Help me buy a laptop

[isiolia]

ASUS can be good. I'd try to get a hands-on or read reviews first though, as not every aspect of their machines is always great (touchpad particularly).

Lenovo may work - T430 or S431 if you don't mind losing the optical drive (can always get a USB one). Nice thing there is you can probably upgrade the LCD panel if ordering direct.

Dell is only good if you're paying for their service plans IMO (I have several hundred of them here at work). We've had excellent results with on-site accidental damage repair/etc, at least compared to other vendors we've dealt with.
Consumer models I've seen are usually cheesy, and some of the recent ones are just plain horrible to service (like, need to remove the motherboard to get to the HDD kind of horrible).

I'd research any HP model first, as they've had some truly troublesome models (actually similar to the 2008-era Macbook Pro woes, not entirely HP's fault...but still). Elitebooks I've seen are nicely put together, but likely out of your price range.

Japanese brands I've dealt with have all been a bit fussier, and usually more fragile (have not had hands-on with a Toughbook). Personally, I'd avoid Sony after experiences with the brand/service at work.


In general, I'd look more at entry level 14" business laptops than 15.4" consumer ones. They'll cost more, but usually the build quality and size/weight make up for it.

[CRTGAMER]

@CRT Gamer
Can you suggest brand names? Like Dell something or HP something.

Name brand really not that important, concentrate on the specifications. Once you find a few, google various reviews from actual customers such as Amazon.

Here is a listing from my favorite local computer store:

FRYS Electronics - http://www.frys.com/search?cat=-68384&p ... ate:030313

Even the basic under 400 and even under 300 dollar laptops come with Windows 8 and a DVD Writer. More then adequate as a basic browser and for watching DVD movies on the PC. Maybe settle for around a 400 dollar unit to get a decent sized hard drive?

[Valkyrie-Favor]

I should mention that the M5030 came with a DVD writer and the included hard drives go up to 500GB.

[RCBH928]

Thank you all, its been very helpful i will look into all the suggestions you made. Can any one tell me if any of the Acer computers is worth while?

[isiolia]

I've never been impressed by any I've used.

[marurun]

Honestly, just keep an eye on www.dealnews.com. They list deals on all sorts of products. I got my Dell Core i3 laptop right when Walmart was clearing them out to make room for the then new Ivy Bridge models. It was a $550 laptop and I got it for $275 or so. It has served me just fine for what I need.

[indecks]

I haven't read the entire thread yet but DONT BUY ALIENWARE.

I bought one last year and it's been nothing but problems. It's powerful as hell but SHEESH its been nothing but problems. I've had to send it in like 5 times.

EDIT: SKimmed the thread... I'm ok with Dell. I have a 3 year old Dell Studio 1737 that has never had any issues. No HW failures, nothing. Its quiet, keeps cool, and takes care of just about any PC thing you need. It can play some games but the Studio line wasn't meant as a gaming computer so there's no shining there. But as far as HW quality is concerned, even though Dell now owns Alienware, their hardware reliability is nowhere Dell's.

[RCBH928]

Of course I am not getting Alienware . After purchasing a macbook , I now know that gaming and laptops do not work well together. My computer is a 2008 model will still run hot playing games from 2001-2002 . I know Macs are not gaming PCs...but come on..