Need a new laptop, help! [Archive]

View Full Version : Need a new laptop, help!

sherri_chickie

03-19-2010, 11:49 AM

My desktop is slower than molasses in January. Says I am out of memory, I figure I need a new computer, might as well get an inexpensive lap top. What brands are best? Who do I stay away from? What are the min requirements I should be looking for? I don't game, will be using it for simple work stuff, like power point, word documents, internet stuff etc. Nothing that requires huge graphics or anything. I have a macbook through work, but when I go on mat leave they get it back. I don't want to spend $1000 on one either.

Any suggestions?

Dave

03-19-2010, 11:52 AM

hp is pretty solid these days

Rider

03-19-2010, 12:01 PM

I bought my son a Compaq laptop (15.4)for Christmas. It was only $400 at office depot and it is very fast. I don't remember the model number off the top of my head but I can get it tonight.

fatbuckRTO

03-19-2010, 12:16 PM

I don't game, will be using it for simple work stuff, like power point, word documents, internet stuff etc. Nothing that requires huge graphics or anything. Almost any laptop on the market will handle that. For ease of use, I'd buy one that already has Microsoft Office installed. And if you're using it for work I'd steer clear of the tiny netbooks. Other than that, sounds like price should be your deciding factor.

Apoc

03-19-2010, 12:17 PM

hp is pretty solid these days

DO NOT BUY A HP!!! They fall apart quicker then a french army. Charging sockets break, moldings crack, they are absolute shit!!!!

Trip

03-19-2010, 12:27 PM

Buy a mac, it works and you won't need to replace it for awhile.

TommyHotWheel

03-19-2010, 12:52 PM

I am really liking my Toshiba Satellite, L455D-S5976.
Windows 7 32 bit
AMD Sempron SI-42
@gid DDR@ Ram, 250GB HDD
15.6 HD TruBrite widescreen display
I paid just south of $400 for it and my wife uses it as much as her $900 HP blah bitty blah hunk of slow shit.

the chi

03-19-2010, 01:16 PM

Phenix_Rider

03-19-2010, 01:17 PM

OTB

03-19-2010, 01:43 PM

pauldun170

03-19-2010, 01:52 PM

You could just clean it... Get rid of anything you don't need, stop programs from auto-loading on startup, run a good virus scanner, and defrag. Maybe add some RAM.

If you're not doing anything major with it, there's really no reason to get a new one. Unless you just want to :lol

agreed
I have desktops going back to 2004. I have an old P4 2.8 and an Athlon64 3800 of similar vintage.
Vista Business is running on the P4 and it runs just fine. Pretty quick loading up and running what I need to run on it.
The Athlon has XP on it and its pretty responsive, though nowadays its strictly the torrent box.

I have some newer stuff running Windows 7, a quad core desktop and an older dual core laptop (HP). The laptop is used as a media center (while all the libraries are hosted on the quad core).

Of all the computers I have the slowest one is probably the laptop due to the slow drives in it.

Now that I have yabble and rabbled about my crap.

Asus is the most reliable.
HP has pretty good service which you will need the day after the warranty expires (they have made some poor design decisions)
A basic Dell is a suprisingly good deal and you can nab one for bout $500. Service has alledgedly improved.
Apple is overpriced and the hardware quality can be iffy.
IBM\Lenovo Thinkpads used to be indafuckingstructable but nowadays they are bout average.
Toshiba's are ok, but I rarely see them price competitive with the competition. they alsways seem to be an extra 50 bucks.

Whatever you get.
3gig and over of RAM is desirable
2 gig is the absolute minimum. Matter of fact, if they are selling a laptop with 2gig of ram, chances are it sucks in other areas.

Watch out for laptops that are stingy with usb ports.
Stay away from anything with an "Atom" processor.

Bluestreak

03-19-2010, 02:01 PM

Avoid HP/compaq like the plague.
Dell has always treated me well.
I hear good things about Asus.
Whatever you do, don't fall for the e-machine...

Windows 7 32bit has a lower ram requirement than 64 bit but the 64bit natively runs faster. Pick your poison.

What Paul said about ram is spot on. 3GB or more is great while 2 is the absolute minimum.

Kaneman

03-19-2010, 02:09 PM

DO NOT BUY AN HP!

Bought mine about 6 months ago, it cost me $900 and was supposed to be fast. It won't process digital photos through Photoshop without serious lag, the battery is completely dead and HP won't replace it because I've upgraded to Windows 7 and the DVDROM died months ago. I burned one whole DVD with it. What a fuckin waste.

LeeNetworX

03-19-2010, 02:12 PM

As already stated, HP is crap. Stay away from it. When it comes to inexpensive models, Toshiba has some laptops with a nice bang for the buck.

pauldun170

03-19-2010, 02:17 PM

Bad - Avoid if they have the following processors
AMD Athlon Neo
AMD Turion Neo
Intel Atom
VIA Nano

Otherwise post up stuff you find and we'll give you our opinion.

