seeking laptop advice

[Aritra]

I have been using Apple MacBook Pro for fifteen years (not the same one, lol---current one is Retina, 15", mid-2015 model). Not interested in non-Mac. However, due to inability to afford/justify replacement cost, I am seriously considering a Windows system (ugh). Pros and cons. It'll be painful if I switch back, but I'm weighing my options. I don't do soundboarding or graphic design, but I have been spoiled by the screen and sound quality and want to make sure I don't lose that (I live here, its my TV and everything). Some years ago my dad had gotten a new laptop (microsoft) and it sure looked a lot like my MacBook but, wow, the sound was bad, tinny. I want to not make that mistake. It was ten years ago that happened so maybe general quality is such that it is no longer a concern, but hopefully you get what I'm saying. I need it to support Adobe products (acrobat pro, photoshop, InDesign CS5--though I may let that go and return to MS Publisher, which is what I used before discovering InDesign fifteen years ago). I don't know if there is anything that can convert my InDesign files or if my only choice is to recreate---that would suck. I don't know how to read the specs to know if/how much I'm backsliding into macbook alternative, and if the cost isn't significantly lower than MacBook, then it defeats the purpose (not only purchase price, but if I switch to non-Mac, I'll have to repurchase software and that could potentially make up the difference, which has been one of my arguments against switching). I've always shied away from "refurbished" but maybe it's not so bad if I can save hundreds of dollars.

I'm babbling through this intro but I know a bunch of you are tech people and may have some helpful input, what they might do if they were me. I'm thinking followup questions are likely; just hope I can figure out a reasonable solution before my laptop dies (I had an overheating scare earlier tonight, I was terrified it wouldn't turn back on--but it did, thank goodness.....might be on borrowed time now, idk).

 

[Myne]

I've always shied away from "refurbished" but maybe it's not so bad if I can save hundreds of dollars

I was an appliance tech in my previous life. I would rather have a refurbished appliance because it has gone through a pretty stiff QA. I have always gotten refurbished if they were available. Many have the same warranty as the original too.
Edit: Yours may only need a good cleaning of the fan system to operate for several more years.

 

[Sprite1313]

So, I'm not a tech expert, but I have owned numerous laptops from various makers. I don't know that you are going to save a lot of money if you are looking to get something that will do what you want. To make up for the monster that Windows is, you need a solid state drive and lots of RAM. Since any new laptop is going to either have, or be set to upgrade almost immediately, to Windows 11, the demands on memory, etc, are pretty high. Add to that the type of work it sounds like you are looking to do, and I don't think you are going to be happy with any Windows laptop that will be significantly cheaper than a decent MacBook Pro. And, of course, with apple trade in, you might actually come out ahead getting the system you know, and that you know will do what you want.

Oh, and even on my gaming laptop, I have way better sound on my iPad than on my laptop.

 

[Aritra]

I was an appliance tech in my previous life. I would rather have a refurbished appliance because it has gone through a pretty stiff QA. I have always gotten refurbished if they were available. Many have the same warranty as the original too.
Edit: Yours may only need a good cleaning of the fan system to operate for several more years.

Recommend I take it to local apple authorized repair shop for overdue cleaning? It would be nice if the solution was that simple. Over recent years, it has struggled with temperature management (not all the time but get hot and fans run high when there is no obvious stress to system). Tonight was just the first time it caused it to black out and fans kept going. I was scared to power it off, afraid it wouldn't come back on, but it wasn't recovering. Turned it off, said a prayer, and very happy it came back on (let it sit for awhile, zero warmth to touch). But I believe whatever is a problem is still a problem and I'm on borrowed time....

 

[Myne]

IF you have pets, it's probably picked up pet hair with dust. Yes, I recommend you take it in and have it checked. They have the means to check the hardware performance as well as cleaning. Who knows, if they give you bad news maybe you can get store credit for a new one.

 

[SoggyShorts]

Out of the box, it might be hard to compete with a Mac on some levels, but dollar for dollar you can get a windows based laptop with peripherals that will blow the mac away.
Due to travel, I've made the switch from Desktop to Laptop, and where the Lil guy lacks I can just make up for it.
E.G.
There is no laptop mac or otherwise, that can compete for sound with external speakers or even high-end headphones.
For screens, if you aren't constantly on the move a few hundred bucks will get you a huge curved screen that will literally change how you see the world.

