Laptop help...

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  • cjonesfan921
    UGH, next year
    • Jan 2005
    • 20081

    #1

    Laptop help...

    Just looking for a solid laptop. Not much of a computer wiz, don't know much about the insides.

    I need something that's extremely reliable.


    I know, part of it is what I put on it. In general though, something for an average - above average laptop user. (abuser)

    Any help, or links to one, would be appreciated.
  • Hassan Darkside
    We Here
    • Sep 2003
    • 7561

    #2
    Re: Laptop help...

    What's your price range?
    [NYK|DAL|VT]
    A true MC, y'all doing them regular degular dance songs
    You losin' your teeth, moving like using Kevin Durant comb
    Royce da 5'9"


    Originally posted by DCAllAmerican
    How many brothers fell victim to the skeet.........

    Comment

    • cjonesfan921
      UGH, next year
      • Jan 2005
      • 20081

      #3
      Re: Laptop help...

      Not a huge issue. Don't want to spend over 700, but would prefer lower, definitely.

      Comment

      • Blzer
        Resident film pundit
        • Mar 2004
        • 42536

        #4
        Re: Laptop help...

        I'm assuming you mean PC.

        I would personally not go with Dell. I'm not a fan of their hardware components (keyboards, touch pads, disc drives, cooling fans, adaptability), battery life, or customer service.

        I have an HP myself, but I believe they have terminated their computer production, or something of that matter. They might be cheap to get at this time though, so that could be a steal. I've had some hardware failure with them in the past though (loose cable connections, fried motherboards, cheap AC adapters...). I normally can fit Compaq into the same category as HP, since they do a lot of manufacturing from the same place.

        Sony is a good option if you want to go with customer-attractive features, but they come at a very steep cost as well. If you're not going above $700, I wouldn't waste my time with them.

        As far as a choice where you don't need much to do with your computer other than use it, Gateway is a nice pickup. It's like the Vizio of laptops, in my opinion: doesn't get much critical acclaim, but behind the lack of attention is a good-working product. Most of them aren't that bulky, and some of my close friends have them as their work computers where they are able to run virtual machines simultaneously with terminal processes, without any problems whatsoever.

        Obviously the make is one thing while the model is another, as well as the processor type and amount of RAM. I'm sure somebody else could get into those specifications with you, but I just wanted to give you the broad scope.

        EDIT: A lot of people who I lived in the college dorms with also owned Acer notebooks. I have no history with them, so I can't speak on behalf of them. Might want to see what kinds of benefits those have, though.
        Last edited by Blzer; 09-01-2011, 02:54 PM.
        Samsung PN60F8500 PDP / Anthem MRX 720 / Klipsch RC-62 II / Klipsch RF-82 II (x2) / Insignia NS-B2111 (x2) / SVS PC13-Ultra / SVS SB-2000 / Sony MDR-7506 Professional / Audio-Technica ATH-R70x / Sony PS3 & PS4 / DirecTV HR44-500 / DarbeeVision DVP-5000 / Panamax M5400-PM / Elgato HD60

        Comment

        • cjonesfan921
          UGH, next year
          • Jan 2005
          • 20081

          #5
          Re: Laptop help...

          Thanks for the response Blzer. Acer seems to have a good history.

          I'm interested in the specs though. As far as RAM, Processor, etc.

          Comment

          • Blzer
            Resident film pundit
            • Mar 2004
            • 42536

            #6
            Re: Laptop help...

            Originally posted by cjonesfan921
            Thanks for the response Blzer. Acer seems to have a good history.

            I'm interested in the specs though. As far as RAM, Processor, etc.
            Ah, well I'm not as technically savvy on that front.

            I personally have an AMD Phenom II processor and 4GB RAM on my HP Pavilion dv7, and although the price of my computer was a little higher, it does the jobs I need it to do when it comes to multitasking. I can literally run four baseball games on MLB.TV, watch The Dark Knight on Blu-ray, Skype my friend, and execute code in Visual Studio on two monitors all at the same time. It obviously works my computer to its core, but it's possible to do without any significant slowdown.
            Samsung PN60F8500 PDP / Anthem MRX 720 / Klipsch RC-62 II / Klipsch RF-82 II (x2) / Insignia NS-B2111 (x2) / SVS PC13-Ultra / SVS SB-2000 / Sony MDR-7506 Professional / Audio-Technica ATH-R70x / Sony PS3 & PS4 / DirecTV HR44-500 / DarbeeVision DVP-5000 / Panamax M5400-PM / Elgato HD60

            Comment

            • cjonesfan921
              UGH, next year
              • Jan 2005
              • 20081

              #7
              Re: Laptop help...

              Originally posted by Blzer
              Ah, well I'm not as technically savvy on that front.

              I personally have an AMD Phenom II processor and 4GB RAM on my HP Pavilion dv7, and although the price of my computer was a little higher, it does the jobs I need it to do when it comes to multitasking. I can literally run four baseball games on MLB.TV, watch The Dark Knight on Blu-ray, Skype my friend, and execute code in Visual Studio on two monitors all at the same time. It obviously works my computer to its core, but it's possible to do without any significant slowdown.
              That's what I need!!!!!!!!

              Just not that drastic. I want to be able to do a lot without a hiccup. Nothing on that level, however.

              Like you, I am not tech savvy at all when it comes to pcs/laptops. I'm hoping and praying someone chimes in with their 2 cents.

              I am pretty much without a reliable pc or laptop at home. I have a netbook that is just horrible right now.