Rider

03-19-2010, 02:28 PM

I've had my HP laptop at work for 3 years and it still runs strong and I abuse the hell out of it.

pauldun170

03-19-2010, 02:30 PM

FYI:
Dell has a deal on Inspiron 15 for $399
For the $399, they skimp on storage but you can up it 320GB (consider that a minimum for harddrive space) and get it for $469.

Its a good fit for what you want to do with it and should be considered your baseline laptop when it comes to specs\price.

Whatever you get, I'd pick up an external harddrive (1TB external can be had for about 90 bucks)

pauldun170

03-19-2010, 02:34 PM

I've had my HP laptop at work for 3 years and it still runs strong and I abuse the hell out of it.

I have the 8510p for work.
They differ from the consumer line (legacy HP stuff) in that they are a bit tougher.

My Pavilion is poorly designed and not in the same league as the Compaq\HP stuff.

sherri_chickie

03-19-2010, 03:50 PM

Thanks for everyone's input. I have tried defragging and actually ran two different debugging programs, just in case that was the problem. I am thinking that I could get an external hard drive and put all my pics on it and delete them from the computer, maybe that would help. But I think I may like to be able to sit my tired butt on the sofa and do my stuff there instead of feeling like a meanie kicking my husband off the desktop because I feel like playing around with facebook or just MSN. I am going to take a look around this weekend-week, while the hubby is in China.

Rangerscott

03-19-2010, 05:34 PM

I got a new laptop I need to get rid of
Pm u wjem I get home

Cutty72

03-19-2010, 05:41 PM

Bad - Avoid if they have the following processors
AMD Athlon Neo
AMD Turion Neo
Intel Atom
VIA Nano

Otherwise post up stuff you find and we'll give you our opinion.

Issues with the AMD turion X2?

That's what's in my current toshiba and no issues as of yet?

Flexin

03-19-2010, 06:57 PM

I have been happy with my HP laptop that I have had for close to three years.

James

pauldun170

03-19-2010, 09:48 PM

Issues with the AMD turion X2?

That's what's in my current toshiba and no issues as of yet?

Specifically the NEO branded ones. Its the Atom competitor for netbooks and ultrasuckables.

zlicius

03-19-2010, 10:10 PM

i just bought a laptop last week, to replace my 7-8 y.o. IBM T40 (great laptop, just getting old)

Gateway, intel core 1.5, windows 7, 4gb ddr, 500gb HDD

$700

Mr Lefty

03-19-2010, 10:13 PM

I just bought a new laptop... got one of the "blue label's" from Best buy. I got the Toshiba as it was the smallest of the three. I'm liking it a lot,though wish it had a matte screen and a blu ray player. but it's all good. works MUCH better than that shitty net book I had.

Trip

03-19-2010, 10:14 PM

Mr Lefty

03-19-2010, 10:18 PM

what happened to your netbook?

I still have it... but that fucker sucked for loading my pictures on it. took for fucking ever.

and even browsing the internet, the fucking screen made most web pages display all fucked up. :td:

I'm giving it to my lil sis to use as she's a flight attendant and it'll suit her well as she needs to pack light

Dave

03-20-2010, 12:45 AM

I have been happy with my HP laptop that I have had for close to three years.

James

my dad swears by them, then again he has this top of the line desktop replacement monster...

Porkchop

03-20-2010, 12:55 AM

Sony....

Cass

03-20-2010, 04:16 PM

Buy a mac, it works and you won't need to replace it for awhile.

She said she didn't want to spend a grand on it :)

Avoid HP/compaq like the plague.
Dell has always treated me well.
I hear good things about Asus.
Whatever you do, don't fall for the e-machine...

Windows 7 32bit has a lower ram requirement than 64 bit but the 64bit natively runs faster. Pick your poison.

What Paul said about ram is spot on. 3GB or more is great while 2 is the absolute minimum.

Yes.. Dell's good, Toshiba was my other top contender. I was told to consider Asus as well.... then fell onto a Gateway that I just had to have.

i just bought a laptop last week, to replace my 7-8 y.o. IBM T40 (great laptop, just getting old)

Gateway, intel core 1.5, windows 7, 4gb ddr, 500gb HDD

$700

Yep... I sent her to this Gateway. It may be a little more than what you want to spend or are needing.... but I got this lappy with everything I wanted incl blu-ray and HDMI output for 800... it's my primary machine, i don't have a desktop, so I didn't mind spending the $ for it.

For relatively low maintenance, I'd go with Dell or Toshiba.... you can usually find coupons online for them, and Dell always has a decent deal running.

