$99 NEW PC vs $99 USED Mac

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Wandering through Microcenter on Black Friday I came across this; a brand new Windows laptop for just $99. I thought wow, that has to be a video. Why does a $99 new laptop need to exist and how does it compare to a $99 used laptop, in this case a 2012 MacBook Pro? Is there any benefit to a new Windows vs Mac, or a new laptop over a used one? Which is more useful, more powerful, more upgradable? Today we'll answer all of these questions!
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[@lukemiani]

Which of these laptops would you pick? Is there a third option you prefer? We’re writing all the time at work, whether it’s emails, drafting up video scripts, etc. but having a tool like Grammarly will help improve your productivity and save time! It’s FREE, why not? Sign up for a FREE account and get 20% off Grammarly Premium: grammarly.com/lukemiani

[@luisernestofdez6518]

3rd choice 99 dollar used PC with better performance than those 2

[@blackcoffeegarage]

Definitelty the Mac.. but am I crazy or did I spot a PCIE conector on that board? Or was that MSATA? @8:45

[@lychgator]

How far can the OS on the old MacBook be updated? Are there security concerns running an old OS?

[@tailsorange2872]

I would go for a used ThinkPad at that price.

[@Jushwa]

I’ll take the one with the hard drive cable that kills itself

[@jonathanbrooks9695]

I bought one of these a couple months ago when Microcenter had these even cheaper at $80. Out of the box it was pretty slow, but I went ahead and put in a spare NVME drive I had laying around, and installed Windows 10 LTSC instead of home. That made a MASSIVE difference in usability. For a basic machine, for kids, or for traveling absolutely go for it if you are able to upgrade it.

[@berkant_k]

@@officialLukeMiani bot

[@FlamingShutter]

Don't reply to official Luke that's a bot

[@gern0tk]

Does it have an M.2 slot?

[@clwoni1414]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@Nurse_Xochitl]

@@gern0tk IDK that it has an extra one, but I guess they could remove the wifi card and put in a small M.2 SSD... then use a USB wifi dongle. Honestly I rather have an even slower, older netbook with a single core Atom N450 and 2GB of RAM. At least the 2.5" SATA HDD storage can be upgraded to a more usable 2.5" SATA SSD. Then use a lightweight Linux distro to help with the mediocre performance.

[@petersziraki7672]

I think this little Asus should be revised again with an NVME SSD. If I saw it right, there was a slot inside for that. I bought a 240 GB NVME SSD for ~$10 and I know from personal experience, that it can mean a lot in terms of usability! Also, it is fanless, so less noisy. It is probably less heavy, the battery can probably last longer than the Macbook's battery, because that CPU only uses 6 W, vs the 30+ W of that i5 chip. So overall, I see why these low-end machines exist and in certain use cases, it can be better, than an older Macbook with the same price!

[@wspak2628]

Depends if that asus support nvme m.2 or just sata m.2

[@benf4531]

I actually run a small repair shop at my college, and have a bunch of these little asus laptops as loaners. I bought a bunch of them at microcenter and put in an nvme drive and they’re very very useable for light schoolwork and web browsing! I personally like how durable they and and how did the price they still have things like good battery life and usbc

[@darwiniandude]

@@benf4531 Yeah the battery life should be good - since the performance of the Intel chip used is not. That's how you get good battery life on an Intel laptop. :)

[@petersziraki7672]

@@benf4531 I agree. For certain use cases, these machines are better than a second-hand 10-year-old Mac. I upgraded my Lenovo S10 (I hope I remember correctly the exact model number :) ) with an NVME SSD and I tried running Geekbench with and without. Along with a more usable, fluid system responsiveness, I saw a 25% increase in the Geekbench results.

[@benny7682]

@@benf4531 Yeah to an extent literally every pc made in the last 20 years can do that.

[@TheKDKCollector]

If I only had USD $100 and can only choose between those 2 I’d obviously choose the MacBook! However if I had a 3rd option it’d definitely be a used Thinkpad. Thinkpads are my most favourite PC laptops due to their sturdy build quality, and ofc u can run Windows or Linux on them (or maybe even turn it into a Hackintosh if you have the appropriate skills!), or maybe a 4th option which is a Dell Latitude.

[@FlamingShutter]

@@officialLukeMiani bot

[@tylerbroad9457]

Those older Dell Latitudes are fantastic, especially if you can find one cheap. I personally own an E5450 with the i7-5600u, which isn't a powerhouse but it's plenty for Windows 10/Linux which I run on it, and it still makes a fun and speedy daily driver, especially with a cheap SSD and a bit of RAM.

[@TheKDKCollector]

@@FlamingShutter yeah it's an impostor, I already reported it

[@TheKDKCollector]

@@tylerbroad9457 yea IKR! I absolutely agree with u on that one. I'd probably get one as well, although I'm more into Thinkpads XD

[@FlamingShutter]

@@TheKDKCollector awesome good job!

