Budget Laptop Recommends for the Season?

[wangstramedeous]

Hello, I'm the family "IT" tech guy and I need some recommends for a budget laptop for some older folks. Due to age, to keep things simple, going to stick with Windows. I'm looking to spend up to $600-$800, minimum 13 in and a decent keyboard and build. They've been using older WinXP HP laptops that were built to last and had actual keyboards. Its just for email and writing up papers. Does not need to be high res screen, they consistently end up lowering it anyway.

Are there any standouts that would fit that bill?

 

[wangstramedeous]

Contenders I've come up with so far -

Thinkpad E550
HP Pavilion 15t
Dell Inspiron 15 5000

Not sure which of these would qualify for best durability and keyboard.

 

[pantsparty]

Are you considering Chromebooks if most of what they do is in a web browser anyway? That would cut down considerably the amount of tech support you need to do once you get past the "use Google Docs instead of Microsoft Word" stage.

 

[continuum]

Asus UX305?

 

[emag]

I think any option without an IPS screen is unreasonable these days. The viewing angles on TFTs are just so terrible. A touchscreen might be a good option, but how useful that is depends very much on the end user.

The Asus Zenbook UX305 ($600-$800) mentioned by continuum is a nice choice. As suggested by pantsparty, there are some Chromebooks (Toshiba Chromebook 2 at $250-$350 or Acer Chromebook 15 at $350+) that should work as well, although they obviously don't run Windows.

If something a little larger would be better, consider the 15" Acer Aspire V models.

 

[nehinks]

Look at business class machines - like a Dell Latitude. It's going to have generally better build quality and fits most of your other criteria. 600-800 is usually right in the midrange for one (at least on sale, which is quite common). Only real downsides are they usually aren't pushing the latest UHD screen (which you don't care about anyway), and they do usually start with a 2.5" 5400RPM drive. On the flip side if you wanted to throw in an SSD it's usually really easy to do yourself. 15" models are usually the best bang for your buck for whatever reason - pay more to get smaller or bigger. Dell outlet has some good deals on used/refurbished machines too if you don't need the latest chip.

Edit: I actually have a UX305 and quite enjoy it (though wish there was a way to trade it in for this years model just for the improved graphics...). Judging from what you said about resolution though your relatives might have issues with the screen - 1920x1080 in a 13" screen can get pretty small. And windows scaling is still not perfect (mostly programs fault, but whatever).

 

[zelmak]

My wife's been using an HP Stream 13" for the past year and its been adequate for her needs.

May be a bit too limited for what you're looking to do, however.

Definitely (low) budget!