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Need Laptop Recommendations

indacup

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Jun 1, 2007
1,519
37
Iowa
Her B-day is around the corner and I KNOW she wants a laptop...which I am looking to get for her...but price, is extremely important...so VALUE is priority.
Here's her needs in a laptop:
1) She stores and shares lots of family photos...a DVD player/burner would be nice.
2) Loves surfin the internet and downloading videos, porn, games...etc...so a moderate amount of memory would be needed?
3) No office work will be done...but some household finance stuff will be done on it.
4) Nice quality screen...not too big...not too small.

What do you folks recommend?
 

eclark53520

DB Member Extraordinaire
Supporting Member
Dec 24, 2007
17,521
7,590
South Central Wisconsin
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United States United States
Her B-day is around the corner and I KNOW she wants a laptop...which I am looking to get for her...but price, is extremely important...so VALUE is priority.
Here's her needs in a laptop:
1) She stores and shares lots of family photos...a DVD player/burner would be nice.
2) Loves surfin the internet and downloading videos, porn, games...etc...so a moderate amount of memory would be needed?
3) No office work will be done...but some household finance stuff will be done on it.
4) Nice quality screen...not too big...not too small.

What do you folks recommend?

1) Burners now-a-days are a dime a dozen....honestly they are pretty much standard equipment on today Laptops
2) That depends a lot more on your intnernet connection speed than the speed of your laptop, but RAM is CHEAP now-a-days...the last laptop i bought has 4gigs in it. Put in as much as the motherboard will handle, you can never have too much.
3) Even the slowest computers on todays market will handle simple spreadsheets or home finance programs
4) Screen size and clarity are pretty personal, but the screen on my HP is fantastic(for me anyway)

I can personally only comment on Toshiba and HP. And i will tell you that i will never touch a Toshiba again.

My HP's motherboard went out about 2 months after the warranty dried up on it. I called them to see how much it would cost to fix and he said nothing, we will send you a box with a pre-paid shipping sticker send it to us, it will be back in approx 2 weeks....i was floored. I asked him if he was serious because we had just discussed that the warranty was up two months prior and replacing the motherboard is not a cheap repair.
 

MCDavis

The Plaid Duffer
Staff member
Moderator
Oct 19, 2006
13,633
5,195
Sanford, NC
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United States United States
If you have the budget for it, the MacBook Pro is a fantastic laptop...it carries a high price, unfortunately. :(

So, your wife likes to download porn....lucky bastid!! :D
 

EnglishGolfer

Talks a good game
Oct 3, 2005
845
1
Dell Inspiron 15 is perfectly adequate for most peoples needs and they're on a very good offer atm, I nearly got one of them after selling my previous Inspiron 1525 (the 15 is much better than my 1525), but instead I got an Acer which out specced most budget competitors by some way. They're no good as a status symbol, but they do the job and should last a good while.
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
62
Country
United States United States
May depend on whether you intend to rely on customer service, or simply fix it yourself if you have issues.

Toshiba, while I think they have a great product, having heard nothing but atrocious things about their support. They do normally uses very reliable hardware components. It is my most current and am happy, went into it knowing it would never go back to them nor call them unless it was extreme hardware failure. Sager makes a very affordable laptop, although the hardware is not always great, and again their support is not good unless you go through a 3rd party vendor. It is hit and mis

Alienware makes a great laptop (usually top components) with fantastic support, although they are usually a little more costly for those reasons.

Acer supposedly used to be very good, but I never owned or used one. Fujitsu is the same, specifically for tablets.

Dell, HP, IBM, Sony have their pros and cons. I returned my last Dell for refund on support an hardware issue, but would buy again if I wanted to save money or specifically for a second one. Look for Coupons specifically for Dell, or others. Many times you can find coupons for Dell for 1/3 to 1/2 off.

If you want to spend a lot of bucks, VooDoo is incredible in all aspects and is the Creme-de-le-creme

I would never again touch a Gateway again with anything other than my 4 pound weighted 5i.

Here are some links for research and reviews.
Tablet PC Forums, Discussion and Support - Powered by vBulletin
Notebook Forum
Notebook and Laptop Reviews

I would probably look at and compare a Mac assuming it had the Leopard OS.
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
62
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United States United States
4) Nice quality screen...not too big...not too small.

