Looking for a new Laptop

[sisrace]

I-pads are popular item to school and can be used instead of PC or Mac for the same purpose. They are now "must" items even in grade school. My students(grad school) don't take notes anymore. They video-tape lectures. They pass around lectures others missed in "full session". I was astonished to see charts and graphs I had shown fully displayed in their I-pads or PC's. In bad weather, those unable to attend lectures, do improvised online "attendance" and not miss a beat.

It's always difficult to generalize because of unavoidable exceptions. But in general, teenagers do much more with electronics/computers than seniors...that's if and when they get a break from obsessive texting. For those of you who would disagree, perhaps I should add a disclaimer: this is my experience with teenagers and seniors in Manhattan. I dunno about Sweden, Germany or Florida. I personally do not know any teenager who does not own either an I-pad or PC. Most of them have both plus smaller handheld electronics---for non-stop texting.

Haha yeah. Im a poweruser but i have never gotten into the non stop texting
as you said all teenagers have to have some sort of electronic.
I am using my latop at school and i can do soo much more than the others who have laptops.
But our principle is an complete apple fangirl so there is bitten apple's everywere now. even if a microsoft surface would be more effective in soo many ways.
Intresting thing about using your ipad to tape the class.. Can be useful in many ways accually.
Here in sweden we are evolving extremely much in technological terms. About the whole country has fiberoptics and over 3-4 million people have ~300Mb/s
Schools are getting ipads or computer earlier etc. I like where this country is going!
Ive sadly heard a lot of bad things about the us and its internet and privacy issues
Hope it will get fixed lately.

But dont get to into this. We have to stay on topic here!

 

[nocomputerskill]

Thanks Lady Fitzgerald, but my current ASUS is a 10'' net book. It's just not good for what I need to do. Fry's is no more expensive than any other electronic stores, at least in my experience. I have found a few good machines around my price range but all are "out of stock". By the way, I like your ostrich.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Emu! 'Tis an emu, not an ostrich (but thanks! ).

I agree that a net book is probably going to be inadequate (I somehow missed the netbook part; old age? ). I had one (an Asus, even) and, while slow as a turtle, it was usable for all but my heaviest needs (and, even then, there were workarounds). If you are using it in school, you have only a few months left this semester which would then leave you the summer to rack up a few more shekels to allow you to buy a better one.

Just about everything I've seen at Frys can be had for significantly less online. Same for BestBuy. The exception is when they put things on sale. I buy very little from BestBuy. I will buy things from Frys (assuming they have it stock) when they are on sale (that's how I got my current Lenovo G570 notebook), I'm in a hurry for the item, I want/need to actually see it before I buy it (it's only fair to buy it from where I looked at it instead of looking at it, then going online to buy it), or there is an excellent chance I may want to return it if I don't like it after I try to use it (less hassle and expense to return to a local store plus the return window is longer after shipping and return approval times have been factored in).

Lenovo is proving to be a reliable brand for me. The G570 I have is no longer available at a reasonable price (pity; I wouldn't mind having a spare). It has been replaced with the G580 but that one comes with Win 8 installed and costs $500 at Amazon. Since I don't like Win 8 (personal preference; you may like Win 8), I've been eyeing the B590 series, which can still be had with Win 7. The i3 model with 4GB RAM is only $460 at Amazon. The i5 model with 6GB RAM is the one I'm lusting for and is $580 (I'm hoping it will go on sale).

 

[nocomputerskill]

Sorry, I like your Emu . My net book is about 4 years old now and only has 1 gb of ram. It's not the best thing in. By the way, Fry's has a Lenovo G505 on sale right now. So I was looking on fyy's and they have HP 15-b119 with a AMD A8 processor but it's refurbed. Does anybody know anything about the Fry's refurb? It's back in-stock after being out for a while. I also don't wind wind 8, it's not the best but I have wind 7 I could put on it.

 

[sisrace]

Sorry, I like your Emu . My net book is about 4 years old now and only has 1 gb of ram. It's not the best thing in. By the way, Fry's has a Lenovo G505 on sale right now. So I was looking on fyy's and they have HP 15-b119 with a AMD A8 processor but it's refurbed. Does anybody know anything about the Fry's refurb? It's back in-stock after being out for a while. I also don't wind wind 8, it's not the best but I have wind 7 I could put on it.

hi. i dont know about the refurb stuff. But i do know that the A8's are an extremely good choise in budget laptop. Happy owner of an A8 laptop and for laptops with intergrated graphics nothing beats the AMD A8 APU's. Im playing a ton of games on my laptop without problem. If you can find it. Go for an laptop with an A6 or A8 Or even A10 cpu.
Most budget laptops have intergrated graphics. You'll have to look a while to find a laptop with a dedicated gpu that beats the A8 and isnt too costly.
Also windows 8 ( im an owner of an windows 7 laptop ( upgrading to win 8 today )
and having a windows 8 desktop with startisback.
Windows 8 is way better for schoolwork due to its intergrated mailsystem, calendar etc. I really missed it in my laptop so thats one of the reasons why im upgrading, Also windows 8 does give you a pretty big performance bump. So for weaker laptops windows 8 is a very good thing

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Sorry, I like your Emu . My net book is about 4 years old now and only has 1 gb of ram. It's not the best thing in. By the way, Fry's has a Lenovo G505 on sale right now. So I was looking on fyy's and they have HP 15-b119 with a AMD A8 processor but it's refurbed. Does anybody know anything about the Fry's refurb? It's back in-stock after being out for a while. I also don't wind wind 8, it's not the best but I have wind 7 I could put on it.

