Buying a New Laptop

[GetaGrrrip]

Hi,

I am in the market for a new laptop. I am also impatient and don't want to wait very long! I don't do anything that (I would think) requires a lot of resources (no gaming, just office suite, music, youtube, etc.), but I do believe in making my computer multi-task - I will have maybe 8 - 12 windows open at one time. Any brands to stay away from? Most popular due to reliability? Any other considerations? I know that I want a fairly good size screen, 15" or better.

Any suggestions welcome. Price-wise...my max is probably $500, but don't really want to spend that much if I don't have to. My last computer (now a paperweight ) was a Dell Latitude D830.

Thanks!

[photolady]

my max is probably $500, but don't really want to spend that much if I don't have to.

Not much you can get at that price. You might find one at Walmart for $500 or less, but it won't have enough ram from, and processor would probably be too slow.

[glussier]

What do you mean, he can't get much for that price. He can get a Toshiba Satellite C850, with an Intel i3-2370, 6GB of ram and a 500GB hard drive. This type of laptop would be great for what the op want's to do. He doesn't need an add-on video card, he says that he doesn't want to play heavy games on his laptop.

[photolady]

Never mind. glussier, you find her one. But isn't an Intel i3 kind of old? Btw, GetaGrip is a woman.

[jdc2000]

If you are in a hurry, it might be a little harder to find a decent laptop at that price, although it can be done. If you can wait for the Black Friday deals, it might be easier.

[jdc2000]

Possibly useful links:

http://shopping.yahoo.com/blogs/digi...205042747.html
(August 2012 article)

http://blog.laptopmag.com/top-8-lapt...-less-than-500
(January 2012 article)

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ga...nder-500-23075
(December 2011 article)

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2385602,00.asp
(2011 article)

[GetaGrrrip]

Thank you for all the replies and suggestions. I'm also re-thinking my budget some although it has to have a cap on it somewhere. My line of work has me out of touch with the latest computer info, etc so your ideas and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!
Oh, and YES I am most definitely of the female persuasion.

[bistro]

You may also want to consider just putting a healthy down payment on a slightly more expensive and higher quality Dell laptop and then just make payments through the Dell payment plan. I had to buy a laptop for my daughter for college and this worked out great. Had a nearly $1,000 laptop paid off in just a few months. I forget the model, but it was a 17" with 8 gigs of memory and an Intel i7 CPU. It can handle pretty much anything you can throw at it. She loves it. Yeah, a 17" is not quite as portable, but she loves the big screen for doing homework, surfing the net and watching Netflix (uh....hopefully in that order). If you need good portability though, go for the 15". I wouldn't go any smaller than that.

[GetaGrrrip]

I might just be falling in love with this one....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215615

Yeah, it's over my budget... so I have to consider it carefully. What'cha think?

[wonderinguy34]

It comes with Windows 8,definitely worth giving Windows 8 a try before spending $$$. IMO

[Shinma]

Continuing with wonderinguy34's point,
Be aware that online support will likely be sporadic since Win8 is a new OS.

[wonderinguy34]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215418

only 4gb of RAM ,but it is pretty cheap/easy to upgrade RAM currently.One thing ,especially on Laptops is the keyboard feel/functionality.I have tried some laptops with reaaly bad IMO keyboards that required too much effort to depress the keys.If you could physically try it first or be able to return it easily if it doesn't work for you.

[GetaGrrrip]

Good points re: Win 8. Thanks for the input and the links, all of it helps! Looking at these now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Productcompare.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%20600004344%20600372103&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&CompareItemList=32|34-215-403^34-215-403-TS%2C34-230-533^34-230-533-10%23

[wonderinguy34]

That ASUS sounds very good, 6 cell battery and this "Accidental Damage Warranty -1 Year Accidental Damage/" and it uses the latest Intel Ivy Bridge i5. :thumbs up:



edit: couldn't find any reviews ,so maybe someone can speak up on ASUS Laptop quality/reliability.

[SpywareDr]

For $579, the Acer Aspire AS5750-9422's i7-2670QM will kick that i5-3210M.

Here it is added to your comparison page: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...%2D533%2D10%23