# Looking for an extremely cheap Windows laptop



## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I want to practice my Excel skills. I got a book for it and I might take a free or cheapo course. The problem is that I have a Macbook and Excel on it is weird. At work I was using Excel on a Windows desktop and at my next job most likely I will also be using a Windows desktop.

Anyways, I have a lot of free time right now since I'm not working so I'd like to get it soon. Something for less than $200. Refurbished is okay. 

Any recommendations?


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Would there be a big difference between 2GB RAM vs 4GB? I'm looking at these 2 laptops:

http://computers.woot.com/offers/asus-eeebook-x205ta-11-6-32gb-notebook-22?ref=cp_cnt_wp_4_1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LT692R...TF8&colid=1R6GMSY7RDQPG&coliid=I3243XCL35QU5P


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## HenDoggy (Jul 26, 2014)

I have the asus laptop in the first link and it's slow as **** when I use it to browse the web. Excel isn't really demanding software so I guess 2gb would be fine. Maybe look for a chromebook or something. I'm just not a fan of asus.


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## Trooper (Apr 29, 2011)

I don't know if you have access to, or own a copy of Microsoft Office already, or were wishing to get it bundled with the laptop you were wishing to purchase (as some do come with a free copy and a years subscription to use it), or were thinking of purchasing office separately ?.

The second laptop you linked to does come with a free 1 years access to Microsoft Office, but is a pretty slow laptop and has quite a small 11.6 inch screen. It may also struggle a little while running office, but will still get the job done.

If you already have access to a copy of office already, then I would definitely recommend the one linked below for the same amount of money $199.99. It has a bigger and better quality screen and is a much faster laptop overall.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F4ZG68A


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

HenDoggy said:


> I have the asus laptop in the first link and it's slow as **** when I use it to browse the web. Excel isn't really demanding software so I guess 2gb would be fine. Maybe look for a chromebook or something. I'm just not a fan of asus.


So it is very slow, hmmm. I don't think you can run regular Excel on a chromebook.



Trooper said:


> I don't know if you have access to, or own a copy of Microsoft Office already, or were wishing to get it bundled with the laptop you were wishing to purchase (as some do come with a free copy and a years subscription to use it), or were thinking of purchasing office separately ?.
> 
> The second laptop you linked to does come with a free 1 years access to Microsoft Office, but is a pretty slow laptop and has quite a small 11.6 inch screen. It may also struggle a little while running office, but will still get the job done.
> 
> ...


I have MS Office 365 University, so I can put it on 2 devices. How is the HP laptop you linked to faster than the ASUS one? They are both 4GB RAM. I guess a bigger screen would be nice.


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## Carolyne (Sep 20, 2016)

Instead of buying a new laptop could you just buy windows and use one of those programs like parallels or just dual boot?


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## Trooper (Apr 29, 2011)

The processors/CPU's (The brains that does all the work of running Windows and the programs you need) in both the laptops are completely different. The Asus you linked to is an Intel Atom processor which is one of the slowest you can get for a laptop, and is really designed for cheap tablets or mobile phones. The HP I linked to has an AMD E2 processor that is actually designed to be used in a laptop and run Windows 10, and is physically too large to even think about being used in a mobile phone.

Trust me, The HP is definitely much faster and a much better deal considering it is the same price as the Asus you linked too.


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## HenDoggy (Jul 26, 2014)

How soon do you need to get a laptop? If you live in the us Black Friday is around the corner. I'm sure you can find a mid line laptop for cheap at the end of the month.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

HenDoggy said:


> How soon do you need to get a laptop? If you live in the us Black Friday is around the corner. I'm sure you can find a mid line laptop for cheap at the end of the month.


