Help with a laptop purchase!

pjtradeking

Good Morning..

So, my laptop has been giving me fits as of late and I am going to try and purchase one today...I am looking at a toshiba with and i7 core processor, blue ray player, dl dvd burner and 17" screen...Prob more than I need, but just wondering if anyone has any thoughts or recommendations? I am looking to spend about $7-800 at the most and am not going apple...so, that said...what say you? Thanks in advance! Happy Sunday! :-)

movaughn

As a PC technician I would first ask what do you plan to do with it. No need to buy an awesome laptop or even pretty good if you just check email. I like HP unlike a lot of people I have always had good luck. Asus make a great one as well. Let me know what you plan to do and ill tell you what you need.

Cool Face Ryan

pjtradeking wrote:

Good Morning..
I am looking to spend about $7-800 at the most and am not going apple...so, that said...what say you? Thanks in advance! Happy Sunday! :-)

can't help, sorry

seriously though, I love my macbook pro

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

As a PC technician I would first ask what do you plan to do with it. No need to buy an awesome laptop or even pretty good if you just check email. I like HP unlike a lot of people I have always had good luck. Asus make a great one as well. Let me know what you plan to do and ill tell you what you need.

Mostly just use it for email/browsing...downloading music that people send me ..I have a friend that sends me files nearly everyday from shows he has been to or from the past...burning cds and dvds(which I still do alot) and watching alot of my pj dvds....Def dont need a top of the line, but I dont like slow either...Basically will also be eliminating my home computer...Just no need for it any longer..thanks for the help! :-)

BF89905

check out cnet.com

pjtradeking

BF89905 wrote:

check out cnet.com

Did some looking around there...so so many choices and I got some good ideas, but just figured I would ask here since there is a lot of people who ask these questions and get help...THANKS for the idea though. :-)

movaughn

Ok, well the DL burner won't help unless the price difference isn't that bad. An i7 is a quad core and while most people think well 4 cores is better than 2, that's not always true. Depending on what you do a quad might be slower since what your using doesn't know how to process that way. Id say you'll will be more than ok with an i5 and at least 4GB memory, video card doesn't matter if your just watching video and not playing games or creating video. Get the biggest HDD you can without price range with those specs I'd guess 650 to 720. But if you have a lot of files buy an external and the laptops size can be smaller. As for brand whatever they tell you, all are almost the same. Dell, HP acer, toshiba all do not make or assemble pc parts so I'd say toshiba and HP have better cases and seem to use a little better quality. Sony is overpriced but Asus makes computer parts and puts together a nice laptop at a good price. Asus also comes with an accidental warranty out of the box, I think its only 1 year but for free isn't something that anybody else does. You can extensions it if you need to. Let me know if that helps.

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

Ok, well the DL burner won't help unless the price difference isn't that bad. An i7 is a quad core and while most people think well 4 cores is better than 2, that's not always true. Depending on what you do a quad might be slower since what your using doesn't know how to process that way. Id say you'll will be more than ok with an i5 and at least 4GB memory, video card doesn't matter if your just watching video and not playing games or creating video. Get the biggest HDD you can without price range with those specs I'd guess 650 to 720. But if you have a lot of files buy an external and the laptops size can be smaller. As for brand whatever they tell you, all are almost the same. Dell, HP acer, toshiba all do not make or assemble pc parts so I'd say toshiba and HP have better cases and seem to use a little better quality. Sony is overpriced but Asus makes computer parts and puts together a nice laptop at a good price. Asus also comes with an accidental warranty out of the box, I think its only 1 year but for free isn't something that anybody else does. You can extensions it if you need to. Let me know if that helps.

Actually, that is a tremendous help! THANK YOU!! I actually dont have a lot of files as I do delete them after I burn what it is that I need just because I usually will never visit that file again..So I am thinking the 650 or so will be just fine...I will def take your advice when I go out to make my purchase today! THANK YOU VERY MUCH for taking the time to help me out...Much appreciated! Have a great day!

movaughn

No problem, let me know how it goes.

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

No problem, let me know how it goes.

Will do....Went to best buy and they were out of the 3 I head decided on...so I didnt buy yet...May go back tomorrow as they are suppose to get a few in...Think I am going with this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+S ... lp=3....or this one.. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+S ... 874...More than I really need but..thoughts???.thanks

PatrickBateman

I would save some money by getting this, if that is all you are going to do with it. just make sure whatever you get had a strong F5 key
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavili ... Id=3674224

mickeyrat

pjtradeking wrote:

movaughn wrote:

No problem, let me know how it goes.

Will do....Went to best buy and they were out of the 3 I head decided on...so I didnt buy yet...May go back tomorrow as they are suppose to get a few in...Think I am going with this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+S ... lp=3....or this one.. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Toshiba+-+S ... Id=2850874 ...More than I really need but..thoughts???.thanks

Heres a 17" HP with i5

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavili ... 0705&st=HP 17&cp=1&lp=7

pjtradeking

PatrickBateman wrote:

I would save some money by getting this, if that is all you are going to do with it. just make sure whatever you get had a strong F5 key
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavili ... Id=3674224

...Its funny you say that....The f-5 key was the 1st thing I asked the guy about as an ice breaker...I just got a stupid look and a huh? So I said nevermind, was just being funny...lol....I would really like to go with a 17" screen this time around..any of those you would recommend?

rival.

was a PC guy my whole life but switched to apple a month ago. will never go back to PC!

