Our classmate died - laptop suggestions?

[mistersands]

So our 3 year old classmate died this year. There is a clicking sound inside, it might be the HDD or possibly a fan. It loads up to a BIOS boot screen.

Anyway, we've been wanting to upgrade. But we are on a tight budget.

Any suggestions? Preferably from Amazon, as I have a Donor's Choose gift code so I can make a 'Class Wish' from amazon.

[GeeTwo]

We've often used regular full-size laptops to do the programming. We've used many brands and sizes (usually the team members' or mentors' personal lap tops) and the two main features you're looking for there are general usability (placement and feed back from keys, good pointer solution, wide angle screen) and performance (RAM, CPU, disk). However, when we go to competitions or demos, we always come back to the clasmates (we have three now) because most laptops aren't built to handle the same level of stress. Whatever you get, make sure that your competition/demo computer is at least as rugged as the classmate.

[orangemoore]

This is the laptop we got this year for programming. I can't offer much beyond this link, although I would suggest that consider using FIRST Choice to get a new Classmate at the beginning of the season.

Here.

[mistersands]

Thanks. I guess I'm just wary of the classmate considering this one seems to be shot after 3 seasons.

[Gdeaver]

The market is saturated with used laptops coming off of lease. You could find a 1 or 2 year business laptop with sufficient specks in the 200 to 300 $ range.

[GrinningFool]

Originally Posted by Gdeaver

The market is saturated with used laptops coming off of lease. You could find a 1 or 2 year business laptop with sufficient specks in the 200 to 300 $ range.

Check out precision laptops from Dell refurbished. They are built rugged and with good specs.

Search for coupons, they usually have them for 40 to 50% off bringing I7 machines with dedicated video cards and 1920 X 1080 screens for 400 to 500 dollars.

[FrankJ]

For driver stations without heavy vision processing, I have been buying small laptops with a 802.11 A wireless card. Generally the B, G, N specs are included in a new wireless card that comes with A. The A spec insures the 5 gig band that is less crowded in public areas than the 2.4 band. The DS and dashboard aren't really hardware intensive. Laptops with this spec can be found in the $250-$350 price range. The few we have bought have been Acers, but other brands are equally good.

It is best to keep the driver station laptop completely clean software wise. Software Developers like to put code it start up that help their program to run faster & check for updates. This stuff can cause sporadic com issues with the robot that is hard to diagnose. For the same reason it is better to have a separate computer for programing.

[Taylor]

I was very concerned about this thread.
Then I realized you were talking about a computer.

[MrRoboSteve]

Taylor and I were thinking the same thing.

Our team bought four used Dell Latitude D830s as our programming machines a couple years ago. They've been great. We are thinking about putting SSDs in them next year.

If I was buying a machine to use as a DS today, I'd be looking at a 3-4 year old used Thinkpad -- for example, a well configured T430. They are very durable and there are tons of parts available.

[Sperkowsky]

Originally Posted by MrRoboSteve

Taylor and I were thinking the same thing.

Our team bought four used Dell Latitude D830s as our programming machines a couple years ago. They've been great. We are thinking about putting SSDs in them next year.

If I was buying a machine to use as a DS today, I'd be looking at a 3-4 year old used Thinkpad -- for example, a well configured T430. They are very durable and there are tons of parts available.

I picked up a t430 for myself personally on ebay.

It had a third gen i5 240gb ssd 8 gigs of ram and a decent screen.

And it was only $400 bucks.
Look around it but thinkpads are the way to go as they are built like a tank.

[philso]

Definitely get a "business class" laptop like one of the ThinkPads. Look for one that has a rigid metal frame. The frame prevents the motherboard from being flexed and ultimately breaking one of the components or solder joints. The consumer grade laptops flex like a cheap keyboard and will tend to lead a shorter life. A good alternative is an off-lease HP or one of the refurbished Dells from their Outlet Store. Many of the Dells have not even gone out to a customer. The Dell Vostro, we purchased 7 years ago is still going strong though I did have to replace the hard drive. If you do get one that has actually been used, you may want to replace the hard drive with a solid state one.

[GeeTwo]

I have had "rugged" experiences with classmates and old Thnkpads (don't know personally about the past few years, but I've seen things happen to 6-8 year old thinkpads that should have broken them but didn't), good experience (no issues in heavy use) with HP and ASUS, mixed experiences with Dell (generally declining as the years pass), and specifically poor experiences with Acer, Gateway, Panasonic, and e-machine.

[TimTheGreat]

Oh boy. At first I thought you were talking about a student.

If you want to create a UI to control the robot, Lenovo Thinkpad is a great touchscreen. We've used ours for 2 years now, and just won the Innovation in Control with it. If you just need something to run the driver station a cheap dell should do the trick.

[sanddrag]

Not to make light of mortality, but this thread title is hilarious. I read it similar to "My soul was stolen from me - suggestions for a new car?"

[protoserge]

I got an off-lease Thinkpad T410 from a Newegg reseller. It's been great for what I use it for. Be wary you will likely need to buy a new battery (8 cell @ $80) and there may be other issues. Mine came with dedicated graphics and an SSD. I spent about $320 total with the new battery.

Business class will be built better. Get an SSD if possible.

If you need to buy something new, get something in your price range with the highest specs. There is no "right" laptop. Buy one from a reputable company (Toshiba, Dell, Asus, Lenovo, etc.) and get back to driving.