Computer Gurus...Help me find a laptop!

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

yeah you can buy a laptop today and 6 months later it will be outdated. This really ***** //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/frown.gif.a3531fa0534503350665a1e957861287.gif

That's technology for ya.

 

[faulkton 5,000+ posts]

have you been checking the slickdeals.net 'hot deals' forum?

always a bargain on some laptops there.

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

i was just knit picking his words. Overall he is right, just phrased it wrong.
an old comp with a standard hdd, fresh OS install and cleaning (to prevent any thermal throttling) will be as fast as the day it came out... unless you've like over volted the chip somehow and the performance is degraded.. but that's doubtful

Plz excuse me for not phrasing it correctly. The point I was trying to make is that unless a comp has been over clocked and has been damaged you can always make it run just as fast as the day it came out. No matter if its 10years old or 1day old.

Nonetheless GL with your comp search.

 

[disturbed471985 5,000+ posts]

Disturbed, are you honestly telling me components that are running hot will perform just as good as if they are in their optimal thermal zone? You are the one spewing false information, pal. My laptop will freeze and stutter, and run EXTREMELY slow when it is flat on my lap(basically cutting off airflow) but if I lift it up for about 5 seconds, it will go back to running just fine. Do you have some other explanation for this, besides the components are overheating? Please do explain this to me.
EDIT: just wanted to quote your stupidity before you attempt to ninja edit it.

Heat will slow a comp down (throttling down to save itself) but not permanently unless you burn it up simple as that. Take care of your comp and it will work just like new forever. Your laptop slows down cause its intake and exhaust fans are located on the bottom of your laptop and once laid flat you block them. Buy a fan cradle and problem solved.

To the OP check newegg out they sometimes have good deals on laptops so does tigerdirect.

 

[tpmeredith 10+ year member]

Here's the rundown: In anticipation of the introduction of the iPad 2, and thus the deflation in the selling price of my iPad 1, I am going to sell my iPad and get a laptop to hold me over until I get the Atrix and its' laptop dock. In the meantime, I will play around with the laptop dock at my store and see if it's a viable alternative for me (I'm probably getting the Atrix in late March).
I need your guys' help finding a laptop...If you didn't already know, I'm not computer-savvy, and have absolutely no idea what to look for!

I just want the best bang-for-buck laptop for under $500 (my selling price for the iPad is going to be $500 because it has an invisishield, 3 cases, and it's in perfect condition). To be safe, see if you can find something good that's under $400.

I don't want a Mac, just because they lack in the performance/dollar ratio. I don't really like Dells (or HP's, but I'd take an HP over a Dell) either, just because they aren't reliable in my experience when you load them up with a bunch of ish. I want something fast and reliable. I would prefer to buy used, so maybe someone can browse portland.craiglist.org/ele for them? Unless you think I would be better off with a brand new one...

Do NOT take an HP over a dell. TRUST ME. I spent two years working as a head technician at a computer store, for a period it seemed as if HP had half their models under recall. I very rarely saw dells with failing boards, and HP laptops with failing boards were a dime a dozen. I know you don't want computers with bloatware, so really avoid acer and HP for that.. Dell has some too but not as much as acer or HP in my experience. Honestly if I was gonna get a new laptop I'd just reformat windows on it myself once I get it out of the box.

Companies I avoid: Acer, HP/compaq/gateway, sony (not bad just a pain in the *** to find parts for and overpriced IMO)

Dell isn't bad, asus is my favorite. Toshiba is also pretty good. Asus is one of the only companies that usually has 2 year warranties (although for 500 they're gonna have one year), and usually the first year includes accidental damage, again one of the only companies that does that.

Asus laptops are sick.

Newegg.com - ASUS A52 Series A52F-XN1 NoteBook Intel Pentium P6100(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics

This one won't really game due to integrated graphics, but 4gb ram and a dual core processor will do about anything else you need.

 

[tpmeredith 10+ year member]

Disturbed, are you honestly telling me components that are running hot will perform just as good as if they are in their optimal thermal zone? You are the one spewing false information, pal. My laptop will freeze and stutter, and run EXTREMELY slow when it is flat on my lap(basically cutting off airflow) but if I lift it up for about 5 seconds, it will go back to running just fine. Do you have some other explanation for this, besides the components are overheating? Please do explain this to me.
EDIT: just wanted to quote your stupidity before you attempt to ninja edit it.