give it a chance man

movaughn

That 17 inch HP is pretty good. Best Buy will try to sell you everything under the sun, I wouldn't buy any of it. They do not offer HP Carepack so do not buy a geek squad warranty. You can buy an HP Carepack from the HP website. That is the best warranty I've seen. If you got a best buy warranty if your laptop needed to be replaced, the warranty is over and you need another one. HPs warranty will not be void if you get a replacement, it is good for however long you bought it for. Don't be fooled by best buy salesmen. They don't know too much about what they sell and want to get you to buy all the extras. I wouldn't. Also, remember a 17" is really heavy. It's not meant to be portable as much as it is meant as a desktop replacement. If you don't get HP still don't buy the stores warranty, you can usually buy the manufactures warranty through an app or the website.

movaughn

Not to get into a pc mac argument but they are overpriced. Your only reason to buy one is for heavy use like graphic or video editing and things like that. I had an HP Envy which was just under 1100, for the same specs which are almost the same parts a mac would run at least 1500-1800. Macs are not worth the extra money if you won't use the power. People who say they are easier to use just don't use pcs. A computer is a computer. If you can't use a pc but can use a mac, something wrong.

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

That 17 inch HP is pretty good. Best Buy will try to sell you everything under the sun, I wouldn't buy any of it. They do not offer HP Carepack so do not buy a geek squad warranty. You can buy an HP Carepack from the HP website. That is the best warranty I've seen. If you got a best buy warranty if your laptop needed to be replaced, the warranty is over and you need another one. HPs warranty will not be void if you get a replacement, it is good for however long you bought it for. Don't be fooled by best buy salesmen. They don't know too much about what they sell and want to get you to buy all the extras. I wouldn't. Also, remember a 17" is really heavy. It's not meant to be portable as much as it is meant as a desktop replacement. If you don't get HP still don't buy the stores warranty, you can usually buy the manufactures warranty through an app or the website.

Nope....not a geek squad guy, and they cant talk me into any extras....Already know enough that I dont need them, especially with what I am doing with it...I didnt know you could buy the warranty after the fact though, so that is great info..I am not much into the mobile thing anyhow...am replacing my desktop for sure, which is why I am choosing to go a bit bigger than usual...if you were hard pressed to buy one or the other.hp v toshiba..which way would you go? I looked at the asus, and it is a bit pricey, so ruled that out...Have narrowed it down to these 2 brands, based of what you said and what I have read, and am doing the bb thing as I can do 18 months no interest...

movaughn

Most places give you like 14 days to go back and buy a warranty but accidental ones must be bought at the same time. HP is what I like and really like the Carepack. I would take the money you save from not getting the toshiba and buy a carepack online. It's probably between 250 and 300 for the most expensive 3 year accidental one. I have 3 HPs now. Well 2 I sold my envy because I have to buy a snow blower. But I have a desktop and a touchscreen iq504.

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

Most places give you like 14 days to go back and buy a warranty but accidental ones must be bought at the same time. HP is what I like and really like the Carepack. I would take the money you save from not getting the toshiba and buy a carepack online. It's probably between 250 and 300 for the most expensive 3 year accidental one. I have 3 HPs now. Well 2 I sold my envy because I have to buy a snow blower. But I have a desktop and a touchscreen iq504.

Think I would be good with the one that mickey listed http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pavili ... 0705&st=HP ? Or are you thinking something else?

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

Most places give you like 14 days to go back and buy a warranty but accidental ones must be bought at the same time. HP is what I like and really like the Carepack. I would take the money you save from not getting the toshiba and buy a carepack online. It's probably between 250 and 300 for the most expensive 3 year accidental one. I have 3 HPs now. Well 2 I sold my envy because I have to buy a snow blower. But I have a desktop and a touchscreen iq504.

So do I need to buy the hp carepack from them at the time of purchase at the store? Or are you saying I can buy it after the fact online at home? Sorry for all the bothersome questions..I am just not well versed with this crap and want to getit all right.. :-)

movaughn

Yeah that one seems to be a good deal. BB doesnt sell the carepack. I used to work at Ultimate Electronics before they went out if business, they were the only retailer who did. HP had a quarter stake in them though. You can go online to HP.com and by it. Not sure how extensive it is but all you need aside from your info US the model and the serial. Both are on the side of the box on a big black label. HP.com might have a better deal to. Check them out first and you can buy the warranty with it too.

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

Yeah that one seems to be a good deal. BB doesnt sell the carepack. I used to work at Ultimate Electronics before they went out if business, they were the only retailer who did. HP had a quarter stake in them though. You can go online to HP.com and by it. Not sure how extensive it is but all you need aside from your info US the model and the serial. Both are on the side of the box on a big black label. HP.com might have a better deal to. Check them out first and you can buy the warranty with it too.

Perfect...THANKS AGAIN for your help...Will pick one of them up in the next day or so then. I may pm with a few more questions after my purchase just to make sure I get the right care package...was looking at them, and the first few I glanced at were model specific, so I need to find one that covers the one I am going to buy, or one for just the pavillion in general! :-)

movaughn

From what I know or the ones I sold, they had netbook, desktop and laptop and each had its own year and or ADP. PM me though and ill help ya out.

pjtradeking

movaughn wrote:

From what I know or the ones I sold, they had netbook, desktop and laptop and each had its own year and or ADP. PM me though and ill help ya out.

Will do..THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! :-)