What do you folks recommend?
I love my current setup, and will likely stick with it for a long time. I have a laptop with a 12" screen, so it is very portable for when we travel, but use a 22" monitor at home with a docking station. Although I am not big in using mine on the couch or around the home, and if she is I would go with a 15.4" minimal if it will be her primary screen. My last was 15.4" and was sufficient. Would probably do the same, or maybe consider a 17", but not sure I would want to travel much with one that big

edit 1 - unless you have an HDTV with a PC port ??? :)
 

spartyon8

Cubbie Fever
Feb 23, 2008
381
0
Have you looked into the newer net books. They are coming with 10-13" screens these days and are very nice. You can customize them just as you would any laptop minus a dvd drive on most. That is a simple cure with an external for about 40-50 bucks. I would recommend the EEE pc as I have had great luck with mine over the years but a lot of people like the Dell mini 10.
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
62
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United States United States
Dell mini are pretty nice computers if you want portability, although it does not come with an internal DVD drive, and the screen is almost unbearable if you want it for every day use. So you would most definately need not only an external monitor but DVD drive as well. You would also likely need an external keboard unless you have very petite hands. Graphics capabilities are also very limited.

Not that that is a bad option if portability is at the top of your list, intend to use some form of docking station and do not intend to use it for anything extensive as far as graphics. The solid state drive upgrade is a hugh plus if you do a lot of work on the go while moving around a lot. Not that you couldn't do it elsewhere, but very nice for a unit this small. Kinda like what you can do with a PDA, and not have to worry about Gouging the drive.

To me this would likely be more of a secondary computer. To me, and as mentioned before, I think anything under 15.4" screen will be unsuitable for everyday use without an external monitor.
 

VtDivot

SLIGHTERED
Supporting Member
Apr 16, 2005
7,154
32
Just go to dell outlet and be done with it. I buy all my PC's from there, all my work laptops are dell also. Great support
 

warbirdlover

Ender of all threads
Supporting Member
Jul 9, 2005
19,151
5,601
central Wisconsin
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Just go to dell outlet and be done with it. I buy all my PC's from there, all my work laptops are dell also. Great support

VtDivot

This is what my family does. Best deals and you get exactly what you want.
 

VtDivot

SLIGHTERED
Supporting Member
Apr 16, 2005
7,154
32
I know my way around a PC, most people will recommend you get all these fancy bells and whistles which are a total waste of cash unless you are 15 and doing some seriuos gaming. What you are going to be using it for a 500 machine is more than adequate... overkill actually.

The PC I am using right now is a del outlet machine I paid $433 5 years ago. I added a GB Ram for photoshop a few months back, other than that it's more than enough. I can't kill it, I have a quad core sitting on the floor idle next to it waiting for this to die.

My little guy who is 5 is pretty computer savy now, and I am noticing that he's been installing all kinds of Nick Jr games and such, so I am pretty sure this will end up being his PC anyhow
 

xamilo

Right Curving Driver....
Supporting Member
Dec 22, 2007
2,924
301
Macbook, Apple without a doubt has the best user friendly laptops.

That is the ONLY way too go.

Mac Books are much more stable, much more reliable, and perfect for photo sharing, music playing, etc.

As well, most women would REALLY appreciate a better looking laptop, and Mac Books are 1000 times better looking than anything else out there.

I can guarantee you after she gets her hands on one she'll never EVER go back to a PC...
 
OP
indacup

indacup

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Jun 1, 2007
1,519
37
Iowa
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #14
That is the ONLY way too go.

Mac Books are much more stable, much more reliable, and perfect for photo sharing, music playing, etc.

As well, most women would REALLY appreciate a better looking laptop, and Mac Books are 1000 times better looking than anything else out there.

I can guarantee you after she gets her hands on one she'll never EVER go back to a PC...

But correct me if I'm wrong....

But aren't Mac applications not compatable with Windows? So she cannot transfer her windows files to Mac.

Also, I stated cost is crucial...we are looking at an inexpensive system with $500 being top...and Macs are much more than that, correct?
 

MCDavis

The Plaid Duffer
Staff member
Moderator
Oct 19, 2006
13,633
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Sanford, NC
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United States United States
But correct me if I'm wrong....

But aren't Mac applications not compatable with Windows? So she cannot transfer her windows files to Mac.

Also, I stated cost is crucial...we are looking at an inexpensive system with $500 being top...and Macs are much more than that, correct?
No on the first point..we transfer Word files back and forth all the time with no effort. Save it from the PC to a key, plug the key into the Mac, work with it at home, take it back to work. As long as you have the same program on both computers, it shouldn't be a problem. Anyone with more on this please add to it, as we only do it with Word.

Yes, a Mac will cost you much more than $500.
 

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