Need new home computer. Recommendations??

[KarenF]

Yup, with the OP's requirements, I'd simply look at costco and get the cheapest windows machine once the BF sales hit.

This is what I do. I see what Costco has and pick. I have been a Windows laptop user (no desktop) for years now.

 

[Golden Mean]

No, I'm actually up to 272 tabs open now. lol

View attachment 60196
And running low on RAM - getting some temporary hanging at times. My RAM upgrade will arrive within a few days.
View attachment 60197

You might be interested in VIvaldi's tab groups. I use them extensively. Also, they recently added workspaces, which is like having whole other windows of tabs open but you move between them with a dropdown (in one window). They also have (auto)hibernation of unused open tabs, etc.

 

[GenXguy]

200 tabs, I just use bookmarks for various sites. Whatever works for you I guess.

Did you read my message that you responded to? This isn't bookmarks. lol Totally different purpose. There are very few of these I would want to bookmark.

 

[GenXguy]

You might be interested in VIvaldi's tab groups. I use them extensively. Also, they recently added workspaces, which is like having whole other windows of tabs open but you move between them with a dropdown (in one window). They also have (auto)hibernation of unused open tabs, etc.

Thanks. I would have to check it out. I'm using Firefox mostly. I could open another Window or use different tab groups in Firefox, but I'm using an add-on called MySessions currently.

I'm up to 282 tabs now. lol My memory upgrade kit arrived today, but I have too much going on with my computer now that I'll be holding off at least a couple days to shutdown and install it. I just did an unload on 53 tabs, but that didn't help (most were probably already unloaded).

 

[target2019]

If you buy the wireless memory just leave it on top of the computer in the dust tray.

 

[TripleLindy]

My new MacBook Air arrived the day before Thanksgiving, so I just got around to setting it up today. The setup process reminded of just how irritating Apple can be. As you go through the first set of options, some have a box you check if you’d like to use them. But then others have an obscure link at the bottom that says something like “decide later” and it’s not clear whether the option is turned on or off. And don’t get me started with the goofy Apple ID using an email address vs. iCloud ID. It’s not at all intuitive. Lots of other irritating elements of trying to figure out how to change things, like Apple’s default touchpad scrolling direction.

A Windows laptop may have been just as irritating, given that I haven’t had one in years. But ease of use was always Apple’s claim to fame and I don’t really find their products to be that way, especially if you want things to work a little differently than Apple thinks you should use them.

Oh well, I have the setup behind me and it should be gravy from here on out.

 

[Qs Laptop]

My new MacBook Air arrived the day before Thanksgiving, so I just got around to setting it up today. The setup process reminded of just how irritating Apple can be. As you go through the first set of options, some have a box you check if you’d like to use them. But then others have an obscure link at the bottom that says something like “decide later” and it’s not clear whether the option is turned on or off. And don’t get me started with the goofy Apple ID using an email address vs. iCloud ID. It’s not at all intuitive. Lots of other irritating elements of trying to figure out how to change things, like Apple’s default touchpad scrolling direction.

A Windows laptop may have been just as irritating, given that I haven’t had one in years. But ease of use was always Apple’s claim to fame and I don’t really find their products to be that way, especially if you want things to work a little differently than Apple thinks you should use them.

Oh well, I have the setup behind me and it should be gravy from here on out.

Please let us know how the electronic crayon works for you.

 

[stepford]

I just found an old laptop of my wife's that died a couple of years ago, but that she'd never thrown away. Lo and behold it just has a dead screen and with a $2 HDMI cable can be run with an external monitor. So now I have a workable W11 machine for $2. Many would probably see this frugality (and device hording) as a sickness, but I thought you folks might approve.

 

[Al18]

TripleLindy,
If you need help with the setup, you can make an appointment at the Genius Bar at the nearest Apple Store and they’ll walk you through it.

 

[TripleLindy]

TripleLindy,
If you need help with the setup, you can make an appointment at the Genius Bar at the nearest Apple Store and they’ll walk you through it.

It’s all set up, so no need for Genius Bar help. I was just venting about Apple’s inconsistencies. But now that I’m through that, I’m happy with the purchase, especially if it lasts as long as the previous one did.

