Cheapish, newish Laptop..........

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

What's a good brand/model to look for? I'll be the first to admit I don't really know dick squat about laptops. I do want (minimum) 3+gb of ram, 15+" screen, 2.0+ghz(high 1's would work aswell), 60+gb's ,wi-fi, sd card slot, 1+usb slots. I don't "game". Might play some online stuff from time to time but nothing hardcore. I have maybe 5gb of music. All I'd do is surf to web really.

I'd like to spend less than 250.

Any tips? Suggestions on the types of laptop's I should be looking at?

Click to read more...

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

Smaller screens greatly extend battery life as do solid state drives. Dunno if your budget will touch the later.

I've had good luck with Dell, I use the top tier ones myself, but we got a few of the Studio line for other ppl which seem to work pretty well.

IF you buy used you can almost always expect the battery to be pretty well shot so budget that in to your price if you plan to run it away from an outlet.

 

[MisterDeadeye 10+ year member]

You're going to want 3GB+ of RAM. Besides, it only costs like $25 for 4GB anyway.

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

Smaller screens greatly extend battery life as do solid state drives. Dunno if your budget will touch the later.
I've had good luck with Dell, I use the top tier ones myself, but we got a few of the Studio line for other ppl which seem to work pretty well.

IF you buy used you can almost always expect the battery to be pretty well shot so budget that in to your price if you plan to run it away from an outlet.

I'll take the replacement cost of the batt into consideration. It would be my primary computer so the screen would have to be 15+.

You're going to want 3GB+ of RAM. Besides, it only costs like $25 for 4GB anyway.

Fixed, Thank you sir.

 

[disturbedfuel15 10+ year member]

At $250, you are most definitely looking a used one, so factoring the battery in is a good idea. What are you looking to use the laptop for? You said you aren't going to be playing games, so this means you won't need a powerful machine. 3GB of RAM will be sufficient, depending on what you want out of the laptop. You can always upgrade the RAM if need be. Sorry, it's getting late here and I see you said your going to be browsing the web and listening to music mostly. As long as it's not a no-name brand, you can't really go wrong with any brand out there. We use mostly HP and Dell laptops for military use, so perhaps that gives you some advice as far as reliability is concerned. I personally own an Asus, and haven't had one complain or hiccup with it since I got it two years ago. You could even still run windows XP, so don't assume you need windows 7. Try to steer clear of Vista, because it had many flaws that weren't present in XP, and windows 7 fixed them.

 

[R34P3R 10+ year member]

I would be checking craigslist daily for crackhead prices. Lots of people here trying to unload equipment right before christmas.

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

There are several decent budget laptops at the $299 price point. I'd just go to Best Buy & see what you like. No real need to pay much more if it's just an internet machine.

 

---------- Post added at 01:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------

 

I would be checking craigslist daily for crackhead prices. Lots of people here trying to unload equipment right before christmas.

Good idea too.

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

I would be checking craigslist daily for crackhead prices. Lots of people here trying to unload equipment right before christmas.

I've been looking, no crackhead prices as of yet. Saw a nice one but it had vista. As little as I know, I do know that vista sucks balls.

There are several decent budget laptops at the $299 price point. I'd just go to Best Buy & see what you like. No real need to pay much more if it's just an internet machine. 

---------- Post added at 01:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------

 

Good idea too.

I'm looking to spend 250 max on a used laptop unless I can find a good deal on a new one.

 

[kramer_212 10+ year member]

What's a good brand/model to look for? I'll be the first to admit I don't really know dick squat about laptops. I do want (minimum) 3+gb of ram, 15+" screen, 2.0+ghz(high 1's would work aswell), 60+gb's ,wi-fi, sd card slot, 1+usb slots. I don't "game". Might play some online stuff from time to time but nothing hardcore. I have maybe 5gb of music. All I'd do is surf to web really.


I'd like to spend less than 250.

Any tips? Suggestions on the types of laptop's I should be looking at?

look at the asus entry level laptops, i got my fiances off new egg for 360 shipped, i know its alittle more than you want to spend, but it has a 15.6 screen 3gb of ram, 4 usb and a 256gb hard drive, hd display etc.

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

best buy has one for 329 this week

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

Also, Vista is fine now. Most of the problems were driver problems or things that have been fixed.

 

[MisterDeadeye 10+ year member]

If you're looking into acer's, also look into lenovo. Newegg has this for $390. 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM, 500GB

Newegg.com - lenovo G570 (43347UU) Notebook Intel Pentium B950(2.10GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW Intel HD Graphics

You won't find a new laptop that's better than a smartphone for less than $320 or so. Get an Intel dual core processor, and as much RAM as your budget allows.

ASUS/lenovo are top-tier laptops unless you're spending $1500+. Acer doesn't have anything going for it other than price; they're not very reliable, but if you opt for an extended warranty you should be fine. The other manufacturers are all about the same as far as reliability goes.

You'll want a 250GB+ hard drive as well. Will this be a full-on desktop replacement(ie., stays plugged in, sitting on a desk or table)? If not, you'll want to look into battery life. Do you need an HDMI output? If so, you'll want to get a better laptop with higher graphic capabilities.

Get Windows 7 if you can, if only for support.

 

[jdawg90 10+ year member]

My hp 4430s was the best laptop i've owned until it go stolen last month. It cost me like 500.

 

[Sleeklsc 5,000+ posts]

If you're looking into acer's, also look into lenovo. Newegg has this for $390. 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM, 500GB
Newegg.com - lenovo G570 (43347UU) Notebook Intel Pentium B950(2.10GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1333 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW Intel HD Graphics

You won't find a new laptop that's better than a smartphone for less than $320 or so. Get an Intel dual core processor, and as much RAM as your budget allows.

ASUS/lenovo are top-tier laptops unless you're spending $1500+. Acer doesn't have anything going for it other than price; they're not very reliable, but if you opt for an extended warranty you should be fine. The other manufacturers are all about the same as far as reliability goes.

You'll want a 250GB+ hard drive as well. Will this be a full-on desktop replacement(ie., stays plugged in, sitting on a desk or table)? If not, you'll want to look into battery life. Do you need an HDMI output? If so, you'll want to get a better laptop with higher graphic capabilities.

Get Windows 7 if you can, if only for support.

My plan is to use it as my desktop. I'm making some changes in my life and want to simplify things. If I don't get a lt i'd have to get a lcd monitor and prob a new tower ect. My ish at home is outdated. I'm still rockin the same big f'n monitor from 10 years ago . It would likely stay plugged in so batt life isnt a huge deal, but I also don't want it to die after an hour or 2 off the charger. If it'll be my primary comp i'd prob wait for a 17" screen.

 

[Tupolev 10+ year member]

Used Lenovo Thinkpad T series off of Ebay.