Agreed. I bought my "Dell Inspiron 17R (N7110)" 10 years ago and the only thing I have done to it was put an SSD in. The spin drive still works well, but the SSD picked the system up quite well. I think I paid $800 after all was said and done. "10 Years Ago" That's a lot! If I want or need another Laptop it would be a DELL. I'm posting from my DELL. Look them up. "Inspiron Laptops & 2-in-1 PCs"
Last edited by Lance1; 07 Dec 2020 at 19:56.
OK, I used to be a HP Laptop person until I purchased an HP Envy for my wife. It worked great but was getting slow. I bought extra RAM and a SSD drive to speed the laptop up. To tear down the HP envy to get to the RAM and HARDDRIVE, you had to remove the screen so you could access everything. I replaced the RAM and drive, put everything back together again, and powered it up. Except for the video. I connected an external monitor and installed the OS and it was a screamer. just what I thought it would do. Except now I had a laptop with no on board video. Since OIT is my line of work, I replaced the video cables, I replaced the digitizer and screen. Nothing. The onboard video refused to work. Software upgrades, BIOS upgrades, BIOS rollback, nothing worked. So now I had a laptop for a desktop because it worked perfectly with an external monitor. I finally gave it to a neighbor kid in exchange for some work.
Since I use DELL laptops at work, and I abuse them by closing the lids with the OS running, dropping and throwing mildly, running large programs and starting more programs than it was designed to do...and they just keep on running. With that in mind, I bought the wife a new DELL laptop and she has been happy ever since.
I recently just upgraded my laptop (an acer) to an DELL XPS and it is fantastic!
But, you won't get one for 400.00. Buy you a good laptop and spend at least 1000.00 dollars and it will last you a lifetime and you will not regret the decision.
Anyway, that is my 2 cents worth. Enjoy.
"Dropping and Throwing Mildly" I would say that that's a testament to the durability of a DELL. Another happy DELL owner.
I applaud your good luck with your Dell. And yes 10 years ago $800 was nearly $1000.
But because you bought a ($1000) Dell Inspiron and it lasted ten years doesn't mean you have to spend a $1000 now to get something that isn't junk. The two don't connect. It's like saying, "I got to the Church on the left side of the street because I've never been struck by lightening at that Church."
I promise I can find a $1000 Dell Inspiron on Amazon that -- according to a reviewer -- broke within hours/days/weeks.
It's 9:09 Pacific Time. Let's see how long this takes.
It's now 9:11. Here we go --
What matters more to me (on the topic of reliability) isn't anecdotes but the aggregate. Once a unit has enough reviews on Amazon that star count does matter. I'd be happier with another half of a star. I could also live without it.
But see this 4.5 star Chromebook? That I got for my niece for $379? It has a NICE screen and decent spec. Not garbage.
All were bought 10 years ago. Mine, My son's my daughters, and my wife's. Mine and my wife have SSD's. My son's and my daughters are working just fine thanks' to me. The dollar figure has no bearing. It's the reliability of the system and not the dollar figure that has the bearing. If you're happy with a $400 System! That's just fine. But if you want a whole lot more! It's more like $2000.00! In today's world and more. That's the reality of it all. That goes with rent and everything that goes with life. It sucks it out of you. I could go on. But what's the use's.
Thank you for all the information everyone. I'm planning to get the laptop today/tomorrow. I've narrowed my choices to these 3:
1. Lenovo IdeaPad S340
2. Lenovo IdeaPad 3
3. Asus VivoBook
I am reading conflicting reviews on each though (& my head hurts after awhile).
So, if need be, can I upgrade the memory on all of these or is the memory soldered onto the motherboard?
I'm leaning towards the Asus VivoBook, even w/the 128GB SSD; but I think it'll be ok.
One thing to mention about the ASUS VivoBook F512DA-DB34. This model has Windows 10 Home in S mode installed. With S Mode you are only allowed to install programs from the Microsoft Store. That shouldn't be a problem because there should be a built-in option to convert to the regular Windows 10 Home.Thank you for all the information everyone. I'm planning to get the laptop today/tomorrow. I've narrowed my choices to these 3:
1. Lenovo IdeaPad S340
2. Lenovo IdeaPad 3
3. Asus VivoBook
I am reading conflicting reviews on each though (& my head hurts after awhile
So, if need be, can I upgrade the memory on all of these or is the memory soldered onto the motherboard?
I'm leaning towards the Asus VivoBook, even w/the 128GB SSD; but I think it'll be ok.
BTW, I had a family member who bought a laptop with Windows 10 Home in S mode. They got a virus but Windows would not let me install an anti-virus program. After I converted it to the regular Windows 10 Home I was able to install an anti-virus program which removed the virus.
One last thing to remember I would not recommend anyone buy a laptop with an eMMC for a drive. An eMMC is a chip soldered to the motherboard that has flash memory. An SSD would be a lot better. The worst choice would be one with only a 32GB eMMC. I read about someone who could not even do a yearly Windows 10 update because there was not enough free space to do so.
Thank you for all the information everyone. I'm planning to get the laptop today/tomorrow. I've narrowed my choices to these 3:
1. Lenovo IdeaPad S340
2. Lenovo IdeaPad 3
3. Asus VivoBook
I am reading conflicting reviews on each though (& my head hurts after awhile
So, if need be, can I upgrade the memory on all of these or is the memory soldered onto the motherboard?
I'm leaning towards the Asus VivoBook, even w/the 128GB SSD; but I think it'll be ok.
Also, shopping for a laptop so I can relate to the head hurt.
From what I read, if a laptop has 8GB memory, most have dual with 4GB soldered which allows for upgrade. Search the specs carefully and it should say.
Per Lenovo site, the S340 is being discontinued. (see below). So pro or con for a better deal. From your 3, I would probably favor the Asus, only personal opinion. Good Luck !
Lenovo IdeaPad S340 | Affordable, Powerful Laptop | Lenovo US
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