Alright folks, need advice on the best new (not refurb) laptop deal. My uses: not a gamer, mostly surfing, MS Office, Netflix, some very light home video editing. Looking to stay around $500-600. Not an Apple guy, and don't trust Asus after my negative experience with a Transformer tablet. Any suggestions?
No specific suggestions, but I think you'd be okay with a workhorse laptop. Such as though you'd find in Best Buy circulars that usually go for $300-$400. I guess the most intensive thing you'd have to do is video editing, but I think you'd be perfectly fine. Something like this: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-.../2996026.p?id=1219567191659&skuId=2996026
These seem like good fits: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K4PAV5U/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_E0Bkvb1BEY6H1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CLZWK64/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Q3Bkvb1WB7NC2
I've had Lenovo and dell laptops and don't recommend either. I'm going for an apple laptop black friday. My crappy dell will do for now.
Get one with an HD display an an ssd. Like this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009PJHE4W/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1428800147&sr=1-1&keywords=vizio+laptop
Personally I recommend ASUS and suggest staying clear of Acer. Dells, HP's, Leventos are all run of the mill. As far as processors, stay away from AMD's. Spend a few extra dollars to get an i5 over an i3. And i7 is overkill for the most part, but if the specs are identical, grab the i7. RAM is cheap, so go with 8GB. Dont go less than 6GB. The best upgrade you can do is an SSD card.
I freaking love my Surface Pro 3. Amazing machine, fast, light, and good battery life. Your price point is slightly below what the sp3 sells for, but with the release of the 4 it might go down.
Building off of this, I've owned literally every Surface released to date. RT, Pro, Pro 2, 2 and now Surface Pro 3. The RT had potential, the first Pro was awesome - but fat and with a terrible battery life. The 2 zoomed but was limited by being Windows 8 RT, the Pro 2 had much better battery life but was still fat. The Pro 3 is the epitome of the perfect hybrid device. The aspect ratio completely changed how I use the device... so crazy how such a slight change can mean the world. With that said, your price range is right in line with the Surface 3 coming out in 3 weeks. That would be my recommendation. You won't find a finer made device in the price range, and it will have enough horsepower for what you're seeking. If you can spare a little more, check out a used or refurbished Surface Pro 3. WARNING: Surface 4 will probably be released by October (in times for Windows 10 RTM). All current Surface Pros, 3 and 4 will upgrade to Windows 10 for free.
Thanks for the many great suggestions! Turns out I had a bit more budget to work with than originally thought, so I got the Lenovo Flex 2, 15.6 inch, i7, 8gb RAM, 1TB hard drive with 8gb SSD cache, and full HD screen. Love the touchscreen and different usage modes (laptop, tent, and stand). The Surface looked good, but I'm fully invested in the Android platform at this point for my tablet usage.
The Lenovos are great laptops, I had a Yoga, Yoga 2 and X1 Carbon for work for a while. However, be sure to update Windows Defender and run a scan to make sure that SUPERFISH isn't on the device. About Superfish - http://arstechnica.com/security/201...-middle-adware-that-breaks-https-connections/ How to Remove- http://arstechnica.com/security/201...now-removes-superfish-malware-if-youre-lucky/
Once you have a premium notebook as in high resolution, SSD, ultra thin etc...u can never go back to those mediocre laptops in the 500 dollar range. I'd go with the surface 3 if you like Microsoft or a macbook pro if u are into macs. These machines are by far the best ones on the market.
Majority of mainstream laptops are overpriced and junk. You will mostly find junk in your price range. I just ordered a custom built Sager laptop but that would be overkill for you. What I use currently for coding on the go would work great for you and would fit your budget. Get a used Lenovo X230 for around $300. Built like a tank, small and lightweight. It comes with quad core and IPS screen with good colors (good for video editing). Remove its hard drive and add a SSD (minimum 256GB). They are cheap and can be purchased new for about $125 or less now. Your system should come with at least 8Gb RAM. if it does not, just buy couple more sticks (cheap). BAM! You will have a really fast, light-weight, and solid built system for your needs. Mine is three years old now and still solid as a rock and boots up and shuts down in less than 10 seconds. If you can afford to spend more, I suggest a custom built Sager Clevo.
Supposedly yes, the viewing angles are not so good. but I'll be the only one using it generally, so for me it's not that big a deal. So far, seems more than adequate for my use.
What issues did you have with your Transformer tablet? I had a TF700t and that thing is the biggest POS I have ever purchased. It was close to $600 after taxes and being strapped for cash at the time it was a big purchase for me. After 2 months the thing lagged so bad I couldn't even type. 1 month after my warranty ends it craps out and won't ever turn on again. I was told there was nothing they could do. My 3 year old Asus laptop is completely falling apart too. I didn't expect it to last forever but the plastic housing is cracking at every corner and has only been lightly used. I don't think I will ever by another Asus product again unless I buy one of their high end machines or if its just components.
Agree with this approach. I have the x220 with SSD and its light, compact, fast, and bulletproof (magnesium frame, ThinkPad eraser-nub in keyboard is great). Most folks don't know Sager but a great build. You must read notebookreview.com as its a favorite there. A good resource for anyone looking at laptops: http://forum.notebookreview.com/
Yup, I visit notebookreview regularly. I just placed an order for a Sager from XoticPC. Either XoticPC or powernotebooks are great. 100% reseller ratings and A+ BBB rating. My laptop will be custom built with the following specs: 15.6" IPS 1080p Screen (Could have gone with 4k Sharp screen but the 1080p is gorgeous as well and games will not like 4k screen). I will color calibrate this thing myself so that I can use it for Lightroom Editing on the go. I have heard very good things about this screen. 30 day No Dead Pixel Guarantee (never hurts). i-7 4720HQ CPU Nvidia 980M GTX card (best mobile GPU in the market. Very close to the Desktop GPUs!) Sager is one of the few companies offering this new GPU in their laptop built currently. 32GB of Kingston hyperx memory (Lightroom loves memory!) I picked the optional "No branding" on my machine. I hate cheesy logos. Built in SoundBlaster card and headphone amplifier. Slim profile and not too heavy for a 15.6 build. Excellent build quality and really good heat management. Laptop runs much cooler than other laptops in the same category. The best part?.... ......It does not come loaded with bloatware! Sager gives you the option to not have any OS installed in their system. Even if you do get it, they dont install any bloatware in there. So your system does not slow down over time. I will be installing a 1TB SSD with my own Windows 7 64 bit Pro on it. All this for about $1900. Similarly speced well known brands would cost you well over $2500. Oh, they also gave me a free copy of Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I guess that tipped me over the edge. :grin: BTW, I will still not get rid of my light and bullet proof Leneovo x230 even when I get my Sager. x230 is a joy to use.
Some of you didn't pay attention to his usage? Sure you can get a badass laptop with an SSD and amazing screen and tons of RAM.... An off the shelf laptop in that price range is perfect for his needs. Could he get better? Yes, but at a cost that isn't in his price range or for his actual usage scenarios. Most people can get by with a $400-$600 laptop as all they use it for is Office, Facebook, web browsing and Netflix.
usually some decent deals on www.gotapex.com, also /agree with SSD comments, it made my old pre iCore gaming rig relevant again.
Since OP has bought his laptop: going off topic My Surface Pro 3 heats up way too easily and the fan that's ineffectively cooling it gets really damn loud. Obviously the worst of this happens when I'm using Skype or watching Netflix Does yours behave the same way?