              Comment

              • Hassan Darkside
                We Here
                • Sep 2003
                • 7561

                #8
                Re: Laptop help...

                I just bought a laptop last week. I nearly made a thread on here as well and my price range was similar. I was looking to spend about $800 max. I had a Dell Latitude for 4 years but Dell's been going downhill for the last decade or so. HP, as you know, is about to exit the market.

                I figured out what I want in it first. I decided I wanted at least a second-gen i5, discreet graphics card (not mandatory), 4 gb ram (upgradable), 7200 rpm hdd (optional, I had one in my old laptop).

                At my job, I had frequent hands-on time doing tech support for all the Freshies coming to college and I grew very weary of Fujitsu's (tablet PCs, engineering requirement). My friends had had some bad experiences with HP in the past. Same with Dell.

                Personally, I was using a MacBook Pro as my work PC. Honestly, I'm a long time Apple *****, never owned an iPod, iMac, anything like that. But this MacBook Pro? I was pretty sure it was the best laptop on the market. Only problem was it was a helluva lot of money. I wanted one but they're also redesigning them for 2012 so I didn't want to get an "old model." Plus I could find a comparative PC with similar specs for half the price. So it came down to was using Snow Leopard/Lion (Mac OS X) worth another $500 or so? Hell to the naw.

                After much research I decided on Asus. Why Asus? Well, my dad who has been building, rebuilding, repairing, taking apart computers his entire life says he only buys Asus motherboards. Haven't heard anything negative about them really, aside from shoddy customer support at times. But most buyers say their laptops are really put together well.

                This is the one I ended up with:

                http://www.amazon.com/A53SV-XE1-15-6...4913204&sr=8-1

                I thought it was a great value because I was hard pressed to find a laptop with a dedicated graphics card under $1000. It came with a 5400 rpm HDD so I just swapped my old 7200 rpm HDD and had no issues. I haven't done any gaming but just in case I want to get 2k12 for PC, I like having the possibilities. Same with photo/video editing.

                I'll throw 2k11 on here in a little while and see how it runs.

                This was my second choice: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ASUS+-+L...&skuId=2712515

                No dedicated graphics card but it does have 8 gbs of ram.
                [NYK|DAL|VT]
                A true MC, y'all doing them regular degular dance songs
                You losin' your teeth, moving like using Kevin Durant comb
                Royce da 5'9"


                Originally posted by DCAllAmerican
                How many brothers fell victim to the skeet.........

                Comment

                • Aces15
                  Pro
                  • Jul 2008
                  • 877

                  #9
                  Re: Laptop help...

                  Originally posted by cjonesfan921
                  Thanks for the response Blzer. Acer seems to have a good history.

                  I'm interested in the specs though. As far as RAM, Processor, etc.
                  I just got an Acer laptop, and it works excellently. No complaints other than the fact that it doesn't come with a system restore disc (seriously.... what the hell?)

                  It's absolutely the cheapest option for the specs that it has, but it seems like it's not available on Amazon right now. I got it on sale for $550 + tax, which is an absolute steal if you ask me:

                  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B004G60ARC

                  Comment

                  • bamalam
                    MVP
                    • Nov 2002
                    • 1407

                    #10
                    Re: Laptop help...

                    I have had

                    hp-died after about 12 months-took good care of it

                    dell-inferior parts- screen went wacky, keys fell off(all in 1st 3 months with proper care of the machine), slow drive

                    have an asus over last 18 months and love it. seems to be quality machine. no hardware issues to date.

                    Comment

                    • mikenoob
                      All Star
                      • Oct 2007
                      • 5545

                      #11
                      Re: Laptop help...

                      You can pick up an IdeaPad Y470 for about $590. It has an i3-2310M, nVidia GT 550M, 500GB 7200 RPM, 4GB ram, and is at about 4.8-5lbs. I don't know about the build quality for the IdeaPads, but the business product, ThinkPads, are one of the most well built laptops. You could pick one of those up for about $620, but the GPU does not compare to the Y470. Although the keyboard and the overall laptop build must be alot better.

                      Comment

                      • TheMatrix31
                        RF
                        • Jul 2002
                        • 52931

                        #12
                        Re: Laptop help...

                        Ruff, that Asus you ended up with looks REALLY nice.

                        I'm thinking of "redeeming" the accidential damage coverage I have on my POS HP DV7 and getting a new laptop. I have 900 dollars of coverage on it, but I don't know if they'd give that full amount back.

                        Comment

                        • cjonesfan921
                          UGH, next year
                          • Jan 2005
                          • 20081

                          #13
                          Re: Laptop help...

                          Originally posted by mikenoob
                          You can pick up an IdeaPad Y470 for about $590. It has an i3-2310M, nVidia GT 550M, 500GB 7200 RPM, 4GB ram, and is at about 4.8-5lbs. I don't know about the build quality for the IdeaPads, but the business product, ThinkPads, are one of the most well built laptops. You could pick one of those up for about $620, but the GPU does not compare to the Y470. Although the keyboard and the overall laptop build must be alot better.
                          Would something like this be able to run a game on occasion?

                          And thanks for all the responses, very informational.

                          Comment

                          • p_rushing
                            Hall Of Fame
                            • Feb 2004
                            • 14514

                            #14
                            Re: Laptop help...

                            Originally posted by cjonesfan921
                            Would something like this be able to run a game on occasion?

                            And thanks for all the responses, very informational.
                            If you want a Lenovo, PM me the model you are looking at and I'll get you the employee price.

                            Comment

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