New laptop?

[E92inNC]

First things first, let me say I'm just above a novice when it comes to all things computers. On a 1-10 scale, I'd say I'm a 4 possibly 5.

I currently have a 13" Macbook Pro, model year 2011 I think. It's showing signs of age-not running anywhere near as fast as when I first bought it, battery last maybe 3-4 hours on full charge. Another thing I've noticed is it never used to get pop-ups but lately its doing that sometimes.

I thought about saving my files on a USB and then restoring it to factory settings and maybe that might alleviate some problems but want some advice from the techies as to my options. Is it time for a new laptop after 6/7 years? Should I stick with Apple or look elsewhere for a cheaper option?

I don't need a really high tech laptop cuz my uses are basic work on Microsoft Office, browsing and I like to have a movie or youtube playing while I'm doing anything on my laptop. High on my list of reasons of getting the Apple years ago was the stigma of it not getting virus, malware, etc. and this is still tops on things I want if I get a new laptop. I wouldn't need huge storage space, I think 250GB would be more than enough and 8GB RAM.

Thanks

[440GCSTL]

First thing I would do is buy a backup hard drive and setup time machine to back up your entire hard drive. I would recommend one that has a USB C connection and a USB 3.0 so that you can use the 3.0 on your old machine and the C on your new machine. Then you can do a complete reinstall of the operating system and once installed you can import all of your settings and programs from time machine. I'd do that first before you go buy another computer.

I can't imagine going back to a PC and if you're a 4 out of 10 on all things computer I would buy another Mac in a heartbeat. Make sure you look up the refurbished ones first directly from Apple. You could pick up a June 2017 model 13" MacBook Pro with 8GB and 256GB for $1189.

[Banana Hammock]

Are you tech savvy enough to replace the harddrive with a solid state and pop in a new battery?

[seetohey]

If that's all you do with your computer and no heavy digital content creation or gaming, then I'd highly recommend a Chromebook/Pixelbook. Between my MBP, Surface Pro, and Chromebook, I find myself on the Chromebook 85% of the time since majority of my time is spent doing exactly the stuff you listed.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by sxyblue

High on my list of reasons of getting the Apple years ago was the stigma of it not getting virus, malware, etc. and this is still tops on things I want if I get a new laptop.

"Honor among thieves" is long gone. You ARE a target. IF you have the above idea and take no action to protect yourself, you are now a VICTIM.

Here's how I prioritize spending money on a system these days:
1) RAM
2) SSD
3) it doesn't matter much after the above

[Captain Blood]

Costco is by far the best place to look for computers. I helped my dad buy one, for the features, it was far better than anywhere else (for an HP). For $700, he got a new I5, 12gig of memory, a huge screen, and several other goodies. They also have great deals on laptops with video boards.

[E92inNC]

Originally Posted by 440GCSTL

First thing I would do is buy a backup hard drive and setup time machine to back up your entire hard drive. I would recommend one that has a USB C connection and a USB 3.0 so that you can use the 3.0 on your old machine and the C on your new machine. Then you can do a complete reinstall of the operating system and once installed you can import all of your settings and programs from time machine. I'd do that first before you go buy another computer.

Thanks, I'm heading to Bestbuy next week and will bring up backing up my data.

Originally Posted by pasghetti

Are you tech savvy enough to replace the harddrive with a solid state and pop in a new battery?

If it's just removing screws, replace and reinsert without any programming, then yes. Replaced the 8GB with 16GB after I bought once I found out it wouldn't void my warranty, didn't really notice much difference though. Probably cuz I don't have a bunch on windows running simutaneoulsy.

Originally Posted by seetohey

If that's all you do with your computer and no heavy digital content creation or gaming, then I'd highly recommend a Chromebook/Pixelbook. Between my MBP, Surface Pro, and Chromebook, I find myself on the Chromebook 85% of the time since majority of my time is spent doing exactly the stuff you listed.

I was thinking of switching to Chrome or the like since they cost half of what Macs go for and just getting anti-virus software since most of what I do is pretty basic. Also just briefly read the benefits of SSD, will most definitely be getting a laptop with.

Any specific model year 17/18 laptops you guys recommend I look into or ask about?

[c1pher]

I would recommend a 13” MacBook Pro without the touchbar, a Microsoft Surface Notebook or a Dell XPS13. I have the MBP for personal use, the Microsoft Surface Laptop for work and we also issue the XPS13 which has a low rate of return at work. They aren’t cheap but troublefree.

[eluded]

Dump it & get a new mac air book or MacBook

[Crimson92]

Surface anything gets my vote.

[Banana Hammock]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

"Honor among thieves" is long gone. You ARE a target. IF you have the above idea and take no action to protect yourself, you are now a VICTIM.

Here's how I prioritize spending money on a system these days:
1) RAM
2) SSD
3) it doesn't matter much after the above

Best advice in this thread. Since your use case is just using the Microsoft Office Suite and web browsing, you are not going to see the benefits of the newer generation CPU. By far the biggest improvement you can make to an older computer is the Solid State Drive.

In terms of doing this yourself. Replacing the battery and drive is very simple but you will have to reinstall OSX. It's not very difficult if you have the disc that came with your laptop. The replacement battery can be had for about $40-$70 from Amazon and a SSD can range from $100-$250 depending on capacity. Upgrading RAM is straight forward too so that might be something you want to look at as well if you decide to go this route.

https://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBoo...body_Late_2011

[EL Jeffe 5]

replace battery add more ram you home free my man

[Alfisti]

Lenovo T series, only laptops i have used in eons, rock solid, built properly.

[sygazelle]

If you decide to buy a new machine, check out the Dell XPS before you buy another Mac.

I've been both a PC user and an Apple user for many years. For me, there is nothing special whatsoever about a Mac laptop over a good Windows 10 laptop. the Dell XPS 13 is thin, lightweight, cheap (by comparison to Mac) and with Windows 10 a perfect machine (to me). Others will undoubtedly disagree. Just go into Bestbuy and test drive an XPS and see for yourself.

Good luck!