Lowman Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Hey all you computer geeks!!!!!!!!! I am getting a new laptop. My budget is $700ish. What do you guys think is/are my best options? Thanks is the centrino processor better than the duo core? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I would go with an HP laptop, ive always had good luck with them. As for processor i would go centrino doesn't suck as much battery power as the duo core. But if you want more power and will have the laptop plugged in all the time go for duo. Also if you are using it as a desktop replacement go for 17" screen, you can find them for around that price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I would stick with the Duo, and in my opinion I would check with Dell first. They have much better service and warrenty assistance than HP. HP's typical response is "send it in" and then they dump your data and reload the OS. Dell is a bit more data and headache friendly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate213 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Dell Vostro. They are the small business computers and dont have any junk loaded on them. Typically more bang for your buck than the Latitudes. I have bought 2 of them and am really pleased. http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/notebooks/vostronb/ct.aspx?refid=vostronb&s=bsd&cs=04&ref=lthp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 What ever you do, DO NOT buy an Acer, just my experience here but I have fixed a ton of those, far more Acer's made their way into my shop then Dell's, HP's, Compaq's combined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Those Panasonic Toughbooks look interesting, but may be out of your price range. You can always do what I did....been very happy with this computer I have. GO ALIENWARE. of course it was $6500 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finch6013 Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I have a compaq that has worked just fine for me. Nothing special I know but I think I only paid $700 for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 ROFLOL, I think there are almost as many answers as people so I'll toss mine out. I use my laptops as desktop replacements and have had good luck with Toshiba. (3rd one in about 12 years) I do not know about Toshiba at the $700 price point though. (I doubt any laptop at the $700 point has enough processing power for my needs) Some things I look for: Size of the monitor: My last one was a 19" however apparently they are no longer easily available so I settled with a 17" this time. Processing power: I will only use an Intel processor as they seem to be rock solid and reliable at the advertised clock speeds. (I do not overclock processors as it can lead to an unstable system which I cannot afford) Graphics: I generally use ATI graphics however I will also use NVidea (My laptop is actually an NVidea). I am very leary of Intel Graphics which generally only use shared ram for memory. Note: Both NVidea and ATI have also started using shared memory as well however they usually have some dedicated memory as well. In their case they will borrow memory from the ram as the need for it increases. Mine has 512MB dedicated but can scale up to 2 Gigabyte by borrowing from the ram if needed. Ram. Look for at least 3 Gigabyte of ram. While Vista will run on 2 Gigabyte I would advise against it. Go for 4 Gigabyte if you can. Hard drive speed: Size is generally not a big issue these days but the hard drive speed will effect performance. 5400 RPM is the norm. 7200 RPM will have better performance. Network: Will you be using it with a wireless network? If so what speed? Many will still come with Wireless G which is considerably slower than N. N will only do you good though if you have a N router. (The wireless routers Comcast supplies are only G unless they have changed recently) eSATA Capable: This will only be a concern if you will be attaching an External SATA hard drive. Bluetooth: There are a number of devices that may need bluetooth. (Mice, headphones, making a modem connection through a cell phone, transfering files to and from cell phones, etc.) Blu-Ray capability: This is the one thing I wish mine had although it would not get much use so it isn't that big of a deal. (Toshiba is apparently a bit upset that they lost the High Definition disk war and to my knowledge still is not putting Blu-Ray drives in their laptops) At $700 your going to find that some of these features are either not there or are not up to par so you will need to decide which ones are most important. Some (most) can be replaced with add ons as well such as bluetooth using a USB bluetooth dongle but in the end adding them will likely coist more and is more of a hassle. While I'm a user and believe Toshiba makes some of the best laptops I also think that having the right features (as long as the system works right) may be even more important. I do advise against HP as my experience with them is not very good. (When I bought my current laptop I first tried two different HP laptops to try to save money and both had issues either out of the box or within a couple of days) One