The sheer number of laptop models available today is mind boggling. To help you pick the best machine for you, we've narrowed down some of the best choices on the market right now.
The Best Laptops - Early 2023
- Thread starter Julio Franco
- Start date
Avro Arrow
Posts: 3,721 +4,821
The cost of craptops has increased dramatically and I'm not talking about inflation here. I bought my current craptop before COVID hit. I aim for the very middle of mid-tier performance because I don't use my craptop for anything intensive. These have been my past three craptops:
eMachines E620-5885 - $500CAD
Acer Aspire 5560 - $500CAD
ASUS Vivobook M570DD - $750CAD
They're all standard 15.6" craptops that were situated right in the middle of the mid-tier but as you can see, the price increased by 50% (which is pretty dramatic). There's also the fact that the M570DD was the best price for a Ryzen 5 3500U (which is as mainstream an APU as you can get) and while there were other craptops for $750CAD, this one had a GTX 1050 Mobile and a backlit keyboard while the others didn't.
Back when I was in university about 13 years ago, a post that I made about craptops in the Tom's Hardware forum got chosen for Tom's Guide. The part numbers have changed but the concepts involved have all remained the same.
eMachines E620-5885 - $500CAD
Acer Aspire 5560 - $500CAD
ASUS Vivobook M570DD - $750CAD
They're all standard 15.6" craptops that were situated right in the middle of the mid-tier but as you can see, the price increased by 50% (which is pretty dramatic). There's also the fact that the M570DD was the best price for a Ryzen 5 3500U (which is as mainstream an APU as you can get) and while there were other craptops for $750CAD, this one had a GTX 1050 Mobile and a backlit keyboard while the others didn't.
Back when I was in university about 13 years ago, a post that I made about craptops in the Tom's Hardware forum got chosen for Tom's Guide. The part numbers have changed but the concepts involved have all remained the same.
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Well written, and I liked your post at Toms from 14 years ago.
After careful consideration, I have concluded what you helped make so obvious.
You say Craptop way too much and for way too long!
Theinsanegamer
Posts: 5,471 +10,270
I wish they'd focus on better chromebooks, so many models with 4GB of RAM and pentiums.
My acer C771 is reaching EOL, and with 8GB RAM, 64GB storage, and an i5, there is really nothing to replace it with. Even the "gaming" models are hamstrung by weak hardware.
I also wish manufacturers would just put linux or windows on the chromebooks. They are frequently better built and more sensible then the actual windows machines are.
My acer C771 is reaching EOL, and with 8GB RAM, 64GB storage, and an i5, there is really nothing to replace it with. Even the "gaming" models are hamstrung by weak hardware.
I also wish manufacturers would just put linux or windows on the chromebooks. They are frequently better built and more sensible then the actual windows machines are.
Avro Arrow
Posts: 3,721 +4,821
Thank you very much! It's one of the few things that I can be proud of. The funny thing is that I was talking about how great the A8-3500M APU was and that was exactly what I chose for the craptop that replaced the one I was using at the time.
As long as they're technological dead-ends, I will ALWAYS call them craptops!After careful consideration, I have concluded what you helped make so obvious.
You say Craptop way too much and for way too long!
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daffy duck
Posts: 260 +204
If they don't sport AMD Rembrandt hard pass. Even a hard pass for Rembrandt, Phoenix 2 is what I'm waiting for.
lazer
Posts: 484 +151
I once owned a Asus tablet and it was very nice. Once I was bugged to upgrade operating system and I did but it would not re boot and not work.
I contacted Asus help desk and they were not very helpful, did not understand problem and I was never able to get it to work.
I never bought Asus again. But I see that it has a good rating here. Maybe things in the help desk changed?
I contacted Asus help desk and they were not very helpful, did not understand problem and I was never able to get it to work.
I never bought Asus again. But I see that it has a good rating here. Maybe things in the help desk changed?
"almost all-day battery life from the 51Wh unit"
What does that actually mean? all day as in 24 hours? or just the 12 daylight hours? or an official working day of 8 hours? 7 if you exclude lunch? And is that leaving the laptop idle? browsing? watching your film library? playing AAA games?
What does that actually mean? all day as in 24 hours? or just the 12 daylight hours? or an official working day of 8 hours? 7 if you exclude lunch? And is that leaving the laptop idle? browsing? watching your film library? playing AAA games?
