Laptop Shopping

[Hawk]

I'm thinking I want to buy a laptop and I'm curious what you think I should be looking for as I don't know much about them really.

I mainly want to watch movies from an external drive and surf the net/porn!!! I'm thinking 17" or bigger?? What else should I look for and what's a waste of $$$???

I don't really want something brand new, but am open to the idea if used to new difference is minimal.

thanks

[RedMage138]

If you're buying a 17 inch laptop, you might as well just get a desktop. 17s are a pain in the ass to try to carry around.

If all you want to do is surf the net and watch movies, why not get a Chromebook or something?

[Guest]

I just got a laptop (my first) and the price difference between a decent used one and a better new one was not enough to settle for a dated used one, so I got a new one. I'm happy with it, its 15.6" Acer Aspire.

[Darth Biscuit]

I always tell people to decide how much money they want to spend (maximum) before shopping for a new PC of any kind.

Then you have a frame of reference and can worry about specs in that price range.

[Bronn]

Wifey and I have each had a Sony Vaio for several years now... Least problems I have ever had with a laptop. Mine has a short in one of the graphic wires and I have to move the screen every now and then to fix it, but other than that, it is durable as hell.

Unless they've changed, I'd advise against a Dell. Had several of those in the past and if the AC jack didn't come unsoldered, the HD or the graphics card (which are integrated for the most part) went bad.

I'd advise against anything with motherboard integrated parts, as if anything goes bad, you might as well buy a new laptop.

[mmmbeans]

got a lenovo a few months back... no complaints.

[Inimicus]

Just bought a couple of Dell XPS Ultrabooks for a couple of our execs and they cant say enough good about them. In my tenure its easily the 6th or 7th laptop Ive bought for our CEO and he says it puts everything else he has owned to shame..

[RedMage138]

Just bought a couple of Dell XPS Ultrabooks for a couple of our execs and they cant say enough good about them. In my tenure its easily the 6th or 7th laptop Ive bought for our CEO and he says it puts everything else he has owned to shame..

I'll echo this. Since Dell is making Alienware now, the new XPS laptops have basically the same hardware for 200-300 dollars less than the comparable Alienware.

[stankowalski]

The last two laptops I've had were both Dell's, no problems with either. Had the first one about 4 years and I'm going on my fifth year with this one.

[Hawk]

I have a desktop...want to get a laptop for this time I am working away from home so it won't really get lugged around right now...and I want to get a laptop to have the flexibility of using it on vacation etc for movies and internet etc.

[SOJA]

got a lenovo a few months back... no complaints.

really? Mine is university issued (bad decision) and this thing has been a complete piece of crap. Battery life is absolutely miserable and I even had to get a new one because the other one couldn't hold a charge for more than 20 minutes after 2 years of use

for reference, mine is a thinkpad W500

Also Hawk, if you already have a desktop I wouldn't suggest a huge screen- really does get to be a pain lugging a big laptop around- I suggest no more than 15 inches with 12-14 being prime, just my opinion of course- but I am a reliable source as I carry mine around every single day in a backpack

final edit: inevitably you are going to get ask/have already decided whether you want to go the Mac or PC route. This is my advice: if you are a noob with computers, aren't looking into gaming, willing to spend an extra buck (or few bucks) and want a reliable, user friendly device- get a Mac. My sister did that and I regret not doing it to this day.

[Panthers128]

Don't get a Toshiba. If anything happens to it in the warranty period, they charge you $25 to send it back to them for repair. I've also heard if it's damage not under warranty, they'll charge you a diagnostics fee of $100+ just to get your laptop back.

Also there have been issues with bios updates from Toshiba:

http://toshiba.pisse...0517148917.html

Research the warranty process and how supportive the company is for releasing new drivers. I used to have a Dell and they never released a proper graphics card driver for the Windows Vista/7 updates.

Currently I'm using an HP and I have no complaints (knock on wood).

Another thing is to be knowledgeable about how a laptop operates. So many people use laptops on their lap or on a bed, this is not a smart thing to do. The laptop has rubber legs and needs elevation to allow the vents to have room to let off heat. Without that room the laptop will overheat and its lifespan will be shortened.

HP by defaults sets fan speed to low to create a quiet experience. I went into the settings and set it to have spin the fans at higher speeds more often. It is really important that laptops stay reasonably cool.

[g5jamz]

Want a laptop/tablet? The Lenovo Yoga is really becoming popular (Win8)

[Niner National]

Want a laptop/tablet? The Lenovo Yoga is really becoming popular (Win8)

I used it in Best Buy a couple days ago. It was a really great machine, but a little more than I want to spend on a laptop. I love the touch screen integration with Windows 8. It is really a great platform.

Computers, laptops especially, crap out after 3-4 years and I'm hesitant to spend $1000 on something that will only last that long.