Help finding new laptop

Shift518 Automotive Shift518 Off Topic
1

Hey Guys,

I’m in desperate need of a new laptop…just wondering if i could get some decent recommendations on a new one, ie brand / model / components, etc?

Any thing i should definetly look for? Anything to stay away from ?

I use it for basically just browsing the web, watching videos / movies etc. Dont have any special needs, except wanting to get / try Windows7 :stuck_out_tongue:

2

idk shit, but im sure the tech savy guys are gonna wanna know budget

3

I hear them coming!

4

No tech guy… But I just pick up an acer aspire 7741G and it’s pretty bad ass. Go to newegg.com, they have a lot of choices and good equipment… Toshiba is also another good buy.

5

I personally prefer Dell’s as I get them on EBay with good deals and fix them myself if need be (I know their hardware since I repair them at work), but HP’s are okay and so is Acer/Toshiba.

Specs wise, to run Windows 7, you want something along these lines:

CPU - 2.0Ghz+ Core 2 Duo or better (really, anything dual core)
Memory - At least 2GB (DDR3 preferred)
Hard Drive - They don’t really sell them with anything less than 100GB now, which should be fine for you.
Optical Drive - CD-RW/DVD drive obviously
Video - On-Board video will suffice for you, such as the NVidia Quadro NVS series.

My computer is a Dell Latitude D630 and runs Windows 7 just fine.

Here is a couple you could look at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Latitude-D630-2-2Ghz-2GB-120GB-WiFi-DVD-RW-INTEL-/160473187614?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item255cf2851e#ht_2181wt_1056

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Latitude-D630-2-2Ghz-2GB-120GB-WiFi-DVD-RW-NVIDIA-/180552991983?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item2a09cc04ef#ht_2201wt_1056

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Latitude-D630-2-0ghz-2000mb-120gb-Quadro-NVS-135M-/380274875250?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item588a261b72#ht_3144wt_822

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Latitude-D630-Laptop-Loaded-Great-Condition-/110594273185?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item19bfeeafa1#ht_727wt_1056

Etc.

6

First and foremost

STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM HP’s RIGHT NOW!

I like(d) HP, but have seen a ridiculous ammount of HP’s die, not abused, some brand new, just die… It’s a known issue and HP is very selective about what they will and will not warranty.

Other than that, my vote is dell, their solid machines great specs for the money and they are quality. I know a few might disagree givin the last thread.

All laptops die, no brand seems to be worse than others, you may hear people say dells have a lot of issues, but thats because the market is saturated with more dells then any other brand, so of course thats going to be the brand you see more of.

Thats dells Scratch/dent/open box and refurb site, you can find some ridiculous deals on there

7

Awesome thanks for the links fellas. My current laptop is a Dell, and its 5 years old. The battery went to hell, and the harddrive shit the bed. ONly two issues the whole time i’ve had it, no other problems. Something i use everyday and carry around with me, i’d say thats pretty damn good. wouldnt mind getting another dell for sure!

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I also stand by Dells along with Shady. I’ll never own a non-dell Laptop. My machines are custom built, but laptops? Dell FTW.

And Shady, awesome site man! +1 for you.

9

go buy a mac. screw windows 7

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I dont remember which inspiron it was…

Retailed for 700+ new

Got it off dell outlet, with 4gb of ram instead of the 3 it was standard with for a little over 400 shipped…

It was a scratch and dent… the corner of the screen bezel had a piece cracked off… 20 bucks later, brand new again

11

Whats a good processor to get? I sifting through the scratch and dents now and theres like 15 different INTEL options…?

12

Modern/current would be Core i3, i5, or i7. Previous generation is Core Duo or Core 2 Duo.

I’d stick to Core 2 Duo or higher…so Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, or Core i7.

For a decent home laptop, you’d probably want:

  • Core 2 Duo (2.0Ghz) or more
  • 2GB of memory (preferably DDR3)
  • At least 80GB of hard drive space (most come with 160GB+ but if you’re looking at older dells, they might come with 80GB which should be okay).
  • Unless you’re going to be doing gaming/editing, any video card it comes with should be sufficient. If not, try to get one that isn’t Intel based (such as the NVidia Quadro NVS, etc. or ATI whatever)
  • CD/DVD burner
  • 802.11a/b/g or even N if you’re lucky (doubt it) wireless built in
  • And lastly, for most long lasting unplugged usage, you’d want a 9-cell battery (6-cell is standard)

That’s the basic specs you’d want to look for in a system if you want something that is modern enough to run Windows 7 these days.

13

Cool thanks