 

[mountainsoft]

I would also encourage you to get a laptop as I find it far more convenient to grab my pc and sit in my most comfortable chair and use it… desktops really aren’t convenient

Personal choice I suppose. I have a couple laptops and almost never use them. The screens are small, the keyboards are tiny and uncomfortable to type on, a mouse is friendlier to use than a trackpad, and they get warm sitting on your lap. Not to mention a computer on your lap is not very ergonomic for extended use. I start getting pain in my back or shoulder if I use the laptop too long that way (not as bad when used on a table, but other limitations still apply).

Also, I have a lot of peripherals attached to my desktop PC. Two printers, a flatbed scanner, a sheet scanner, remote SD card readers and extra USB ports, a UPS battery backup system, TV tuner, and a host of network devices. Yeah, you could get a dock for a laptop to accomplish all this, as well as an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor, but then you basically just have a desktop PC.

I prefer to have an actual "desk" for my computer, one for the ergonomics, but also a place to set my papers, cameras, calculator, or whatever else I'm using with the computer.

Whatever works for you, but for me laptops are my last choice.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I prefer to have an actual "desk" for my computer, one for the ergonomics, but also a place to set my papers, cameras, calculator, or whatever else I'm using with the computer.

Whatever works for you, but for me laptops are my last choice.

I totally agree with everything you just said.

Are people sitting in chairs with laptops on their laps actually doing something constructive and involved? Or are they mostly reading emails, browsing the web, looking at social media, etc.

That's what tablets are for.

 

[GenXguy]

I totally agree with everything you just said.

Are people sitting in chairs with laptops on their laps actually doing something constructive and involved? Or are they mostly reading emails, browsing the web, looking at social media, etc.

That's what tablets are for.

Tablets? I do not like using tablets, really for anything that's not real quick or requires typing. I like to use my full desktop computer for all of that. I use one of my laptops when I need portability, but that's a minority of the time.

 

[Jerry1]

Personal choice I suppose. I have a couple laptops and almost never use them. The screens are small, the keyboards are tiny and uncomfortable to type on, a mouse is friendlier to use than a trackpad, and they get warm sitting on your lap. Not to mention a computer on your lap is not very ergonomic for extended use. I start getting pain in my back or shoulder if I use the laptop too long that way (not as bad when used on a table, but other limitations still apply).

Also, I have a lot of peripherals attached to my desktop PC. Two printers, a flatbed scanner, a sheet scanner, remote SD card readers and extra USB ports, a UPS battery backup system, TV tuner, and a host of network devices. Yeah, you could get a dock for a laptop to accomplish all this, as well as an external keyboard, mouse, and monitor, but then you basically just have a desktop PC.

I prefer to have an actual "desk" for my computer, one for the ergonomics, but also a place to set my papers, cameras, calculator, or whatever else I'm using with the computer.

Whatever works for you, but for me laptops are my last choice.

Like Qs Laptop, I agree with you. I like my desktop and because I don't need anything portable, I don't want a laptop.

I totally agree with everything you just said.

Are people sitting in chairs with laptops on their laps actually doing something constructive and involved? Or are they mostly reading emails, browsing the web, looking at social media, etc.

That's what tablets are for.

Tablets? I do not like using tablets, really for anything that's not real quick or requires typing. I like to use my full desktop computer for all of that. I use one of my laptops when I need portability, but that's a minority of the time.

The main thing I use my tablet for is, as Qs Laptop pointed out, is reading and browsing. If I have to type much, I'll jump on my desktop.

DW uses a laptop, but she likes having the computer on her lap. I find the ergonomics of that very uncomfortable.

 

[TripleLindy]

I totally agree with everything you just said.

Are people sitting in chairs with laptops on their laps actually doing something constructive and involved? Or are they mostly reading emails, browsing the web, looking at social media, etc.

That's what tablets are for.

I probably use my tablet for 90%+ of my computing activities, even simple spreadsheets. The majority of use is web-based. I even did my taxes on the web version of TT last year because my laptop was too old to install the software on. But I prefer a laptop when full computing capability is needed. I don’t use a separate keyboard, mouse or screen, as the laptop versions are perfectly fine for me. And peripherals, like printer and scanner, are wireless. I like being able to move around and work in different spots. I don’t think I’ve owned a desktop computer since the early 2000s.

 

[mountainsoft]

The main thing I use my tablet for is, as Qs Laptop pointed out, is reading and browsing. If I have to type much, I'll jump on my desktop.