Like I said, you can get good deals from Fry's when they put things on sale (that's how I got my G570). The G505 is an older model but, if it meets your needs and budget, go for it.

I don't like HP because I've had bad experiences with their tech help(less) and HP is notorious for dropping support for older models (such as not writing new drivers for newer OSes or manufacturing consumables, such as toner carts) which is a pity since they otherwise make good products.

Frys has a poor history for refurbs. Often, they were customer returns that were just put back on the shelf without anything being done to them; the same is true of open box items (at least they now wrap open box items with strapping and label them to show they aren't new). I will not buy anything from Frys that isn't new and unopened. For that matter, I won't anything from anywhere that is refurbed, recertified, or used. I've gotten burned when I've done so in the past.

 

[sisrace]

Sorry, I like your Emu . My net book is about 4 years old now and only has 1 gb of ram. It's not the best thing in. By the way, Fry's has a Lenovo G505 on sale right now. So I was looking on fyy's and they have HP 15-b119 with a AMD A8 processor but it's refurbed. Does anybody know anything about the Fry's refurb? It's back in-stock after being out for a while. I also don't wind wind 8, it's not the best but I have wind 7 I could put on it.

Like I said, you can get good deals from Fry's when they put things on sale (that's how I got my G570). The G505 is an older model but, if it meets your needs and budget, go for it.

I don't like HP because I've had bad experiences with their tech help(less) and HP is notorious for dropping support for older models (such as not writing new drivers for newer OSes or manufacturing consumables, such as toner carts) which is a pity since they otherwise make good products.

Frys has a poor history for refurbs. Often, they were customer returns that were just put back on the shelf without anything being done to them; the same is true of open box items (at least they now wrap open box items with strapping and label them to show they aren't new). I will not buy anything from Frys that isn't new and unopened. For that matter, I won't anything from anywhere that is refurbed, recertified, or used. I've gotten burned when I've done so in the past.

Oh yeah about that HP stuff -.-
My fan is kinda going bad AGAIN after half a year of use.
My first fan broke after half a year.. Yay...
I will have to find a new one and replace it becouse my warranty is probably out

 

[whs]

Thanks Lady Fitzgerald, but my current ASUS is a 10'' net book. It's just not good for what I need to do. Fry's is no more expensive than any other electronic stores, at least in my experience. I have found a few good machines around my price range but all are "out of stock". By the way, I like your ostrich.

What about this one. That's a good machine for the money. Look at the specs.

 

[nocomputerskill]

Pappi, I personally don't have an obsession with texting. I don't like to text. I don't even have a phone.I don't need one though. Sisrace, I have never had any problems with any of the any HP products I've owned. A few months ago when my massive ink jet printer stopped printing, they immediately sent somebody to fix it. Lady Fitzgerald, Thank you very much. I've had some bad experiences with refurbed stuff but I've also gotten some great stuff too. I think I'll keep looking and see what I come up with. Hopefully there will be a new round of electronics that are released and prices will drop. whs, thanks for the suggestion. The only thing is, it only has 4 gb of ram and for around $375 I can get the same thing(minus the touch screen).

 

[whs]

There is absolutely no reason that you need more than 4GB of RAM which is really ample for what you plan to do.

 

[nocomputerskill]

I may not need more than that right now but I need this to last me a while. So, as I may not need it now, I might 2 or 3 years down the road. Plus, I wouldn't spend $400 on something that I can get, just as good, for $370. Thank you for the suggestion and your time though.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Thanks Lady Fitzgerald, but my current ASUS is a 10'' net book. It's just not good for what I need to do. Fry's is no more expensive than any other electronic stores, at least in my experience. I have found a few good machines around my price range but all are "out of stock". By the way, I like your ostrich.

What about this one. That's a good machine for the money. Look at the specs.

That is a good machine for the money. It's a better price than what Amazon or NewEgg have it for, depending on what shipping and/or local taxes are (although NewEgg is out of stock, which has become the norm for them). 4 GB is plenty for most people unless you are a gamer or an idiot like me who runs multiple anti-malware scans simultaneously. The major reasons I upgraded my RAM from 4GB to 8GB is was the geek in my, the Tim the Toolman Taylor side of me that demands "more power" (arrrr), and I installed a 500GB 840 EVO and wanted to run Rapid, which eats up a GB or two. One can always upgrade RAM at a later date.

 

[nocomputerskill]

Thank you all who have taken your time to help me with this. I think I'll wait a few months and hope that things will drop in price.

