new laptop advice

Ramblings
1

I’m in the market for a new laptop and I’m looking for some advice on what to get. Right now I have a Dell Latitude that I got way back in spring of 2003, so it’s a dinosaur and badly needs to be replaced.

I’m looking for something in the $500 and under price range, and I’m think 4GB of memory with around a 500GB hard drive. The Dell Inspiron looks like exactly what I need, but I’ve read some pretty horrible reviews about it.

I don’t use my computer for a lot, so I don’t need the Ferarri of the computer world. Also don’t want a cheap pos either.

Let the suggestions fly! THANKS!

2

Under $500 I’d look for something with an iCore3 processor. Don’t get caught up in the ram and HD numbers, look for the processor. You can even find some nice iCore5 laptops.

Do your homework when buying in store. Generally not the biggest price differences in the world, but in the store you will get the latest stuff whereas online you can get the primo gear from six months ago for a bargain. Even those will be an epic upgrade from your 2003 machine though.

I was in the same boat last summer though and I had the same requirements when I made my purchase. I was amazed at how big of a difference it was from my old computer.

3

I just went through this about 6 months ago. I thought I had a similar thread on NNN, but couldn’t find it.

Anyway, I ended up going with a Lenovo IdeaPad. I am happy with it. I opted for the 10 key because I use the laptop for work and it gives a slightly bigger screen than the 14"ers. The 15.6" LED screen really does have a brilliant display. But you may have no interest in the 10 key.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Lenovo±+IdeaPad+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i5+Processor+/+15.6%22+Display+/+6GB+Memory+/+750GB+Hard+Drive±+Silver+Gray/3504409.p?id=1218406955839&skuId=3504409

I too was moving from a Latitude, which I was happy with. The battery life was astounding. So at first I was looking for another Dell. But once I started looking at comparable models of Dells and Lenovos, it seemed the Lenovo was always priced lower.

The things I wanted to get from a new laptop.
-10 key
-LED screen
-HDMI output
-bluetooth
-good battery life
-built in webcam
-dedicated video card
-oh, and free Microsoft Office if at all possible

The only thing I ended up having to sacrifice was the Bluetooth. It seems that is becoming less common in newer laptops. Perhaps I also sacrificed battery life too. While it’s not long lasting, it’s not terrible either. Kind of middle of the road, around 4 hours.

Personally I don’t think you can go wrong with either Dell or Lenovo. I read a lot of great reviews for Asus too. Just didn’t seem to be many options for them in the $500 range when I was looking.

Good luck!

4

Also, I bought a Toshiba and have been very pleased with it.

This is kind of the range I was shopping in. I def. wanted an i3 or above in this price range.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=amb_link_83353631_11?ie=UTF8&node=565108&field-price=40000-54999&field-availability=-1&emi=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=05SZ82HTW334SC5SN0MD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1343527622&pf_rd_i=2956501011#/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_four_bro_4?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A565108%2Cp_36%3A40000-54999%2Cp_n_availability%3A1248800011%2Cp_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289794011&bbn=565108&ie=UTF8&qid=1326818079&rnid=676578011

5

Thanks for all the advice guys! Gill, thanks for the heads up about the processor. That’s definitely something I did not really look into too much.

6

[quote=“Gill, post:4, topic:26212”]Also, I bought a Toshiba and have been very pleased with it.

This is kind of the range I was shopping in. I def. wanted an i3 or above in this price range.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=amb_link_83353631_11?ie=UTF8&node=565108&field-price=40000-54999&field-availability=-1&emi=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=left-1&pf_rd_r=05SZ82HTW334SC5SN0MD&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1343527622&pf_rd_i=2956501011#/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_four_bro_4?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A565108%2Cp_36%3A40000-54999%2Cp_n_availability%3A1248800011%2Cp_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289794011&bbn=565108&ie=UTF8&qid=1326818079&rnid=676578011[/quote]

Lol. Funny how quick things change. When I was looking Sony and Samsung were over priced for similar specs, while Lenovo was more affordable. Now it appears Samsung and Sony have dropped prices, while Lenovo has gone up.

7

Thanks again for all of the advice, guys! I’m about 99% sure I’m going with the Dell Inspiron 14N. It’s got pretty much every feature I’m looking for with the performance I need at a good price.

I’m also going to purchase this glorious beauty: http://dell.skinit.com/skins/collegiate/colleges/university_of_north_carolina_charlotte

8

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell±+Inspiron+Laptop+/+Intel%26%23174%3B+Core%26%23153%3B+i3+Processor+/+15.6%22+Display+/+4GB+Memory+/+500GB+Hard+Drive±+Black/3504588.p?id=1218407014253&skuId=3504588

9

Once you go Mac, you will never go back.

10

You won’t go back to anything because you’ll always be paying the mac off.

If you are far from tech savvy and want an expensive Facebook machine, I’d suggest a Mac.

11

Here we go…

:popcorn:

12

I love Macs. That’s what I grew up using and it’s all my parents ever buy. My girlfriend has a Macbook and it’s pretty sweet.

I however do not have twelve hundred bucks laying around.

13

I, too, love my Mac.

But my next computer will probably not be a Mac, mostly because of the price.

The new Windows is pretty nice, too. So the switch back won’t be that hard to do.

14

Windows 8… :drool:

15

Lol. He can buy the Dell in ninerball49’s link, then get an Android tablet and still have around $700 left in Yuengling spending money vs getting a Mac.

16

That’s pretty much what I got, except smaller. I got the 14N, which has a 14 inch screen and is a little lighter. Same processor, memory, and hard drive though.

17

Those are pretty popular specs for laptops. I think your going to be blown away at the diff between your current and your new one :smiley:

Enjoy!

18

People hung up on the price of Mac’s don’t get the value of owning one, which is why I replied as such. You will never know until you try. Say goodbye to ever needing IT help again with a MAC. They are not as fast, not as big and are never on sale, yet they lead in customer satisfaction. How can that be? Believe me, I don’t do myFACE. My 4 year-old MacBookPro is as fast today as it was the first. I have never lost a file or seen a blue screen crash. My productivity increased along with my income since the MAC, so I can’t knock the price. I would recommend buying a used MAC over a new cheap PC based laptop. For the most part, the only people that knock Macs are the ones that don’t own them.

19

I grew up using Macs, and I know them very well. I know how user friendly and maintenance free they are. Buuuuut, the Dell that I currently have has been running for nine years, and I’ve spent maybe 150 bucks total on repairs on it in that time. The $1100+ price tag on a typical Mac just isn’t worth it.

20

I don’t know about older MAC’s, but the newer ones are cheaply made with expensive components. What I mean is that they try to be so technologically advanced that they don’t make the machines where they will take a little bit of abuse. Besides, who wants to take them to the apple store or ship them away every time there is a hiccup. You can take that Dell apart and fix it yourself or upgrade it with replacement parts from EBay. Also if you don’t really want to be tied to Windows then you can dual boot to Ubuntu or go Ubuntu altogether. Ubuntu is free and contains a lot of free software like openoffice. If you ever decide to get a desktop, then I suggest learning to build it yourself (Not difficult). You can get a lot more bang for your buck that way.