Need a laptop recommendation...

[Scott Douglas]

A friend asked for a recommendation of a laptop for his wife.

She's a piano teacher and needs one with a camera for Zoom classes.

$200-$300 range, Best Buy is the preferred store of choice.

Which one should he get?

She isn't computer savy except for accessing email basically.

Thanks.

[LWJ]

Contrarian view? I have bought lease return / refurbished high end Lenovo think pads with SSD's on eBay. All had a generous warranty and strong reviews of the sellers.

Bought four for myself and my kids. All still work and work well.

They do take a little bit of confidence to make work as there is no corporate handholding. I am NOT a tech guy.

[stevej37]

I've always had good luck with Dell's
The price may be above what you list...you get what you pay for is true.

[Scott Douglas]

It seems they all have eliminated the CD/ROM drive for weight reasons.
Is this the case now days?

[stevej37]

When I see 65 inch smart tv's going for less than $500...I wonder why laptop prices have stayed the same for the past 5 years.
Chromebooks don't have cd/dvd drives. Others will, but cost more.

[Scott Douglas]

I just reco'd this one to him:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-imaginebook-mj401ta-14-laptop-intel-core-m3-4gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-textured-white/6375336.p?skuId=6375336#tab=buyingOptions?bof=open box

It's got a built-in camera and mic, which not all the others had. I think it will work for his wife. If it doesn't I'm sure he'll let me know.

[stevej37]

I am by far, no expert on the subject...but that one looks very good...esp for that price.

[Scott Douglas]

It has an SSD and it has a camera and mic built-in.
I hope it will fill the bill for him.

[Arizona_928]

The kids locally use rented out chrome books. They offered to teachers who don't have one at home. Prolly cheapest option. Android OS, and Google docs suck a major dick to what one can do over office.

That said. I can run zoom on my MacBook, but switched to webex due to lectures being hacked with pornography...... My parents use it on a cheapo 250$ HP running a real operating system.

[Cajundaddy]

If they need a laptop with SSD drive that should work. Another option is an ipad. They work great for Zoom, internet browsing, and many other things with apps that are cheap or free. As a piano teacher she might find Garageband a very useful free app to record performances remotely, add tempo or percussion, even fill out a student's virtual recital with a virtual orchestra or jazz ensemble. Excellent mic and camera also.

https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM7Au30MYNI

[stomachmonkey]

10 inch iPad.

Can be had for ~$300.00

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/apple-ipad-latest-model-with-wi-fi-32gb-space-gray/5985609.p?skuId=5985609&ref=212&loc=1&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1262659&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkefVxdPp6AIV4__jBx0H4Q8WEAQYASAB EgJc4PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

That model also supports the Apple Pencil.

Lotta bang for the buck.

She may even qualify for an additional edu discount.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

If they need a laptop with SSD drive that should work. Another option is an ipad. They work great for Zoom, internet browsing, and many other things with apps that are cheap or free. As a piano teacher she might find Garageband a very useful free app to record performances remotely, add tempo or percussion, even fill out a student's virtual recital with a virtual orchestra or jazz ensemble. Excellent mic and camera also.

https://www.apple.com/ipad/compare/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM7Au30MYNI

Agree

[Scott Douglas]

Sorry, I'm not going to reco an Apple for her. She is not computer savy and he will have enough trouble getting her up and running on the Win machine as it is I'm sure.

[sugarwood]

She needs a Lotus Elise

[cabmandone]

Chromebook. Fast, easy to use, inexpensive.

[sugarwood]

That Asus should be fine. Good choice.

It only has 4GB RAM, so tell her not to open too many programs at once.
Try to only open 1 program at a time.
Close all windows that are not being used.
If she does not do this, it will work like dog****.
If she does, it will work well.

Please update this thread after 2 weeks and tell us if it works for her

[Scott Douglas]

I hear you on the RAM, sw, but I'm pretty sure she'll only be using one program at a time. I could be wrong on that but we'll just have to see.
I'll try to remember to update this thread.

[flatbutt]

Something with an i3 processor should be good enough and will keep the price down too. If not then i5.

[Otter74]

Either of these would be more than good enough:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-elitebook-14-refurbished-laptop-intel-core-i5-8gb-memory-128gb-solid-state-drive-silver/5581186.p?skuId=5581186

https://www.newegg.com/lenovo-t430/p/N82E16834319123

[flipper35]

Personally, I wouldn't go anywhere under 8GB RAM and that 1.1GHz processor is, well, it is there. Have her try the keyboard as well. Some are pretty flexible in that price point and she may not like it.

You would get a better machine in a tablet for that price than a laptop.

The first Best Buy unit would not be welcome in our house, but that is just me. Also, check sales on Newegg. You will get a better machine for the price than Best Buy.

In other words, that unit is a 924 with 67hp and only a passenger seat.