A 'good' laptop should not freeze from being on your lap, sounds like you either have extreme dust buildup in the vents or a faulty fan. While most laptops do have vents on the bottom, usually the fans also connect to the back of laptops (not always). Sometimes when laptops get really old it can be necessary to re-grease the heatsink, but not likely.

I have seen it before where a customer thought their acer laptop was dead because it would shutoff almost immediatly after turning on, but that was because the processor was running at 80-90c and it was shutting off to prevent damage. Got an air compressor, blew out the vents, dropped down to 50-60 (still warm but most laptops run hot) and the problem disappeared. That simple.

With proper maintenance no computer should slow down over time, while it may not be as quick as the newest computers out, my 5-6 year old core 2 duo desktop runs just fine for me.

i was just knit picking his words. Overall he is right, just phrased it wrong.
an old comp with a standard hdd, fresh OS install and cleaning (to prevent any thermal throttling) will be as fast as the day it came out... unless you've like over volted the chip somehow and the performance is degraded.. but that's doubtful

This^

This one is my favorite so far, thanks!

MSI isn't bad, just again hard to find parts for. Personally I don't like MSI as much as toshiba or asus, asus is my favorite brand like I said above.

Heat will slow a comp down (throttling down to save itself) but not permanently unless you burn it up simple as that. Take care of your comp and it will work just like new forever. Your laptop slows down cause its intake and exhaust fans are located on the bottom of your laptop and once laid flat you block them. Buy a fan cradle and problem solved.

To the OP check newegg out they sometimes have good deals on laptops so does tigerdirect.

I've never seen anyone burn up a processor from too much dust unless it's overclocked. Not a single person. Quite frankly, it's really impossible 99% of the time, as 99% of computers have safeguards to prevent this. IE if a laptop gets above 80-90c (very hot) it'll completely shutoff. You may kill a board overtime with dust/heat buildup (mainly swollen/busted caps) though.

If you're not opposed to open box try this too:

Newegg.com - Recertified: ASUS K50 Series K50IJ-BBZ5 NoteBook Intel Pentium dual-core T4500(2.30GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory 320GB HDD DVD Super Multi Intel GMA 4500M

Also, not sure if others said it, but you don't need a high-clocking processor to have fast performance, the CPU performance is not at all limited to its frequency. You can OC old p4's to 4-4.5ghz, does that make it faster than a 1.8ghz core 2 duo? Not at all.

With 4gb of ram and that core 2 duo, those asus laptops will multitask great for ya

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

Just really depends what you use your laptop for. Gaming,making videos,or just getting on the internet fooling around? If it's the internet which I take the assumption it is.I would suggest a few different laptops for the cash, just a fyi most laptops all come with the same hardware name brands it don't matter if it's Dell/HP/Gateway etc. the only time you get different parts is when you buy mac etc which are higher brand and cost more.. anyway I would suggest checking out dealnews.com they show the good deals you can find without doing all the searching
what size monitor would you like? and I can find you a decent rig you need

LOLFALSE.

Mac uses Intel cores and Gigabyte / affiliated motherboards.

 

[tpmeredith 10+ year member]

LOLFALSE.
Mac uses Intel cores and Gigabyte / affiliated motherboards.

This^^ Well, a lot of the time it's foxconn but still, apple boards are expensive as **** ;\

 

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

Do NOT take an HP over a dell. TRUST ME. I spent two years working as a head technician at a computer store, for a period it seemed as if HP had half their models under recall. I very rarely saw dells with failing boards, and HP laptops with failing boards were a dime a dozen. I know you don't want computers with bloatware, so really avoid acer and HP for that.. Dell has some too but not as much as acer or HP in my experience. Honestly if I was gonna get a new laptop I'd just reformat windows on it myself once I get it out of the box.
Companies I avoid: Acer, HP/compaq/gateway, sony (not bad just a pain in the *** to find parts for and overpriced IMO)

Dell isn't bad, asus is my favorite. Toshiba is also pretty good. Asus is one of the only companies that usually has 2 year warranties (although for 500 they're gonna have one year), and usually the first year includes accidental damage, again one of the only companies that does that.

