Need advice on buying a laptop.

[SuperTrooper 10+ year member]

I don't know too much about laptops and I wanted to see if some of you can help out. My daughter is going off to college this fall and I would like to get her a decent laptop to have for school.

I found a guy on Craislist who had a HP Pavillion zv5000 with a long list of upgrades and programs already installed. He says he is a "Gamer" and this is a top notch laptop. He is asking $700.00. Can any of you tell me if may be worth $700.00 ? Or should I buy one brand new? And maybe what would be best for a freshman in college. I am not looking to spend a arm and a leg for one, but I would like to get a halfway decent computer for her. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks....

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[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

I would buy one brand new, especially if you dont know much about them. CC and BB usaully have sales going on, get the warranty so if there is a problem you can get things fixed and you have some customer support.

 

[SuperTrooper 10+ year member]

Thanks for the reply. Yea I was kinda thinking the samething, but I was wondering, do I have to but all the programs like windows, acrobat reader and stuff like that?

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

if you buy it new all those are included, as well as a bunch of garbage you dont need

 

[SuperTrooper 10+ year member]

Cool, thanks again.

 

[google123 10+ year member]

Another vote for getting a new one. Getting a new one would be better if only for the warranty from the manufacturer. All the major brands have decent starter laptops that do well in a school environment. Good luck. If you have any questions on specifics, just post away and I will try to help.

 

[sue bee 10+ year member]

don't buy new. case and point, my brother bought a 1500 laptop less than a year ago. he sold it recently, after hardly using it, for less than half that price. waste of money buying new laptops.

 

[Akula Class 10+ year member]

Also check out http://www.tigerdirect.com and http://www.newegg.com. You might also be able to find a deal here: http://www.fatwallet.com/c/18/

 

[google123 10+ year member]

don't buy new. case and point, my brother bought a 1500 laptop less than a year ago. he sold it recently, after hardly using it, for less than half that price. waste of money buying new laptops.

You do realize that this won't be the case for everyone right?????//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fro.gif.c695f1f814b01c4ad99fe7f8cccadd29.gif