That said, if it's gotta be compact and peripherals are a non-starter for you, then YMMV

 

[sputnik9009]

I'm babbling through this intro but I know a bunch of you are tech people and may have some helpful input, what they might do if they were me. I'm thinking followup questions are likely; just hope I can figure out a reasonable solution before my laptop dies (I had an overheating scare earlier tonight, I was terrified it wouldn't turn back on--but it did, thank goodness.....might be on borrowed time now, idk).

i cannot do anything about babbling, lol
i recommend a cleaning for your computer
power your computer, i usually wait about an hour for it to cool
use a static grounding line if you are using any metal tools
i like to use a vacuum with a plastic crevasse tool and a clean, soft bristle toothbrush or paint brush
unscrew and take apart the casing
i usually hold the vacuum in one hand and agitate with brush in other hand
clean everything
screw and put back together
it will help, but once damage from overheating you may need a new power supply
which is not hugely expensive and may be what you need
good luck!
may love be with and peace to all

 

[Myne]

If you are not technically or mechanically inclined, then take it in.
In the winter you also have to worry about static electricity causing damage to components and I doubt you have anti static gear to use.
He is correct on how to do it however.

 

[Aritra]

Back in the day, I would have had no problem unscrewing the casing, cleaning, and swapping out power supply, drives, cards, etc.... but MacBook is a whole other thing. I don't think I can take it apart. And considering how expensive it is, probably better to leave to professional anyway.

Idea of taking it apart sends me down memory lane.... My dad was a broadcast engineer and I grew up with computers in the house. He taught me how to take my tower apart and back together as needed (not that removing the casing is all that difficult, but not everyone would do it themselves). I was proud that not only was I in minority of having a computer in my college dorm room, but I didn't need anyone's help setting it up (in particular, I knew where all those cords went, haha). After I moved away, he talked me through swapping parts (bit trickier, but I'd watched him enough to follow directions easily enough). His hobby was ham radio and career in broadcast radio studio&transmitter work. Sometimes, hanging out with him in the garage, I'd sit with pliers and a length of wire and practice stripping it. Good times.

I'll contact my local apple repair place (I've been there once before, years ago) and get a quote and hope it doesn't die on me soon. Technically I'm unemployed and almost out of funds. I have a new job, though, but haven't started it because I became covid positive. They're holding the spot for me and I'm well now, just waiting from HR for orientation date. So..... soon I'll have a paycheck again, but hopefully I have time to save a bit and not have to use credit (good credit but card used more than I'd like--needs a break to be paid down some).

 

[Sprite1313]

Congrats on the new job, @Aritra. Glad things are turning around. Hopefully you get a nice low quote because it's an easy fix.

 

[Aritra]

@SoggyShorts
I do have a wide screen monitor (just a 21" or 23" I think) to give me a second screen: it's the only way I could get stuff done sometimes. TV or project? Plug in monitor and now I can tinker on my project without having to turn the movie or whatever off. That huge curve screen you mentioned is a dream I can't afford yet and continue to look forward to getting someday. I would love that. Right now I am in a temporary living situation so I don't have my full setup, just me and my laptop for now (no external monitor or keyboard/mouse). My productivity will go up again when I can use my second screen again.

 

[Moho]

In my opinion, acquiring an LG smart tv is better than using one's laptop for watching shows because it incorporates a wider range of options. Plus, picking a windows based laptop will no longer be quandary.

 

[Myne]

Back in the day, I would have had no problem unscrewing the casing, cleaning, and swapping out power supply, drives, cards, etc.... but MacBook is a whole other thing. I don't think I can take it apart. And considering how expensive it is, probably better to leave to professional anyway.

Idea of taking it apart sends me down memory lane.... My dad was a broadcast engineer and I grew up with computers in the house. He taught me how to take my tower apart and back together as needed (not that removing the casing is all that difficult, but not everyone would do it themselves). I was proud that not only was I in minority of having a computer in my college dorm room, but I didn't need anyone's help setting it up (in particular, I knew where all those cords went, haha). After I moved away, he talked me through swapping parts (bit trickier, but I'd watched him enough to follow directions easily enough). His hobby was ham radio and career in broadcast radio studio&transmitter work. Sometimes, hanging out with him in the garage, I'd sit with pliers and a length of wire and practice stripping it. Good times.