[@ping2443]

I do agree with you that a used mac is a much better option than the windows laptop but in places like India you just cannot find macs anywhere near that price range. I personally own one of those mini laptops that my dad bought back in 2016 and it really comes in handy when I'm not at home and cant use my pc. They're really really light and have great battery life so I can just chuck it in a backpack(or carry it around in my hands) without a charger plus the new ones charge via type-C too. They're really useful if you cant get macs in your region and just need a laptop for basic tasks when you're out.

[@apostolllos]

ebay is your friend, for a little extra you can still find something cheap. I paid around 300 bucks for my 8gb 2013 macbook air

[@ping2443]

@@apostolllos yes there are really good deals on ebay but in most cases you actually have to pay more in shipping than the product itself to get it here.

[@MasterKey2004]

@@apostolllos and here this guy got a MacBook Pro 2013 with Retina display for 100 bucks

[@apostolllos]

i bought mine locally tho

[@suniljha-yp6ll]

​@@ping2443in india too, you can buy locally. But would get 2014 macbook air for $300

[@kkjthouttunkal]

why didn't you buy a used Thinkpad and compare it to the used MacBook. would have been an interesting video.

[@insaneiaq]

Exactly, this "comparison" doesn't make any sense.

[@fantasypvp]

That's precisely what I said lmao. You can get some insane stuff for really cheap when it comes to thinkpads. I paid £170 for a x1 yoga G3 a few months ago

[@samscam951]

"It's like a Blackberry" Damn. Performancewise definitely.

[@OlegAryutkin]

Used thinkpad. Last year i got a W series for my mom for like $200. It had an nVidia freaking Quadro, 32gb RAM, a quad core i7, magnificent keyboard and basically looked brand new. It is still more powerful than most users even need.

[@patricks8086]

Congratulations Luke, you purchased a $100 electronic door stop. 😂 Seriously though, I’ve been telling my friends for years you can still get good performance and reliability from an older MacBook Pro at a very reasonable price point. I rocked my 2012 13” for many years until the M1 Air came into my life, and I still use the MBP as my home server!

[@cmantac6588]

Great video as always!! I like videos where you show comparisons and also show how good older apple computers still are. I have my own collection of older units and for some reason I always end up choosing to use them over my new products/laptops(yes this includes PBG4). Keep up the great work!

[@v4kira]

I've been waiting for a new video i cant wait to enjoy this

[@SynMusique]

Well, I used a cheap laptop like this a few years back for writing scripts. It was slow but I loved it and did whatever I wanted it to do which is obviously not much. Also I used it to record a few tracks in Reaper too. Crazy!

[@thehobnob]

I remember years ago you did a video on some old ThinkPads. Would be interesting to see you revisit that!

[@jmattos]

Your videos like this really speak to me! Love it!

[@Itsraminstech]

I would go with the MBP. I have one as my main Mac with an SSD and 8gb RAM (that I installed) and with OCLP Ventura it runs really well!

[@GaetanoEsse]

Idk, it seems a bit unfair comparison, even the PC should be from the used market.. Sometimes you could find interesting deals with specs a lot higher than the Mac in this video

[@goobfilmcast4239]

You should have done a few more side-by-side App comparisons....including Running Boot Camp in the Mac and doing direct Windows benchmarks....even if the MacBook could only run an Older version of windows itself.

[@TighelanderII]

I think this Mac can run Windows 10

[@idkjuststop]

@@TighelanderII also windows 11 pretty well didnt u see how the macbook smoked that potato laptop and if that can run windows 11 why cant the macbook

[@ViewpointUnique]

You can get decent 7-10 year old Dell Latitude in that range with similar or better specs than the MacBook. If you need a cheap Windows machine, that’s one good way to go.

[@NijiDash]

True, but only if you can accept you won't be allowed into Starbucks. 😂

[@djt1034]

something to note is the bluetooth and wifi cards, don't get me wrong, i'd also pick the 10 year old mac, but with my experience in buying old macbook's, they will have older wifi cards, which tends to be a problem for me. maybe the internet speeds etc might be better on a newer windows laptop

[@FunfakeElectronics]

sadly it's rarely the case. Macs tend to have top notch components when they are release, which are usually translated to longer user. This includes the latest wifi specs, multi antenna design for newer models and much more. Contrary to that, despite the fact that this kind of laptop is brand new, it's low cost induces cuts like having a single antenna for wifi instead of the basic two or 4 used now + the cpu being really underpowered can have a hard time processing all of that data. In a lot of cases, older macbooks still win or equal this round. (that excludes the bluetooth card that is certainly more recent, I hope).

[@NO_obs]

@@FunfakeElectronics yeah thinkpads are like this also ive got thinkpads that are like 10 years old with gigabit eth and theres still plenty of devices without gigabit eth

[@BrandonGiesing]

@@FunfakeElectronics Keep in mind, it's not just about antenna count, that older Macbook is likely pre-Wifi 5/AC, you will be limited to slow N speeds

[@jdkantorowicz]

I actually bought this laptop in order to have a Windows computer around for when I need Windows on the off occasion. I also use it to the side of my work desk since they block social networking on their network. I ended up putting a 256GB nvme drive in it and it does just the minimum. But it does it!