last note: If all you plan to do is browse the Internet and/or occasionally print something then you might consider a Netbook instead. I bought one for my wife and for a couple hundred dollars it's surprising how capable they actually are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I would try costco, they seem to have some pretty decent deals sometimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 A few other features I missed that may be desired: HDMI output (Only important if you plan to attach it to a TV using a HDMI connection) SPDIF output (Only important if it will be attached to a digital stereo receiver) Flash reader: Important if transfering photos, etc. from camera flash drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayTheSavageFraser Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I WOULD STICK WITH MAC!! POWERBOOKS ROCK AND WITH 700 YOU COULD GET A NICE ONE JUST A COUPLE YEARS OLD!! I LOVE MINE!! NO VIRUSES! NO PROBLEMS!! ALWAYS RELIABLE!! CLAY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Just a couple years old? You can get a brand new PC for that. Not to mention you get raped on service charges should you need work to be done on a MAC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theJenchild Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I WOULD STICK WITH MAC!! POWERBOOKS ROCK AND WITH 700 YOU COULD GET A NICE ONE JUST A COUPLE YEARS OLD!! I LOVE MINE!! NO VIRUSES! NO PROBLEMS!! ALWAYS RELIABLE!! CLAY Plus you have to completely re-learn how to work the danged thing. Since when did drag and drop not copy? I didn't want to create a freaking shortcut from my FLASH DRIVE! I wanted to copy to my desktop.....argh! I didn't like my experience with a macbook. I'm back to PC, and that's where I'll stay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COReefer Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Plus you have to completely re-learn how to work the danged thing. Since when did drag and drop not copy? I didn't want to create a freaking shortcut from my FLASH DRIVE! I wanted to copy to my desktop.....argh! I didn't like my experience with a macbook. I'm back to PC' date=' and that's where I'll stay.[/quote'] I thought about buying a macbook when I bought my toshiba. I took one look at that price tag and well...... I"m still with the pc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 I have had a toshiba laptop for almost 3 years now. It has been solid as a rock and not one problem. We were looking at COSTCO last weekend and there were some pretty nice laptops for a reasonable price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted August 2, 2009 Author Share Posted August 2, 2009 Thanks for all of the input guys. I went to the HP website and here is what I worked up: https://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cart_detail.do?view_cart=checkout Let me know what you think. Since I only have $700 to spend, I think this is a good option. But, if you guys think that I should buy it at Best Buy or elsewhere, I would do that also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Thanks for all of the input guys. I went to the HP website and here is what I worked up: https://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cart_detail.do?view_cart=checkout Let me know what you think. Since I only have $700 to spend, I think this is a good option. But, if you guys think that I should buy it at Best Buy or elsewhere, I would do that also. The link doesn't work for us since the data is stored in a cookie on your system. You will need to post details if you want us to review it. Personally I prefer to go to the store for purchases. They can usually beat the prices offered directly from the manufacturer since they are limited in what discounts they can offer. (It's bad for business to undercut the dealers) It's also easier to return in the event something doesn't work out if it occurs within the first week or two. (As mentioned earlier I went through 2 HP returns before I gave up and bought my current one for a few hundred more) You can also often get discontinued ones with really good discounts. When mine was discontinued less than 3 months after it was released to replace it with exactly the same one with nothing other than a bigger hard drive the price was cut almost in half. (I wish I would have known in advance as I would have saved a bunch of money) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 techdeals.net slickdeals.net fatwallet.com There is another that I can't think of, My laptop: Gateway duo pentium, 4 gigs ram, MS home Premium, 320 gig drive, hdmi out, dvd scribe, $600.00 -$100.00 discount -$75 Bing cashback (workaround coupon) free shipping = $425.00 Photoshop cost me almost as much and I got a DEAL. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CA2OR Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 You can also sign up with Spiceworks, which is free netwrok inventory software but provides links to tech deals of the day. Sales that are usually only running for one day. You can find it here http://www.spiceworks.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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