So I can't find a main laptop buying thread...
My current Toshiba has a number of problems.
- The native color settings are not true-to-life. I can't edit my photography because the laptop adds a gray sludge to everything. I once set my camera next to the screen and calibrated the laptop so that the picture on the camera matched the picture on the computer - but then everything else in Windows except my photography was black and white
[a
review claimed the screen "improved the look of photographs" - bullcrap!]
- The CD drive is starting to break down in a number of ways. Sometimes it ejects the CD/DVD without warning; sometimes it won't read the media; sometimes it makes an incredibly loud grinding chainsaw noise; yesterday it stopped opening altogether.
- The wifi radio switch sometimes thinks it's turned off when it's not, trapping me in a Catch-22 world where there's no wireless.
- It's nearing its third birthday.
So I think I am going to soon be needing a new laptop.
Here's how I use my laptop.
- Not a gamer, except for OOTP.
- Not a big software guy at all, actually. My most-used programs are Word, iTunes and Paint.
- Portability doesn't matter. Don't take it to work, don't commute with it - just carry it around the apartment. My current laptop is 7 lbs!
- I do watch a lot of DVDs and stream a lot of stuff from Netflix. I'd like to be able to edit my photography again (see above).
- I'm a music critic; I write about 80 CD reviews a year. Until I find a nicer apartment and save up for a stereo, I mostly listen with my laptop's CD drive (and very nice headphones). So having some kind of CD drive - in the computer or USB if necessary - is absolutely mandatory.
- Speaking of music, I have 165 GB of music on my hard drive. There's more on an external. That's not even counting video, pictures, programs. So HD space is a good thing.
- I've never owned a smartphone or used one for more than 5 minutes, so the reviews of Windows 8 are scary to me. I am open to switching to Mac if that's the best option; have enjoyed using them a lot in the past, they're just so darn expensive.
- I get educator discounts.
Any thoughts? Any ideas of what types of computers I should be looking at? Should I keep this laptop, pay to fix the CD drive and suck it up with the other problems? Or should I go shopping?