[@PurpleNoseKitty]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the fact that the mid 2012 macbook pro is no longer recieveing OS updates which as I've learned with MacOS can be detrimental compared to windows (for example all web browsers still support windows 7, whereas trying to run the latest browsers or basically any software on Snow Leopard is a joke)

[@ctrlcf]

Does it really matter? You could just Boot Camp it and leave it on Windows permanently

[@ctrlcf]

@hd01 you wouldn't have to "patch" it, you'd just have to set it to ignore the lack of TPM 2, something that MS has even made a guide for

[@NormanF62]

The mid 2012 will run Catalina. So its still useable in 2022 and with a patch you can run Ventura on it.

[@raduflorin6154]

You have no idea what you are talking about, the mid 2012 , with the HD4000 intel graphics , can take a clean install of OS Catalina, which is still supported by apple, and you can install Windows 10 x64 through bootcamp assistant, with no issues 😉!

[@gmdrandom6287]

Open core legacy patcher

[@caprature]

I will say having certain hardware decoders that are in the Celeron can make a huge difference for an average joe if that just watch videos or streams. Massive efficiency improvements. And typically in most chassis low heat and good battery. When I went from a t430 with a i7 3rd gen with intel hd 4000 to a celeron n4100, yes the performance was slower. But for general tasks 90% of us do. The celeron is superior.

[@fantasypvp]

😂 how much did the hp e-waste division pay you to say that

[@itsonepixel]

It's kind of an unfair comparison, because, after all, that macbook once was a pro an premium device, while the windows laptop is brand-new, so it obviously has compromises. a much mure fair comparison would be 100$ used macbook vs 100$ used professional windows laptop of the same age.

[@alliejr]

I have a cheap 14inch Asus Chromebook I use as a Linux shell machine. It was about $120 in January. Crap display but good enough. No backlit keyboard but good enough. All plastic-- but it's just a keybaord and screen for me and since most of my work is in the shell-- it's perfect.

[@Nostalgiaforinfi]

Sounds like ass glad you like it.

[@andydurazo5337]

I made a similar mistake when Fry’s was around. Haven’t used that Windows machine in years. Still using the 13” Mac Book Pro.

[@walpoleandworcester]

Always finding stuff I woulda never knew even existed!

[@Lol5967]

A used thinkpad should be the third option. They have upgradable displays, upgradable keyboards, upgradable trackpads, honestly if I was to buy a cheap laptop right now, I'll definitely go for a ThinkPad.

[@PurpleNoseKitty]

yes they are good old reliable laptops but they are usually overpriced, and most of the modern ones have soldered ram which often gets bad solder joins and renders the laptop useless like my x1 carbon, and most x1 carbons on ebay that are faulty have the exact same faulty soldered ram issue

[@fantasypvp]

​@@PurpleNoseKittyI've got an X1 yoga gen3 and it's amazing lol. £170 with the 1440p display and 16GB of RAM 😂

[@bryans8656]

I had a mid 2012 MBP 13 until just recently. I didn't get it to save money, I got the base model for its upgradability. The enjoyment came in upgrading it.

[@mtbrecords1623]

I have two of them lol… currently just got the m2 max mini

[@DengueBurger]

5:28 fuggedaboudit!! The Miani came out there!

[@mrcortadito]

I'm a developer and my rig is a 13 in 2017 Two thunderbolt 3 ports. I have tried the low end Chromebooks which come with the same hardware specs mentioned in the video. Besides the build quality, the combination of the low end processor, display and memory makes doing real work a drag. I wanted to test the development aspect since Chrome comes with a Linux VM. The Chromebook struggle to handle running a small project from VSCode, resources were spent to the point that it could not display correctly. The target audience for these devices are for people who do mostly browsing and very light work. I bought my MBP new in 2017 and it is still a very capable machine, and can even be upgraded to latest OS and will receive security and OS updates for a few years to come. It handles whatever workload I put on it, I run the an external monitor, the keyboard and trackpad are a dream and this is a stock MBP 8GB/256Gb. I replace the battery this year, bought one from Amazon and did it myself. It does run on the hot side so, I got a wedge with fans and keeps it nice and cool, no matter the workload. When it comes time for me to change my laptop I will definitely the used mac route for sure.

[@less_than_amateur]

would love to see this again but for older thinkpads

[@kylemvanover]

So much space for activities!

[@TraneFrancks]

Interesting. Obviously, the MBP offers better performance, but the OS no longer getting security updates is a problem. If modern Chrome or Firefox browsers are still available on High Sierra, it might be less of an issue. Average luddite won't be able to update the OS beyond the official Apple offerings.

[@sethwickham]

Have you made, or could you make, a video as to what you could do in the form of ports for the MacBook Pro? For instance, I have a mid 2012 13" MacBook Pro. I would like to get some greater port usage for this computer. Is there a way to modernize its port selection. For instance, Could I use the FireWire 800 port for some extra USB ports? Could I use the Thunderbolt 2 port for a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 port? Making a video like this would be very helpful. That way I could see its use. I have a fascination with obtaining these old Macs and fixing their OS to Linux. To modernize their port selection a little bit would be extremely helpful.