Yep, I use my tablet when I'm just reading news or maybe browsing the web here at home. I occasionally use my phone for that if I'm away from home. For anything I find interesting I email a link to myself to research further on my desktop PC.

 

[Route246]

Ah, jeez, really? This again?!

From the OP:

I prefer Windows and am not an Apple person.

OP specifically said "prefer Windows" and also "not an Apple person." I don't interpret this as negative sentiment towards Apple. Most people these days operate in browsers and apps so the underlying OS is most often irrelevant for those not locked into an app that is OS-locked. Anyway, I get it that people have preferences but I'm not averse to people recommending things I'm not familiar with.

That said, I switched our household to Apple because I got sick and tired of getting calls to come home because a printer stopped working and she needed hardcopy right then and there and it couldn't wait. The plug-and-play that MS touted never really became that while Apple has done a much better job with plug-and-play and that is the sole reason I switched everyone. I do most of my work in a UNIX/Linux shell so Mac is a convenience and I use a Linux server infrastructure here at home using VNC to login. Other than my browser activity I am 100% on Linux viewed on a Mac window manager. I know I am an outlier but my reasoning for switching to Apple was I got tired of being the family IT guy as MS has not done a good job with plug-and-play and networking.

My typical session looks like this on a 32" 4K screen. Current platform is a Mac Studio but it works just the same on a MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, etc.

 

[Qs Laptop]

OP specifically said "prefer Windows" and also "not an Apple person." I don't interpret this as negative sentiment towards Apple. Most people these days operate in browsers and apps so the underlying OS is most often irrelevant for those not locked into an app that is OS-locked. Anyway, I get it that people have preferences but I'm not averse to people recommending things I'm not familiar with.

I hate to beat this dead horse but the OP asked for computer recommendations and specifically stated NOT APPLE. So why, oh why, do people then recommend Apple computers?

And it's not necessarily a negative sentiment about Apple but it is a clear cut indication that the OP does not want to be recommended an Apple product.

 

[Al18]

FYI, the original poster window23 has not posted since creating this topic on November 13. There are lots of suggestions.

Might be a good time for the moderator to close this thread.

 

[GenXguy]

I hate to beat this dead horse but the OP asked for computer recommendations and specifically stated NOT APPLE. So why, oh why, do people then recommend Apple computers?

And it's not necessarily a negative sentiment about Apple but it is a clear cut indication that the OP does not want to be recommended an Apple product.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, but people just like to post. lol I think there's actually a recent thread about that.

I'm only looking at possible Windows systems myself if I don't stick it out longer with my 24 GB 4 Khz Sandy Bridge a while longer.

 

[GenXguy]

Well, I didn't even get my new RAM upgrade installed before ordering a new motherboard, processor, and RAM, that I will put in a different case. The motherboard is bundled with 16 GB RAM. Topped it off with a Ryzen 5500 for ~$55 after PayPal 50% rewards Perplexity deal and $13 Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler through a Woot deal. This isn't a high powered system by any stretch, but it's significantly faster than that 14 year old overclocked i5 2500K I've been using. It also matches up better with my Geforce 1660 Ti OC.

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[Al18]

Sounds good. AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPU. Which one?

 

[reneeh63]

I totally agree with everything you just said.

Are people sitting in chairs with laptops on their laps actually doing something constructive and involved? Or are they mostly reading emails, browsing the web, looking at social media, etc.

That's what tablets are for.

I beg to differ! I do all my spreadsheets, Word docs, video editing...etc. etc.on my laptop in my living room! I've had a laptop for more than 20 years with no desktop in sight. Sure, I've got 75 tabs open researching a bunch of topics, but also 3 spreadsheets, a couple word docs and all my trail cam videos.

Even for work I've had a laptop for many years, though working at a desk. You can use a laptop with multiple large monitors if that's what you need - and with bluetooth keyboard and mouse if you prefer. Desktops are not required unless you're maybe doing some crazy gaming (no, I'm def not into gaming).

This whole argument reminds me a bit of 'old coders' not wanting to transition to a GUI interface because they think stuff can only be done 'right' using command line - that you can't be a serious coder using a GUI. Yeah, you can!

 

[GenXguy]

Sounds good. AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPU. Which one?

Corrected. It's a 5500.

 

[jim584672]

RAM prices are bonkers these days.