BobTheBiker

03-20-2010, 05:09 PM

I replaced a cheapo Asus that still runs like a champ with a nicer more updated HP and I hate it. Its slower than all get out, gets errors constantly and definitely doesnt operate as well as my old Asus, so if you're looking for cheap and decent I'd go Asus in a heartbeat. Im still irritated I gave mine away to my sister.

Asus gets my vote. I'm still running my X83V, its pretty impressive for a lower end asus computer.

HP and mac are crap, acer has some nicer products lately, as does Asus, which is one of the more impressive machines I've run in a long time.

sherri_chickie

03-21-2010, 01:04 AM

Thanks for all the good info. I am going to need to make notes and compile. Just saw an add from Dell.. Might go look at Costco and see what they have, going to check out Best Buy, Future Shop and probabily The Source. Going to be a busy week.. *S*

Cass

03-22-2010, 10:08 AM

Papa_Complex

03-22-2010, 01:34 PM

My biggest issue with Best Buy, aside from the pushy little sales-people, is that they put their stamp on everything, and the machine ends up with a crapload of unnecessary software that will never be used.

That said... good luck with your search, and may you find what you want!!

I worked for manufacturers for years, but now I buy canned systems (Dell, for the most part). The first thing that I do when I buy a new system, or if I'm setting one up for a friend, is scrub the drive and do my own clean installation. There's just too much crap on new systems these days, half of which doesn't uninstall properly.

pauldun170

03-22-2010, 02:23 PM

I worked for manufacturers for years, but now I buy canned systems (Dell, for the most part). The first thing that I do when I buy a new system, or if I'm setting one up for a friend, is scrub the drive and do my own clean installation. There's just too much crap on new systems these days, half of which doesn't uninstall properly.

Ah the days when they sent the oem OS install with the purchase of a new computer.

Now its just the factory image

Papa_Complex

03-22-2010, 03:20 PM

Ah the days when they sent the oem OS install with the purchase of a new computer.

Now its just the factory image

Yes, unless you pay extra you'll rarely get a CD/DVD these days. Fortunately I'm in a position where I can get hold of installation media for recent operating systems and the keys provided by the manufacturers work with them.

Cass

03-22-2010, 06:33 PM

Yes, unless you pay extra you'll rarely get a CD/DVD these days. Fortunately I'm in a position where I can get hold of installation media for recent operating systems and the keys provided by the manufacturers work with them.

Mine did not come with a reinstall disc. I can make my own recovery disc, it's 3 DVDs worth of data. Yes, DVDs. Fuck.

Rangerscott

03-22-2010, 07:41 PM

Mine did not come with a reinstall disc. I can make my own recovery disc, it's 3 DVDs worth of data. Yes, DVDs. Fuck.

Its because the recovery partition has all the bloat ware on it too. It recovers "everything."

Cass

03-23-2010, 10:21 AM

Its because the recovery partition has all the bloat ware on it too. It recovers "everything."

Yeah.. I know. I don't understand why it's such a clusterfuck.

Amber Lamps

03-24-2010, 01:19 AM

Ah the days when they sent the oem OS install with the purchase of a new computer.

Now its just the factory image

Buy an Alienware...:lol: OS disc and resource disc. Oh and Alien "respawn" as well...not to mention that it's running two duo core processors and two 500G hard drives "raid/mirror style"... whatever all that means...:lol:

101lifts2

03-24-2010, 02:19 AM

DO NOT BUY A HP!!! They fall apart quicker then a french army. Charging sockets break, moldings crack, they are absolute shit!!!!

Why u gotta always rip on the French?:lol

Get a Fijitsu. Quality.

goof2

03-24-2010, 10:50 AM

I bought an Acer around a year ago and it has worked well for me. I got the cheapest one I could find at the time with an Intel T4xxx series Dual Core processor. It only has a 14" screen but I'm fine with that. It only had 2gb of ram but it was on one module. I added another 2gb for less than $20 from NewEgg. If I was looking for a new laptop now I would seriously consider something like this deal below

http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=5590436&sku=A180-15651&SRCCODE=COMEM517C&cm_mmc=Email-_-Main-_-COMEM517-_-email

Intel Core i3 processor, 4gb of DDR3 memory, and 320gb hard drive for $600 isn't too bad.

pauldun170

03-24-2010, 12:04 PM

Buy an Alienware...:lol: OS disc and resource disc. Oh and Alien "respawn" as well...not to mention that it's running two duo core processors and two 500G hard drives "raid/mirror style"... whatever all that means...:lol:

I build my own and have access to the OS dvds I use.

goof2

03-30-2010, 07:08 AM

I didn't see anything indicating that you bought anything. The link below is for an Acer with an Intel dual core (T4400), 4gb ram, and 250gb hard drive. It is listed at $449 but use promo code EMCYPPY36 and it drops to $429. It says shipping is free, but I don't know if that holds true for Canada as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115728&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL033010&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL033010-_-EMC-033010-Index-_-Notebooks-_-34115728-L0A