[@georgeogden1277]

I bought similarly specced Gateway laptops for our twin 5 year old grandsons. They love them and the laptops run all of their education software and some games with ease. And, when (not if) they break them I'm not out a lot of money. A concern I would have with buying the older MacBook is longevity. Electrical components deteriorate over time and will eventually fail. The MacBook is much closer to that happening than the new Asus. And there is also the issue of how much longer the operating systems are going to be supported? Once again, probably the Asus will be supported longer. The aforementioned Gateway laptops currently run Win 10 and are eligible to be "upgraded" to Win 11, which will never happen. Thanks for another great video Luke.

[@biotrekker]

A lot of people are scared to death of dealing with the headaches of using or upgrading old operating systems and hardware. Of course, the 2012 MacBook Pro is superior, but if you buy it used, will you need a new battery? Will it come with a charger? What Mac OS will it be running? The ASUS "works" w/the lates Windows OS out of the box.

[@anjumbinahsan5305]

Any windows brand new laptop around $99 are always trash, but if anything that comes on comparison is used thinkpads. Those machines are some real deal as in my country due to shipment or import reasons, this 2012 macbook pro cost a lot, like around $300-400 and similar or better spec thinkpads come around $200-300

[@NineteenEightyFive]

even as a mainly mac user i've had a thinkpad x1 carbon around since 2017. still running windows 7, hasn't slowed down at all and with that great thinkpad keyboard. i love it.

[@SciFlyGal]

The Asus has slightly higher DPI screen, so there’s that. Plus I think I saw that the wifi card is in a mini pcie slot. You could connect a gpu and make a gaming machine out of it 🙃

[@crazyartist7479]

Great video

[@andrewsampson9065]

One thing I can do where I live is go by the goodwill a few miles up the road to the computer works section to get a "broken" computer for less than 30 dollars, and fix it up for around 100 bucks and they all work great I got a thinkpad t420 and upgraded ram, cpu, ssd for around 100-150 dollars and it's blazing fast running linux

[@tunahankaratay1523]

A very similar laptop is included in the FRC kit. The laptop is made of plastic/rubber, and is fanless. Thus it is probably intended for workshops, for things like robot/CNC control. Plastic chassis are usually wobbly and they scratch a lot, but they can withstand more blunt stress. The screen is also not glass, so it won't break though it may scratch. The body isn't tightly packed together so it may withstand more stress. This laptop won't be affected by dust/splinters, and in case it physically breaks, which can easily happen in such environments, you lose basically nothing. So as a summary, this is a budget rugged laptop, not intended for regular use.

[@lanfear63]

Plug the windows laptop into a big screen tv and use a blue tooth keyboard, trackpad combo for about 18 bucks. Use it as a media center or general net surfer. Does the Macbook do that?

[@terrywarnold]

Just last week I bought a Late 2011 MacBook Pro 13 off eBay for under $50. Only issue with it was that there was no charger or hard drive. The sales post even said it didn't have RAM. I had an extra charger in my junk drawer so, that was no issue for me. It arrived and I opened it up and it actually did have RAM installed. I happened to have an extra 240 gig hard drive with Catalina installed on it via dosdude's patcher. I popped it in and it worked perfect. I spent an extra $35-40 and got a 240 gig SSD and upgraded the RAM from 4 to 8 gigs. I'm all in for under $100 and have a Mac that I can use for a decent while longer.

[@JonTrott]

Fascinating discussion, which I had at length also on a low-end mac facebook group. I'm still using the MacBook Pro 2012 (15") as my daily. And was handed a low-end Windows machine. It was just as bad as your experience, except that being lenovo it did have a nice hardware presentation (touch screen, removable keyboard). But abysmal speed and just about everything else.

[@pjasonq]

that would've been nice to see a 5 second comparison of the web cam resolution/quality. I've been down this road before and cheap laptops are NEVER a good idea. I'll take the used macbook any day of the week...so long that it doesn't have liquid damage or gotchas like a bad battery

[@macdruid68]

