11chevz71 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 I want to get a Laptop for school. I know alot of people on here like the JUnkman knows alot about computer. I think i am pretty good with computers when using them but when going to pick one i dont know what to get. I am looking for one that will do what i want it will be for school work and talking to you guys. As of right now i think the best place i can get a deal at is tiger and cosco. so if you guys can makes some suggestion i would love it. I would perffer one with a little bit bigger screen like a 15-17 maybe. So thanks. And bill i dont want a mac to much money and i dont have a clue how to run it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 The first question you have to answer is, "Do you absolutely, positively have to be mobile with your computer? If the answer is yes, then we can go ahead and look at your laptop options (there are a few things to consider). If not, a laptop is the biggest waste of money you can spend on a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzy Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Please stay away from HP, if your looking at laptops. I got a dv9000 with the nvidia Grapics card, I thought it was great, after 25 months I have a paperweight. Nvidia knew about the problem with the GPU's and HP and Dell still sold them knowing there was a problem. HP wanted me to pay 400 dollars to fix it with the same GPU so I said no. Good luck on looking for a computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikegeaney Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Check with your school. Many times there are deals that can be had thru educational institutions and they may even offer support on campus. Also, think about what you need it for. If it's just basic things such as web/email/word processing you should be able to get out of it pretty cheap. Things like high end graphics/video editing require more "horsepower" that may not be needed in general situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 The first question you have to answer is, "Do you absolutely, positively have to be mobile with your computer? If the answer is yes, then we can go ahead and look at your laptop options (there are a few things to consider). If not, a laptop is the biggest waste of money you can spend on a computer. It almost needs to be moblie because my school that i am going to is about 50 miles away from my house so it is nice in between classes to do my homework Etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 Please stay away from HP, if your looking at laptops. I got a dv9000 with the nvidia Grapics card, I thought it was great, after 25 months I have a paperweight. Nvidia knew about the problem with the GPU's and HP and Dell still sold them knowing there was a problem. HP wanted me to pay 400 dollars to fix it with the same GPU so I said no. Good luck on looking for a computer. Had problems with my Hp desktop at first but now it is working good (Knock on wood). It is 6 years old this month, not quite sure what brand i really want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 Check with your school. Many times there are deals that can be had thru educational institutions and they may even offer support on campus. Also, think about what you need it for. If it's just basic things such as web/email/word processing you should be able to get out of it pretty cheap. Things like high end graphics/video editing require more "horsepower" that may not be needed in general situations. dont think my school had anything that i know of. I need the computer for basic things. i also would like to get one that has a card reader to upload pictures and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 (edited) It almost needs to be moblie because my school that i am going to is about 50 miles away from my house so it is nice in between classes to do my homework Etc. Okay, then you need a laptop. Here are the top 5 things to look for. 1. Warranty - EXACTLY what does the warranty cover? Does it cover customer abuse? Things like using it to discipline your pet dinosaur? How about using it as a parking block when you're fixing a flat tire? On a serious note, exactly what does it cover pertaining to the screen? If the screen starts loosing pixels, does it cover the screen for any pixel loss of do 20 pixels have to go bad in a 1" area before they will replace the screen. Hard drive failure is the number one mechanical problem with laptops. What does the warranty cover pertaining to that? Know the details of the warranty! 2. Operating System (OS) - What OS can you run on the laptop without voiding the warranty? It may ship with Vista but if you want to run XP or better yet Ubuntu, is changing the OS a deal breaker as far as warranty is concerned? Also, what drivers do the manufacturer offer as far as the different OS's? 3. Battery Life - How long is it? Is the battery life guaranteed and included in the warranty? You may want to buy an extra battery now as doing so later sometimes cost more and sometimes they are refurbished and not new. 4 RAM - Buy as much as the laptop will hold, period. 5. Screen Size - A 19" screen is gorgeous to look at and watch DVD movies on but sucks when you are on a airplane. The type of traveling you do should be reflected in the screen size that you buy. The screen size also affects the overall weight of the laptop. As far as a brand that I would recommend, these days it is very hard because most of the stuff on the market that a "normal" consumer would buy is crap. I can however tell you what is the worst crap on the market. Anything out of Circuit City, Radio Shack or Wal-Mart is total garbage. Dell makes a halfway decent laptop but all of the decent ones are way overpriced. Toshiba makes a decent and affordable laptop but their hard drives are notorious for failing over time. You had better buy a second hard drive and make sure you keep your data backed up with that brand. Other than that, they're okay. Gateway is darn near dead so don't buy any of their crap. If you payy $399 for a laptop, don't expect much. That's my .02. Edited May 10, 2009 by Junkman2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 10, 2009 Author Share Posted May 10, 2009 Okay, then you need a laptop. Here are the top 5 things to look for. 1. Warranty - EXACTLY what does the warranty cover? Does it cover customer abuse? Things like using it to discipline your pet dinosaur? How about using it as a parking block when you're fixing a flat tire? On a serious note, exactly what does it cover pertaining to the screen? If the screen starts loosing pixels, does it cover the screen for any pixel loss of do 20 pixels have to go bad in a 1" area before they will replace the screen. Hard drive failure is the number one mechanical problem with laptops. What does the warranty cover pertaining to that? Know the details of the warranty! 