I'll contact my local apple repair place (I've been there once before, years ago) and get a quote and hope it doesn't die on me soon. Technically I'm unemployed and almost out of funds. I have a new job, though, but haven't started it because I became covid positive. They're holding the spot for me and I'm well now, just waiting from HR for orientation date. So..... soon I'll have a paycheck again, but hopefully I have time to save a bit and not have to use credit (good credit but card used more than I'd like--needs a break to be paid down some).

My brother did the same for me. He also was into ham radio. He did r&d for frymaster. The first computer we ever made together had 1 meg of RAM. woohoo! You could click on something, go make a sandwich and a drink or have dinner and when you came back that page had MAYBE loaded. lol Good times indeed.

 

[crackie]

Engineer with questionable communication skills here, reporting for duty! What’s your budget? Do you have a phone or whatever to check msgs if your laptop dies?

I'm the one that friends & family dump their broken phones and computers on to fix. I'm also the one that gets dragged to Best Buy if someone is too old school and stubborn to buy a new one online. My job is to rescue them from analysis paralysis so they don't spend 2hrs at the store, be a guard dog when an employee feeds my friends false info or sell them unnecessary warranties and software, and be accosted by random strangers asking me computer questions EVEN THOUGH I DON'T WEAR A BLUE POLO SHIRT! (I swear, sometimes they drag me to Best Buy for their own entertainment...)

If your Mac is from mid-2015, then it likely has an Intel chip, which means its innards are no different than most Windows machines. Therefore, if we're talking specs, you're just paying a premium to slap an Apple logo on the shiny white cover. HOWEVER, Apple is going back to making its own chips so they will be back to a closed box system where they control both hardware and software. When you only sell like 3 model configurations, it's a lot easier to get the software and hardware to play nice (Windows has to work with an infinite combo of hardware configurations by all these manufacturers). It is likely that you won't be able to update your existing Mac to the new OS when their new chips come out anyway in the near future. Hooray for software obsolescence creating unnecessary e-waste even though things are still working fine! From that perspective, it's not a bad time to get a new computer. Lastly, brand loyalty when it comes to electronics is sometimes silly when you understand the underbelly. Some of Windows machine manufacturers are also ODMs (original design manufacturers) for other brands, which means whether the outside says DELL, HP, or yes, even Apple, it's all made by the same company. This means one model of Dell or HP might be made by one ODM, sharing similar specs and design, and a different model is made by another ODM, but none of them were actually made by Dell or HP.

Anyway, I will stop myself before I completely nerd out, but the best deals are usually online and laptops are pricey enough to qualify for free shipping in most cases. What I recommend doing is research online for the model and pricing. Then you can go to a brick and mortar store to scope out things like keyboard, audio, and the decibel level of the fan...all the stuff you won't be able to tell online. Some laptops are getting really flimsily made and there's a bad flex on the keyboard when you type from the cheap plastic. That will be super annoying if you're on the machine a lot! Audio and fans are self-explanatory. My friends also like to ship new computers to me directly instead so I can set it up for them. I recently got shipped an HP with a stunning screen, booming loud speakers, flex on the keyboard, and a jet engine for a fan. I made him return it because while the keyboard flex might be tolerable, the fan shouldn't be that loud!

p.s. I once went to the local makerbar hoping they had a reflow soldering oven I could use. They didn't, but they had a blow torch! Not the recommended approach, but it fixed the problem! Shenanigan level problem solving.

 

[Henroo]

My brother did the same for me. He also was into ham radio. He did r&d for frymaster. The first computer we ever made together had 1 meg of RAM. woohoo! You could click on something, go make a sandwich and a drink or have dinner and when you came back that page had MAYBE loaded. lol Good times indeed.

1MB? Sit down by the fire my child. Let me tell you stories about the old, forgotten days of the Commodore 64. In this ancient, forgotten era the 64 meant 64 KB, not 64 MB. It was a terrible, dark era in gaming. But those few brave souls of us who gamed back then would valiantly shovel coal into our computers every day to keep them running.

