I have always had Desktop PC's and my latest one is about to die on me and I figure I should step into the 21st century and purchase a laptop. Problem is I have no idea what a good price, components, or brand is better than another. Or what is a good buy at a certain price. I have done some research and haven't really had any questions answered, so I thought I would ask on here because I'm sure pretty much everyone on here has purchased a few laptops or at least own one. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just bought me a Laptop a few weeks ago. A refurbished Acer for under $300.00. It had more memory than some of the new ones and was around $150-$200 less than them.

You have to remember, most PC's/Laptops have the same components from the same manufacturers. About the only thing different is the "Brand".

Basically, asking what PC/Laptop should I buy is like asking what vehicle should I buy. It all depends on what you need or going to do with it and how much you can afford.

When it comes to brands people can be loyalist, kinda like car owners. The old Honda is better than Chevy is better than Ford is better than Dodge is better....It's opinion.

I say go cheap, since it sounds like you don't know much about them. That way you won't need to spend 2 to 3 Grand on a piece of equipment, that you'll never get the full potential out of it.

Pretty much all I'd need it for is internet, music, and the occasional game here and there. I don't really need the top of the line computer, just something that is fast and user-friendly. I'm kind of tired of slow computers so I'd pay extra for a laptop that loads quickly. Thank you for your initial help.

I would recommend a cheap dell if that is all you need it for

Stay away from Dell...Their service is absolutely horrendous. You can get better machines (and service) for similar prices elsewhere. Save a couple bucks (literally like $2) if you go with Dell, but God help you if you have a warranty issue.

The "occasional" game complicates things. Gaming puts you on two ends of the spectrum, basically. For internet and music, you need just a netbook (heck, you might even consider a tablet pc). A low-end machine for $700-$900 should be good for you. Best brands these days are Sony, Lenovo, Asus and HP, in no particular order.

Net book and tablets are great, but I like the bigger screen...Just saying what I said earlier that it's an opinion. YOU have to decide what size screen/keyboard and the like that works for YOU and go from there.

Personally look at something around 2-3 Gig ROM, Processor wouldn't matter that much, and Hard Drive size is overrated. I've had my Desktop for 5 years and it has a 150 gig hard drive and I have 73 Gig on it. The laptop I have has a 150 gig. About the only difference between the 2 is the ROM. The Laptop has 3g and the desktop has 2g. The laptop loads fast. Of course the desktop has a large amount of programs on start up and that needs to be cleaned up. I'm just to lazy since I work on PCs everyday.

It comes down to price you are going to find they will be close and anyone on here will tell you 'get this brand'. I can say Dell sucks, basically due to their Customer Service....or lack their of. I've heard that from several people in the IT area. Plus I HATE them for a different reason which I don't even have the time to go into. Then again I've had issues getting warranty parts from Lenovo. HP, well so far so good. The Toshiba's I've dealt with at my previous job seemed solid. Sony's are good, but I've found more pricey for theirs than one that has the same set up under a different name.

But that's just my opinion, wait long enough and someone will disagree with me.

Curly J;431319 wrote:When it comes to brands people can be loyalist, kinda like car owners. Ford is better than everything

Lemme simplify that for you.

^^I am a Ford owner so I can't disagree with that. I probably am looking into the "low-end" variety, but like mentioned above I looked at some and it semed like a Sony brand cost a few hundred more. I wasn't sure if it's a better product or I'm just buying the brand. How big a deal are the processors? I see different processors and I have no clue which is a good one, or better than another.

I've owned HP, Toshiba, Dell and Sony laptops and the Toshibas are the only ones that last more than 2 years. I'm on a 4 year old Toshiba right now.

Try this one!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/07/23/india.thirty.five.dollar.laptop/index.html?hpt=T2

ib4 someone recommends a Mac.

Also, I have to echo everyone else who says that all brands are the same. They pretty much are. You could wait a month and get some "Back-to-school" deals.

I usually find the best deals at newegg.com

I have to agree with Curly... I have had laptops from Dell, Gateway, Toshiba, HP and now Acer. The Dell and Gateway were not bad... had some issues with the HP, but the Toshiba died after 13 months and I am now stuck with a laptop that won't work. I bought the Acer about two years ago and it has been a workhorse for all the stuff I do... Paid around $400 for it... Has 120GB HD and 2GB of memory. I am happy with it.

jspitaleri;431582 wrote:I have to agree with Curly... I have had laptops from Dell, Gateway, Toshiba, HP and now Acer. The Dell and Gateway were not bad... had some issues with the HP, but the Toshiba died after 13 months and I am now stuck with a laptop that won't work. I bought the Acer about two years ago and it has been a workhorse for all the stuff I do... Paid around $400 for it... Has 120GB HD and 2GB of memory. I am happy with it.

You must be mistaken. LJ himself said that Toshibas are good.

Anecdotal stories are not going to do anything to help gauge quality and reliability. All PC's have some sort of defect rate. Do your research - the higher the defect rate the more likely you are to have issues (although defect rates can be skewed by one large issue). Since the guts are all mostly the same, I would suggest basing your decision with service and value in mind. I think the odds are pretty good most of these will last you 2-3 years (or more) with few if any issues, but there is a good chance you will need service at some point. From that perspective, Best Buy might offer some convenience and assurance as far as just taking it in and dropping it off, but they will send it out to the manufacturer usually and in most cases probably won't support you beyond the 90 days or whatever unless you buy a service contract (which is a waste of money on computers, IMO).

Most of the names mentioned here are decent, you might even have luck with Acer. From what I've read, you should avoid Dell like the plague - if you get your machine on time with no issues, count yourself lucky. But if you need to mess with their warranty and service department for any reason, like I said God help you. Or perhaps you enjoy dealing with people from India who barely speak English, have no training and no real ability to help you in which, by all means, get a Dell.

GoChiefs;431335 wrote:Lemme simplify that for you.

ASUS is a pretty good brand. They used to sell all the different components to different manufactures and recently started putting them all together into their own name brand.

I hate Toshiba and Dell.. Had both brands before I switched to Mac and both had short lives. I use HP's at work and I'm not a big fan of them either..

I am a big fan of Sony and Acer's though, especially Acer if you're just looking for a low end - good quality notebook/netbook.

i have had my macbook pro for 2 years now to the day and i havent had one single problem, yes they are expensive but worth every last dollar!!

UA5straightin2008;431839 wrote:i have had my macbook pro for 2 years now to the day and i havent had one single problem, yes they are expensive but worth every last dollar!!

LOL.

Just get another desktop, that way you dont have to go buy another laptop in 2 years.

For what you just described using it for I think the Dell I have would work for that. It just had its 3rd anniversary and the only things wrong so far are speakers that are cracking when turned up and a motherboard had to be replaced in the last year. It should last me another year through college though.