Need help on picking out a laptop

ledvedderman
ledvedderman Posts: 7,762
edited July 2008 in All Encompassing Trip
The wife and I are tired of our old piece of shit desktop, and are looking to get a laptop. We're not picky at all. All I really want it for is; to be able to record some music onto it through a program I have, make DVD's from photo based on a Adobe program I have, and have wireless internet.

We're not looking to spend much money and don't care if it is re-furbished or used. Neither of us are real tech savvy so we don't really know what we need.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments

  • Cree Nations
    Cree Nations Posts: 2,247
    The wife and I are tired of our old piece of shit desktop, and are looking to get a laptop. We're not picky at all. All I really want it for is; to be able to record some music onto it through a program I have, make DVD's from photo based on a Adobe program I have, and have wireless internet.

    We're not looking to spend much money and don't care if it is re-furbished or used. Neither of us are real tech savvy so we don't really know what we need.

    Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    get a Mac and if you want PC, get a toshiba.
    Good luck
    >>>>
    >
    ...a lover and a fighter.
    "I'm at least half a bum" Rocky Balboa

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  • know1
    know1 Posts: 6,801
    get a Mac and if you want PC, get a toshiba.
    Good luck

    No need for a MAC if the use is going to be fairly simple and cost is a factor.

    We have two laptops that rarely leave the house and I'm reconsidering the whole laptop idea myself. I can pretty much do all my internet surfing with my phone now, so I do not really have much reason to have a laptop.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
  • rival.
    rival. Chicago Posts: 7,775
    i bought a dell inspiron a little over a year ago, and i love it.

    it's your middle of the road/afforable laptop. which is perfect for me, because i all i use it for is internet, music/itunes.
  • ledvedderman
    ledvedderman Posts: 7,762
    know1 wrote:
    No need for a MAC if the use is going to be fairly simple and cost is a factor.

    Yeah, I think a MAC is a bit out of my price range. If I would use it like crazy, I would have no problem spending that type of money. Since I don't plan on using it that much...no need in spending big bucks.

    You just need to sell one of those laptops know1... :)
  • Cree Nations
    Cree Nations Posts: 2,247
    know1 wrote:
    No need for a MAC if the use is going to be fairly simple and cost is a factor.

    We have two laptops that rarely leave the house and I'm reconsidering the whole laptop idea myself. I can pretty much do all my internet surfing with my phone now, so I do not really have much reason to have a laptop.
    yes, good point, I thought about it after but you can still get pretty nice refurbished macs...granted they are still pricey...but its a mac!

    one who surfs the web and lives in the 21st century still pretty much needs a comp though whether it be a lab top or a desktop but to each his/her own.
    >>>>
    >
    ...a lover and a fighter.
    "I'm at least half a bum" Rocky Balboa

    http://www.videosift.com/video/Obamas-Message-To-American-Indians

    Edmonton, AB. September 5th, 2005
    Vancouver, BC. April 3rd, 2008
    Calgary,AB. August 8th, 2009
  • fuck
    fuck Posts: 4,069
    This is something I found while browsing online...thoughts?

    http://www.usanotebook.com/1534-DLAD600_Dell_Latitude_D600_Centrino_Laptop.php
    dude.

    NO.

    That laptop looks like it was made 6 years ago. 40G harddrive, barely 1G RAM, and 56K modem?

    No way. Plus I really don't like Dell. Check out Sony Vaio, my sister has one and it's pretty sweet. HP isn't bad if you take good care of it. Mac is the best though.
  • norm
    norm Posts: 31,146
    try here

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=17&name=Laptops-Notebooks

    look at acer....inexpensive yet well built....most windows laptops are all the same now so it's a matter of what you plan to use it for....you shouldn't have to spend more than $800...:)
  • Stone Is God
    Stone Is God Posts: 1,331
    _outlaw wrote:
    dude.

    NO.

    That laptop looks like it was made 6 years ago. 40G harddrive, barely 1G RAM, and 56K modem?