Hey Luke, since you routinely work with older Macs, I’d appreciate your advice on an upgrade to a new Mac. Not sure if this is the best video to comment on, but I have the same MacBook Pro as in this video. I would choose it all day, every day over the Asus. - Apple user since 1979 - replace my daily driver Mac every 6-10 years - Current daily is a second hand mid-2012 2.5 Core i5 13” MacBook Pro, 16GB, 1TB SSD, running Catalina, hooked up to 27” Thunderbolt Display. Before that I used my top-end BTO mid-2010 27” iMac. - Use-case is self-employed visual communication design, mostly web / e-commerce with some print work, and occasional video work. I do work with some photos and video, but I don’t typically shoot original photos or video for work, and don’t have pro cameras for those tasks anyway. Sometimes I use the SD slot, but not often. - Typical open apps are Billings Pro, Numbers (70MB e-commerce databases with lots of formulas), Pages, Mail, Safari with no more than 10-20 tabs, Affinity Photo, BBEdit, Calendar, Notes, Messages, iTunes or Podcasts, 1Password; occasional use of Affinity Designer and Publisher, Keynote, iMovie, GoTo Meeting - Memory use is typically 12GB with 1.5 swap, and 50% pressure - Storage requirement is 400 to 600GB on local drive + about 30-50GB on iCloud - It’s time to replace the computer! - First choice would be an M2 Pro Mac mini, 12/19 chip with 16GB and 1TB for CAD$2324, in 12 monthly payments, EXCEPT that my upcoming summer circumstances require working remotely for 2 months with a laptop. I can get by with my current Mac but I was in the same circumstance last summer and 1280x800 was a real pain. - Deciding between an M2 MacBook Air, 8/10 chip, 16GB, 1TB for CAD$2399 in 12 monthly payments, or CAD$2159 in one payment from Apple refurb, or an Apple refurb M1 Pro 14” MacBook Pro, 10/16, 16GB, 1TB for CAD$2419 in one payment. I’d want any of those machines to last me at least 5 years. - Another consideration would be an Apple refurb M1 MacBook Air temporarily, maybe an 8/8 or 8/7 16GB/512GB, or 8GB/256GB, trading it in later for a better machine. - Other considerations are that the remote location can get very hot, and in the home office, where I do most of my work, I’d still be hooked up with an adapter to the Thunderbolt Display @ 2560x1440, or 1920x1080, depending on my eye strain. I only bought that second hand a year and a half ago, and I still have FireWire-800 backup drives, as well as USB-A drives, and no Thunderbolt drives, so I’m not replacing the monitor anytime soon. - Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for your well-reasoned content 🙂

[@MattHalpain]

I'm watching this video on a Core2Duo MBP. Unfortunately I was unable to install macOS Lion on it but was successful installing Kubuntu Linux on it. I also have a 2019 4K iMac as my main computer.

[@VoicefulRiver]

Sounded like Luke was about to cuss at the Asus's screen at 10:05 but stopped himself lol

[@vmpkai]

we have those in my old secondary school. they're literally made for word processing at most

[@erickcoffee3449]

Yes and they’re a Chromebook 😭😭

[@chrism869]

Wow,atlest I never had to use them,now we have hp probooks in my college that we use on Mondays and Fridays,and it's so good,they have a ryzen 7000u series cpu

[@MrCooper83]

I would love to watch the uncut footage. Just to see your honest reaction😂

[@jjjacer]

Looking at the Asus it appears the board could have supported a M.2 drive, but its missing the connector (solder pad was visible and so was what looked like a screw mount to its right @8:48 just above the flat cable labeled MB), but yeah all Celeron and Atom CPUs from intel are sooo anemic compared to their other chips although finding a working 99$ macbook with a core i5 cpu is not as easy, most of the ones i find are the 2010's with the core 2 duo which is not perfect - running catalina using dosdude1's patcher it only got 263pts in cinebench r20 lol (r23 wouldnt run, crashed), although at least the ram is upgradable unlike the 2013's and up (have a customer that has one and its being slow, best i can do is just do a cleanup as a newer OS is probably not going to do as well on 4gb ram, also i have a 2014 mac mini with only 4gb ram, at least an SSD makes them mostly usable)

[@newstar346]

2008 core 2 duo can have up to 6gb of ram.

[@jjjacer]

@@newstar346 I have 16gb on my 2010/2011 macbooks, with the core 2 duo, and its pretty decent, just a little slow with newer OS's, my mac mini with soldered ram is dog slow at 4gb and big sur (i dont normally run macs but i keep them for reference and experiments when i need macos)

[@drpentecost]

Hi Luke, do you know the best way to transfer Hi8 video tapes directly from the Camcorder to a 2011 Imac ? Thanks for your help.

[@realIncognitoTGT]

This looks like it is for schools, due to the bumpers, and there is a very similar looking Asus Chromebook. ChromeOS Flex might be useful on this thing.

[@allen6310]

Bought a base 2010 MacBook Air 13” yesterday for $80. Installed Linux Mint on it and it runs surprisingly good. Probably faster than the out dated High Sierra it supports.

[@kamil4151]

I think it's an interesting alternative to the raspberry pi, running an x86 CPU, battery and screen and others are great extra. I guess that's not the original intention, but I would get few if I saw this, but the cheapest I found it here in euroland is 350e.

[@sp0el]

What also doesn't exist in euroland are 100$ used i7 Macbooks :) Yup, pretty much nobody should consider this as their main PC, used market has lots of better options, even though decent post leasing device cost about 200$ in my area. But for tinkerers, in need of cheap, energy efficient, silent device, 100$ is a great deal.

[@olafb6445]

I got a 13” 2015 MacBook Pro on an eBay auction for around $150 and it’s my main computer and I love it. I use it for a computer science degree and it is a bit slow at times it is more than adequate for any of my needs.

[@propjoe1060]

I still use an i5 2012 MBP as my personal, stay-at-home laptop and it works fine. On Catalina, which is the last supported Apple OS, but I'll probably switch it over to Linux when that gets too long in the tooth. No plans to replace it anytime soon unless it dies.

[@tonybrown958]

great video as usual. I bought the Chromebook version of that last Christmas for my girlfriends kids aged 6 & 9 to get them introduced to computing. It did its job well as it can do basic web browsing and KZbin streaming and can play Roblox which they enjoy. iv used it for basic work tasks when I forgot my own laptop so can be useful in an emergency. its definatly not aimed for anyone for serious use but more for kids to get started.