I'd like to get it soon since I'm not doing anything right now other than applying for crappy jobs and the occasional interview. It doesn't have to be a great laptop. My Macbook is my main laptop. It's just going to be used for Excel or as a backup in case the Macbook ever dies.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

Trooper said:


> The processors/CPU's (The brains that does all the work of running Windows and the programs you need) in both the laptops are completely different. The Asus you linked to is an Intel Atom processor which is one of the slowest you can get for a laptop, and is really designed for cheap tablets or mobile phones. The HP I linked to has an AMD E2 processor that is actually designed to be used in a laptop and run Windows 10, and is physically too large to even think about being used in a mobile phone.
> 
> Trust me, The HP is definitely much faster and a much better deal considering it is the same price as the Asus you linked too.


I see. Didn't know there was a huge difference between brands of processors.

I think I want something lighter in weight. 4 pounds is a bit hefty. I might be moving next summer, so the less weight I have to carry on the airplane the better.


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## Trooper (Apr 29, 2011)

komorikun said:


> I see. Didn't know there was a huge difference between brands of processors.
> 
> I think I want something lighter in weight. 4 pounds is a bit hefty. I might be moving next summer, so the less weight I have to carry on the airplane the better.


Hi komorikun, Yes, there are considerable differences in speed and cost in different brands and models of processors (which is usually what can drive a products price up).

Anyway, I have taken into consideration your comment regarding the weight of the laptop, and based my next search to include lightness as an important feature you require. Your available options are drastically reduced when looking for a lightweight at the cheap end of the laptop market, where most are made of plastic, and aluminium is usually reserved for the premium end of the market. Plastic and cheaper components add quite a lot to the weight of a cheap laptop, whereas aluminium and smaller but dearer components reduce the weight considerably.

Right, this is the best I could come up with (on Amazon, but refrained from venturing on eBay), that will run Office without any problems, is thin and light (2.6lb) and has a 13.3 inch screen. The caveat is, it's $224.10 for a refurbished grade A unit, but has free shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-S3-391-6046-13-3-Inch-Ultrabook-Windows/dp/B00AH4A950/

You'd be mad not to pass this one up, but then you know what you need and want to pay.


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## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Trooper said:


> Right, this is the best I could come up with (on Amazon, but refrained from venturing on eBay), that will run Office without any problems, is thin and light (2.6lb) and has a 13.3 inch screen. The caveat is, it's $224.10 for a refurbished grade A unit, but has free shipping.
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Acer-S3-391-6046-13-3-Inch-Ultrabook-Windows/dp/B00AH4A950/
> 
> You'd be mad not to pass this one up, but then you know what you need and want to pay.


 That's got good specs but that's A LOT of bad reviews. I don't necessarily always go by reviews but 3 stars out of 197 reviews, I'd be really leery of that.


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## societe anonyme (Dec 12, 2009)

Carolyne said:


> Instead of buying a new laptop could you just buy windows and use one of those programs like parallels or just dual boot?


Agree with this. Other than the keyboard not being precisely mapped, buying a Windows 10 license will almost certainly be the cheapest and best option (because the MacBook will have much better specs than a cheapie).

EDIT - Boot Camp makes it easy to install Windows too...


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## Wicked96 (Nov 9, 2016)

Depends what you want to use laptop for. I think for just using the internet 2GB of ram will be fine. If you intend to install some programs and work in.. i dont know, photoshop? Then 4GB would be better.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

I was also looking at this one. Some of the reviews say the spacebar is messed up. If I get refurbished or a used one on Amazon, I'd like to buy it from Amazon Warehouse and not the individual sellers.

I'd really prefer something less than 3 pounds though, that way I'll have a use for it after my move. I think after I move and get settled down, I may get a PC desktop (might try making it myself). Regular monitors are so much bigger and nicer than laptop screens. I'll use the cheapo PC laptop for trips and take it to places I'd feel uncomfortable taking the MacBook.

It seems like Windows laptops are rather heavy compared to Macs and Chromebooks. Or maybe just the cheapo ones are heavy. My current laptop has a 13.3 inch screen and weighs 3.46 pounds. So what makes a laptop heavy, other than the screen size?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B9APNG...colid=1R6GMSY7RDQPG&coliid=I1XW38J8Q1HAA2&me=


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## shiori (Nov 7, 2010)

Unless you really want a new laptop, just install Windows on your Macbook using Boot Camp:

http://www.redmondpie.com/install-windows-10-on-mac-using-boot-camp-heres-how-tutorial/

I have this and it works great. The benefits are that it's free, it will run much better than a cheapie laptop and it's also very convenient to be able to switch between Windows and Mac so you don't have to carry around two laptops.


