What Laptop do you recommend? (For those of you on the road)

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aviationluver

Filing Flight Plan
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Slumdawg_FO
I'm looking for a good laptop that I can take with me on my trips.

I'm not a big Apple Fan. I've had an Apple laptop and IPhone in the past and couldn't stand those two devices because they would always freeze up and lock up on me.

I'm looking for a laptop where I can play a DVD. Also, I want a laptop that can load and run Microsoft Flight Sim. Finally, it should be good with internet web browsers and Microsoft Office products like WORD.

Since, Black Friday deals have started to run, what would you recommend and where are the deals?

Thanks.
 
I would try out a couple laptops with SSD hard drive. I have a macbook air with relatively poor specs and its never freezes, and starts up in 5 seconds because of the SSD. I doubt it could run x-plane or any sim but I'll have to try. For any flight sim to work on high resolution you need a gaming laptop, or one with a good built in video card.
 
aviationluver said:
I'm not a big Apple Fan. I've had an Apple laptop and IPhone in the past and couldn't stand those two devices because they would always freeze up and lock up on me.
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Just curious, was the laptop from the PowerPC days?
 
Have had very good luck with Toshiba laptops in the past and still using my last two one of which is 10 years old in other words ancient.
 
I take my iPad on the road for most trips. I have an older Acer Netbook running Linux Mint17 for backup. Mint is loaded with all the basic applications needed for word, excel, mail and web browser. And if gets hit with a virus, it's not my primary PC, and easy to recover.
 
A laptop that plays DVDs? Welcome to the 90s. My MacBooks don't even have DVD drives. Never missed it, either. I can rent and download movies on my iPad easier than watching DVDs. I watched a couple last night on a commercial flight. Most of the time I don't even take a laptop anymore but when I do I'll take my Macbook over my Lenovo windows machine every time. The only reason I carry the Lenovo is to return it to the IT guy to fix it!
 
You're going to have a hard time finding a travel size laptop with a DVD player. They are going the way of floppy drives. Everything is streamed now days or at least downloaded. I travel a lot and went for a compromise on weight and accessories. I have a Lenovo. What is known as ultrabook. It has pretty decent performance (i7 processor and 8gb of RAM) and a 15 1/2" screen. It is light weight and has about 4 hours of battery life. The downside is no cd/DVD drive, fixed memory config and a non swappable battery. I did upgrade to an SSD. That said, it fits my needs. I work in IT. Most of what I do is create Visios and remote into servers, firewalls and routers. I don't run virtual machines on the laptop and don't play games. I do have to shutdown and fire it up sometimes 3 or 4 times a day (the SSD is a huge plus for this).
 
Vaflier said:
Have had very good luck with Toshiba laptops in the past and still using my last two one of which is 10 years old in other words ancient.
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+1 on this VERY happy with Toshiba laptops
 
dmspilot said:
Just curious, was the laptop from the PowerPC days?
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LOL. i've owned both Win and Mac laptops over the years, but because i make a variety of presentations on the road, i stick with the MaC platform, which is currently the Mackbook Air. More expensive, yes. However, fast start up times, no bugs, and a great integration with my iPad and iPhone make this a no-brainer for me.

Your mileage may vary.

brian
 
Still using my same Lenovo laptop for close to 10 years running Windows XP. The thing is a tank.
 
Asus Zenbook. No DVD but with an HDMI and three USB 3.0 ports you have connectivity to just about anything. Boots up from cold in about six seconds.
 
aviationluver said:
I'm looking for a good laptop that I can take with me on my trips.

I'm not a big Apple Fan. I've had an Apple laptop and IPhone in the past and couldn't stand those two devices because they would always freeze up and lock up on me.

I'm looking for a laptop where I can play a DVD. Also, I want a laptop that can load and run Microsoft Flight Sim. Finally, it should be good with internet web browsers and Microsoft Office products like WORD.

Since, Black Friday deals have started to run, what would you recommend and where are the deals?

