test

Choosing a New Laptop

Page 2 of 3 [ 31 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3 Next

Previous topic | Next topic

Kinme
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 13 Apr 2012
Age:24
Posts: 4,077

20 Nov 2013, 8:30 pm

smudge wrote:

Again, thank you all *very much* for your input. I am taking everything into account. Post more if you like - the more information I can gather on these, the better!

Although my old, current HP laptop worked fine for years, my mum bought a new one and in less than a year it's started to power-up less, which is a concern. From what I've read of all your reviews of HP laptops as well, it doesn't sound like they're as good as they were.

Spudz76 wrote:

Dell also tends to be good, if it's a "business class" one (they also make the "disposable" personal-use at the bottom of their price range) but they still just rebrand stuff built from other peoples parts (the only thing Dell is the casing, and the BIOS, and the warranty/support).

May I ask what it is about the business class Dells that makes them good? Is it the specs or how well-built they are?

I have zero issues with my HP. Nonetheless, ASUS is excellent. I'd probably buy an ASUS if I were to get a replacement anytime soon. Oh! I forgot to mention that I really loathe touchpad. Their other models may have different touchpads, however. Also, what do you think about the laptops that "transform" into tablets? I think they're called hybrid. Is there anything you're really needing in particular? (Like specific style of keyboard, mouse, etc.) Does price matter all that much?

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371334,00.asp

Solo_Operator
Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

Joined: 16 Sep 2013
Age:35
Posts: 60
Location: Mountains.

20 Nov 2013, 11:45 pm

Lenovo Outlet

Lenovo outlet. Been the best, and cheapest windows laptop I've ever owned.

_________________
I see my patterns afterwards. This doesn't mean I figured myself out, only In the moments I've repeated similar mistakes, do patterns emerge. I find in solace the harmony. In musical patterns lie the synchronization with adults. Song is talk.

Kinme
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 13 Apr 2012
Age:24
Posts: 4,077

21 Nov 2013, 12:03 am

Seems like good prices, mainly in the refurbished and scratch and dent sections.

spongy
Forum Moderator

Joined: 17 Jul 2010
Age:24
Posts: 8,180
Location: Patiently waiting for the seventh wave

21 Nov 2013, 2:16 am

Before buying a laptop try to make sure that all the drivers/controllers are available for windows 7 if you hate windows 8 so much.
If I was to lose my drivers as we speak I d have no touchpad, camera. and connection to networks.
Most windows 8 laptops are fairly new meaning that 7 wasnt meant to be installed and the producers may not care about windows 7, meaning that when you downgrade you may lose several features of your laptop.
A friend of mine was stuck on windows 8 for a while for this reason.
Im on 8.1,came with 8 and I mostly use it to run a virtual machine to xp so its system is barely relevant and its not so bad once you uncheck the weird mouse movements that change the page you are working on.

As for where to buy I personally went to a physical store that is known for allowing you to return any product that malfunctions within a month, no questions asked, and gives a 3 year insurance for $100 more just in case anything happens to it.
Its not in the UK yet so I wont bring up the name but try to find a store with good return policies if you are scared of the laptop malfunctioning out of the box

An i5 should be enough for moderate laptop use with no gaming(I can run league of legends on my i5 but it does lag if I move too frequently now and then because its a fairly limited laptop )

Fogman
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 19 Jun 2005
Age:48
Posts: 3,818
Location: Carolina de Sur

21 Nov 2013, 11:19 am

Solo_Operator wrote:

Lenovo Outlet

Lenovo outlet. Been the best, and cheapest windows laptop I've ever owned.

Beware that Lenovo is no longer the same computer that IBM ThinkPads once were. Even though IBM had their budget 'I' series, (which was actually OEM'ed for IBM by Acer) most of their stuff was made In-House. Lenovo OTOH has expanded their line to include consumer grade systems, and budget consumer grade systems much like Dell. Still though, their Enterprise grade systems are excellent.

