what laptop/laptop brand i should buy? 1

[PlanetMyHero]

What laptop or laptop i should to go buy, i have $500, i need an overall laptop. Thanks

 

[goombawaho]

Link
Read this thread, though not conclusive for sure. With only $500 to spend, you're kind of limited. For that money, you need to do a search on somewhere like NewEgg.com using a price filter and then look at the specs of the major brands that pop up. If you are focused on a lot of memory, look at that spec and pick one. If you're into games, look at video card or hard drive space etc.............

You might want to choose to search via screen size. Then put in how much you have to spend. For example - here is a 15" - 15.6" search at the $400 - $500 price.
Link


Almost all of them have a 500GB hard drive and 4GB of RAM. Pretty "general purpose - not standing out in any aspect.

 

[mscallisto]

Good question and goombawaho supplied good advice however it will help if you can list all that you would like your laptop to do, especially software like microsoft office, photoshop, games, web browsing, movie watching, music playing, CD creating etc.

Some software requires excessive memory and CPU speed that you will need to investigate before making an investment.

Good Luck
Sam

 

[xit]

This is just an idea I will throw at you because I have used this, your $500 can go a long ways here, go to Dell.com & check out the refurbished section. The Dell refurbs carry the same warranty as new, just my 2 cents.

 

[goombawaho]

Refurbished - I have customers that wouldn't even consider one and others that say "great". Depends on your feelings.

 

[mscallisto]

Many manufacturers sell refurb products that were previously sent to distributors and resellers who in turn returned those units that were unsold when the manufacturer came out with newer products.

Since the original units were sent to manufacturers and resellers, by law they had to be un-boxed, checked for defects and re-tested before they could be labeled and sold as refurbished product.

This is how it was when I worked for a major manufacturer and most of our employees thought it was the best deal since sliced bread; any defected parts were replaced and the unit was tested a second time.

Generally these units were sold for 20-30% discount and carried the same warranty as new product.

Just a thought, BTW I didn't work for Dell.

Sam

 

[ANFPS26]

Office Depot has a sale on Lenovo laptops this week. Several are listed under $400.

Jim

 

[PlanetMyHero]

Best Budget Laptop: ASUS K55A-DS51 (source:

http://thebestlaptopbrands.com/best-laptops-2013/)

That's a great deal for me?

 

[goombawaho]

Not trying to shoot down their recommendation, but any web site and/or fool has an opinion. You know, be skeptical when it comes to "I found this web site and they said................".

 

[FredWagner]

Fadtory refurbs sound like a good deal, as mentioned. One caution - if you buy a laptop that has been a shelf demo, the HD will have been spinning a long time. I got a demo model Gateway from my local Radio Shack a couple of Black Fridays ago, and they doubled the warranty at NO CHARGE. The hard drive gradually failed during the 2nd year of the warranty, and I did get it replaced at NO CHARGE. Had to take it into the store to get the deal, but they did honor the doubled warranty.

Fred Wagner
(retired, but still involved!)