Asus laptops are sick.

Newegg.com - ASUS A52 Series A52F-XN1 NoteBook Intel Pentium P6100(2.00GHz) 15.6" 4GB Memory DDR3 1066 320GB HDD 5400rpm DVD Super Multi Intel HD Graphics

This one won't really game due to integrated graphics, but 4gb ram and a dual core processor will do about anything else you need.

Thanks so much! Loving that one!

 

[Suicide Bobb 5,000+ posts]

This^^ Well, a lot of the time it's foxconn but still, apple boards are expensive as **** ;\

From what I have heard, the parts aren't expensive, it's just the replacement through Apple that is. They use normal computer parts but charge a ton for them.

I could be wrong though, please correct me if I am.

 

[tpmeredith 10+ year member]

Thanks so much! Loving that one!

No problem man, on second thought I'd avoid that open box one, it says it only has a 90 day manufacturer warranty (seems odd because I've never seen an asus with only a 90 day warranty, might be wrong)

That first one I sent ya has a 1yr and includes spills, dropping it, fires, etc. Granted it doesnt really matter too much because its pretty rare to actually need the warranty with asus laptops. One of my friends is a clutz and has probably dropped his asus like 6 times (i think only on carpet but still) and it runs fine and doesn't even have any visible damage, worst thing about drops is potential hard drive damage though.

(Although a lot of newer laptop HD's park the heads mid-air in a drop to avoid more damage if it detects free-fall conditions)

 

[tpmeredith 10+ year member]

From what I have heard, the parts aren't expensive, it's just the replacement through Apple that is. They use normal computer parts but charge a ton for them.
I could be wrong though, please correct me if I am.

Just depends, they charge a ton for hard drives and memory and you can get those for pretty cheap elsewhere, and know that you're getting a good brand, apple like most companies uses whoever is the cheapest at the time of build for hard drives so it's possible to end up with a laptop that has a hitachi/samsung/etc hard drive, vs a good western digital.

Boards are another story, all their boards are proprietary (like any laptop) and usually cost 600-1000 directly through apple with no markup, and most retail stores who can order apple parts will charge a markup of 10-40%. Needless to say, I've never seen anyone in person want to replace a board on a failing apple that's out of warranty. In fact for their desktop power mac's the video/sound/airport cards are all proprietary too. I actually had to replace a power supply in a power mac that cost the customer 200-300 dollars. Aside from the labor too.

Also screen replacements ordering through apple is balls expensive, usually in the 400-600 or even up to 1000. Because in 95% of cases for "Apple" to replace a screen, they want service techs to replace the whole display assembly from the hinges up. I had a friend crack her screen on her white macbook, screen was gonna be 300 bux, found one on my vendor for 79 bux and replaced it for her. Although it is more convienent with the apple screens because it's easy to just drop in an assembly, whereas the white macbooks have super-gay display bezels that seem like they're made to break when dis-assembling.

 

[Ignatowski 5,000+ posts]

check out MSI,easy to work on and the MFG many of their own parts

Avoid Dell,HP,Gateway

 

[tpmeredith 10+ year member]

check out MSI,easy to work on and the MFG many of their own partsAvoid Dell,HP,Gateway

Dell is easier to work on and cheaper/easier to find parts for.

MSI makes some alright laptops unless they break, then depending on the model you have yourself a nice headache trying to find the parts to fix it.

Check this one out over the other ones I recommended,

Amazon.com: ASUS A52F-X3 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black): Computer & Accessories

Faster processor, little more pricey but worth it

 

[Pataforce8 10+ year member]

I recently got an Acer, don't remember the model and don't feel like looking it up. However, Windows 7 has excellent memory management and 4gb of ram is going to be plenty for any sort of web browsing as long as you keep your computer clean (no spam, malware....the works). 4Ghz is NOT going to happen without overclocking, which will destroy your battery life and create tons of heat. Which makes you infertile if you use your laptop on your....you know...lap. Anywho, any of Intel's latest processors are nice and efficient and 1.5Ghz dual core will probably be plenty. Gaming is tough....a better definition of the games you're talking about and I can point you in the right direction.

Last thought: I love my Acer (I was a hater for a long time) and I love my Asus motherboard in my custom built gaming-pc.