2. Operating System (OS) - What OS can you run on the laptop without voiding the warranty? It may ship with Vista but if you want to run XP or better yet Ubuntu, is changing the OS a deal breaker as far as warranty is concerned? Also, what drivers do the manufacturer offer as far as the different OS's? 3. Battery Life - How long is it? Is the battery life guaranteed and included in the warranty? You may want to buy an extra battery now as doing so later sometimes cost more and sometimes they are refurbished and not new. 4 RAM - Buy as much as the laptop will hold, period. 5. Screen Size - A 19" screen is gorgeous to look at and watch DVD movies on but sucks when you are on a airplane. The type of traveling you do should be reflected in the screen size that you buy. The screen size also affects the overall weight of the laptop. As far as a brand that I would recommend, these days it is very hard because most of the stuff on the market that a "normal" consumer would buy is crap. I can however tell you what is the worst crap on the market. Anything out of Circuit City, Radio Shack or Wal-Mart is total garbage. Dell makes a halfway decent laptop but all of the decent ones are way overpriced. Toshiba makes a decent and affordable laptop but their hard drives are notorious for failing over time. You had better buy a second hard drive and make sure you keep your data backed up with that brand. Other than that, they're okay. Gateway is darn near dead so don't buy any of their crap. If you payy $399 for a laptop, don't expect much. That's my .02. That helps alot thanks a will start looking and post what i find to be fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-V8V Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Anything out of Circuit City, Radio Shack or Wal-Mart is total garbage. I'd cross Circuit City off the list too :D:D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvZ061 Posted May 10, 2009 Share Posted May 10, 2009 Did someone say get a Mac? If it were me, I would look at a Toshiba, had a 17" toshiba before this mac, and never had any problems out of it, it was just too big for what I needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 Did someone say get a Mac? If it were me, I would look at a Toshiba, had a 17" toshiba before this mac, and never had any problems out of it, it was just too big for what I needed. No Mac for me cost to much and i dont have a clue how to run it. Also alot of files for my school needed to be in word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CorvZ061 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 No Mac for me cost to much and i dont have a clue how to run it. Also alot of files for my school needed to be in word. Look at Toshiba, they make a descent laptop for the money, never had any problems out of the one I had, My mom is using it now, still no problems from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 Look at Toshiba, they make a descent laptop for the money, never had any problems out of the one I had, My mom is using it now, still no problems from it. Words from the JUnkman, Toshiba makes a decent and affordable laptop but their hard drives are notorious for failing over time. You had better buy a second hard drive and make sure you keep your data backed up with that brand. Other than that, they're okay. Not to down you but you never know what i might get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 No Mac for me cost to much and i dont have a clue how to run it. Also alot of files for my school needed to be in word. FYI, they make a version of Word and the entire Office Suite for Mac too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 FYI, they make a version of Word and the entire Office Suite for Mac too. Cool, but still the cost difference is pretty big and still dont know how to use one. i know i can learn but i dont think i want to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Cool, but still the cost difference is pretty big and still dont know how to use one. i know i can learn but i dont think i want to. I totally understand! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 I totally understand! Where is a good place to buy. Is tiger and cosco okay or is there somewhere different i should be looking at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 IS this a haf descent computer. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4373035&CatId=2289 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) Or this one. http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/laptop-vostro-1520?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd With this i believe i can pick between vista and xp proffessional i think i would rather have the xp. because i have heard some storries about the vista. Edited May 11, 2009 by 11chevz71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 If those two are in your price range, buy a Toshiba. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 If those two are in your price range, buy a Toshiba. I dont know parents really havent set a price range maybe i might go hog wild. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Where is a good place to buy. Is tiger and cosco okay or is there somewhere different i should be looking at. Personally, I only make purchases like that where I can walk in and put my paws on it. I'll buy a $3000 rear end for my muscle car over the web because you don't have a Moser sitting on every coner in your city. Computers on the other hand... I also only buy gently used laptops too. I wouldn't buy a new one because they are way overpriced for what you get. I build my own desktops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11chevz71 Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 Personally, I only make purchases like that where I can walk in and put my paws on it. I'll buy a $3000 rear end for my muscle car over the web because you don't have a Moser sitting on every coner in your city. Computers on the other hand... I also only buy gently used laptops too. I wouldn't buy a new one because they are way overpriced for what you get. I build my own desktops. How about refurbished ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 How about refurbished ones. You can find some sweet deal in the refurbished line. Keep in mind that not all refurbished laptops had a problem. If Dell ships out a laptop and it is refused delivery, then it is resold as refurbished. After seeing how a UPS depot works, I don't blame them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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