[@shanghaichica]

Did the same for my 4 and 6 year olds. It’s their first laptop. They don’t need much at this age.

[@TimmuJapan]

And……. I’m rocking macOS Monterey with my ivy bridge macs with opencore legacy patcher! When are you going to make an opencore video, Luke?

[@karinalebedeva7335]

I think that if it is light, it might be used by students. When I was in Uni, one of the main things I was looking at in a laptop was its weight, size and battery life. To type down something you don’t need all top specs. And when you are on a budget, there are not so many options available.

[@default1647]

You compering Laptop Vs Tablet with build in keyboard :D

[@TheLonelySoulja]

Am glad you made this video because am literally in this dilemma, do I buy a brand new windows laptop with very low specs while on sell this holiday season or do I pick up a pre-Owen MacBook Pro with so so specs for a couple hundred dollars more.

[@xyrendor]

I desperately needed a new laptop, I was running some old 2015 chunky laptops with hard drives (hand-me-down 17 inches from grandparent) I couldn’t take them anywhere. I had been watching Luke Miani’s channel for a while, and decided to start checking eBay every day in the Mac section. I scored and was able to get a 2015 (lol) 13” pro. I couldn’t be happier. It is the maxed out 1tb/16gb ram with i7 and I got it for 350 plus battery upgrade. The old macs still have serious value, especially if you aren’t doing anything very heavy. I also found that I far prefer macOS to Windows and Linux that I had used to try to make the old ones faster. I hope this helps, I would definitely search for some macs on eBay. If you can shell it out, try to get the 2015 series, because it gets Monterey, and you have retina screen (which is a big deal) compared to 2012 unibody. If not though, unibody still holds its own.

[@whenhen]

Missing from this discussion is operating system updates, and 10 year old Macs no longer get them. You don't want a super low spec Windows laptop, but often 3 year old business grade laptops with an i7, and upgradable RAM, with widely accessible replacement batteries, are often on sale for the same price as a new low spec Windows laptop. The other option is a Chromebook which is designed to run well on lower spec hardware, should you prefer to go new, and can live with the limitations of ChromeOS.

[@alanmacmillan6957]

I have a mid 2012 MacBook Pro - 16Gb RAM, and 512GB SSD runs like a 2020 model. I still do loads of photo editing and all sorts on it ; loads of ports, SD-card and superdrive built in if I ever get any old media from anywhere. It's getting to the point it probably needs replaced now but anything I buy now would be ruinously expensive and none of the parts user serviceable whereas the old 2012 Mac everything can be worked on. I really rate old Macs highly.

[@GlenCooper-sj4lh]

An 11" Windows laptop is perfect for when I'm mobile. Where can I find one in Canada?

[@JimmyDorff]

The 13.3” IPS screen, Gateway/Walmart ARM64 is pretty decent for a $129 Black Friday deal.

[@johnwilson8582]

I watched this in HD on my 2009 White Polycarbonate Macbook. Base cost locally was 30 UKP, upgraded it with a 240 GB SSD and 8GB of ram and it's still capable of daily use for surfing and word processing. Better than sending it to ewaste

[@nilshansen1032]

First of all I like and watch your channel a lot. My personal slogan is, “I like my PC but I love my Mac”. I bought the $100 Asus at Micro Center knowing fully what I was going to get and not going to get. At $300 no way. But for $100 it can serve. Video editing - forget about it. I tried Audacity on it and could get some multitrack voices going from the built-in mic but on heavier test with actual synths and a USB interface it began to choke. Didn’t phase me because it was more of a text and not something I expected to get out of it. All I wanted was, word processing, emails, KZbin, Netflix, file downloading and a small light unit - and it does that stuff fine. I put almost all my data on a flash drive (free the same day at Micro Center) so not to eat up what little is left of the internally memory. I use WPS Office (free) and it open fast and works fine. The key here is knowing what you are getting into. I wanted this at the office for the basics. I had been using a 2005 G4 Powerbook and now can take that home to get some old school Garageband fun out of it. That makes the point that old Macs can still rock. I know, I have 8 in use raging for 2000-2018 build dates I like your review because I can see that an up-gradable MBP can be gotten for cheep and still do some great things. This is my take on it and for a small footprint but much higher end performance my next computer is an M1 Air. And that is not going to be for the office! Cheers

[@BilisNegra]

How is battery life in that thing? The only saving grace I feel that Asus could have is at least decent battery life.

[@FunfakeElectronics]

Sincerely I think you overlooked the design qualities of the Asus laptop. For sure it's not metal and the bezels are large. But it has a rubberized contour and it seems to be solidly built and I don't think a lot of people would mind the bezels at this price. Install ChromeOS on it and it would be perfect for use in a school or for a child at home.

[@seandeegan7879]

If I had to buy a computer that cheap, I would be looking at something non Celeron that I could go install Chrome OS Flex on. Most Computing tasks can be performed using cloud-based software and most of what I do is on the cloud already, so I don't need anything full featured with fancy hardware. The only deterrent would be battery life and software support.

