Which laptop do you like for $800 or so?

[jonathan55]

Which laptop do you like for $800 or so?
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OK, I have a computer question so of course I'm bringing it to a woodworking forum! It may sound crazy but I've seen some very intelligent computer talk on here. I used to know a little about what was new on desktops (back in 2000!)

I had a laptop that I borrowed from work, a 6 year old Dell that has finally died. I used it a little at work but really didn't need a laptop there but always took it with me when traveling. If I was stuck in a hotel I could read BT3 and Woodnet over WIFI. I thought I'd buy a net book to replace it but when I went and looked and them I thought for a little more money I could get a lot more computer! I also realized I don't know much about what is new in laptops?

My desktop is from 2005 with XP and has slowed more and more, I want to do a clean install and thought if I had a more robust laptop I could transfer some files and take my time, wipe the hard drive on the desktop and start over.

15 inch seems big enough, I'd like to spend $800 total including a warranty (do I buy a warranty?) I'm not into gaming but I'd like to go to Marc Adams or someplace like that and take a sketchup class some day. I suppose I can usually plug it in so don't care that much about battery life. Do I need I5?

For that money what would you buy?

Geez, am I long winded!
Any input is welcome,
Jonathan

[LCHIEN]

you should start by spending $75 and buying a 500G or so external USB drive to copy your desktop files to. Then you can back up both your new laptop and desktop computers.
Then get your new laptop and go crazy, even load it from the USB drive.

[Mr__Bill]

Well, look at them and see what different size monitors can do. If you are not lugging it about every day then for me, it's as large as can fit into whatever I will carry it in. Monitor size will also dictate the keyboard size, wider monitor the more like a real keyboard you get. Also most have a touch pad, some are easier to use than others, you won't always have a mouse to plug in so you need a touch pad that you can deal with.

You can't add anything to a laptop on the inside so you need to have the ports there to use, Ethernet, USB, external Monitor? or TV output (SVideo), built in WiFi 802.11n. Even though you may not envision a lot of battery use you should try for at least an hour of running time on the battery.

Almost every laptop on the market will meet most of the above just make sure that when you find the one with the monitor that is kind to your eyes and a keyboard the is finger friendly. I have a Toshiba and it's taken a long time to get used the the feel of it, next time I will pay more attention to that.

You may find a good deal on a last year's model, the office supply places often have sales on them, they are a good place to go play with computers too, often the sales people actually know something, at least in my experience.

Good luck in you search,

Bill
first my employees complained of not enough leisure time, now they complain about unemployment.

[crybdr]

I bought a new laptop for personal use about 10 months ago. I do intensive photo editing, intensive CAD work using SolidWorks, very little gaming, and general internet browsing.

After much online research, I settled on an ASUS UL30Vt -A1 - 13.3" 'thin & light'. The UL series was voted by the editors as Engadget's laptop of the year for 2009. I haven't regretted the purchase at all. Paid $750 for it from Amazon at the time.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ef=oss_product

This link points to what I bought 10 months ago... so the prices and availability are different. This link will give you a sense of ASUS's reviews and what I got for the money.

Pros:
-Nice screen - widescreen format (it's a glossy surface and some don't like glossy - but I haven't had any trouble seeing the screen - even outside on the back deck during the day. Also, viewing angle is 'tight' but workable - unless you want to show a large group of people around you what's on your screen.)
-Dual Graphic Processors (you can choose the 'high' end Nvidia processor or the 'low power' Intel Graphics processor. Switching between the two with progams open and running has been flawless - and real power gains can be recognized. I think this is a neat feature that has been well executed).
-Battery life (claimed 12 hours - but actually running CAD with the high end GPU lasts about 7-8 hours....which is still awesome! It's way better than the 3-4 hour limit on a lot of machines.)
-Size (this thing is thin & light. Easily backpackable)
-Very little 'bloatware' and 'actually usable' ASUS software (perhaps it's Windows 7, perhaps ASUS engineering - but the experience using this machine has been a real pleasure - everything works!)