 

[Sprite1313]

@Henroo, I so wish we could "like" in the lounge. I still remember when we got our first computer - we had to buy a room AC because we didn't have AC in the house, and we had to keep that bad boy cool. And the stacks of 5-1/4" disks that held the OS.

 

[Henroo]

@Henroo, I so wish we could "like" in the lounge. I still remember when we got our first computer - we had to buy a room AC because we didn't have AC in the house, and we had to keep that bad boy cool. And the stacks of 5-1/4" disks that held the OS.

I remember being so amazed when the 3.5 inch floppy discs first came out. They were so much smaller than the old 5-1/4 disks. But they had so much more capacity!

 

[Aritra]

Engineer with questionable communication skills here, reporting for duty! What’s your budget? Do you have a phone or whatever to check msgs if your laptop dies?

I'm the one that friends & family dump their broken phones and computers on to fix. I'm also the one that gets dragged to Best Buy if someone is too old school and stubborn to buy a new one online. My job is to rescue them from analysis paralysis so they don't spend 2hrs at the store, be a guard dog when an employee feeds my friends false info or sell them unnecessary warranties and software, and be accosted by random strangers asking me computer questions EVEN THOUGH I DON'T WEAR A BLUE POLO SHIRT! (I swear, sometimes they drag me to Best Buy for their own entertainment...)

If your Mac is from mid-2015, then it likely has an Intel chip, which means its innards are no different than most Windows machines. Therefore, if we're talking specs, you're just paying a premium to slap an Apple logo on the shiny white cover. HOWEVER, Apple is going back to making its own chips so they will be back to a closed box system where they control both hardware and software. When you only sell like 3 model configurations, it's a lot easier to get the software and hardware to play nice (Windows has to work with an infinite combo of hardware configurations by all these manufacturers). It is likely that you won't be able to update your existing Mac to the new OS when their new chips come out anyway in the near future. Hooray for software obsolescence creating unnecessary e-waste even though things are still working fine! From that perspective, it's not a bad time to get a new computer. Lastly, brand loyalty when it comes to electronics is sometimes silly when you understand the underbelly. Some of Windows machine manufacturers are also ODMs (original design manufacturers) for other brands, which means whether the outside says DELL, HP, or yes, even Apple, it's all made by the same company. This means one model of Dell or HP might be made by one ODM, sharing similar specs and design, and a different model is made by another ODM, but none of them were actually made by Dell or HP.

Anyway, I will stop myself before I completely nerd out, but the best deals are usually online and laptops are pricey enough to qualify for free shipping in most cases. What I recommend doing is research online for the model and pricing. Then you can go to a brick and mortar store to scope out things like keyboard, audio, and the decibel level of the fan...all the stuff you won't be able to tell online. Some laptops are getting really flimsily made and there's a bad flex on the keyboard when you type from the cheap plastic. That will be super annoying if you're on the machine a lot! Audio and fans are self-explanatory. My friends also like to ship new computers to me directly instead so I can set it up for them. I recently got shipped an HP with a stunning screen, booming loud speakers, flex on the keyboard, and a jet engine for a fan. I made him return it because while the keyboard flex might be tolerable, the fan shouldn't be that loud!

p.s. I once went to the local makerbar hoping they had a reflow soldering oven I could use. They didn't, but they had a blow torch! Not the recommended approach, but it fixed the problem! Shenanigan level problem solving.

Yeah, I have a smart phone I can access email and websites and such. But I'm gonna want my files/software back!
Budget? What budget? ha! Most likely I'll have to finance the dang thing and so aiming to minimizing that cost. I'm expecting nearly $3K (when all is said and done) if I get a new MacBook Pro (which is what I'd really want--can't articulate justification). But then I looked at non-mac laptops and the "higher quality" ones were high enough that I was still looking at $2K after factoring in replacing the software. How am I defining "higher quality"? I don't know. Ugh Feels like I either need to cough up the money or lower my standards (and I don't think I'm asking for too much, just don't know how to articulate it--I know what I've liked and I fear losing it=so what do I want?). I don't want a tinny audio like my dad got (and he was so proud of it---but dad, my macbook is[sounds] so much better). I'm not keen on having to repurchase software if I don't stay with mac, but maybe i'd end up doing it anyway (to a degree) because of so many changes--that remains to be seen. At least I can load and set it up myself (thanks, dad).

