Which inexpensive laptop?

[bigbearbear]

I think Costco has better deals:

http://www.costco.com/Dell-Inspiron-15R-Laptop%2c-Intel%C2%AE-Core%E2%84%A2-i7-3632QM-2.2GHz.product.100010241.html

Cost a little more but you get much more in return, spec wise.

[sd_shooter]

If you want a laptop that is more than enough for his listed uses but for less $$$, take a look at this one.

http://www.target.com/p/gateway-15-6-laptop-pc-ne56r27u-us-with-500gb-hard-drive-4gb-memory-black/-/A-14292999#prodSlot=medium_1_4

Plus, you don't have to go to BBY...priceless.

Fantastic deal, much better than the BF deals even.

[ar15robert]

I heard the quality is sub-par with HP computers, mostly online chatter.

I've bought 2 HP laptops over the years. The 1st was a dv1000 that was ON constantly, used 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 8 years (until recently). That machine still works great. I can't believe it's lasted this long with all the hours on it.

The 2nd was for the wife, a much newer model (I don't remember). We bought it about 3 years ago. That POS had a hard drive failure in less than 3 years of casual use.

So I guess I'm batting .500 with the HP stuff.

I bought her a replacement Lenovo after reading good things about that brand. We'll see.

I will never buy Dell crap again. Nothing but bad luck with them, both desktop and laptop systems.

Sounds like me i got an hp dv 6000(15 inch) from 2008 still great.I got a 17 inch model end of 2007 it did good for almost a year then bombed my wife spilled a lil bit of soda on it it was freezing up,etc.I reimaged it and it worked for a bit then again problems.I then put it away and pulled it out a year later reloaded the vista software and it worked i used it gave to my son at the time he plays games like crazy it may have got a virus so i reloaded again and its been fine since.

Both still going strong today but my wife has a dell which has been a problem from the first month her battery was one of the first things to go and it would just shut off here and there.

My 15inch one i use the battery did wear out after a couple years i replaced it with a non factory one which aint that great but will do.The one on my 17 inch model is still very strong.

[knerona]

Sounds like me i got an hp dv 6000(15 inch) from 2008 still great.I got a 17 inch model end of 2007 it did good for almost a year then bombed my wife spilled a lil bit of soda on it it was freezing up,etc.I reimaged it and it worked for a bit then again problems.I then put it away and pulled it out a year later reloaded the vista software and it worked i used it gave to my son at the time he plays games like crazy it may have got a virus so i reloaded again and its been fine since.

Both still going strong today but my wife has a dell which has been a problem from the first month her battery was one of the first things to go and it would just shut off here and there.

My 15inch one i use the battery did wear out after a couple years i replaced it with a non factory one which aint that great but will do.The one on my 17 inch model is still very strong.

Another great and cheap way to do it. Any Intel Core2 Duo will do the job effectively.

[todd2968]

I do want to point out a couple of things that you may want to get is microsoft office it is pretty much universally accepted for high school/college papers. Also to keep the virus s at bay your gonna need a good virus program.
Each choice is gonna be about the same choice with the possible exception of the occasional LEMON
I am a big fan of DELL but that's me.

[Firerescuebatt07]

gateway has some of the worse customer service...from personal experience... will leave it at that so I won't

[anothergunnut]

Thanks for the responses. I probably should have mentioned that $400 is my absolute upper limit. It's more than I want to spend but I want to be able to run MS Office, have a DVD burner, and be able to use an external mouse. I am leaning towards the 17 inch HP but it is now out of stock.

[sd_shooter]

Thanks for the responses. I probably should have mentioned that $400 is my absolute upper limit. It's more than I want to spend but I want to be able to run MS Office, have a DVD burner, and be able to use an external mouse. I am leaning towards the 17 inch HP but it is now out of stock.

Here is a list of laptop deals from BF/Cyber Monday, some are still active and there are many machines with 4G RAM and 500G HD for < $400:

http://techonbudget.com/laptops/cheap-laptop-deals-on-black-friday-and-cyber-monday-2012

If you get a machine with those specs, it will last you quite a while. These days we're pretty spoiled when it comes to computers, a few years ago that kind of config would have been > $1000 easily.

[FoxTrot87]

^^^
Worst case scenario just get rid of the bloatware with a clean install or use Revo Pro.


Down the road you can throw in a Hybrid HDD or SSD.

[choombak]

Good warranty, MS office, Symantec Norton Internet Security (yes, the latest version is fast and the best) is what you'd need to budget for additionally.

All laptop manufactures are square - they get the components from the same Taiwan maker, just change the outside label. Also look at Asus - comes with all the features sans the big brand name premium.

In my experience, IBM ThinkPads are the longest lasting but very dull looking (for eg they haven't changed the look and feel in last 20 yrs, no jazzy colors for the lids and so on), but they come with a slight premium. If you spot a deal you can get one in your budget. Also look at ideapads from Lenovo.

Finally, ask your son to try out and see which one he likes the most - this way it is more likely to be used. :-)

Oh and let us know which one you opt for finally - makes it easy for others o decide.

[slo5oh]

+1 for a lenovo. If you live near a frys check your paper for their deals. I picked up a good little 15.6" for under $300. I think the i3s go for mid 300s and the i5 around 400. They don't have all the bells and whistles, so you should know what you want before you buy.

[Bumslie]

Having most PC laptops before finally ending up with a Mac, best decision I've ever made regarding a computer, never a problem in the 3 years I've had it, I'll add my .02 cents.

Stay away from HP, Dell and gateway. They are crap and I've had mediocre at best customer Service with them.
HP was the last laptop before my mac, and while it ran ok for about 8 moths when i was using it during college, it took a crap at a little over a year. Had to replace the wireless card twice on it. Mind you, I don't play computer games either. I type papers, download music, and visit youtube and Calguns.
Toshiba was ok, but nothing great to say either. My moms did run hot as another Calgunner noted.

+1 for Lenovo's. Great for the money. Never used their Customer Service so I can't vouch for them, but for the money and what you get they are nice. Even though I hate Fry's, they do have some decent deal on Lenovo's. Just make sure you're not buying a refurbished one.