New camping laptop help

[Nax]

I know fuck all about laptops so please help me knowledgeable FHC gurus.

I'm in the US and I am going camping for weeks, maybe months if it works out, and would like to have some sort of reasonably robust laptop style computer. I expect to pass through some level of civilization fairly often.

Requirements:
Light yet robust (edit: I am a retard and robust/cheap is stupid)
Cheap
Has some sort of modem or usb hookup to a data cell phone (preferably Verizon due to better coverage).
Wifi
Decent battery life (fast charging would be good).

Edit: Games aren't required but would be nice to have:
It would be nice if it could run two eve clients on low graphics settings and didn't fall over when they release the next few client iterations. Bonus points if it can also run stuff like Shogun 2, Diablo 3 etc. for when I get rained in.

[Stoffl]

Cheap & robust doesnt compute

[Nax]

Yes, I understand that some of the requirements will have to be trade offs.

[IceBlock]

Premium functionality at a low-grade price; try the blackmarket (or 2nd grade market).

[filingo]

be a man and build your own laptop from rocks, twigs, dead birds and bear shit

thats what camping is about, pussy

[Nax]

Premium functionality at a low-grade price; try the blackmarket (or 2nd grade market).

Legitimate second hand or refurbished would be ok.

[Nax]

be a man and build your own laptop from rocks, twigs, dead birds and bear shit

thats what camping is about, pussy

I tried but it turns out that dead rodents are really lousy mice.

[Aramendel]

Use live ones, you just have to careful not to get the out-of-cheese error.

Also, I think you should prioritze where you want to have your trade offs. Knowing there will have to be some is not enough, you have to say where you would rather have them. As far as I know there exists no real option which does both "halfway" (as in only somewhat rugged and only somewhat expensive). So you have to decide if you want rather rugged or rather cheap.

[Nax]

Use live ones, you just have to careful not to get the out-of-cheese error.

Also, I think you should prioritze where you want to have your trade offs. Knowing there will have to be some is not enough, you have to say where you would rather have them. As far as I know there exists no real option which does both "halfway" (as in only somewhat rugged and only somewhat expensive). So you have to decide if you want rather rugged or rather cheap.

Rather cheap then, it's not impossible that it will get nicked at some point...

[filingo]

Use live ones, you just have to careful not to get the out-of-cheese error.

Also, I think you should prioritze where you want to have your trade offs. Knowing there will have to be some is not enough, you have to say where you would rather have them. As far as I know there exists no real option which does both "halfway" (as in only somewhat rugged and only somewhat expensive). So you have to decide if you want rather rugged or rather cheap.

Rather cheap then, it's not impossible that it will get nicked at some point...

yeah i'd say thats a good idea. and get used to playing older games B)

[Nax]

yeah i'd say thats a good idea. and get used to playing older games B)

Thanks, c'est la vie. Have been on the 'use old/cheap computer so only play old games' road for a while and got carried away with thoughts of new shiny.

[Cool09]

Also 2 eve clients on a cheapo laptop? Not happenin. Any kind of online gaming over a cellphone connection? Also not happenin.

Now that your dreams are crushed: I'd look around for something used on local classifieds, might find a deal. Just be sure to wipe the HD when you get it. Failing that hunt for sales.

[firefoxx80]

Sony S-Series with the extended slab battery? They're currently offloading their Sandy Bridge stock for about 1/3 off.

[Sparq]

Some thoughts:

Try camping the Dell factory outlet website for a refurbished Latitude ATG or XFR, if you want something robust & actually meant for field work. You're unlikely to ever find a "light" robust laptop, let alone a cheap one. You could also try eBay for things like old Panasonic Toughbooks but ymmv and buyer-beware applies heavily.

(I tend to evangelise the Dell Factory Outlet because I scored a $3500 configured ATG for $800 and it's awesome.)

If you're after a cheap laptop, do the same: but look for a refurbished Inspiron or Vostro from the Dell Outlet. You can pick up a decent Vostro (15.6" anti-glare screen, i5 CPU, 4GB RAM, etc) for sub-$500. You'll probably have to spring a little extra for the bigger battery, though. Finding one with discrete graphics installed might push it up another hundred bucks or two, too. Sometimes you'll get lucky and find one with the mobile data modem built in, otherwise you can find the part on eBay or just bring your own USB modem from your provider.

If you're going to be using it outside a lot, I strongly suggest looking for one with an anti-glare screen.

[Zekk Pacus]

Presumably, apart from gaming (not gonna happen, or at least it'll be disappointing) such an item is going to be used for social networking and occasional blogging about the experience.

I have an idea. Well, it's two ideas.

1) You probably already own a smartphone of some kind. Use that for your social networking and etc.
2) Get a notepad. No, not a notepad computer, an actual notepad. With a pen and/or pencil. Use that to write down blog stuff.

These ideas feed into the third idea, which is to ENJOY THE FUCKING EXPERIENCE. Seriously, who goes camping to play videogames? Save the money that will lead to a disappointing experience and use it when you get back to full-time civilization to buy a proper PC.

[Glyken Touchon]

"toughbook" on ebay

No idea how they perform.

[Lana Torrin]

"toughbook" on ebay

No idea how they perform.

Toughbooks perform like regular laptops.. But there are 2 grades.. The lowest grade is wrapped in plastic parts and isnt properly water proofed.. The higher grade ones are the ones you can run over with a truck (completely covered in rubber, water proof to like 500m, actually really tough). They aren't noted for their extended battery life though..

Have you considered a tablet? (Tethered to your regular phone or get one with 3G)

[Nax]

I'd like to thank everyone for their input, I realize that I needed to put some more thought into it and went and did some research so I could better account for what I wanted and could afford.

Re: firefox80 - The S series look like nice laptops, and doubtless great for my gaming desires, but I decided that I wanted to go cheaper/more disposable. Don't camp with what you're not prepared to lose, as they say.

Re: Sparq - I tried camping the Dell outlet but didn't see anything that seemed like I could afford to lose it. It did have some really nice stuff though.

Re: Zekk Pacus - I don't own a smart phone. I wanted at least something that I could use to manage the photographs that I took and keep in touch with family/friends. You probably have a really good point about enjoying camping for its own sake away from the tedium of the modern world. However committing to doing the trip is a big step for me and, as a kid, I learned that I really didn't enjoy gathering driftwood for a fire on the Norfolk coast in a snowstorm. I think that having something that I enjoy along will help me to keep going when things get miserable. I could be wrong though. Dispensing with guidebooks in favor of the internet will certainly be handy.

Re: Glykon Touchon - The toughbook looks like exactly what I thought I wanted when I started this thread. I couldn't find a mix that I was happy with without doing ebay and I don't trust ebay after being ripped off there a couple of times.

Re: Lana Torrin - I did consider a tablet but decided that I wanted something with a lid, having had several friends break their tablet screens. So I'm having a go at a cheap Acer Aspire One netbook. Not tough but I read some touring blogs and it seems like people have had similar sorts of machines survive camping trips through various continents.

Thanks again to everyone who took time to help/mock my cluelessness.

[Glyken Touchon]

I'm suprised- I figured all the protection/waterproofing would hurt the cooling & stuff.

A mate tried to get one to replace his work laptop, but couldn't due to "not a preferred supplier".

[Lana Torrin]

I'm suprised- I figured all the protection/waterproofing would hurt the cooling & stuff.

They are considerably bigger than they should be.