I'm thinking of buying a new laptop to serve as my primary computer - I have to give my current employer's equipment back, and I may just leave the desktop with my ex and move on (even though it was technically mine) because I wanted the laptop. What do you recommend that is: 1) First and foremost, cheap. Or as inexpensive as possible. (but not a total "POS") 2) I'm not too picky but I need an ethernet card, CD burner, and hopefully a floppy drive (to get all my data transferred). 3) I know very little about these things. What major retailers would you recommend? (something likely to exist in San Antonio) Also, I need to get a hold of it pretty fast if I'm going to do it. Thanks! (remember to keep the technical talk simple - let's say for some of us that's not our strong suit )
What is your price range and is this for business? If you're interested in HP, I can send you a listing of refurbs.
1) As far as laptops, one of my jobs while in school was a computer tech, and I use to get a LOT of laptops in to repair. And one thing I can tell you, dont buy Compaq, HP or Gateway, or anything that is Apple-made. There are two laptops, from my experiences, that I would recommend and those are Toshiba and Dell. I prefer the latter, they are cheaper than Toshiba's, and just as reliable if not moreso. 2) What is your price range? and What are you going to use it for? Have to give us a little more info, so we can tell you a good model. 3) Buy straight from Dell, it will be cheaper that way, and they have good service. Also do not buy anything refurbished, it is always better to buy new, I dont think its worth the 50-100 or so bucks you may save.
Dell. Dell produces the best bang for the buck. Not the best laptops in the world, not the best quality. But good bang for the buck.
I would like advice on this matter too, as I plan on buying one this summer. My price range is between $1000 - $1200 US, or whatever I get for my car when I sell it. I plan on using it for word processing, browsing the Internet, playing music, watching DVDs, burning CDs and other common user-oriented tasks. Looks like a Dell is the way to go, eh?
dell, although their prices aren't that great anymore. if you like, i can build you an asus laptop to your specifications free of charge. you buy the parts and ill build it and install an os etc. my brothers asus laptop was built for $1600. when we went notebook shopping the cheapest one with the same specs was $2500+. go to www.directron.com for more info if your interested in a custom laptop.
No definitely dont, or at least not now. They're in the process of making the Intel processor switch and haven't switched ibooks over to them yet. Buying one now would be wasting a lot of money on old technology that apple will eventually stop supporting. Plus she wants something cheap, and mac laptops definitely don't fit that bill. In terms of laptops, I agree with whoever posted earlier that toshiba and dell are the way to go. I don't like the lower level dells though. They seem to have their fair share of issues and if you're not careful or computer savvy, they'll rip you off in terms of the specs of the computer. (i.e. they still sell laptops with 256 MB RAM, which will be worthless once windows vista comes out) Although Dell's warranty policy is about as perfect as one can get. You could probably break your laptop with a sledgehammer and send it in and they would give you a new one. Also, dells are priced pretty well so if you're strictly looking at money, then this is probably your best bet. Toshiba's are really solid as well. Haven't noticed any real problems with those lately. They made the switch to those ultra-glossy screens that get dirty really easily so that might be kind of annoying. But I've only heard and seen good things when it comes to Toshiba. They will be more pricy than dells however.
www.slickdeals.net or www.fatwallet.com/forums will show you the best current computer deals running around. Generally, if it's not on there, then it is overpriced... well thats just me but the deals are a lot cheaper than you would expect. I would recommend a dell 600m/630m, it sounds like you are not doing too much intensive stuff (ie. games and/or video editing) and therefore around a 1.4-1.6 ghz (celeron or pentium, celeron is only 10% less in performance with a better battery life (and quieter? not sure)) will suit you just fine. The last deal on a dell expired apr 27th (these were running for $500 + ~$36 shipping, and since dell's end of quarter was the end of april, you probably won't see better dell deals for a little while. That said, you can still buy one of these systems off of ebay for around $600 total (525 + 75 shipping) from one of those slickdeal/fatwallet scalpers, but it does feel a bit like a rip off. Oh btw, the reason I recommend these dells to you (and for anyone looking for a standard laptop w/o playing games) is that they are light and portable ~4 lbs, if you like ultraportability, the dell 700m/710m are smaller screened but even nicer than this. They usually retail around $650 ish on deals. Only ~3 lbs. OTOH, I looked at craigslist san antonio, and if you don't mind a used lappy, there are some pretty nice options out there as well (a tablet for $500, and another 1.8 system at 5lbs (although its a no name brand) for $500, I don't think you'll get much cheaper than that.) Advice from one owl to another.
