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Deerthug

By Deerthug,
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Deerthug Newbie

Deerthug

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I need your opinions. My son earned some money this summer and he saved up $350 for a new laptop.

I was thinking of this HP to get him through high school.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-34-laptop-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive-black-licorice/2255015.p?id=1219070766187&skuId=2255015

He has an HP now which is about 6 yrs old and works ok but its slow. Its been restored a few times and it works. He uses it for playing online games. He needs a new one for school.

I will not go with Dell as I had bad experiences with them. I don't know much about Toshibas or Acers. He wants a chromebook but I don't think that would be good for school as most don't have usb support or cd/dvd rom drives. He needs to be able to install Word and use that for homework etc

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

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Deerthug Newbie

Deerthug

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I hear ya Paula. I switched from a Dell inspiron laptop that always crashed despite restoring it several times to a 21" mac desktop all in one this summer. I don't know why I waited so long to make the switch. I will never go back. Needless to say a Mac is out of my sons budget right now.

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shawnhu Newbie

shawnhu

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HP, Compaq, same company. Decent laptops for personal use. IBM, Lenovo, same thing. If your son is playing online games with his previous notebook, its likely he will do the same with his new one. So if you want the dad of the year award, get him a higher end laptop such as the Alienware (Dell), XPS(Dell) or a high end Samsung, Acer, Asus, or other Asian brand cheapy.

In terms of durability, they're all hit or miss with the exception of Sony, they will ALWAYS break on you 2 days after warranty. In terms of customer service, I've had my good and bad with all these companies, they all go through a phase of good then bad etc. Since I deal with Dell the most, I have the level 3 tech's numbers on speed dial so no worries there. Can't beat Dell's warranty!

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

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Deerthug Newbie

Deerthug

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Thanks for the advice Shawn. I didn't think of Lenovo or Asus. I will look into those as well. The budget is $350 I am not putting any money into it. He worked and earned it. This is a temp laptop to get him through the next few years in school. When he turns 16 he has his sights on a macbook like his sister got for her sweet 16 from her grandparents. Nevertheless I'll earn my award when I get him his first shotgun after he passes his hunters education class this coming weekend. ;)

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Deerthug Newbie

Deerthug

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NYHillbilly, I looked at the Acer touch screens too. He already has an iPad so no touch screen pc is included in our search right now. He needs a decent laptop that holds a decent charge. I'm leaning toward the HP only because it lasted longer than my Dells. The HP used to be my work laptop until I made the mistake of going to a larger screen Dell and giving my son my old HP.

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bluecoupe Newbie

bluecoupe

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I've run Lenovos for a long time, actually even before they were Lenovo! lol (Think IBM)  But I run the higher end models, can't speak to the lower value laptops.  The couple of times I've needed service it was EXCELLENT. They mail a prepaid shipping box, send it in, and it's back remarkably fast. Now, after the warranty period is probably a whole different ballgame.

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Elmo Rookie

Elmo

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Every company makes 2 lines.  A consumer line and a business line.  Obviously the business line is a little more expensive but much more robust and durable.  i.e. aluminum/metal versus plastic, etc.  For example, Dells makes the Inspiron line.  It's meant for home use.  Their business line is called Latitudes.  We use a lot of Latitudes at my job.  They work fine.  It's when departments try to skimp and buy the Inspirons is when we start to have stuff break down.  Not of fan of HP/Compaq.  Dell has also seen a downgrade in their quality even though the Latitude line has held up decently.  I prefer the Lenovo line which is owned by IBM.  Particularly the ThinkPads.

 

Edit: [Addition] - All the better models I just listed cost a lot more than $350 of course.  But you do get what you pay for.  As far as finding a $350 that works just as well as a $1000+ laptop?  I don't know.  Maybe there is one out there.  I just never looked.

Edited by Elmo
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bluecoupe Newbie

bluecoupe

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I've used ThinkPads for years as has my wife - we both love them.  But correction:  Lenovo is not owned by IBM.  They were once upon a time, but IBM officially sold Lenovo quite a few years ago.

 

Edit:  Ok - somehow this is you guys' fault!  You ask a question about laptops and I go to get up and the power cord of mine got wrapped on my foot. Yep, my laptop, while up and running, took about a 2 1/2 foot drop from a tv tray and crashed onto oak hardwood floors.  The display was upright and on too. Still working, thank heaven.   I'd probably better run some chkdsks etc on things though but a lot of other systems probably would of been toast.

Edited by SteveC
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Deerthug Newbie

Deerthug

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Thanks for your input guys. As I said I'm not looking for a $350 laptop to be as efficient and durable as a $1000+ laptop. That being said I'm just looking for a decent, somewhat durable laptop with decent battery life that will last for at least the next 4 years.

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burmjohn Newbie

burmjohn

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Thanks for your input guys. As I said I'm not looking for a $350 laptop to be as efficient and durable as a $1000+ laptop. That being said I'm just looking for a decent, somewhat durable laptop with decent battery life that will last for at least the next 4 years.

Just a fyi I've been down the whole 350ish laptop range with numerous family members. Regardless of brand you're not getting anything good at that price point. Windows 8 and even 7 runs like crap on the lower end machines even with most of the eyecandy disabled. Minimum of 6gb of ram too.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

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Elmo Rookie

Elmo

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Speaking of OS, make sure the OS that comes with the system is 64 bit, and just upgrade ram at a later time. Ram is dirt cheap to upgrade, so don't be afraid to donut 2-3 years down the road.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

http://facebook.com/XCaliburLightingSystems

 

Good point.  32bit systems can only read up to 4GBs of RAM so buy more than 4GBs of RAM while running on a 32bit system is just a waste of money.

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