_________________
When There's No There to get to, I'm so There!

MaxE
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 2 Sep 2013
Posts: 285
Location: Mid Atlantic USA

22 Nov 2013, 6:55 am

Any opinion on this? (click on link, price in US$)

ASUS N550JV-DB72T

MaxE
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 2 Sep 2013
Posts: 285
Location: Mid Atlantic USA

22 Nov 2013, 7:02 am

Compare the ASUS pricewise with this Thinkpad. Also bear in mind this is at Walmart. For those who don't know, Walmart has a reputation for selling lower-quality versions of popular brands made on contract for them so the customer thinks they're getting a bargain.

Fogman
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 19 Jun 2005
Age:48
Posts: 3,818
Location: Carolina de Sur

22 Nov 2013, 10:58 am

MaxE wrote:

Damn! I'm truly surprised that Walmart is selling a pro notebook! They usually consumer crap in their stores. --Still though I don't like the 17" screen on either of them.

FWIW though, the last time I bought a Computer new was from a Walmart, and it was a decent upper level Consumer notebook at the time. (Toshiba Sattelite Centrino Duo system just before WinVista came out.)

_________________
When There's No There to get to, I'm so There!

MaxE
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 2 Sep 2013
Posts: 285
Location: Mid Atlantic USA

22 Nov 2013, 6:04 pm

Fogman wrote:

--Still though I don't like the 17" screen on either of them.

I went back and looked at both, and they seem to be 15.6".

smudge
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Sep 2006
Age:27
Posts: 4,092
Location: London

01 Dec 2013, 1:20 pm

Kinme wrote:

I'm not interested in the laptops that transform into tablets. The whole thing was a gimmick anyway - "New! Laptop without keyboard!" to "New! Now has a keyboard!".

The idea of those business-use Dells (or Lenovo) draws me. I want a practical, sturdy laptop that will last, not a pretty one.

Again, even with the sub-discussions on here, this has been really useful for me. Thanks again people.

_________________
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... ?CMP=fb_gu

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feminism

"feminism [fem-uh-niz-uh m] noun:

The doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men."

accountinglad
Sea Gull

Joined: 4 Dec 2013
Age:21
Posts: 211

07 Jan 2014, 3:47 am

Buy a laptop from ebay with no OS installed you'll get much better value that way.

superluminary
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 4 Nov 2013
Age:39
Posts: 274

07 Jan 2014, 2:50 pm

If that's really all you need it for buy a chrome book, or a windows rt tablet with a keyboard. Both will serve you well.

superluminary
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 4 Nov 2013
Age:39
Posts: 274

07 Jan 2014, 2:53 pm

I personally would not touch Lenovo gear. If you want something that will really last get a macbook. I have one that's 7 years old, it's still as good as when we it was new.

smudge
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 6 Sep 2006
Age:27
Posts: 4,092
Location: London

05 May 2014, 5:26 pm

Well, because my current laptop keeps trying to die on me (sometimes taking up to 10 tries to switch it on) I have now ordered a refurbished, scratch and dent laptop. Dell Latitude 5400 with 500GB HDD, 8GB RAM and umm, other specs. It comes with a 3 year warrenty, so it's a reasonable amount of time for a £500 laptop I guess.

I got Windows 7 as well, because Windows 8 is horrible.

If I've chosen the wrong laptop...well, too late now.

superluminary: I was tempted to get the macbook, but I couldn't justify the price for the lower than average specs.

MaxE
Toucan
Toucan

Joined: 2 Sep 2013
Posts: 285
Location: Mid Atlantic USA

06 May 2014, 6:52 am

Well I couldn't wait any longer so I ordered a Toshiba S55-A5188 with i7 processor and 12 GB RAM on Amazon for $US748.99 plus $8.49 shipping. I don't suppose Toshiba is as well regarded as ASUS however I am a programmer so processing power and memory matter more to me than graphics and audio. I hope they won't be forever shipping it.

Page 2 of 3 [ 31 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3 Next

Jump to:

Choosing a New Laptop Post Reply New Topic

Choosing a New Laptop