Budget for a teen's laptop

[Anonymous]

We bought a $250 HP 6 years ago and this year we are finally replacing it. Your daughter doesn't need anything people have described above to do what you mentioned. That $250 laptop is probably closer to $500 now because the prices of everything have gone up, but seriously, just get something mid-range from Costco.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The issue with Apple laptops is that none of the ones made in the last decade are upgradable at all, and that they are basically not repairable by the end user. You are stuck with the RAM and storage that come with the device, and even a battery replacement is complicated enough that it pretty much has to be done by an Apple authorized repair center (at inflated prices). On pretty much any other laptop, a battery replacement takes no more than fifteen minutes and can be done for the cost of the battery by anyone who can operate a screwdriver.

All of this is fine if you know these things when buying one and can accept non-upgradability and expensive repairs, but many don't know this and are disappointed later.

OP's daughter does need something that is upgradable or for business needs, stop trying to be a show off, OP doesn't need what you are peddling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The issue with Apple laptops is that none of the ones made in the last decade are upgradable at all, and that they are basically not repairable by the end user. You are stuck with the RAM and storage that come with the device, and even a battery replacement is complicated enough that it pretty much has to be done by an Apple authorized repair center (at inflated prices). On pretty much any other laptop, a battery replacement takes no more than fifteen minutes and can be done for the cost of the battery by anyone who can operate a screwdriver.

All of this is fine if you know these things when buying one and can accept non-upgradability and expensive repairs, but many don't know this and are disappointed later.

OP's daughter does need something that is upgradable or for business needs, stop trying to be a show off, OP doesn't need what you are peddling.

DOESN'T need.

[Anonymous]

OP's daughter does need something that is upgradable or for business needs, stop trying to be a show off, OP doesn't need what you are peddling.

I don't sell anything. I do think that OP (who obviously knows little about this subject) should be an informed consumer.

Batteries and SSDs are wear items and therefore consumables. Every single one that has ever been made will eventually fail. Buying a laptop where it is difficult or impossible to replace either one is like buying a time bomb. Since OP seems to be on a budget, it makes sense to buy a device that will be maintainable over time at a reasonable cost, or at least to know that some devices will cost more to maintain than others.

[Anonymous]

I have never needed to replace an SSD or battery in the life of any laptop in the past 20 years. No one I know has had to either.

Maybe that is an issue for some heavy duty gamer or maybe for some power user work laptop. It is not an issue for the described user.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

OP's daughter does need something that is upgradable or for business needs, stop trying to be a show off, OP doesn't need what you are peddling.

I don't sell anything. I do think that OP (who obviously knows little about this subject) should be an informed consumer.

Batteries and SSDs are wear items and therefore consumables. Every single one that has ever been made will eventually fail. Buying a laptop where it is difficult or impossible to replace either one is like buying a time bomb. Since OP seems to be on a budget, it makes sense to buy a device that will be maintainable over time at a reasonable cost, or at least to know that some devices will cost more to maintain than others.

About 10 years ago, SSDs did have some problems. Modern SSD drives with wear leveling and modern software have mostly alleviated that problem, with the exception of some intensive database uses. For the OP's daughter, that's unlikely to be a concern for the outlined usages.

Modern laptops mostly target the business life cycle. That's a roughly 3-5-year cycle in which the laptop is leased and returned to a vendor for a newer version. If you need something different, it's easier to wait until the next cycle and make any necessary changes, like adding more memory or storage. So, if you don't need a warranty, you can pick up older refurbished laptops that are usually in fairly good shape for something close to OP's original price point.

That's probably not a good choice here, since we can assume OP's DD will need some sort of warranty and support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The new Apple “MacBook Neo” is about $600.

It is NOT a business laptop, but it is plenty good enough for a HS student or most home uses. Can run MS Office on ordinary files just fine. Any web stuff or email will be just fine. Mac is less of a memory hog than Windows 11, so the smaller RAM inside is fine.

For HS students, there is one possible exception: TJ students running heavy-duty computation in MATLAB or Mathematica might want a machine with more RAM.

If the goal is gaming, then get a Windows Gaming laptop, but a decent one those will cost above $1000. Not a lot of games target the Mac.

We are getting my DD either the Neo or Macbook Air. Her private school requires a laptop and 95% of students have Macs. The school says the Neo is fine for average students but any student who expect to get more into programming or graphic design should get the Macbook for the extra power. Don't forget there is an education discount if you buy from apple.

This is us too. Though I typically buy refurbished. Our school requires specs that the Neo doesn't meet, so it'll be a refurbished Air. Looking at the M3 or M4.

[Anonymous]

You can get a decent one for $200-$300 used, for example off Backmarket.

I found that AI was very useful for this, since it's a relatively well-defined market.

Tell the AI what you want and ask for suggestions. Then when you find a model, give the specs and ask if that fits the needs and is decently priced.

I tried this and got very useful feedback.

[Anonymous]

Just a note that 529 funds can be used for education materials like laptops. Not sure if that applies to hig school, though, so look into that.

We bought our daughter a laptop as she headed to college, then mid way bought her an ipad. And for her last smeester will buy another. If you have space within the 529 it's a good way to use funds.

[Anonymous]

Get a Mac laptop for $600-$700, this will last years and be compatible with iPhone, etc.
or she might be fine with an iPad, she can do all she needs, for $350.

[Anonymous]

s
I have never needed to replace an SSD or battery in the life of any laptop in the past 20 years. No one I know has had to either.

That's nice. Your needs didn't change, and you gambled and won on hardware longevity. You also probably could have saved money by buying a minimal configuration and upgrading the RAM and/or storage yourself (this makes less sense now with inflated RAM and storage prices).

In any case, I think that most people who buy a $700+ device would be upset to find out that a $100 repair became a $500 repair because the manufacturer decided to solder a stick of RAM or SSD to the motherboard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can get a decent one for $200-$300 used, for example off Backmarket.

I found that AI was very useful for this, since it's a relatively well-defined market.

Tell the AI what you want and ask for suggestions. Then when you find a model, give the specs and ask if that fits the needs and is decently priced.

I tried this and got very useful feedback.

What I usually do is figure out the bare minimum of what I need in terms of specs and then go to the retailers' websites and use the search filter to see what the most affordable options are with those specs. For laptop I would include screen size. Another thing to take into account is things like how many USB ports. It can be really limiting if it's only 1.

It would be a good lesson to give DD a budget and have her do this and see what she comes up with. So if budget is $300 and she's ponying up the rest, she learns how to look for something affordable.

[Anonymous]

I don't get this budget crap. This is a requirement based decision not a cost decision. So look for what they need and how much that will cost you. None of these should be more than a few hundred dollars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get this budget crap. This is a requirement based decision not a cost decision. So look for what they need and how much that will cost you. None of these should be more than a few hundred dollars.

You work in the government don't you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

s
I have never needed to replace an SSD or battery in the life of any laptop in the past 20 years. No one I know has had to either.

That's nice. Your needs didn't change, and you gambled and won on hardware longevity. You also probably could have saved money by buying a minimal configuration and upgrading the RAM and/or storage yourself (this makes less sense now with inflated RAM and storage prices).

In any case, I think that most people who buy a $700+ device would be upset to find out that a $100 repair became a $500 repair because the manufacturer decided to solder a stick of RAM or SSD to the motherboard.

Modern hardware is pretty reliable. In order to make those parts serviceable, there is cost in terms of complexity, weight, and durability.