Gonna take it and have it cleaned and hopefully that will resolve the physical issues (overheating) and I can get a few more years out of it. I'm not having internal issues that I'm aware of. Quite happy, just concerned about the heating/fan thing.

I understand a bit about the keyboard: I've been happy with my macbook keyboards, but mac keyboards take a bit getting used to (but I can adjust). My mom's laptop (no idea which windows one it is) is one I don't use if I can help it. If she needs help with a website or something, I'll pull it up on mine. My fingers can't feel the bump on the F-J and it is so disorienting that I can't type. I can type, but I hardly know where the keys are because my fingers do (if I have to hunt and peck sight it, I look so lost--cuz I am). My fingers have muscle memory that catches mistakes and fixes them before I'm consciously aware I even made one. Feeling the FJ bumps is passive consciousness. I don't consciously look for them, but my fingers are lost when they are missing.

 

[Myne]

1MB? Sit down by the fire my child. Let me tell you stories about the old, forgotten days of the Commodore 64. In this ancient, forgotten era the 64 meant 64 KB, not 64 MB. It was a terrible, dark era in gaming. But those few brave souls of us who gamed back then would valiantly shovel coal into our computers every day to keep them running.

HAHAHHA I had one of those too!! 5 1/4 floppies anyone?

 

[Myne]

Engineer with questionable communication skills here, reporting for duty! What’s your budget? Do you have a phone or whatever to check msgs if your laptop dies?

I'm the one that friends & family dump their broken phones and computers on to fix. I'm also the one that gets dragged to Best Buy if someone is too old school and stubborn to buy a new one online. My job is to rescue them from analysis paralysis so they don't spend 2hrs at the store, be a guard dog when an employee feeds my friends false info or sell them unnecessary warranties and software, and be accosted by random strangers asking me computer questions EVEN THOUGH I DON'T WEAR A BLUE POLO SHIRT! (I swear, sometimes they drag me to Best Buy for their own entertainment...)

If your Mac is from mid-2015, then it likely has an Intel chip, which means its innards are no different than most Windows machines. Therefore, if we're talking specs, you're just paying a premium to slap an Apple logo on the shiny white cover. HOWEVER, Apple is going back to making its own chips so they will be back to a closed box system where they control both hardware and software. When you only sell like 3 model configurations, it's a lot easier to get the software and hardware to play nice (Windows has to work with an infinite combo of hardware configurations by all these manufacturers). It is likely that you won't be able to update your existing Mac to the new OS when their new chips come out anyway in the near future. Hooray for software obsolescence creating unnecessary e-waste even though things are still working fine! From that perspective, it's not a bad time to get a new computer. Lastly, brand loyalty when it comes to electronics is sometimes silly when you understand the underbelly. Some of Windows machine manufacturers are also ODMs (original design manufacturers) for other brands, which means whether the outside says DELL, HP, or yes, even Apple, it's all made by the same company. This means one model of Dell or HP might be made by one ODM, sharing similar specs and design, and a different model is made by another ODM, but none of them were actually made by Dell or HP.

Anyway, I will stop myself before I completely nerd out, but the best deals are usually online and laptops are pricey enough to qualify for free shipping in most cases. What I recommend doing is research online for the model and pricing. Then you can go to a brick and mortar store to scope out things like keyboard, audio, and the decibel level of the fan...all the stuff you won't be able to tell online. Some laptops are getting really flimsily made and there's a bad flex on the keyboard when you type from the cheap plastic. That will be super annoying if you're on the machine a lot! Audio and fans are self-explanatory. My friends also like to ship new computers to me directly instead so I can set it up for them. I recently got shipped an HP with a stunning screen, booming loud speakers, flex on the keyboard, and a jet engine for a fan. I made him return it because while the keyboard flex might be tolerable, the fan shouldn't be that loud!

p.s. I once went to the local makerbar hoping they had a reflow soldering oven I could use. They didn't, but they had a blow torch! Not the recommended approach, but it fixed the problem! Shenanigan level problem solving.

LOL you are right about all of it of course. And sometimes low tech is the best tech! When I replaced my laptop last time I went cheap....never again. I pulled it out of the box, hooked it up, and picked it up by the right hand corner. The hard drive started screaming! Back in the box it went and was returned.