[@BmooreproductionsIN]

My school has 14 of thoes macbooks still sitting untouched, got my hands on a couple and would gladly take them runing windoes 10 with a ssd and more ram and they look and run better than the new thinkpads that they got that are the same specked, also got their old mac server

[@rrp6405]

be interesting to see cheapest m1 macbook air vs used windows laptop for same price

[@Elfidinn]

I have the same laptop and I put 256 GB NVME ssd for $15 and copyed the os on to it and disabled the emmc memory. Runs fine and boot up time is fast.

[@tumslucks9781]

My, look at those big bezels!! 💻👀

[@JDFloyd]

As I post in a lot of tech videos, including you Channel, "There is a use case for a lot of tech.". I for one do a lot of international travel for business, and I have concerns about faulting internet connection, and spyware...cough...cough...China...cough. So, I have a "burner laptop" in the form of a 2011 11" MacBook Air. Prior to any trip, I update my antivirus software, VPN, and MacOS. I only use the VPN, and web Outlook while in those foreign countries. Once I leave those foreign countries, I turn off the wifi on the MBA, and do a factory reset / reinstall of the MacOS. Not perfect, but close enough. If I was a PC user, I would buy a laptop like the one you demonstrated, and do the same process for travel.

[@chrisbuckley7345]

That Mac Unibody can go to what, OS 10.4? Security updates are going to be limited, and a lot of apps will be hidden in the app store as no longer supporting an OS that old.

[@bribagspot5735]

I think this 99€-laptop really is meant for the education market or as a secondary travel laptop, especially with those rubberized edges to prevent damages. I'd go for an used unibody MacBook Pro any time and use it with a patcher.

[@jadamsnz]

I saw that and thought HomeBridge server with built in screen to show the UI

[@alexd9800]

Hi, Luke! Great stuff! Would you advise what adapter you can suggest for thunderbolt 2 port to usb 3.0 to broad a usability of 2 thunderbolt ports at Mac book pro 2015, 15 inch? Thank you. Aleks

[@alexd9800]

Hi, I am not sure, might be I missed something. Who is a winner?

[@alexd9800]

Thank you I added your telegram channel to my contacts. What I need to do next?

[@alexd9800]

I will prefer Apple Mac Book Pro even it is old.

[@Mbro-dq2do]

I also bought a MINT condition 2007 17" Macbook Pro. First of its kind. Google CHrome runs perfectly on it although its a collectors item. Got that one for only 175$ Wonder if its worth any money? Came with original everything in MINT condition. Original box cords everything. Even some remote control thing.

[@mdsalahuddin7077]

This black friday, I have purchased a ThinkPad T440p i5 4300M, 8GB DDR3 RAM, FHD display and 99wh battery at USD 55 only. Spent USD 45 extra for SSD, another 8GB ram and charger. Total $100 got me a fully funcational laptop that runs original windows 11 flawlessly.

[@arranmc182]

MMC is commonly known as an SD Card, the E in EMMC stands for embedded so basically this PC has a soldered on SD Card for its storage

[@BilisNegra]

The ridiculous bezels making the footprint of the laptop that of a 2-inch larger screen one, and plasticky build have instantly reminded me of some Chromebook. I'm positive Asus must have a Chromebook with the exact same case (and Celeron CPU, too). I would not even be surprised to find out they have one with all the same internals, too, except for the BIOS ROM maybe.

[@cheongit]

Is this cheaper than a Raspberry Pi KIT with an external monitor? If there is a HDMI port, I believe this can be hooked up to another monitor. Dunno if it can support 4k though. If it does, excellent for Google Sheets number crunching.

[@BackpackandGear]

For under $100, I would probably choose the new computer. You get the computer practically for free since the OS is probably worth the price. Also, you more than likely get a warranty with the new computer and the used one won't have one. You also, don't know what you get with the used one until you receive it. The used one you used you said you upgraded it. Did you compare the upgraded used computer to the new one. That would not be fair if you put in a faster drive with more RAM. It would no longer be a computer for under $100.

[@NineteenEightyFive]

these really cheap new PCs with eMMC storage can't handle even the most basic tasks. they run like snails. some have mentioned the ability to upgrade with an NVME drive and that would be the only way i'd choose the new PC.

[@sourangshusarkar5943]

Here in India, since decent secondhand Macs are rarely found, the Asus pc you showed makes a ton more sense here, trust me, even though it shouldn’t..

[@mcflygarcia]

My choice will be a Dell Chromebook 7310 kinda old but still great laptop, its all magnisium and carbon fiber u can find it in i3 or i5 1080p screen with touch screen option, backlit keyboard. You can install windows, linux or leave it with chrome os and expand the ssd, the only downgrade its the lack of a usb c port, but in aliexpress there are some cables that convert the barrel plug to usb c, great for using one 65w charger for all.

[@vivek_v]

The most important factor is that the Mac will lose security support in a few years, making it a much bigger risk to use as a main computer than what it's worth.

[@Wordsnwood]

random thoughts for the $100PC: Put it in classrooms as a spare "powerpoint only" PC at the podium. Use it to control hallway TVs used for signage (rPI probably makes more sense). Disposable "Burner" PC for travelling to sketchy countries. Can it run ChromeOS? ... I'm struggling here

[@Wordsnwood]

@@officialLukeMiani Ho Ho Ho.