Wait wait wait. You need to get a thinkpad. They don't heat up and burn your lap like every other laptop.
Either get 64-bits or dual core, otherwise it's pretty much obsolete right out of the box. Also, Windows Vista will require some sort of 3-D acceleration, so a barebone system today might not cut it come 2007. I personally hate a laptop that I can't haul around (i.e., over ~7 lbs -- what's the point?). If I weren't a(n occasional) gamer waiting for 64-bits + dual core, I'd get one of these today: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115223 Probably the most obsolete-proof laptop for under $1,200. But quality is hit-or-miss, I hear.
Nothing beats a Mac. But custom built is the way to go for a PC IMO. You save money beacuse it's not a name brand and you don't have to pay for junk you don't need.
got one my self, couldnt be happier. mines was mostly rigged for gaming, thus it was pretty expensive, but if you just need it for regular uses, it would be much cheaper.
Dell makes only average laptops, and their home user support is marginal at best. That being said, they ARE the best bang for your buck......which is why I too have a 9300 (in retrospect, I wish I had gotten something smaller).
the compaq persario v5101 offers quite alot for its price... might wanna look into that http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Comp...46762/catOid/-12963/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
True but because she's looking for price... thinkpads are expensive - the best deal on one is $1,099 for a T42... also, i don't see the rave on thinkpads, I've had a T30 that someone brought me which had its internal motherboard graphics card within a week after it fell off of her table (not too hard either). They're also really expensive to fix etc. and they heat up just like other lappy's maybe just a little less due to better planning. Yes, but there will probably be toned down versions of Vista to accomodate this. - also the higher end lappys are 6lbs+ generally speaking and that alone makes it pretty heavy + more expensive + don't need if you're not into modern gaming. Well you can always get an attachable one for cheap. Ah and btw, sorry adeel, the compaq one you listed is overpriced for being 6.4 lbs, a sempron 3300 (which is nice, but not 650-750 range material) and only a 4200 rpm hdrive, which is def. subpar. As said before, Mac's are more expensive, plus I don't have as high an opinion. Mac's are essentially "user-friendly" devices which claim superiority when a PC running the same OS runs it FASTER. Mac's use their share of the market by putting pretty cases/OS's over similar PC hardware and simply charge ridiculous prices for their merchandise. Sure Mac OS is stable, but is it $1500 vs. $700 stable? no. Okay, I won't derail this thread any more than I have, sorry for the rant.
I'd go with Dell, but as another poster pointed out, most of the specials at Dell have expired, they had some good ones too. The thing is with the prices your looking at, the systems are really basic and dont come with a lot of software or hardware, here are some pointers when selecting a laptop. RAM- you want atleast 512mb, prefarably 1 gb (1024mb). SOFTWARE- you want MS office, (word perfect is no good), and you want an internet security and antivirus system (I prefer Norton Antivirus). The only software Dell gives you is the Windows operating system, you got to pay extra for the rest (unless you have someone that can install it for free, but I wouldnt do this as it is illegal piracy and the software is usually not reliable). You also want to add a wireless card. The thing is the price may start out around $500-600, but it ends up being a good 300+ more when you're done adding stuff to your laptop. Heres a customized a computer that may fit your needs at Dell, just go there and mix and match your laptop or call Dell and talk to one of their techs. http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=iB130S1&s=dhs&fb=1 You missed out on some of the deals this laptop with the same specs was about 700 dollars two months ago, now its back upto over 900. The antivirus is a must, but buy it seperately, Dell doesnt offer Norton and McAfee is not as user friendly. http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4585487?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG Add the dell and virus software and it comes out to around 1000 bucks. I will advise you on one thing, if you are a student at a University, go and ask information if they offer software for sale to students, some colleges like UT and UH give students software such as MS office, and other utilities for very cheap. If you can do this, just tell Dell you dont need that software on the laptop it can save you 200-300 dollars. Just need to remember these thing when buying a laptop- Get a Toshiba or Dell Dont get one that is custom made or just came out top of the line, since you just need it for basic stuff, and you'll be throwing your money away as these things go obselete very fast. Anything with a processor speed of 1.5 Ghz or more will suit you fine. Software- Make sure you have MS office on it, basic will do fine (you dont want to have to go to the store and pay $500 for the full version), Make sure you get an antivirus software such as Norton. Ram- make sure there is atleast 512mb on your system. Make sure you get a wireless card added on (only like $20-30) Make sure you get the warranties added.
