man cave computer- laptop , Chromebook , tablet ?

[rfuerst911sc]

Having recently completed my man have I am in need of some form of computer to use out there . In the house I use an older Toshiba laptop with no complaints . In the garage currently I have a small 9 " tablet that works fine but is too small . So I would like to get something with a 15.6 " screen or maybe 17 " . The primary use will be internet research for how to DIY type guidance , secondary would be viewing websites like Pelican . Email access and general internet type stuff also .

Already have a TV and wireless wifi and I am currently streaming with Roku so have that covered . Based on my needs as stated what would you guys recommend ? I am so out of touch with technology but it appears Intel and AMD are still the two main processors ? I see Chromebook style units seem popular is that a good way to go ? Looking online memory size is HUGE now and hard drive memory is near 1TB ! In a perfect world finding something for $500.00 or less would be great as it's not a daily usage item . So what would you recommend ? Any brands better than others ? Is factory refurbished worth looking at ? Thanks in advance

[LakeCleElum]

I did something like this last year for that use. Think I paid about $130. shopped to make sure I got Win 7 Pro and not Win 10. Ebay. Very Happy.

Refurbished Dell Latitude E6430 Laptop i5 3230M/2.60GHz/4GB/500GB/DVDRW/WIN7 PRO

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by LakeCleElum

I did something like this last year for that use. Think I paid about $130. shopped to make sure I got Win 7 Pro and not Win 10. Ebay. Very Happy.

Refurbished Dell Latitude E6430 Laptop i5 3230M/2.60GHz/4GB/500GB/DVDRW/WIN7 PRO

Unless you want to move the Toshiba to man-cave duty and get something for the house, what Bob recommends is what I would do.

I have and old MacBook (my daughters) in my shop...free was good!

[masraum]

I haven't looked for this sort of thing myself, but I kind of wonder if there's some way that you could make used of the TV as a monitor for something. There are tablets that cheap, but they usually aren't as big as you want. I'm sure there are any number of laptops that you could get.

I have purchased several items for myself and others from outlet.dell.com before, so that's certainly an option.

[VincentVega]

I use a fire tablet in the shop a lot for surfing and parts diagrams. ~$50

[Pazuzu]

I have a Chromebook (well, it's a windows version, but same idea). When I'm sitting at the workbench, it's plenty, and it's small enough to stuff off to the side. When I'm under the car, I can plug it into the TV and get a much bigger image of the website or PDF or whatever. When I'm tuning the EFI, it can come with in the car.

8-9 hours of run time on the battery is especially nice. Laptops are too much weight, bulk, etc for something like a garage computer.

[VincentVega]

Only thing I like about a laptop is as scantool or whatever software you need for the job. I take my 'nice' laptop into the shop and quickly put it away when I need one.

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by Pazuzu

I have a Chromebook (well, it's a windows version, but same idea). When I'm sitting at the workbench, it's plenty, and it's small enough to stuff off to the side. When I'm under the car, I can plug it into the TV and get a much bigger image of the website or PDF or whatever. When I'm tuning the EFI, it can come with in the car.

8-9 hours of run time on the battery is especially nice. Laptops are too much weight, bulk, etc for something like a garage computer.

I am confused, I thought a Chromebook was a laptop with Chrome OS.

[GH85Carrera]

I use my wife's old iPad. I use it mostly to play Pandora pumped to some powered computer speakers. Works great and cost me nothing.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by flipper35

I am confused, I thought a Chromebook was a laptop with Chrome OS.

I think that the idea of a "Chromebook" is that, but also with no spinning drives (no DVD, SSD hard drive, etc). smaller size (11-13 inch screen), lightweight, long battery life, low price.

Most run ChromeOS, but you can get them with Windows 10 or Linux. I bought a purple (it was cheapest) HP Stream 11 inch for about $200 shipped. I specifically went with Windows because I wanted an easy transition for the Microsquirt software, Office, etc.


Mostly, I find it more useful than a "normal" 15+ inch laptop with a DVD drive and all of that.

[rfuerst911sc]

Some great feedback ! I had not planned on moving the Toshiba to the garage but that is a possibility . I took a look at the refurbished Dell website that has possibilities . The comments about size for the garage is something I had not considered and I do agree a full size laptop is not optimal . Maybe I'll just keep what I have and save the money . I need to think this over . Thanks guys

[Jim Richards]

I have a small desk in my garage and I have an older iMac on it. Works for me.

[mepstein]

I just mirror my phone or my iPad to my 50” tv. I can watch how to videos, look at pelican and 914world threads and buy online. No need to buy another computer.

[LakeCleElum]

One thing I use a computer for in the garage - on a desk I have:

With lots of rolling stock, each vehicle gets a spreadsheet for service. Each starts off with :

Purchase date/price/mileage
Vin
Lic #
Key number
Radio/Nav codes
Tire size
Size wrench needed for drain plug
Oil Filter part number

I make notes like -" Rear brake pads needed with next rear tire on MC"......

[SpyderMike]

You can turn an old laptop or PC into a "Chromebook" with free www.neverware.com . My experience is that it will outperform most lower cost new Chrombooks/Chromeboxes.

[rfuerst911sc]

Today I took a closer look at what I have in the garage , this was a service award gift from Lockheed and I never payed much attention to what it was . Anyway it is a 10.1 " SuperSonic brand Windows tablet/keyboard . It has 1GB memory and 32GB storage and runs Windows 10 . It is powered by a Quad-Core processor . Other than the size I have no complaints and because it cost me nothing other than 26 years of B.S. from the company I have decided to use it .

The one thing I would love to be able to use this with is my Durametric cable/software . I have used my Toshiba in the past with no issues , but the Toshiba has standard size USB ports for the Durametric cable . This small computer/tablet has a micro USB port and per the instruction I can purchase a micro USB to standard USB cable .......... is that all I need ? I know I will have to download the Durametric software to the tablet but other than that it should work correct ?

[mepstein]

buy the cable on amazon or ebay. 1/4 the cost of a retail store.

[LWJ]

I have bought three Lenovo laptops on eBay. All were under $250. All work great. Most have SSD's.

All had warranties.

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by mepstein

buy the cable on amazon or ebay. 1/4 the cost of a retail store.

Wally world has one listed for $2.97 I think I can swing that but I'll have to see if it is in the store or order only .