Laptop Suggestions

[cabrando]

So I'm in the market for a new laptop. I'm hoping you guys have some recommendations.

Looking for something middle of the road around $500. Can be used or new price.

Some specific things I want...

The little nub mouse, not a fan of trackpads.
14" screen
Wireless G built in
2GB Ram
A decent enough machine to be able to run things like Hulu & YouTube in full screen w/o stuttering.

That's all I can think of at the moment..

[Pulsar_t]

Nub mice? Nevermind then..

[Limewater]

So I'm in the market for a new laptop. I'm hoping you guys have some recommendations.

Looking for something middle of the road around $500. Can be used or new price.

Some specific things I want...

The little nub mouse, not a fan of trackpads.
14" screen
Wireless G built in
2GB Ram
A decent enough machine to be able to run things like Hulu & YouTube in full screen w/o stuttering.

That's all I can think of at the moment..

Your trackpoint requirement limits you a lot. For just a little bit more money you can get a certified refurbished Lenovo T400 Thinkpad or a Dell Latitude E5400. Both of these meet your requirements (except the price point-- they're more like $600), and have the added benefit of being business class machines. This means that you'll get better support if anything goes wrong, they have superior build quality than consumer-grade laptops, and it will be easier to find replacement parts if you need to fix something down the road. I have a Latitude E5400 and love it. You can get better specs for your money in a consumer-grade machine, but the customer support will be lacking and your computer will likely feel like a very breakable toy.

I personally would not buy a used laptop except for certified refurbished products, and I'm cheap as heck and buy everything used.


*EDIT*

Helpful links:

http://www.dell.com/us/en/dfb/notebooks ... =dfb&cs=28

(or just visit www.dell.com/outlet and remember to look at business/education machines)

http://outlet.lenovo.com/laptops.html (then select T-series)

[J T]

I run on an HP Pavilion dv5 that I got on a special at Fry's for about $700.

It's awesome for a lower priced model. It's got a nice image and I love the feel of the keyboard. It's got a nice quick spring back response, which is awesome for gaming. It can run most modern games. There are a few things I can't get to run at a playable speed, like Shattered Horizon or Crysis, but even some more intensive games like Street Fighter IV, Bioshock, or GRID will work if I tone down the graphics options a little bit. Here are my specs:

CPU: AMD Turion(tm) X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile ZM-80
CPU Speed: 2.09 GHz processor
Hard Drive: 360 GB
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, 64-bit (Build Service Pack 16001)
Video Card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3450
DirectX: ver 10
DVD drive: Optiarc DVD RW AD-7561S SCSI CdRom Device

[RyaNtheSlayA]

It seems you want a trackpoint but the only decently usable ones come in the form of Lenovo ThinkPad laptops, and even the cheapest decent new one you could get is 750 bucks.

Sorry but below that mark you start getting shoddy quality. Unfortunately, decent laptops are still pretty expensive compared to desktops.

[fox099]

The Lenovo thinkpad Edge sounds like what you need. The screen is 13.3 inches but everything else is spot on! Good luck!

[cabrando]

The Lenovo thinkpad Edge sounds like what you need. The screen is 13.3 inches but everything else is spot on! Good luck!

I really like that, why can't it have a DVD drive!

[Limewater]

I made a slight mistake in my earlier post. I meant to link to the Dell Latitude E6400, but linked to the Latitude E5400 instead.

That's the laptop I use, and it's great. It's not a gaming machine, it's a work machine, and it does that well. However, I have used Hulu and Netflix full-screen on it and it works just fine for those applications. And it has a trackpoint.

It's a little more expensive now than when I bought mine, though. The certified refurbished machines do get the full three year warranty new machines get, though. I think I forgot to mention that for the Dells. I think Lenovo only gives a 1 year warranty standard.

[J T]

If you're streaming movies on Netflix, don't forget to have a decent output for your TV setup. I have a Dell Inspiron with S-video out that I use for my old TV. My HP Pavilion laptop has an HDMI out if I ever want HD video.