help me buy a laptop please :)
Sep 18, 2009 at 9:22 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 20
keanej6

keanej6

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school starts in about a week and i really need a laptop. i've been lugging this archaic dell around and its time for a new one.

for a while i was on the fence about getting a laptop or a netbook, but i think i'm opting for the laptop. its primarily going to be used for school, but i want the flexibility to use it for videos or photoshop, etc. the price and size of the netbook was very appealing to me though.

some criteria:
size - smaller the better. i need to carry it around campus and i also ride a motorcycle so it needs to fit in my backpack with all my other books.

price - don't want to spend more than $400 if possible.

capabilities: hard-drive is not important. i have an external. keeping in mind of the price, i guess i'd just like the fastest processor possible. and maybe a decent graphics card. i'd like to watch videos/movies cleanly and maybe run photoshop. battery life isn't so important either...i wouldn't want to pay extra for a better battery.

i was looking at the compaq presario. they're under $400. AMD athlon 2ghz, 2gb ddr2, 250gb harddrive.... i don't know much about laptops so i'd like to get some feedback. thank you!
 
Sep 18, 2009 at 9:45 PM Post #2 of 20
If you're in the market for a 12-13" ultra-portable laptop, $400 won't get you far. The ultra-compacts with discrete graphics and C2D processors start at around $650-700 and go up from there. You might be able to find a 14"-15" dual core Intel, though you'll probably be looking at integrated graphics for that kind of money. Unless you're willing to go used, I'm not sure you'll be able to find the specs you're looking for, for the price you're looking for. If you can raise your budget to around $550-600, you can find nice 14"-15" laptops at the Dell Outlet with the kind of specs you'd like.

For the laptop you mentioned, the Turion 64 X2 line is ok (Not sure what model you're talking about). The newer RM-7xs are decent but are easily eclipsed by the low end Intel processors (I have an HP with an RM processor) however the old Turion's like the TL-60s are not. They are ridiculously slow and are incapacitated by even the most mundane tasks. I used to have another HP with a TL-60 and it was so bad I sold it after a few months. In terms of the ram, I could never run Vista with less than 4GB of ram especially with PS use like you said however if you can get the laptop for a good price, you can always upgrade the ram for cheap later.

If you're really stuck to your budget, the Dell Outlet has a couple of refurbished Inspiron 14s in your price range, older dual core processor and integrated Intel graphics but at least they're cheap and reliable. Best Buy also has a couple nice HP 14"ers that might go on sale. They have AMD processors but the rest of the specs are pretty decent and they look nicer than the Dell's if you're into that.
 
Sep 18, 2009 at 10:13 PM Post #3 of 20
FRYS.com*|*Lenovo this was $350 last week. I'd suggest waiting for a killer deal.... 6 months ago, I got an HP G60230US (Best comp for browsing in this house. I manage to keep it virus free and am typing on it right now). It was $450+tax which was nice since it's not too heavy, has some decent specs (2mb combined L2 cache, 2.0 dual core, 3gb memory, 16"). Very nice.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 2:57 AM Post #4 of 20
voodoo_envy_back_133.jpg


I really like the Voodoo Envy 133...but at $1700 with integrated graphics, and a 3hr battery, it wouldn't be a smart purchase with the wave of netbooks out there...
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 4:45 AM Post #6 of 20
Sep 19, 2009 at 7:32 AM Post #8 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by Benaiir /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Not perfect. Smaller screens, AMD, low memory and HDD, Home Basic is a no-go.

AMD eats battery and generally speaking, COMPAQ and AMD combos are heavier than intel anything else.



Quote:

capabilities: hard-drive is not important. i have an external. keeping in mind of the price, i guess i'd just like the fastest processor possible. and maybe a decent graphics card. i'd like to watch videos/movies cleanly and maybe run photoshop. battery life isn't so important either...i wouldn't want to pay extra for a better battery.

i was looking at the compaq presario. they're under $400. AMD athlon 2ghz, 2gb ddr2, 250gb harddrive.... i don't know much about laptops so i'd like to get some feedback. thank you!


