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?

[Rover_Bill]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Okay, this does not make sense but ...

For abut $750-$800 you have a SMOKIN' machine !

Spending $800 for a device to find the closest McD? :S

Save yourself $500 and get a Garmin RV-660.

[theoldwizard1]

Okay, this does not make sense but ...

HP Pavilion 15Z, 15.6" 1366x768 display, AMD Ryzen™ 5 2500U Quad-Core, 8GB memory, 1TB disk - $629

HP Pavilion 17Z, 17.3" 1600x900 display, AMD Ryzen™ 5 2500U Quad-Core, 8GB memory, 1TB disk - $495

Add a Samsung 25GB 970 Pro M,2 SSD - $117
Add the Garmin GLO receiver $100
Add a USB 3 CD/DVD player


For abut $750-$800 you have a SMOKIN' machine !

[theoldwizard1]

Garmin makes a Bluettooth GPS receiver call the GLO. If you are on a $400 budget, this add on costs about $100.

[CA_Traveler]

Nice docking station. I'm using the USB 3.0 Passport drives for backup.

[AsheGuy]

TenOC wrote:
I know my setup is somewhat complicated, but when I started fulltiming in 2006 (before the day of smartphone and GPS in TVs) it was very simple. My children say I am "crazy" and they use Google Maps and smart phones for all their GPS.

Your grandchildren are right. 🙂

I keep my 5th generation Garmin around but seldom use it. I use Google Maps on my android phone attached to the dash with Velcro for almost all navigation. I find the user interface on Google Maps way more user friendly and it finds destinations easier. Google also seems to have way more timely traffic info.

My recently purchased car has android auto and puts Google Maps on the vehicles 8" video screen.

So, my only need for Garmin is in our RV when we are out of cell phone range which is rare.

Oh, and by the way, I have grandchildren and great grandchildren so I could be in the old geezer category.

[TenOC]

My setup

1. A laptop with a Solid State Drive SSD (for speed) plus a
HD Docking Station Plugable USB 3.0 docking station with a number of large SATA hard drives for backup and to store large file like movies and books that I have downloaded. I also have a WD Passport portable drive that I can copy the movies to -- to watch using the USB port on my TV.

2. An old Garmin Streetpilot 2720 GPS -- love it. You can find one on eBay for less than $50.00. You may need to do some research on Google on how to load an up-to-date maps since the new maps are too large for the SP2720. But old out of date maps work well.

3. Garmin's free BaseCamp program install on the Laptop to plan the trips. BaseCamp is the best planning software I have found. The only problem is you MUST upload to a Garmin GPS. I then upload the planned trips to the SP2720.

I know my setup is somewhat complicated, but when I started fulltiming in 2006 (before the day of smartphone and GPS in TVs) it was very simple. My children say I am "crazy" and they use Google Maps and smart phones for all their GPS.

[kerrlakeRoo]

CA Traveler wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
On some of the very low end laptops you can not upgrade the RAM, because it is soldered down and there is not second slot.

From my checking this year more laptops cannot be upgraded. ie No access for memory, etc. Drives, memory etc may be soldered.

If this is a concern check the bottom for access and talk to the sales person who should know.

I had checked, expandable to 8 gig for only $30 . the second slot is there and open.

wimpy cpu i didn't know.

[CA_Traveler]

theoldwizard1 wrote:
On some of the very low end laptops you can not upgrade the RAM, because it is soldered down and there is not second slot.

From my checking this year more laptops cannot be upgraded. ie No access for memory, etc. Drives, memory etc may be soldered.

If this is a concern check the bottom for access and talk to the sales person who should know.

[theoldwizard1]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:

Something like this.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-bs244wm-15-6-Touchscreen-Laptop-Windows-10-Intel-Pentium-N5000-Processor-4GB-Memory-500-GB-Hard-Drive-DVD-Scarlet-Red/932224106

Wimpy CPU, not enough RAM.

On some of the very low end laptops you can not upgrade the RAM, because it is soldered down and there is not second slot.

[Kayteg1]

I've been using DeLorme GPS for long years till bought vehicles with build-in GPS.
Still for planning I would fire up my big laptop, where I could verify the route, what quite often was giving me long detours, or lot of unnecessary turns in city.
Last antenna and software I bought was in 2015 and looks like computer GPS lost the market at this time.
I hold to my 2015 Street Atlas Plus, as it has phone book and driving in the past with trailer - I was able to find tire shop and call in advance when I needed new tire.
Nice to have phone book with addresses where you don't have phone coverage, or even when you do.
I have GPS with live traffic on my android, but it sucks lot of data, what with my prepaid is not making it practical.
Still - would I need new GPS, I would not buy 1 without live traffic.
Have it on new truck and even you still have to evaluate it for overreaction, it is great help.
For some reason the software will lead you into 25 miles detour, becouse of 3 minutes traffic delay on main road.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Gaming is not my primary draw. Gal Civ and Sins of a solar empire are not hard uses, and I dont do any of it online. At home I have Satellite web access, and a 5 yr old desktop unit that was entry level when purchased. So no online gaming. Both offer offline options.

I plan on some limited web editing of drone video and the games need HD level video is all. Currently running a 6 yr old version of Radeon and it's sufficient. I had hoped to go up somewhat for future use is all.

The GPS was only for using google maps and scouting. If the laptop has gps built in, I can open Google maps, it will automatically go to where I am, and I can then manually move the map to where I am considering going next. Not for navigation while driving, I already have that covered.

[CA_Traveler]

BTW We've used a basic Garmin GPS for years in the MH and CRV. We don't need CG or road information like height restrictions from the GPS. Online and common sense are our guides. I would not want a 15" laptop on the dash and below the dash would be a distraction to me.

[Tom_M1]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Didn't realize the hotspots sometimes have GPS built in. Am using my phone for both now, but may have to check that out.
Thx

I don't know what hotspots have GPS. For my 6620 you have to install a driver on your PC that creates a virtual COM port. Streets & Trips then uses that COM port.

[CA_Traveler]

Gaming laptops are definitely a step up from my above post. But most likely at $1000 absolute bare minimum. Plus don't overlook the much higher heat generated. I'm very pleased with the lower heat levels in my new laptop vs my older laptop.

[CA_Traveler]

The trend in laptops is thinner and lighter and most no longer have optical drives, buy an external one if necessary. They also can't be upgraded under warranty, including no access. So buy enough memory and drive capability. You'll also find that laptops often have integrated video, separate video is more likely in a desktop.

SSD drives are available in laptops but not likely at a $400 price point. Look at the port types like USB 3.0, etc. At least 8GB ram for W10 and 12GB if shared by the video was my minimum.

I found everything I wanted in a laptop from Costco online. 2 year warranty plus 2 years using the Costco CC, ie 4 years, in store the same. I ordered it and that started the build process in China so I had to wait.