[@pedigreed6397]

My school has a ton of these but the Chromebook version. It’s so incredibly slow because all the software they put on them. Like the screen sharing app and all. And all the blockers. So I just use my base model 2017 13 inch MacBook Pro

[@jozefbania]

Are you used macs resleller?

[@victormartins7438]

You could have mentioned the fact this is an army cert for dropping, water drops, etc. In EU its sold as chromebook, more expensive and more of a light pc rather than a canon as the old Mac. MAc has no updates, which could be a big risk in the wrong hands when dads and moms decide to open the wrong pages. No warranties for the MAc, risk of old parts die, etc. I think the propose on both is different, despite the similar price.

[@mdx9gaming]

It feels illegal to be here early

[@TechnoForbes]

It is

[@kronos_tech]

It is I’m here before 5k view too😊

[@miguelgallegos6739]

😂

[@nanakatana1]

i know right

[@halvors3n959]

I am illegaly late😆

[@21sibusiso]

Question, was that a slot for a nvme/sata drive? The ram would still be a bottleneck still, but with faster storage than emmc, would the speediness improve?

[@Piipperi800]

Sure looks like one, because there’s a screw hole for it on the I/O board. Also this laptop could be good, if it has enough cooling probably. I mean, for as bad of a CPU it has, it does support 3x 4k displays and should be AV1 ready at least for decoding. And I’m guessing the battery life should be alright as well. But if anything, this would be an excellent Chrome OS Flex device, I’d even guess this same exact laptop has a Chromebook version at a cheaper price since Windows licenses cost money.

[@META313.]

I stopped buying a new tech (any tech) years ago. I go for Facebook marketplace, always choose the excellent condition products, I personally meet the seller and since Im knowledgeable in tech, I thoroughly examine everything and if its all good I go for it. Yeah, I get no warranty but from my experience Ive barely had cases when something went wrong with the tech I bought and I save thousands by going this way. As far as the laptops are concerned, I picked my current one last summer. Its Acer Nitro 5 with i7 - 11800H, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 1TB 3.5Gbps write speed m.2 SSD and 17.3 inch 144hz display with pretty high color accuracy. Seller also gave me Razer Viper Ultimate with a charging dock and Razer Blackshark V2 Ultimate Edition. Everything I mentioned including laptop were absolutely brand new with all their sealed boxes and I paid JUST $900. Thats probably like 60% of the price I would have to pay if I went to official stores. Even after 1 year Ive had absolutely no problems with these devices.

[@2kBofFun]

Totally agree. I extend this to every non-food product I get. Especially starting thrifting clothes at goodwill was a relief (go get button-ups there Luke!). Two exceptions, I bought a new fridge, as the new energy labels lowered consumption 50%, and new underwear.

[@misterx2598]

The thing is that it's a low-end but brand NEW gadget and you know what to expect from it, with used stuff you never know what surprises will be waiting you...

[@crosswhite17]

I would take the MacBook any day, but in the UK even old Mac's are hard to come by at this price. An interesting test for performance would be if you could run Chrome OS Flex on both laptops to give a like for like comparison. It can be run off if a thumb drive. I would gladly watch a video on this.

[@NoahAviation09]

I have a mid 2012 with 8gb of ram and a 128gb SSD. Bought it in 2021 for £125 worth about £100 now

[@crosswhite17]

@@NoahAviation09 Sound like you got a good deal. Where did you get it from?

[@wzot]

I would go for the MacBook, but seeing it dont get updated anymore (I think?) I would probably consider ChromeOS Flex on it. :-) Recently installed ChromeOS Flex on a 2011 MacBook Air, it really gave it a new life.

[@huh5950]

You should do this with an old thinkpad

[@iblackfeathers]

basic inexpensive new computers are important for traveling and going to areas you don’t want to bring your good devices. if it gets lost, it’s no problem. just make sure to have whole disk encryption and not put critical data in the drive. edit: upgradeability and benchmarking leads it down a separate path outside the scope of why one would buy it in the first place. the limitations are for collateral computing. it does not attract as much attention for a thief. you can boot tails or other os on it. it’s a burner laptop. upgrading and benchmarks implies you plan on keeping it for everyday use, not necessarily for traveling to high risk areas where theft of hardware or even data is prominent. it’s a way to have communication through internet, data processing and computing on the cheap. it’s not for content creation or video editing. but in many ways it’s better than a chromebook. a big plus is you can buy it with cash and not tied to your identity. you can leave it in your car. and if your house burns down, you still have a way to access the internet and pages in an emergency. there are just-in-case scenarios where this may be useful. in contrast, if your upgraded macbook pro got stolen, you invested in upgrading it etc that it has more worth per dollar and lost it’s collateral quality. also, it has 802.11ax and bluetooth 5.0 with win 10 pro. not bad either way considering the price.

[@danielshapiro5475]

Bought a 2010-2011 Thinkpad Sl410 for $80 (with shipping). Core 2 duo 8 gb ddr3l. best $80 I have spent in a while