Looking for a Laptop

[RedNLeader]

I would like to know whats a good Laptop out there that wont break the bank...probably looking not to spend no more than 400$....and are their some things that i should look for when buying one?

[Overland Park Husker]

You targeting Black Friday deals?

[dave]

Most important things, in order:

 

- Screen size you want

 

- Operating system you want (XP or Win7 - DO NOT get Vista)

 

- Memory (XP - >=1gb, Vista or 7 >=4gb)

 

- Preferences - webcam, numeric keypad support, navigation buttons, play/rewind/mute/etc buttons

 

- Battery Life

 

- Weight

 

- Brand Name (Yes, I meant to put this LAST. It just doesn't matter, unless you're buying a Toughbook and want to spend $2500+)

 

I'm not seeing any great deals at the moment -- take a look on Friday:

 

http://www.newegg.com

http://www.tigerdirect.com

http://www.geeks.com

http://www.buy.com

[zoogs]

http://forum.notebookreview.com/what-notebook-should-i-buy/

 

A GREAT place to look. The NR website has some pretty thorough reviews to help, and you can browse that forum/ask your own question and get pretty helpful responses.

 

If your price range is $400 you are probably looking for a cheap one with the best specs you can get and hope to take care of it enough that it can last you 4 years. Screen size is important and it's directly related to weight for the most part (won't get any thin laptops with SSD storage at that price), and processor (the kind, not necessarily its rated speed) followed by memory are next. Hard drive space you can always add externally.

[dizzturbedNUfan]

I think brand name does matter! At one time with two kids we had 3 laptops, the HP had keys that fell off and the fan stopped working on the Acer. The only one still running and working the same as it did the day we bought it is our Toshiba. Won't ever buy another brand. We got it at Office Depot for a great price plus it came with a mail in rebate and a lot of free goodies.

[dave]

I think brand name does matter!

 

You can ask 5 people the same question and they'll have your exact same stories with the brand names interchanged. If you want quality, you want a Panasonic Toughbook. Otherwise, there's simply no one out there making a quality laptop. You simply have to treat them carefully!

[BIGREDIOWAN]

Mines a P.O.S. and it's a Toshiba with Vista...........Dave I was the one speaking with you earlier. lol

[dizzturbedNUfan]

I think brand name does matter!

 

You can ask 5 people the same question and they'll have your exact same stories with the brand names interchanged. If you want quality, you want a Panasonic Toughbook. Otherwise, there's simply no one out there making a quality laptop. You simply have to treat them carefully!

This is true. Laptops are like backup QB's

Our Toshiba goes to Motocross races and has been through hell and tons of dust and it has been great for 3 years now. That's all I'm forming my opinion on.

[Landlord]

Everyone else has provided plenty of info, all I have to add is:

 

 

 

Do not under any circumstances get something with Vista. Buy new with Windows 7, or get XP.

[Husker Richard]

Get a Mac. Hands down the best computer out there.

[zoogs]

I think brand name does matter! At one time with two kids we had 3 laptops, the HP had keys that fell off and the fan stopped working on the Acer. The only one still running and working the same as it did the day we bought it is our Toshiba. Won't ever buy another brand. We got it at Office Depot for a great price plus it came with a mail in rebate and a lot of free goodies.

 

If you want solid hardware, Lenovo Thinkpads/Dell Latitudes are hard to ignore, but you pay a premium for the build quality. I think it's out of the original OP's price range. I think either philosophy works, because you can probably milk 4+ years out of a cheaper laptop, too, and that may be the timeframe you will want to replace any laptop anyways.

 

Macbook Pro/Air has pretty cool hardware, I couldn't deal with the OS switch personally, though. Not sure about the build quality on your typical Macbook, but they generally put more into their hardware than other manufacturers, or at least that's how the perception goes.

[Overland Park Husker]

Get a Mac. Hands down the best computer out there.

Show me one for under $400. In fact, show me one for under $800 brand new off the shelf.

[dave]

Here's your $399 laptop. It happens to be the exact one I'm using right now, too. I got mine for $349 last year but $399 is still great....

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115858&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL120210&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL120210-_-EMC-120210-Index-_-LaptopsNotebooks-_-34115858-L0B

[RedRedJarvisRedwine]

Bump. In the market for a laptop. Seen these posts are a little dated. Want to stay under $1000

[HuskerShark]

Bump. In the market for a laptop. Seen these posts are a little dated. Want to stay under $1000

 

I'm not a master when it comes to what laptop to buy, but I would second what Dave has said above.

 

My advice to you is this: Unless you want the laptop for a lot of gaming, don't spend more than $500. It will be out of date in 3-4 years anyways, so no use going overboard.