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## discoveryother (Sep 18, 2016)

i'd probably use virtualbox or some other tool to run it on the macbook.

buying second hand laptops has never been a good option. with an old one you stick with an old OS and use out of date things, or use a new os and it gets real slow. overheating problems are more likely. the price (at least here in nz) of a second hand fairly new laptop is only slightly less than new. second hand desktops are a lot more economical.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

shiori said:


> Unless you really want a new laptop, just install Windows on your Macbook using Boot Camp:
> 
> http://www.redmondpie.com/install-windows-10-on-mac-using-boot-camp-heres-how-tutorial/
> 
> I have this and it works great. The benefits are that it's free, it will run much better than a cheapie laptop and it's also very convenient to be able to switch between Windows and Mac so you don't have to carry around two laptops.


Maybe I'll give that a try. Looks like you can get a free 90 day trial of Windows 10. See if the MS Office 365 works.


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## shiori (Nov 7, 2010)

komorikun said:


> Maybe I'll give that a try. Looks like you can get a free 90 day trial of Windows 10. See if the MS Office 365 works.


I think you should still be able to download the full Windows 10 for free from the Microsoft website. I got it from here before:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

When you install Windows 10 it asks you to activate it using a product key (which you can only get by buying it), but you should still be able to install/use almost all the functionalities of Windows without activating it. Including running Office, etc. At least that's been my experience so far. I've been running it for a few weeks now and it hasn't asked me to pay for it yet.


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## MCHB (Jan 1, 2013)

komorikun said:


> Maybe I'll give that a try. Looks like you can get a free 90 day trial of Windows 10. See if the MS Office 365 works.


I'd recommend trying to track down an older version of office (I use a cracked 2010 version of office because I refuse to buy software I already own). I'm opinionated, but to me the newer version of office is stupidly expensive and seems shady; they give you an option to try it, to buy it right out for a stupid amount, or they charge a monthly fee to use it. If you can find a computer that comes bundled with a student version of office though (like my old one was), that may not be the case.

If you wind up going the new computer route, more ram never hurts. My last computer had 2gigs of ram and it worked decently for browsing the internet, word processing and that sort of stuff. My new one has 8gigs and it's substantially faster (both are from Asus). I would recommend keeping an eye out for sales; chances are you can find something decently priced that will do everything you're looking for!

Windows 10 has a lot of pros and cons over prior versions, but once you get it setup (ie, opt out of a bunch of stuff, circumvent the auto updates and remove or disable a few other things) it does the job nicely.


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## komorikun (Jan 11, 2009)

If I had money I'd get one of these Zenbooks. $650. A lot cheaper than MacBooks. I don't know why but I like ASUS more than the other PC brands. Dell, HP, and Lenovo seem really clunky in comparison.

I guess Zenbooks weren't around in November 2014 when I was shopping around for a new computer. Or maybe they were the same price as MacBooks at the time. If that $650 Zenbook had been around at the time, I'd have bought that instead.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BMERZJ...olid=1R6GMSY7RDQPG&coliid=IM246FJ39LX64&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Zenbook-UX33...01M18UZF5/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com...your-laptop-212284/index2.html#post1073713657


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## Ape in space (May 31, 2010)

The light laptops usually have a solid state drive (SSD) rather than a traditional hard disk drive (HDD). They are basically small wafer-looking things kind of like a memory card, and they have no moving parts. I think Macbook has SSD, which is why it's light. But SSDs are also much more expensive than the equivalent storage for HDD, so if you want a light and cheap laptop, you will probably have to get one with a very small amount of storage. But SSDs also make the computer much faster because it takes almost no time to access the data unlike a HDD which has to rotate the disk and move a mechanical arm. So there's that to consider too.


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