    No way. Plus I really don't like Dell. Check out Sony Vaio, my sister has one and it's pretty sweet. HP isn't bad if you take good care of it. Mac is the best though.

    You beat me to the punch.

    A piece of advice, if you get a Windows based laptop, get at least 2GB of RAM especially with Vista.

    If your going to be doing a lot of download/storage get a pretty big hard drive too.
    I'll ride the wave where it takes me.
  • markymark550
    markymark550 Columbia, SC Posts: 5,224
    This is something I found while browsing online...thoughts?

    http://www.usanotebook.com/1534-DLAD600_Dell_Latitude_D600_Centrino_Laptop.php
    If you want to burn your own DVDs, then I would suggest against this one since you wouldn't be able to do that. The CDRW\DVD optical drive means that you can read and burn cds but only read dvds. You'll want to find one that specifically states it is a burner or has this: DVD±RW.

    That and like the previous poster said, not a lot of RAM and a small hard drive. 56K modem would be negligible if you have high speed internet, which I'm assuming....
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    mac

    you'll be glad you got one when it still works 18 mths down the road and you aren't worried about stupid programs being embedded into your laptop - plus, I think that the programs you want come standard on most macs now so, consider the potential software premium in buying PC ... having said that - a mac will for sure always cost more but you get what you pay for ...
  • eyedclaar
    eyedclaar Posts: 6,980
    Go for the busty blond with glitter on her stomach. What the hell kind of laptop are you people talking about?
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  • Get_Right
    Get_Right Posts: 14,168
    i bought a dell inspiron a little over a year ago, and i love it.

    it's your middle of the road/afforable laptop. which is perfect for me, because i all i use it for is internet, music/itunes.

    same
    $899 I think and I upgraded the internal wireless card to the "pro" version


    only thing I dont like is that it is big and it has a "glossy" screen
    you need a portable one get a latitude if they still make em
    think pads are nice too, but not cheap

    if you need go cheap get a dell
    if the number creeps up over a grand-and you dont need to worry about interfacing with windows (i.e. accessing work servers via the laptop) then go with a mac-I have heard that even the basic mac book is a pleasure to have
  • Slip Kid
    Slip Kid Posts: 1,175
    _outlaw wrote:
    dude.

    NO.

    That laptop looks like it was made 6 years ago. 40G harddrive, barely 1G RAM, and 56K modem?

    No way. Plus I really don't like Dell. Check out Sony Vaio, my sister has one and it's pretty sweet. HP isn't bad if you take good care of it. Mac is the best though.

    Yeah I agree that computer is way too low for anything that is decent
    I just don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.
  • ledvedderman
    ledvedderman Posts: 7,762
    If you want to burn your own DVDs, then I would suggest against this one since you wouldn't be able to do that. The CDRW\DVD optical drive means that you can read and burn cds but only read dvds. You'll want to find one that specifically states it is a burner or has this: DVD±RW.

    That and like the previous poster said, not a lot of RAM and a small hard drive. 56K modem would be negligible if you have high speed internet, which I'm assuming....

    Thanks. As I stated in the original post, I'm beyond worthless when it comes to understanding what makes up a decent laptop, and this post helped me out quite a bit.
  • Slip Kid
    Slip Kid Posts: 1,175
    I just don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die.
  • fuck
    fuck Posts: 4,069
    Slip Kid wrote:
    That one's very good, but it depends on whether or not the OP is good at taking care of his electronics (especially for an HP), and if he likes 17 inch screens...
  • markymark550
    markymark550 Columbia, SC Posts: 5,224
    Thanks. As I stated in the original post, I'm beyond worthless when it comes to understanding what makes up a decent laptop, and this post helped me out quite a bit.
    no prob....I understand wanting to keep costs down, but if you can afford it, I'd spend the extra $400 or so and go with the one Slip Kid just posted
  • HushBull
    HushBull Posts: 996
    _outlaw wrote:

    Seems like a pretty good deal ^
    "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"