New laptop

[BTR69]

Good evening. I’m about to start looking for a new laptop to replace my 15 year old dinosaur Dell unit. Any recommendations or advice on what to look for and stay away from? Aside from general work stuff and typical internet stuff, I’ll be using it for logging race car data and eventually some video/picture editing. Thanks and have a great evening.

[Doug Hoven]

I’ve had good luck with a Dell laptop I purchased a few years ago for college. Compared to a similarly priced HP that a friend of mine bought, the Dell seems to be of better quality. I don’t have much experience with windows 11, but windows 10 seems to run Racepak, Holley, and Innovate software very well.

[Jeff Niceswanger]

I also use Dells. Whatever you get, research how well they perform in bright daylight. Nothing is worse than a dull screen while working outside in the sun. I have Intel Core I5 on my laptops, but for the racecar stuff a I3 is plenty fast enough. My older one is a traditional hard drive and the newer one is a solid state drive. It boots up almost instantly and shuts down likewise. Plus the battery last tons longer. Good Luck in your search.

[Mike Jones]

I have had great service from Dell, but whatever you buy,
make sure the hard drive has plenty of disk space.
It can fill up quick and be a headache if you use your laptop for other things.
Its a problem with some of the smaller laptops.
Happy hunting.

[Cdncarnut]

As someone who rode the IT wave for work, all that I can tell you is that all new laptops are ****.
Don't expect to get 15 years out your new one.
The batteries are not replaceable anymore, unless you actually open up the laptop.
The worst part is that both Windows 10 and 11 take control away from you.
The laptop will almost stop as it randomly downloads whatever updates that Microsoft is mandating.
And worse, it will just install them and force you to reboot regardless of what you are doing and how limited you are for time to finish what you are doing.

Now, having said that, I am partial to HP laptops.
They have been good to me and last a long time.
I also prefer a 17" screen for the track, as I can get by without my glasses often.

All hard drives are solid state these days, which means that they are nothing more than a very large memory stick.

Buy the fastest CPU and the most amount of memory that you can afford.

I hope this helps.

[mrfast]

stay away from windows 12. My lap top died couple years ago and i went to replace it and seen windows 12 thinking new addition would get is. Big mistake had to get new printer also as mine old one was only about 6 years old. It is tuff to deal with you have to relog in if you leave it for a little while. I am computer illiterate so its a real problem and when you talk to someone who is computer friendly and tell them you have windows 12 they have nothing good to say about it.

[340Cuda]

I thought Windows 12 was not to be released until later this year. Google inquiries suggest June of 2024.

Do you mean Windows 11?

Dell has good products but dealing with them as a consumer can be a real PIA!

[d miller]

Look on any Snap-On Tool truck, most police cars and likely military uses and you will find Panasonic TuffBooks....pricey yes but they are called tuff for a reason

[mrfast]

My bad i have windows 11 one of the things is when you go to open it up it pops up your not conected to internet and you havnt even tryed yet about half the time

[Jeff Niceswanger]

Originally Posted by d miller

Look on any Snap-On Tool truck, most police cars and likely military uses and you will find Panasonic TuffBooks....pricey yes but they are called tuff for a reason

I had one of those and didnt like it. Yes its built like a tank, weighs the weight of a small suitcase, and can withstand being thrown off a cliff. But the mouse is not made for what we use them for. At least it isn't very precise,smooth and repeatable. Mine was also a touch screen and it was not very clear compared to a typical laptop. During bright sunny daylight it was sometimes unusable because of the dimness of the screen.