 

[whs]

I may not need more than that right now but I need this to last me a while. So, as I may not need it now, I might 2 or 3 years down the road. Plus, I wouldn't spend $400 on something that I can get, just as good, for $370. Thank you for the suggestion and your time though.

For the $30 difference you get the touchpad which is very useful and will be needed more and more in the future. But it's your call.

 

[nocomputerskill]

I ironically have a touch pad. I just never use it. I've considered a tablet but I've had to write 8 papers in the last 6 months so I really need a full key board too.

 

[sisrace]

I ironically have a touch pad. I just never use it. I've considered a tablet but I've had to write 8 papers in the last 6 months so I really need a full key board too.

Well. The surfaces do have attatchable keyboard touch or phisical. Also they got usb ports so you can plug in an keyboard or mouse. But then. Getting a surface it pretty useless if you want a bigger laptop becouse the surfaces are around 8"-10"

 

[nocomputerskill]

Yeah, my current net book is 10'' and it's a little small. I have really bad eyes.

 

[pappi]

If your budget is limited, there is no point spending any amount on product that does not suit your customized needs/preferences. For example, why W8 and touch screen if you do not either like it or need it, or both. Why brand new(especially with undesired features) when cheaper refurbished item(especially if with many desired features) will do.

A more expensive brand new item with many undesired features vs a much cheaper used/refurbished item with many desired feature should be easy to decide on.

Brand new does not guarantee it is not a lemon. Refurbished does not mean necessarily it's a clunker. You're a teenager with limited budget with legit need for a school essential(yes, PC now in school is no longer a luxury. It's essential, like textbooks.). And apparently you are not in a hurry. Search diligently for your PC. Do not settle, especially if settling and paying more. Somewhere out there is your PC that suits your needs and your budget.

I strongly recommend e-bay seller frompa_3. HP Pavilion DV7 2173CL Entertainment Notebook PC | eBay He is a find. He has more than 1000 transactions/12 years of membership with 100% positive feedback rating. Correspond with him. Take advantage of his grandpa instinct and point out to him your situation and ask for assistance...like notifying you in private if and when he gets a PC for you.

 

[sisrace]

If your budget is limited, there is no point spending any amount on product that does not suit your customized needs/preferences. For example, why W8 and touch screen if you do not either like it or need it, or both. Why brand new(especially with undesired features) when cheaper refurbished item(especially if with many desired features) will do.

A more expensive brand new item with many undesired features vs a much cheaper used/refurbished item with many desired feature should be easy to decide on.

Brand new does not guarantee it is not a lemon. Refurbished does not mean necessarily it's a clunker. You're a teenager with limited budget with legit need for a school essential(yes, PC now in school is no longer a luxury. It's essential, like textbooks.). And apparently you are not in a hurry. Search diligently for your PC. Do not settle, especially if settling and paying more. Somewhere out there is your PC that suits your needs and your budget.

I strongly recommend e-bay seller frompa_3. HP Pavilion DV7 2173CL Entertainment Notebook PC | eBay He is a find. He has more than 1000 transactions/12 years of membership with 100% positive feedback rating. Correspond with him. Take advantage of his grandpa instinct and point out to him your situation and ask for assistance...like notifying you in private if and when he gets a PC for you.

BUT! Brand new does last longer than refurbished. And this guy wants the computer to last him 4-5 years.
BUT. I want to say that 4-5 years is a long time. You do not know anything what will happen. You may get a lot of summer jobs, Get money on other ways, You maybe becomes a poweruser. I suggest accually i refurbished computer that is used carefully! Becouse it will last you ~1-2 years if not more. And in that time your life may have changed a lot, aspecially as a teenager.
Me for exaple. Had my laptop hooked up to my monitor. Mouse and keyboard. not nearly enough for what i needed but it worked. Now. After half a year everything has changed! i now sit with 2 monitors, a powerful freaking machine ( its very powerful for beeing a teenager ) and maxing out everything i want.. Exept Assasins creed 4 becouse hehe.. That is crazy hard to max out..

So yeah. Life changes a lot. so try not to seek out for a laptop that will last you a lifetime. Just focus on what you need now!

 

[pappi]

No guarantee, either way.

All my previous 4 PC's were brand new. My last PC, an HP lasted 6.5 yrs. The one before that, a Dell, lasted 2 yrs. The two others, before that (my first two PC's) were all Dell. Each one lasted for 3 yrs. Oddly, all the Dell units died a few days after extended warranty expired.(is that conspiracy or what?). That's why I no longer buy warranty extension.

I was so totally in love with the HP Pavilion dv7-1170us that it took me almost a month in search of another brand new Pavilion dv-7 unit(leftover or previous year's model) before I gave up and decided to SETTLE for another HP(but an Envy model...for more than $1000.00). Miraculously, I came across this e-bay seller via mindless "what the heck" browsing the night before I was determined to settle. Long story short, I am now an ecstatically happy owner of a two yr. old used refurbished by seller Pavilion dv7-2173cl with ALL the features I searched for ...and more, all for a fraction of a brand new Envy.

I am now enjoying a flawlessly operating beautiful dream PC seemingly well preserved just for me ...with no guarantee. But any length of time it lasts, is time well spent.