Cons:
-No backlighting on keyboard (can be hard to see keys in dark room - I've seen backlit keys on other machines and sometimes wish I had this feature)
-Kinda flimsy feel in some areas (this isn't a business class machine so I don't expect RIGID constrction. The screen body can be flexed quite a bit - and the keyboard has a little 'bounce' to it. Not deal killers for me and part of the cost vs. benefit equation in my mind. It travels in a sleeve in my backpack to work and back every day and some international travel.....and I haven't had a problem yet)

The pros and cons may be good things to think about while doing your research - the 'backlighted' keyboard was the one that surprised me....it would be nice to have.

Going with ASUS over the bigger brands was a little bit of a leap for me - but based upon the numerous online reviews and my own experience, I can recommend ASUS for someone looking for a reasonably priced and very 'useful' laptop.

Good luck with your search.

crybdr

[ascerin]

Hi Jonathan:

For my nickel, the many HP laptop computers at Best Buy seem to be a good bargain.

From time to time, Best Buy has an HP laptop on sale for $599 or so.
The 15 inch monitor is a good size; most laptops come with at least a 250 Gb hard drive (and 320 or more is better). All of them seem to come with built-in wifi and a DVD read/write drive. Floppy disks are a thing of the past.
Most of the newer laptops come with a couple of gigs of RAM, and now almost all will be preloaded with Windows 7. (It is getting difficult to find a laptop with the older Windows XP--that many old legacy programs seem to need to work properly).

I use an older version of AutoCAD, and getting it to work on Vista was a real PITA!

IMHO: You can get a great laptop for a lot less than $800.

[dbhost]

For what it's worth, $800.00 will buy you an awful lot of laptop these days. Dual core processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 17" screen, mid / high end graphics, WiFi the whole enchilada of up at least reasonably up to date technology. You will need to spend extra $$ to get stuff like Quad Cores, Higher End graphics like the latest Nvidia controllers etc... But unless you are processing feature length films, or running games not yet released, you shouldn't need any of that...

FWIW, I have a couple of PCs that are getting long in the tooth. They run fast and clean, but I am wanting to physically downsize, so LOML and I are chunking what funds we can aside for a pair of $800.00 ish laptops. My biggest additional requirement is that it be able to dual boot, or at the very least support virtualization so that I can run a WinXP, and a Windows 7 load inside of RedHat. (CentOS actually, but more or less the same thing...)

[TB Roye]

The first of January I bought a HP G72-253NR Laptop for $741+ tax and Shipping $29 for two day air. It has 17.3" HD display, 640GB Hard drive, 4 GB of memory expandable to 8GB a Intel processor DVD/CD burner player a full size key board with separate number pad. and all kinds of USB ports and memory card slots a HDMI out put and VGA out put and the Mic and headphone jack. Came with a bunch software that I can actually use, not junk to take up room. It so has a built in web cam which is excellent. They screwed up and advertised it had MS Office 2010 starter but it had a stripped down version 60 day trial of Office 2007. Got an Email last night from the company and they and HP are shipping a full version (CD) of Office 2010 Home and Student to correct their mistake. It also came with a separated DVD with 3 years of McAfee Antivirus plus 2011, Adobe photo shop elements 9 and some other software that I don't need. I bought this on QVC after my wife showed it to me. This thing is a monster in size and weight so I don't think I will take it on the plane 6.6 pounds is a little heavy, besides I have HP 10" Netbook that is Ideal for air travel. I will take laptop when we travel by car or train. The Notebook is fast and the display is Ideal for me It has Window 7 Home Premium. It was easy to setup and I was able to install the my wireless printer from out in the shop, which is 80ft from the den where the wireless access is. Being old I like the key as the keys are large for these old fingers. I would be nice with a backlit keyboard. I did buy a wireless USB mouse as the touch pad is a little hard on the fingers. I think the biggest con on this Laptop is the battery is only good for about 3 hours if you have the display on bright and are the net. That being said I will keep it mostly on AC power so the battery is really an issure I have an inverter for the car so on long trips I can still use it. I could have returned this in 30 days no question asked and either got my money back or got a smaller lap top, with probably more bells and whistles. I just decide I like it the way it was and kept it. Oh the Netbook dual boot to Win 7 Basic or Ubuntu. Might try that with the Laptop down the road.

