looking for a new laptop gps anyone?

[kerrlakeRoo]

I was going to look for a new laptop and get off the tablet I mostly use now, Going full time in the near future makes keeping the desktop unit impractical.
With Amazon, Bestbuy and Helmart all holding Black friday in July sales tomorrow , I wanted to ask for recommendations on any which have or can have a gps card installed.
I think there are also some gps dongle units which may be useful. If anyone is using one, I would love a comment on its ease of use and quality.
While GPS is in most every phone and tablet, it appears to be missing from most laptops.
Trying to stay with these specs as a minimum
$400 price point
4 gig ram
500g HDD
1 optical drive
3 usb ports,
Radeon R4 or equivalent
15.6" screen
Or should I give up the HDD and opt for multiple SDD with maybe 64 or 128 G built in?

[theoldwizard1]

AsheGuy wrote:
It all depends on the user. Entry level for one is perfectly satisfactory for (my guess) the majority of users.

I disagree !

Several years ago, my mother-in-law bought a new laptop because she was having "issues" with her old one (she real did not need a new laptop, just a better way to connect to the internet). She bought an "entry" level machine running Windows 8.

The transition from Win7 to Win8 was quite an issue and she ended up give me the machine. I did the Win8 to Win10 free "upgrade". What a mistake ! With only 1 core and with only 4GB of memory, the poor machine was swapping itself to death ! Then I found out that the memory could not be upgraded (it was soldered to the motherboard; the space for the second memory SODIMM did not have a socket)

About the only thing this laptop would be good for is a Linux laptop.

I would never recommend ANY PC with less than 4 cores and 8GB of upgradeable memory !

[kerrlakeRoo]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Thx all, ended up with this one and it appears to touch all the bases, and with a GPS dongle will allow Google earth and similar programs to find me allowing scouting in remote areas.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i3-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-hp-...

Sorry to sound like a snob, but I "underwhelmed" by your choice. With only 2 cores and a 1366x768 display, I would only classify this as an entry level machine.

It might be fine for you, but not for me !

It came in, it appears to be running everything fine. The 8 gigs of Ram make it seem fast to me.
I made the mistake of saying what I would be using it for, and everyone seemed to go much farther into the high end machines than I needed.
Loaded two games they play quickly and cleanly, have just started researching basic video editing, don't know that I will need it but got the touchscreen for that purpose (along with my aging eyes) which I assume is what forced the resolution level to 1366x768, it's still as good or better than I can see.
Using google earth with the touchscreen also is something I wanted after becoming used to using it with an android tablet. and the bigger screen does help with that.
So for now, I'm happy with it.

[AsheGuy]

fj12ryder wrote:
Evolution or devolution?

No doubt the former (meanings in this context)...

Evolution: the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.

Devolution: descent or degeneration to a lower or worse state.

[fj12ryder]

AsheGuy wrote:
It all depends on the user. Entry level for one is perfectly satisfactory for (my guess) the majority of users. For those who now exist in the cloud world, one's "workstation" does not need much power to be perfectly satisfactory. And for many not in the cloud world but who use devices mostly for email or web access the same is true. For many users PCs have evolved back in function as the same as what we used to call "dumb terminals" attached to "mainframe" computers. I entered into the computer world in 1960 and have been part of the evolution.

Evolution or devolution?

[AsheGuy]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Thx all, ended up with this one and it appears to touch all the bases, and with a GPS dongle will allow Google earth and similar programs to find me allowing scouting in remote areas.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i3-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-hp-...

Sorry to sound like a snob, but I "underwhelmed" by your choice. With only 2 cores and a 1366x768 display, I would only classify this as an entry level machine.

It might be fine for you, but not for me !

It all depends on the user. Entry level for one is perfectly satisfactory for (my guess) the majority of users. For those who now exist in the cloud world, one's "workstation" does not need much power to be perfectly satisfactory. And for many not in the cloud world but who use devices mostly for email or web access the same is true. For many users PCs have evolved back in function as the same as what we used to call "dumb terminals" attached to "mainframe" computers. I entered into the computer world in 1960 and have been part of the evolution.

[theoldwizard1]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Thx all, ended up with this one and it appears to touch all the bases, and with a GPS dongle will allow Google earth and similar programs to find me allowing scouting in remote areas.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i3-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-hp-...

Sorry to sound like a snob, but I "underwhelmed" by your choice. With only 2 cores and a 1366x768 display, I would only classify this as an entry level machine.

It might be fine for you, but not for me !

[kerrlakeRoo]

CA Traveler wrote:
With the demise of S&T I use Google maps. Plus I like the ability to switch to the satellite view for new to me CGs and areas.

Exactly, and having the GPS on the laptop simplifies looking through Google Earth. I know I can manually enter starting coordinates, I just would rather have it done internally to eliminate the possibility of an error.

[CA_Traveler]

With the demise of S&T I use Google maps. Plus I like the ability to switch to the satellite view for new to me CGs and areas.

[Bill_Satellite]

You just don't need GPS but if you are happy then reality has nothing at all to do with what you should or should not do.
Glad to hear that you found something that you like.
Everything, including Google Earth, works perfectly without a GPS dongle.

[theoldwizard1]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Thx all, I believe I am looking at a mid grade laptop, will try for 8 gig, with any hd graphics card.
GPS from a dongle seems the best bet since its use will be limited to campsite use at a picnic table or in the dinette.

We'll see what comes up in these sales today.

Please do follow up ! I will be curious to see what you come up with.

While still not common in laptops, the AMD Ryzen family of CPUs (with built in GPU) IMHO is the best bang for the buck out there !

[kerrlakeRoo]

Thx all, ended up with this one and it appears to touch all the bases, and with a GPS dongle will allow Google earth and similar programs to find me allowing scouting in remote areas.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i3-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-hp-finish-in-jet-black/6181603.p?skuId=6181603

[Tom_M1]

Bill.Satellite wrote:
The only thing the GPS would do is show your location but it will not help, or be necessary, for any route planning while sitting at the picnic table!

This generally is true. But when you're out in the boonies and you don't have much to reference your position, a GPS is great. I have been at spots in the Rockies and Cascades where this happens. With Streets & Trips and a GPS I can easily mark my present location. This also helps when telling someone else where you are located.

There are many GPS dongles available for under $20. Here's one available on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Diymall-G-mouse-Glonass-Raspberry-Aviation/dp/B00NWEEWW8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&q...

[Bill_Satellite]

If you don't plan to use it as a GPS in motion then there is ZERO reason to buy a GPS dongle or anything with built in GPS. You can manually select your location just as quickly and let the software do all the calculations. The only thing the GPS would do is show your location but it will not help, or be necessary, for any route planning while sitting at the picnic table!

[kerrlakeRoo]

Thx all, I believe I am looking at a mid grade laptop, will try for 8 gig, with any hd graphics card.
GPS from a dongle seems the best bet since its use will be limited to campsite use at a picnic table or in the dinette.

We'll see what comes up in these sales today.