Hi, all. As everyone knows, I'm a technotard. Look up that word in the dictionary and you'll see my face. I have a low end Toshiba Satellite C55-A and it's about to kick the pail. One of the USB ports stopped working, one of the other ports, sometimes it reads my USB sticks, sometimes it doesn't, it's just acting really funky and the writing is on the wall. I'll tell you what I found and what I'm looking for. I'd like input if it's a good bang for my buck or if you can suggest something with similar specs that's a better machine for the same or less money. Keep in mind I'm a cheapskate and a simpleton and I really wanted to keep it under $500 if I could. What I found is $487 on Amazon (2 yr service plan includes screen breakage, spills, dropping it out of a 10 story window for $47.99 no deductibles, which would bring cost up to $534.99). 2019 HP Premium 15.6" HD Laptop, AMD A6 Dual-Core 2.6 GHz, 8GB, 512GB, SSD, WiFi Bluetooth HD Webcam 3-in-1 SD Reader HDMI, Windows 10, Black Key features and Benefits: Operating system: Windows 10 Home 64bit Display: 15.6 inch HD LED backlight (1366 x 768) Touchscreen: No Screen Resolution: 1366 x 768 Processor: AMD A6-9225 2.6 GHz accelerated processor Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Headphone output/Microphone input combo, LAN (10/100/1000) Video: AMD Radeon R4 Media Drive: 3-in-1 card reader (SD/SDHC/SDXC) Optical Drive: DVD-RW Wireless connectivity: 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth Built-in HD webcam with microphone: YES Battery: 3-cell Li-Polymer Bluetooth: YES Weight: 4.61 pounds Color: Jet Black I'll break this down in to two posts because I'm sure everyone's eyes are bleeding already.
OK, like I said, I'm a simpleton. I DON'T want a touchscreen, mostly because I'm a klutz and I'm always good for a broken screen. I don't do gaming. I don't download music. I don't stream movies. I don't need Microsoft Office (Word Pad only is fine). All I use my laptop for is emails, writing, scanning in stuff occasionally for business purposes, using the internet, and downloading photos from my phone or camera onto the laptop and then onto USB. I don't care about lightning speed, serviceable is fine. So let me know what you think based on what I picked. We actually have a MacAir something or other that the old man got brand new for doing a side job instead of taking the cash. It's a $700 machine and it's been sitting in the box unused for over 4 years. We both messed around with it, but I neither of us could navigate it because I'm stupid, he lost patience, and it also has none of the features this simpleton needs. Thanks everyone.
I have an HP similar to yours . Make sure there is enough storage space because this has been a major problem. Otherwise , it's a decent machine.
^512GB, which I think is probably enough for me because I don't do anything fancy, but sure, I'd go 1TB for the same money on a different machine. The thing with this laptop is that it starts at $329 but when you upgrade from 4GB to 8GB it's $59 (I added it), if you upgrade from 256GB to 512GB it's another $99 (I added it).
WELL, THANKS EVERYONE! I thought there was a bunch of high-tech IT gurus on here! I went for it without the exteneded service protection warranty and saved myself a lot of trouble. It clearly says that the laptop was insured against screen damage, breakage, spills, etc. (with the exception of theft). I read the fine print and it was a bait and switch without even being remotely clear about it. The fine print said it was NOT covered for any of those things! I gave Amazon an earful and they patched in asurion and it's a good thing I picked up on what's to follow. Not only were the things in large print NOT covered in small print, the base price of the laptop was $329. Then I added RAM and memory or whatever the F and it brought it up to $487 (still a good deal it seems for what I'm getting). After you customize the laptop how you want and then go to put the laptap in your shopping cart is when the extended service protection from asurion pops up, 2 yrs for $47.99. It's a scam. It turns out I would only be covered for one year extra of the manufacturer's warranty (big deal, so essentially I'm doubling up for the first year), but it would only cover me on the base price . . . which means . . . I WOULDN'T BE COVERED AT ALL. I WOULD HAVE TO UPGRADE TO EXPENSIVE PLAN THAT EXCEEDED $450. RIP-OFF ALERT! Now watch me drop it taking it out of the box, lol.
OK, so here is something that I additionally hope someone can help me with (another RIP-OFF ALERT!). For an extra $15 I could have purchased an 'optimization program' that would get rid of bloatware and adware that was PRE-INSTALLED BY HP. So I'd be paying HP to take their own shit off. I said no to it. What I was able to find out was that I should 're-set' Windows 10 before I do ANYTHING with the computer and/or put anything on it and that will do it and accomplish the same exact thing: no pop-ups for free trials for anti-virus programs, kills a lot of bloatware, adware, etc. I'll bump this again when I get the laptop and hopefully someone can guide me through how to 're-set' Windows 10 (?). My anti-virus is through my ISP so I'll have to hard-wire it and they'll tell me how to put it in safe-mode (no clue) and they'll do the rest and then I should be good to go; but I really want all of the shitty garbage off. If no-one can help with that when the time comes, I guess I can always ask them. I think. Thanks.
If you paid for it with American Express, I think you can kick it down the stairs and Amex will cover it for a year or two at least.
