Cheapest Laptop Possible - for Forscan

[SROC3]

There are SO many choices out there it's driving me crazy.......any suggestions? I just need it to run FORscan and CHIRP.

Under $100 and the lower the better.....

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[Y2KFirehawk]

Buy something on FB Marketplace or Craigslist that fits the price range and runs Microsoft Windows 10 or 11. Just make sure it's not the tablet version and the full version of Windows.

 

[Smocaine]

Look at Ebay for people clearing massive numbers of used enterprise laptops. I was looking at Getacs but they're a bit pricier because they're rugged. You can definitely find something useable with Windows 10 for cheap on there. You'll know it's an inventory dump when there are tons of listings for them, listings for several at once, pictures of stacks of laptops, etc.

 

[Bigred86]

There are SO many choices out there it's driving me crazy.......any suggestions? I just need it to run FORscan and CHIRP.

Under $100 and the lower the better.....

Hunt around, Facebook Market place, ebay, offer up. It sounds like you just need an old used one anyways.

 

[SROC3]

I Have been hunting.....there is just so many of them does anyone have a specific link of an exact suggestion they would buy maybe?

 

[BroncocnorB]

Check out some Bronco gatherings. Lot of folks have laptops and the dongles and Forscan already. I’d do it for free if u were down here

 

[SROC3]

Check out some Bronco gatherings. Lot of folks have laptops and the dongles and Forscan already. I’d do it for free if u were down here

Oh no I am pretty good with FORscan - I want this PC so I can help others in groups - not the other way around

 

[Brian_B]

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Celero...731378&sprefix=windows+laptop,aps,212&sr=8-12

Word of caution - this is only 4G of RAM. It will be very slow but it will run. It will also run FDRs but painfully slow at it. FDRs officially wants 8G of RAM, I have run it with 4 but it takes several minutes for it to start up the first time.

Also this is windows 10 — which will run Forscan fine, but Microsoft is dropping support for it soon and this laptop probably won’t upgrade to 11 (not necessarily a bad thing)

You can almost certainly find a better one used locally - but that takes a bit of research

 

[MillerAndCheeto]

There are SO many choices out there it's driving me crazy.......any suggestions? I just need it to run FORscan and CHIRP.

Under $100 and the lower the better.....

I'd buy a used cheapo laptop. Microsoft Surface Pro tablet as well. Anything made within the last 10 years will be fine.

 

[MillerAndCheeto]

Oh no I am pretty good with FORscan - I want this PC so I can help others in groups - not the other way around

If you weren't in Vegas I would just give you my old laptop. It's a 13 years old HP, but I swapped the hard drive for a fast SSD and works great for everyday use.

If you find something that has Windows 10 or 11 and you verify the screen works and the charger works, you're pretty much golden. One place you should look at would be Pawn Shops or small electronic shops. They usually have decent electronics (in my experience). I'm in Canada, and did a quick search and there is a great super-basic laptop for $150 Canadian at this small mom-and-pop shop. You might find similar things out your way.

Additional tip - if you find something cheap and it has an old-school spinning hard drive, if you spend the $50 for an SSD it will bring new life to an old laptop.

 

[LMG]

I'd buy a used cheapo laptop. Microsoft Surface Pro tablet as well. Anything made within the last 10 years will be fine.

The surface pro likely won’t work as it’s most likely a tablet version of windows. Been there done that a few years back. Cheap laptops can usually be found at Best Buy on clearance or open box that will work.

 

[IwannaGOfast]

I have the OBDLinkEX which uses a usb-b port. If my laptop only has usb-c, will I have any issues running the OBD through a usb hub?

 

[LMG]

I got have the OBDLinkEX which uses a usb-b port. If my laptop only has usb-c, will I have any issues running the OBD through a usb hub?

If I were you I would ask that question to the forscan mods at forscan.org. They have always been super helpful when I had questions.

 

[sjjohnny]

$87. There are others to choose from on Newegg.

https://www.newegg.com/p/1XV-000B-02479?Item=9SIB9ADK3T9579

 

[Brian_B]

I have the OBDLinkEX which uses a usb-b port. If my laptop only has usb-c, will I have any issues running the OBD through a usb hub?

Just need the C-A adapter and it will work fine. They can be found for under $10

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