Thanks.
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Sony Vaio series have held up well for me.
 
I have lived on the road for the last 10 years only coming home every weekend or 2 or 3...

At first I wanted a large laptop with dvd and big screen. I ended up with a laptop which was big and heavy that I was not happy with. I discovered I didn't need a dvd. If I really wanted one I would buy a USB external DVD drive. I bought a 13 inch very thin and lightweight laptop which is much better for me. Spring for the 100% SSD drive - it is worth it.

For times I want a larger screen desktop type experience:
I bought an HDMI cable to connect the laptop to a TV to use the TV as a monitor. I use an iogear wireless keyboard. I have an anker wireless mouse. I can sit in a chair across the room and use the large TV as a huge monitor while surfing in comfort.
http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Vert...F8&qid=1447238327&sr=8-1&keywords=anker+mouse
http://www.amazon.com/Multimedia-Ke...447238385&sr=8-1&keywords=iogear+keyboard+2.4

You might also want a travel router. It comes in handy in hotels with marginal internet or hotels which require a login to their webpage daily.. The travel router will somewhat automate this and eliminate logging in manually on multiple devices daily. I have the netgear trek:
http://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Trave...83T4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1447239058&sr=8-6
 
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jordane93 said:
Still using my same Lenovo laptop for close to 10 years running Windows XP. The thing is a tank.
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:yeahthat: I've had mine like 12 years. Went from XP to Windows 8, hated it, went back to Vista and then Windows 7. I'm very satisfied with it. Weighs a ton, though.
 
My macbook (pro) has a DVD drive. No problem. I pay for that in bulk and weight though.
 
I've been traveling 48 weeks a year for almost 20 years now. The laptop has always been my "primary" computer.

Usually ThinkPad. (before and after Lenovo)

But now I'm on the Microsoft Surface. I actually like it, other than the need to carry a powered USB hub to hook in the Blue-ray player and external hard drive (that is older than dirt)

Worth a look.
 
I have been a dell customer for a long time. They own alienware which makes some very powerful laptops that easily can run x-plane and other flight sims.
 
Mike5250 said:
I would try out a couple laptops with SSD hard drive. I have a macbook air with relatively poor specs and its never freezes, and starts up in 5 seconds because of the SSD. I doubt it could run x-plane or any sim but I'll have to try. For any flight sim to work on high resolution you need a gaming laptop, or one with a good built in video card.
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I think these days, an SSD should be a given in a laptop.
 
My new job has me on the road 50% of the time so I wanted something that would game and could basically replace my desktop. I ended up with a 15.6" Gigabyte 'Gaming' laptop(P35Wv4-BW3K) , battery life is short only 3-4 hours not-gaming. But does have a DVD drive, which I leave at home, spots for multiple HD or SSD drives and I can connect both of my desktop monitors at home. It's a larger than a 15" Macbook, the power adapter is huge(but smaller ones are available) and it's all plastic. There are plenty of similar models in the 'gaming' range from other vendors, it was a pain sorting through them all.
 
@dmspilot:

I had my Apple laptop in 2006. It would always lock up on me and was a real pain. Lucky for me, I was able to sell it to someone on Craigslist and at least got back 1/2 of what I bought it for.

Personally, I don't like Apple products or Acer.
 
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@ThisPost:

Will your surface allow you to use Microsoft Flight Sim (FSX)?

Thanks.
 
aviationluver said:
@ThisPost:

Will your surface allow you to use Microsoft Flight Sim (FSX)?

Thanks.
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I haven't asked it yet. Might need to buy it a drink first :)

But to answer your question it is far beyond the needed minimums for FSX, You'll need a powered USB hub to connect a USB yoke or pedals, but that is not FSX related, it's due to the underpowered USB port on the Surface.

I run a 2 USB monitors, a logitech wireless keyboard/mouse, and an external USB hard drive off mine all day long and it's fine, since going to a powered hub.
 
