NiteRunner Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 I'm buying a Laptop here soon. Lots to choose from!! Any advice? HP/Compaq seems to be offering better deals price wise ($350-$450) which is in the range that I'm looking to spend. Anyone have any advice on what to look for in a Laptop and what to stay away from? I won't be doing anything fancy with it just - writing articles, working with graphics and pictures, getting online, little gaming maybe, that's about all. I'm also looking into getting an external harddrive for it, just more so as a back-up of everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Got the girls each a laptop for Christmas (Dell). Have always bought and maintained Dells for our company, but I have to say I think their service side has slipped a little. Next PC I order for work may be a HP/Compaq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gzilla45 Posted January 25, 2011 Report Share Posted January 25, 2011 Currently I'm running an Acer laptop and have nothing but good things to say about it. I got it at Christmas time 2 years ago for a little over $200 and it has performed flawlessly. I also have a Toshiba and have nothing but good things to say about that brand also. I would definitely look at getting the most RAM that you can in your price range. 2 GB is ok but 3 is much better when running Windows 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiteRunner Posted January 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 I'm trying to stay away from Dell. I was always told that if something went wrong with it or you needed a part for it, you had to go to Dell. I'm seeing lots of good ratings on Acer's also! I'm trying to focus in on the ones that have 3 Gigs of Ram, someone keeps telling me if I do find one with 2Gigs that it's not hard to install more into the computer, but it would be one less hassle if I found one with 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gzilla45 Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 In the grand scheme of things changing our RAM is fairly simple but if you can find it already installed, might as well go with it. I run 2 gigs on my Win 7 machine and it works fine for the basic tasks I ask of it so it isn't the end of the world if you end up with 2. You can always upgrade later if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missed160 Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 We just bought a new one, love it. I have traditionally bought Microsoft stuff, but continually had issues. This time I decided to spend more & bought a Mac. I really love it. My wife doesn't use a computer much & these are a lot more user friendly, and the big plus is no viruses to worry about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddyboman Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 Here is a good deal that was pointed out to me by another forum member...... http://www.productshippingcenter.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6713399&Sku=SYX-16001 This same laptop from dell was $800. These laptops are made here in the US as is there customer service.........check em out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gzilla45 Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 This is a pretty good deal and it should do everything you want it to and much more. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834214025 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevebeilgard Posted January 26, 2011 Report Share Posted January 26, 2011 kim komando says acer is the best dollar value laptop on the market. i listened, bought one, and have no regrets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_MD_ Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 Here is a good place to shop. http://www.newegg.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michiganbowhunter_SQ2 Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 My cousin just bought a Compaq from Best Buy a couple days ago. It has 2gb of ram (upgradable to I think 8), and a 250gb HD. He does pretty much the same things you will be using it for and it works fine for him. I think it was around $350. I would recommend upgrading the ram a bit, at least to 4gb. Here is the one he bought: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Compaq+-+Presario+Laptop+/+AMD+V-Series+Processor+/+15.6%22+Display+/+2GB+Memory+/+250GB+Hard+Drive+-+Basic+Black/1271897.p?id=1218245812097&skuId=1271897 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiteRunner Posted January 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 More to consider! Thanks Guys! Those are some of the best deals I've seen so far, I just might have one by the end of the month. Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeNRA Posted January 27, 2011 Report Share Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) I bought two Gateway NV5378u. Got one in September, my daughter liked it so much, we got her one for Christmas. They were refurbished machines sold by Tiger Direct. But let me tell you this, not a scratch on either of them! Windows 7, 500 gig hard drive, 4 gigs of RAM, 15.6" screen, DVD burner, web cam, and a multi-card reader. $420 each. Would I buy another, yep! I am saving up for another Tiger Direct purchase, a gaming tower loaded!!! Can't wait for this tower, super fast six core, and with 8 gigs of RAM, expandable to 16 gigs, and two video cards running in SLI or Crossfire. Edited January 27, 2011 by LifeNRA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontHunter Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I'm trying to stay away from Dell. I was always told that if something went wrong with it or you needed a part for it, you had to go to Dell. This is true for any Laptop to an extent .. If you bought a Dell and wanted to swap out the hard drive you could go to let's say Staples and get one with zero problems. The wife and I have DELL laptops and towers and have for the most part had good luck with them .. This being said, I think the computer market as pretty much evened out as far as the technology/quality goes. It's the warranty and costumer service is where it's going to make the biggest differfence IMHO .. The BEST advice I can offer is ,, MAX out your MEMORY and get the fastest harddrive offered .. Good Luck with your purchase, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I got a new laptop for work at Christmas, it's an Acer Aspire, 2.2GHz Athelon x2 processor. 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive. It's got the 15.6" screen so it's nice and compact getting in and out of cars for me etc. I didn't need a big hard drive, just enough RAM to run the software to program vehicles and run our diagnostic programs. It works great! Really fast computer, perfect size for what I need. Back in August or so I got a new computer for home too. Went to a laptop from a desktop. Got a HP Pavillion dv7. Intel dual core processor, 4GB RAM, 1TB hardrive with the 17.3" screen. Nice big screen, plenty fast. No issues with either yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbHunterNY Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I've had horrible experiences back when they were Compaq Presario notebooks. HP products are good though, so since then I believe things have changed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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