Suggest a new laptop computer

[j0n]

This is what I want...

-Fast...I don't want to sit around waiting for **** to load and open programs etc
-CD Burner, DVD Player
-I can get pretty much any software for free so having programs on it already isn't too big a concern
-I don't give a crap about gaming

I really only need it for Microsoft Office programs, to access the internet, play the occasional DVD, photoshop, maybe try my hand editing videos, and possibly some tuning.

I'd like to spend between $500-600 and get it asap(so nothing thats going to take a month to get to my door), however, I can budget up to $1000 if that's what it will take.

[Knipps]

Acer 5050-3785, on it now, runs fine.. only fault is vista but you can't really get around that now unless you downgrade

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115383

[foff667]

I would say something along these lines http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8404256&type=product&id=1180743304925

[PolarBear]

I know your other machine was a Toshiba but I like all of the Toshiba laptops that I have used/owned/fixed. My First choice would be Dell, then Toshiba, and lastly Sony. Dell has good support if you get the gold service with the laptop and usually there are not too many questions about fixing or replacing parts. My only issue with Sony is that if you have to replace stuff out of warranty the parts get really expensive, enough so that it isnt even worth fixing them.
If you are going to do Photoshop and video editing you really need a machine with a decent amount of RAM and a fast(er) hard drive. I wouldnt recommend an inexpensive laptop for those specifications. Playing DVD's, Office programs and tuning are not hard things for a computer to do so almost any piece of crap will do. Doing any graphical editing will just take quite a bit more time to render and such with a low end laptop.

[njfastestcamaro]

Any acer have two of them and they work great

[j0n]

I know your other machine was a Toshiba but I like all of the Toshiba laptops that I have used/owned/fixed. My First choice would be Dell, then Toshiba, and lastly Sony. Dell has good support if you get the gold service with the laptop and usually there are not too many questions about fixing or replacing parts. My only issue with Sony is that if you have to replace stuff out of warranty the parts get really expensive, enough so that it isnt even worth fixing them.
If you are going to do Photoshop and video editing you really need a machine with a decent amount of RAM and a fast(er) hard drive. I wouldnt recommend an inexpensive laptop for those specifications. Playing DVD's, Office programs and tuning are not hard things for a computer to do so almost any piece of crap will do. Doing any graphical editing will just take quite a bit more time to render and such with a low end laptop.

Can you give me a target for what is "a decent amount of RAM" and a "faster hard drive"? I don't know **** about computers so some numbers of what to look for would really help me out. Thanks.

[j0n]

Also, I'm prepared to spend up to $1000 on it if necessary, if that helps(even though id rather spend less)

[Tru2Chevy]

You'll want something with at least 1 GB of RAM (or for it to be able to be upgraded to 1+ GB), more would be better though.

- Justin

[j0n]

In some of the reviews for the Acer 5050 it says that it can be upgraded up to 4GB of RAM and up to a 7200rpm hard drive...but im having trouble finding a site where i can purchase the laptop and add those upgrades. Anyone care to help my technologically challenged ***?

[Tru2Chevy]

I can't find anything with more than 1GB of RAM and a 7200 RPM drive for under $1,000. Those things can be added after purchase, but in 99% of the cases, that will void the warranty.

- Justin

[trashman01]

In some of the reviews for the Acer 5050 it says that it can be upgraded up to 4GB of RAM and up to a 7200rpm hard drive...but im having trouble finding a site where i can purchase the laptop and add those upgrades. Anyone care to help my technologically challenged ***?

you can help derek do a motorswap infront of his house but cant find a site to purchase a laptop:rofl: just bustin ya

[Tru2Chevy]

Just built this on Dell's site as a possibility, although you could prolly do better elsewhere:

PROCESSOR AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-56 (1MB/1.8GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black
DISPLAY High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch display (1440x900)
VIDEO CARD ATI RADEON® Xpress1270 HyperMemory™
MEMORY 2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE Size: 120GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVE CD writer / DVD player (Combo Drive)
WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini-Card
BATTERY OPTIONS 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

$979

- Justin

[j0n]

you can help derek do a motorswap infront of his house but cant find a site to purchase a laptop:rofl: just bustin ya

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: motorswaps arent computers!

[Tru2Chevy]

How about this for $873.99?

Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic (32-bit)

Processor AMD Turion(TM) 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-58 (1.9 GHz, 512KB+512KB L2 Cache )

Display 15.4" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)

Memory 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)

Graphics Card NVIDIA(R) GeForce Go(R) 7150M

Networking 802.11b/g WLAN

Hard Drive 80GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive

Primary CD/DVD Drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support

Primary Battery 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works 8.0

That's for an HP/Compaq Presario V6500Z

- Justin

[Knipps]

speaking from experience, you do NOT want a 7200 rpm harddrive in a laptop
it gets hot(ter), fast(er) and affects battery life
you'll be fine with 5400 rpm

[Tru2Chevy]

speaking from experience, you do NOT want a 7200 rpm harddrive in a laptop
it gets hot(ter), fast(er) and affects battery life
you'll be fine with 5400 rpm

Booo....speed pwns all

- Justin

[Blackbirdws6]

damn I hate vista. If you get the comp I recommend installing windows xp and it will fly. You need a very good deal of processor power and ram to run vista. Check for deals on dells through slickdeals.net or dealcatcher.com. Also, gina gets a company discount on Dell's so we can go through that if you want
-Brian

[PBodyGT87]

I just bought a fully loaded refurbished ibook g3, 12 inches for 359 bucks. took a month though, got it from gainsaver.com. dunno if i would order form them again, they took forever.

[j0n]

Ok I'm thinking about the Dell Inspiron 1501 with the following options:
-Processor AMD Turion™ 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-60 (1MB/2.0GHz)
-2gb of ram
-120GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
-85Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell)

whatchy'all think?

[Tru2Chevy]

sounds good....what do they want for it?

- Justin

[j0n]

sounds good....what do they want for it?

- Justin

$953 on dell's site

[PolarBear]

damn I hate vista. If you get the comp I recommend installing windows xp and it will fly. You need a very good deal of processor power and ram to run vista. Check for deals on dells through slickdeals.net or dealcatcher.com. Also, gina gets a company discount on Dell's so we can go through that if you want
-Brian

You have to be careful about that, some computers designed for Vista wont properly run XP.

[Blackbirdws6]

yea it can be tricky. Especially on a dell with all the driver stuff they got. My buddy has done it many times so who knows how hard it will be on this comp.

-Brian

[foff667]

yeah switching back to xp from my vista computer was a pita right Justin ;)

Had to download a bunch of drivers from acer to get everything back up and running correctly.

[Brando56894]

like i said dont get a 5400 rpm harddrive, they consume less power but theyre slower. back when i bought my laptop it was faster then my computer but the bottle neck was the hard drive and it made it feel really slow.

[Knipps]

like i said dont get a 5400 rpm harddrive, they consume less power but theyre slower. back when i bought my laptop it was faster then my computer but the bottle neck was the hard drive and it made it feel really slow.

you can cook an egg on a 7200rpm in a laptop
i wouldn't recommend it, noah knows about the about the temperatures i was seeing

5400rpm isn't really going to slow you down

[jims69camaro]

i saw a fairly decent AMD at BJ's today... i didn't get all of the specs, nor do i remember what i did get, cause the wife was pulling on my sleeve at the time.

i did see, and remember, the AMD Athlon 4800 system for $599 that's making me think twice about building a system... damn, i don't know how they do it for that price and still make money, other than buying in large quantities.

[j0n]

well...just charged the CC for my new computer

Thanks to BlackbirdWS6 I was informed of a 30% off coupon code for HP Laptops as advertised on slickdeals.net so i headed over to the HP website and built this:

HP Pavilion dv6500t customizable Notebook PC

* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
* Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7500 (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
* 15.4" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
* 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* Intel(R) Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
* HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Microphone
* Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
* FREE Upgrade to 160GB 5400RPM from 120GB 5400RPM!!
* SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
* No TV Tuner w/remote control
* 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* Microsoft(R) Works 8.0
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

Overall the laptop cost $1148.99 list price, dropped down to $804.29 after my coupon code, and came to a grand total of $860.59 after tax(free shipping!)

All in all it's got the same or better features than the Dell and it is FAR superior to my Toshiba...I can't wait for it to get here! 8-)

[Knipps]

specs look good, you should be happy with it

[jims69camaro]

:stupid:

[Blackbirdws6]

sounds like a nice system. I always check slickdeals.net and dealcatcher.com to check for computer discounts and other nice deals. As you can see, you can get more for less.

-Brian

[Tru2Chevy]

Cool beans man....let me know when you get it, and we'll get you squared away software-wise ;)

- Justin

[Brando56894]

:stupid: