a good SSD, put that in, and then do the install.

For some folks doing OS installs are pretty difficult / scary, but it's "Usually" pretty quick and simple.
The long part is then beating everything into shape the way you want it for your own productivity preferences.

100% agree there. Our work computers are all done that way (well, bought with no OS and internally imaged), then the IT department loads our own software onto it that locks up and crashes the computer in an entirely new way.

I mentioned removing the bloatware because most users will not want to wipe the computer and reinstall the OS. I'm half crafty with a computer, and I only do it when I have to.

Question, when you buy a Windows machine now, and want to blast it and reinstall the OS, do you have to buy Windows 10 again?

 

[plong]

...

Question, when you buy a Windows machine now, and want to blast it and reinstall the OS, do you have to buy Windows 10 again?

Nope. As long as it came with Windows 10 originally MS will "recognize" your computer when you go to activate (make of that what you will...). Just complete the activation and you're good to go.
FWIW: I perform a "clean install" on every machine I deploy, work or home.

 

[W54/XM-388]

Question, when you buy a Windows machine now, and want to blast it and reinstall the OS, do you have to buy Windows 10 again?

Generally speaking no.

What you should do is if it comes with an OS on it, boot it up and let it connect to the internet, then go to the settings, activation and check that it shows "Activated with a digital license" and note the version (windows 10 home, Windows 10 Professional or Windows 10 Workstation).

Then when you reboot and do the install, choose the "I don't have a license key" option if it doesn't automatically pick the license key and version out of the bios settings (it often will find that automatically and not even prompt you), then pick the version (home or pro) that you have from the menu option, continue the install, then once the OS is installed and it connects to the internet, go check the same settings page and it should once again show "activated with a digital license".

IF when you do the first check above, or if there is no OS on the system to check with, but there is a Windows 7 COA or Windows 10 COA with a license key on it, then do the same as above, including saying I don't have a key, and make sure to pick home or pro based on what the COA says, then go into the activation setting after doing the install and choose change key and put in the key there.

If there is a little shiny sticker on the back or somewhere on the system that has a little holographic type window showing and says Pro or Home, do the first option and it should activate automatically.

If none of the above work and this is for your home, usually putting in any windows 7 or 8 key into the activation settings once it is running will make it work if that key hasn't already been used to upgrade to windows 10 before...

Now if you are doing this for your business or you are doing this as a business, then you'll actually need to worry about Microsoft's insane rules and such, which often mean paying again for something they already got paid for... But at least they aren't as evil as Oracle, yet...

 

[Bolo]

Lots of advice here... smh.
For a 9yo, you definitely want a "beater". Dell refurb or a Chromebook. Something in the $3-400 range you don't mind pitching in two years. There are lots of capable machines in this price range- look for cosmetic grade "B".
Do yourself a favor on the Dell side- they have a corporate line (Latitude, Precision, Optiplex). Choose that, not the consumer-grade Inspiron, Vostro, etc. Those consumer models have way too much chinesium to hold up and lack support. Driver/Software support in the corporate line is way better and more stable. HP is the same way. Stay away from the consumer-grade stuff.

Run from Lenovo like it's a plague. Corporations buy/lease them because they're cheap. 15% fail in the first year. Plus, you'd be handing your money to the Chicoms.
Apple's good stuff, no doubt, but way overpriced for what it is. Look around for deals, you can find Apple refurb out there. At one point they even offered mil discounts.
Last point... look into an Intel NUC for starter kit. All solid state, small, and cheap. Buy once, cry once on a good monitor, mouse and keyboard and your little one will be set until college on those.
Hell, my youngest learned on a Raspberry Pi... that his older brother loaded up for him. 35 bucks and it does everything a 9yo needs (except hardcore gaming- but he enjoys Oregon Trail and old Atari/NES games, so there's that.)

 

[DocRDS]

Yeah I'm late to the party.

SInce I am old, but a "computer dude" (Its my day job--forcasting the needs of a F100 company and their IT dept), My recomendation would be a desktop--more bang for the buck--laptops--even good ones have a lifespan of 3 years AT MOST. They get dinged up, beat around etc. My wife and daughter avg 2 years per replacement.

Meanwhile my desktops are still functional after 10+ years. They die because they get too slow and find good homes in the less fortunate.

Anyhoo--if set on a laptop, there is good advice:
Dell
HP
Lenovo (former IBM)
Acer
Asus
Any one of those I would buy if I found the right feature set. It will be tough to get a touchscreen in that range (my wife was a big fan of that), but look for what is important for you. If you don't really know what's important--better processor (and the processor numbering is all jacked up to confuse consumers) and memory. Don't go overboard as their are diminishing returns. i3<i5<i7 as a GENERAL rule of thumb. Some i5s are faster than i7s, you can always look up a review and test it out.

Don't rule out a chrome book--that just means all your data is stored in the cloud rather than on the computer. But they cost WAAY less and for looking for performance on the cost savings side--it may be an option. Most schools use this kind of option.

Apple-No. I hate em. Cost to much and its more like a cult. I am forced to use a Mac at work. its a $2800 POS. It offends me that I could have 3 laptops with the same performance or a desktop that could run research level Artificial Intelligence for the same price (Multi core/Multi-CPu/Multi-GPU).

Shop around and if you have questions PM me. I've bought 10+ laptops in my lifetime for family with kids starting at 10.

 

[chevy_man]

Dell business

Ryzen 5 or i5.

8gb ram

256 or larger ssd.




I ordered a Dell with a ryzen 5, 256ssd, 8gb ram, and added an additional 1tb hdd myself. I'm into it about $650, and it does everything I need and then some.

I do have a home built desktop for video editing, as there are some things that need 200+w vs just 15w.

I put together a desktop for the wife because they're much harder to steal (she's had 2 employees steal laptops in the last 10 years). Cost me about $600 to build out something that will kick ass for years. Comparable laptop at the time was $1800.

 

[W54/XM-388]

I put together a desktop for the wife because they're much harder to steal (she's had 2 employees steal laptops in the last 10 years). Cost me about $600 to build out something that will kick ass for years. Comparable laptop at the time was $1800.

Desktop users are a dying breed these days it seems.

All the up and coming generation want some kind of fondle slab it seems.