How is it not? It's packing a dual core processor.. smaller 14" screen, the price is right, and it has a nice Radeon HD 3200 which is better than any Intel GMA IGP, HDD size doesn't matter, the AMD processor (what are you expecting for under $400?) is just fine, and battery life doesn't matter.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 7:54 AM Post #9 of 20
Do you have to buy new? You can sometimesfind a used MacBook or PowerBook in that range. My white MacBook is closing in on three years and it still does everything I need.

You might also want to look around the Lenovo Outlet. There are sometimes terrific deals on used ones. I'm seriously tempted to pick one up and run Ubuntu on it. A newer MacBook is seriously tempting, however, I think I'm going to stick this one out another generation or two. Solid state disks are coming, as are better batteries and quad core processors. I'll invest when I can more than double the power of this one. But a spare laptop running a different OS would be handy to have around.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 8:19 AM Post #10 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Do you have to buy new? You can sometimesfind a used MacBook or PowerBook in that range. My white MacBook is closing in on three years and it still does everything I need.

You might also want to look around the Lenovo Outlet. There are sometimes terrific deals on used ones. I'm seriously tempted to pick one up and run Ubuntu on it. A newer MacBook is seriously tempting, however, I think I'm going to stick this one out another generation or two. Solid state disks are coming, as are better batteries and quad core processors. I'll invest when I can more than double the power of this one. But a spare laptop running a different OS would be handy to have around.


Yes, although I cannot offer a laptop recommendation, I do agree that buying used would give you more for your money.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 10:43 AM Post #11 of 20
Quote:

Originally Posted by DeusEx /img/forum/go_quote.gif
voodoo_envy_back_133.jpg


I really like the Voodoo Envy 133...but at $1700 with integrated graphics, and a 3hr battery, it wouldn't be a smart purchase with the wave of netbooks out there...


Just a tad over what the OP wanted to spend.
wink.gif


Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif
A newer MacBook is seriously tempting, however, I think I'm going to stick this one out another generation or two. Solid state disks are coming, as are better batteries and quad core processors. I'll invest when I can more than double the power of this one. But a spare laptop running a different OS would be handy to have around.


The refurb Macbook prices are crazy right now. You can get the "old" Unibody for $899. That'd be where my money would go if I needed another laptop. It's more than what the OP wanted to spend but still within reason and is equipped well, looks great, and feels a lot nicer to use than the plastic competition. The new aluminum HP 5310m Probook that's coming out looks great too and supposedly starts at $550.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 2:01 PM Post #12 of 20
thank you for the suggestions so far, they've helped a lot.

089709867's suggestion seemed to fit my bill quite nicely...i want it small and light and simple and it seems to have the features to allow me to do what i want to do. does anyone agree with benaiir and think it's not a good buy? i considered the macs but am not really interested anymore. please keep in mind and i'm not a computer nut....i just want a laptop i can keep for a while and be able to do the things i want it to do.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 5:13 PM Post #13 of 20
Sep 19, 2009 at 7:29 PM Post #14 of 20
Like I've said, if you want to do any gaming at all.. you don't want an Intel GMA IGP. The HD 3200 is still pretty good for the price range anyway, And that Pentium Dual Core is no better than the AMD X2 in the other mentioned notebook. The screen on the Compaq is smaller (better portability) and has tighter resolution.

If anyone buys a mac, stay far away from anything without a Core Duo or better yet a Core 2 Duo processor.
 
Sep 19, 2009 at 9:01 PM Post #15 of 20
hmmm... the compaq doesn't have the best reviews. i looked at lenovo's g530 and like the look and feel of it and also have read some good reviews. the best buy salesperson (actually a hp rep) told me not to get it because they 'crap out'. true?
 
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