I've had two HP laptops and both had major failures. I've had numerous Toshiba laptops and they've operated flawlessly (for a reasonable amount of time).
 
Both my wife and I have been using employer issued Lenovo laptops for a couple of years. We were both happy with our work laptops so when my personal HP laptop went kaput a few months go I decided to go Lenovo as well. So far, so good.
 
aviationluver said:
... where are the deals? ...
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newegg.com has literally hundreds of laptops, lease returns aka "refurbished," in the $200-300 range that will meet your needs. At that price it's not a big deal if the machine gets crunched, lost, or stolen.

At the higher end, someone has mentioned an external DvD player. I have a MS Surface Pro 3 and just bought my wife a Dell XPS 13 9343. Both of these are elegantly slim and light with great screens, but sans a built-in drive. North of $1000 for either though.
 
I'm not sure there's one clear answer to your question. I've been on the road for 20 years now and used a lot of laptops....HPs, Dells, IBMs/Lenovo, Apple, "others"...and I can't tell you that there's a huge amount of difference between the major brands. They've all worked OK, I've had power trouble with a Lenovo motherboard that they replaced under warranty.

I think your best bet is to get your specs - 16 GB ram, SSD drive, dvd (or blu-ray?) drive, 15" screen - and then price the different major brands based on your specs. Buy whatever is cheapest, they'll all work just fine. But buy new, don't get a reconditioned one.

The only time I've every had issues with anything had to do with keyboard layouts and mouse touchpads. Can't do anything about the keys not being where you expect them, you just get used to the new one but every touchpad I've had got disabled in favor of a USB mouse - either corded or wireless.

You don't need a lot of advice, just choose the cheapest that has what you want.
 
I've got an 13" Asus that I take around the world twice a month, every month. I love it!
 
airdale said:
newegg.com has literally hundreds of laptops, lease returns aka "refurbished," in the $200-300 range that will meet your needs. At that price it's not a big deal if the machine gets crunched, lost, or stolen.
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bflynn said:
Buy whatever is cheapest, they'll all work just fine. But buy new, don't get a reconditioned one.
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Au contraire....I buy all of my computers refurbished, but only manufacturer refurbished. I got my Lenovo Thinkpad on Ebay, which offers both Buyer protection and the option to purchase a Square Trade warranty which replaces the unit if they can't repair it. I've only needed to use it once and it was worth the like extra $35 I paid.

The way I see it, the computers built on the assembly line don't get near as much scrutiny and testing as does a refurb. Refurbished computers are usually assigned to a highly skilled Tech and taken through a series of tests and checks, whereas the assembly line units come with the expectation of some percentage of failure. Just my .02

airdale said:
At the higher end, someone has mentioned an external DvD player. I have a MS Surface Pro 3 and just bought my wife a Dell XPS 13 9343. Both of these are elegantly slim and light with great screens, but sans a built-in drive. North of $1000 for either though.
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The Surfacebook looks amazing, but it's in the "Apple" range, price wise. Unless I have a job or assignment that can justify such an expense, I only window shop and keep my Lenovo purring like a kitten. It gained considerable weight when I replaced the battery, so you might have to nuance your weight & balance. :D
 
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I removed my DVD drive from my MacBook Pro and put a second hard disk in it, a long long time ago.

Couldn't pay me enough to lug around an old style full sized laptop with a DVD drive. Even the MacBook is too much most of the time.
 
aviationluver said:
@dmspilot:

I had my Apple laptop in 2006. It would always lock up on me and was a real pain. Lucky for me, I was able to sell it to someone on Craigslist and at least got back 1/2 of what I bought it for.

Personally, I don't like Apple products or Acer.
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2006 was the year they were transitioning, so it could have been either.

I hated PowerPC Macs, and experienced lockups. I have a 2011 Intel Macbook Pro now and it's been great. You can install Windows on it dual-boot if you want to play Flight Sim. Or you could just use X-Plane.
 
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