Good luck on you search

Tom

[JoeyGee]

Last year around this time I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad SL410 at Best Buy. I LOVE this laptop. It's got classic ThinkPad quality and features and only cost me $650. I don't think they carry it any more, which is a real shame. You normally can't get a TP in this range. This is a 13" which is exactly what I wanted. There is a n SL510 which has a a 15" screen. If you can find either, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Just my two cents, and others will disagree, but HP makes junk. It's a real shame. They went downhill fast after they bought Compaq. Dell has also gone way downhill. Asus and Toshiba are regularly ranked very high in reliability studies.

[gerti]

Apple MacBook. Refurbished model or older model (MicroCenter sells those) may come close to your budget. The white one is a great machine!

[herb fellows]

'Also most have a touch pad, some are easier to use than others, you won't always have a mouse to plug in so you need a touch pad that you can deal with.'

I strongly suggest getting a wireless mouse for it. Any Logitech will do nicely, the m305 is smaller, but not too small, and a great performer. You can get it for about $25, $15 or less on sale. Other larger ones from them have a lot of buttons and some great features!
It uses a tiny transmitter in a usb slot. The battery lasts for months, and I mostly forget to turn it off!
I used a touchpad for years and since getting the wireless mouse I don't know how I survived that long!
' Even though you may not envision a lot of battery use you should try for at least an hour of running time on the battery.'

I don't think there are any laptops with less than 2 1/2-3 hrs battery life. I've heard stories of up to 12 hours, but this is usually with buying additional batteries.
Pay attention to the sound. The differences in available volume and the sound itself can vary greatly, even within the same brand.

If you're not in a hurry, I would sign onto slickdeals or similar and set up an alert for computers. I have seen some awesome deals on there. In fact, I got mine through Staples on there ( a desktop) and caught a deal for $355 for a $550 elsewhere computer.
Best of luck!

[herb fellows]

Last year around this time I bought a Lenovo ThinkPad SL410 at Best Buy. I LOVE this laptop. It's got classic ThinkPad quality and features and only cost me $650. I don't think they carry it any more, which is a real shame. You normally can't get a TP in this range. This is a 13" which is exactly what I wanted. There is a n SL510 which has a a 15" screen. If you can find either, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Just my two cents, and others will disagree, but HP makes junk. It's a real shame. They went downhill fast after they bought Compaq. Dell has also gone way downhill. Asus and Toshiba are regularly ranked very high in reliability studies.

I agree HP laptops are junk, but they still make a very good desktop.

[jackellis]

I've always bought Thinkpads, in part because my wife is a retired IBMer. I'm writing this on a brand new Thinkpad T410 that I purchased on eBay for just over $600. Lenovo, which now owns the Thinkpad brand, may also have refurbished laptops with at least a one year warranty available in their outlet store.

A new, Thinkpad Edge with a 14" screen dual core Intel processor, 500 GB 7200 RPM drive and 4 GB of memory is going for $629 right now. Spend a little more for the T series, which is their high end machine, or a bit less for an AMD processor.

This eBay listing looks like a reasonable deal.

[jdon]

1+ on Thinkpad Edge.

[BadeMillsap]

Samsung R580

I am a retired IBMER and agree that Thinkpad/Lenovo products are "good" ... but I do not believe they are necessarily the best "value".

For Christmas I gave my wife a re-furbished Samsung R580 that I paid less than $600 for with a 1 year warranty (eBay). I believe this is a really good value and worth a look ...

Samsung R580 review

[eccentrictinkerer]

I'm the IT guy for my small medical clinic. We started out with a bunch of used Sony Vaio laptops off Ebay 2 1/2 years ago. We've been replacing them one at a time, due to theft and age, with Toshiba laptops for which we pay about $350.

They have everything, dual-core, enough memory, big screen and they're cheap. My users are not 'bit-heads' so they take a real beating. So far, no problems. I'm going to stick with the Toshiba's primarily so the staff doesn't have to learn another new keyboard. They're also inexpensive, robust enough and available quickly.

A sidenote, we put together an electronic medical records system for 4 doctors and 5 staff for under $25,000 including software! The cheapest quote the owner received from an EMR packager was over six times that!