Laptop recommendations

[Iceaxe]

Some of you folks around this joint are pretty up-to-date and tech savy.... so.... My laptop went belly up so it's time to get a new one. Anyone want to make any recommendations or know of a good deal?

My last laptop was a Dell and it was the biggest POS on the planet. I don't mind paying a little more to buy one from someone local. It's nice when there is a problem and I can just drop it off and have it fixed the next day and not spend 6 hours on the phone with some dumbass in India that knows less about computer than I do.

Thanks in advance.

[Sombeech]

What will it be used for primarily? Heavy processing jobs like videos? Will it be powered on most of the time? Traveling a lot?

I assume you don't do a lot of gaming, neither do I. So the usual hardware off the shelf does just fine even for me, even for editing all of the videos.

Out of all the laptops I repair on the side, usually a couple a week, probably only 2% of them ever have a hardware issue. And those are usually from the motherboard heating up and warping from having the laptop running hot sitting on towels to insulate somebody's lap.... Flat surface is always best.

Then if you have a great warranty that will ship you out a part if you need it next day air, you install it then return the part in the same box, that's good too. But I've never had to utilize this service. It's usually just software issues like viruses.

Anyways, I'd look for specs right now rather than brand names. RAM, Processor (quad core if you can) then large hard drive. Then of course if you want the 10 key pad within the keyboard, monitor size, things like that. If I were to look for brand names I'd go with HP or Dell because their drivers are so easy to find and download.

[Bad Karma]

I'm with Justin on the specs over brand name. I'm not a fan of Dell but I've been happy with my HP. I don't do any gaming or editing on it though. I paid for an off the shelf model and went for one with a little extra RAM to run CAD on. The off-the-shelf HP works fine for me and I've never had to call India....yet

[Iceaxe]

I use the laptop mostly for porn... err.... I mean facebooking.

Brand name means nothing to me.... All my desk tops are custom built locally. When I have an issue I can't resolve I drop the CPU off in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon. That's easily worth a couple hundred dollars to me as I figure a work computer down for one day costs me about $500 a day. So from that you can see I want good stuff with good service and price isn't a real issue.

The computer doesn't travel much, but it's nice if I can run CAD on it and a few other things.

I'm not a fan of buying off the self, as off the shelf computers were usually built 3 month's ago and have yesterdays hardware in them.

So maybe a better question is... anyone know a a good local company that builds kickass custom laptops?

And on a side note.... HP has outsourced their tech support. I hope if you need them you don't get the same tech support personal I had with my last printer. They were totally worthless. I finally just hung up on them and figured out the problem myself.

[maarten.1975]

I'm not into laptops that much, still going for the desktops, however I have some general tips that may help you. If some tips are outdated.... sorry
Been some time since I bought my last PC. I'm spending my money on my holidays in Utah nowadays

My tips:
- a computer is as fast or good as the weakest link in the chain. Try and find something balanced. Choosing a pre-fabricated laptop will make sure the system is balanced.
- the quality of the screen is very important, since you are constantly looking at it. Go and see it in a real store if possible. If you go there, bring a USB-stick with some different types of pictures and movies. This way you can see contrast and colors on the screen.
- USB3 is a must
- to speed a lot of general things up, choose a laptop with a SSD harddisk instead of the old-fashioned RPM-harddisk. I think this will make a noticeable difference!
- most difficult to choose I think is CPU and GPU. CPU dual or even better quadcore. I

[DiscGo]

Let me know what you are looking to spend, and I'd be happy to help you find the most laptop we can get you for the budget.

[BruteForce]

Well, I have been a fan of Dell -- but mostly on the Med-Large sized business platform side. In the end, its about requirements and specifications. Any brand will do (for the most part), but I prefer Toshiba and Dell. Minimum specs should include:

- 8 to 12gb memory
- 2.x i7 CPU
- 750gb 7200rpm HD (single if just surfing)
- At least one or more USB 3.0 ports
- Ideally external video better than VGA and 1920x1600 (many Best-Buy style laptops only come with 1600x1200 or 1600x900 with VGA output)
- Nice to have a DOCK for extra ports, even if just a USB 3.0 dock


As to your question on locally built, PC Laptops makes a decent spec laptop, but its going to cost much more than what you can buy online or source from a big-box store.

[Iceaxe]

So.. I think I need to re-evaulate my laptop needs...

Custom built top of the line laptops run around $2000... and they do waaaaaaayyyyyy more than I need.

My laptop is really used for checking email, facebook, bogley, fantasy sports, shopping on amazon... it's just a computer we keep in the family room so family members can play with it while watching TV.

So.... after all that it looks like I can get a nice laptop that does everything I need for $600 to $800.... any sugggestions?

[Sombeech]

If that's all you're doing with it, go to WalMart and get a nice one in the $300 range.

[bigred72]

Try Best Buy. There is one I have my eye on. It's an HP for $800, i7, 750gb hd, 8gb ram. I think it is a dv7 something.

[Iceaxe]

Try Best Buy. There is one I have my eye on. It's an HP for $800, i7, 750gb hd, 8gb ram. I think it is a dv7 something.

Funny... that is the one that caught my eye..... and it's on sale right now for $549 if you don't mind buying refurbished. I though that sounded like a bargin.

Here is the link:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+17....=1218531559449

I've actually had really good luck with refurbished items. That just means it has been fixed and tested before it is delivered. As opposed to the shipped and never tested that is normal.