Laptop Recommendations

[moog5050]

Looking to buy an inexpensive laptop for my son to complete school work and possibly some editing of film with my gopro.  Don't want to spend much and hate computers.  I usually stick to iphones, ipads and kindle since I am not IT savy nor do I have any interest to become so. 

 

That said, what's a decent cheap laptop in the $300 range.  Everyone in the family has tablets for web surfing and I have a computer at work managed by people who know what they are doing, so it will have truly limited use.  Tired of the viruses that come about when the kids download every game that catches their eye.

 

My son's teacher recommended a chrome laptop.  Thoughts?

[Paula]

I am not good with computers but I think you get what you pay for when it comes to many things. Seems like $300 for a laptop is not close to enough but I could be wrong

[stoneam2006]

Are you looking for a full size 15"+ screen or would a notebook be good 12" and under generally....300$ for a full-size I'd go with a acer or watch for deals....300$ for a notebook get ya a pretty nice one as far as editing videos someone else is needed there. But I completed all my college work on a acer and still works today been out 4+ years

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

[moog5050]

12" is good.  Is the difference between a "notebook" and laptop sonly screen size.  I would actually prefer smaller. Just need the updated windows, etc for using gopro studio and word for word processing.  I will look at the acers.  I assume there is something pretty good in the 300-400 range.  Thanks for the recommendation.

[Two Track]

For true video editing, it needs more processing and RAM memory than you get for most $300 laptops.

I would recommend 4 GB of RAM in it for the video editing.

 

If you need to purchase a word processor like Word, you could go more on the laptop if you use the free office suite by Open Office (http://openoffice.org)

 

For most things, Open Office is a good substitute for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, unless you are a power users of those applications.

 

GoPro Edit is not written for Chrome or Linux operating systems, so you have to look at Windows or a Mac (yuk). Mac's are a lot more money.  The little tablets running Chrome and Android are fine for web surfing and checking email, but not great for writing papers unless you get an external keyboard that works with it.

 

You could also look for a used Windows 7 machine for word processing and GoPro software.

[mbucks27]

A little more than you want to spend but it will be good for what you are looking for. Its the dell outlet. They Shell machines that might have a minor scratch but for a great discount. I have purchased many laptops from here and they all came brand new with nothing visibly wrong at all.

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&puid=2d9d5f92

John

[Lawdwaz]

The above link no work. So sorry.............

[Lawdwaz]

About 4 years ago we got our two kids Acer laptops. They have been amazing! They (unfortunately) have a zillion hours on them and have never had an issue. Unreal........

[phade]

Dell outlet is good. I bought my XPS computer through it and im on year 7 with it.

If you grab a comp and you dont have a full windows suite, I get a deal through work for it and I have a key you can use to download it for free since I already bought it years ago.

I also get a dell discount but it doesnt apply to the outlet. A basic inspiron will work. Look at newegg.com too for deals or walmart as they sell some computers cheap on sale.

[phade]

Dell outlet has inspiron 15s for low to mid 300s.

[pewlodar]

3rd on the dell outlet. And for video editing get as much RAM as you are willing to pay for. That should last until you update to the full HD cinema film camera to capture your wild game hunts.

[Paula]

Look how many times i was wrong in just one post!

[landtracdeerhunter]

I'm working off a Dell D630 Refurb. from Amazon that's 3 years old for $150. Bought 3 more for the fam.,  paid $149 FS. Every one has been top notch with tight hinges. Quite a few companies purchase this way. Look at the sellers reviews carefully before buying. Their is no arguement for being outdate, hell the new ones are already outdated when u buy them.

 

I believe their's real value here on a pretty good, kept secret.

Edited June 28, 2014 by landtracdeerhunter

[thphm]

I have a Dell referb for 2 years now no problems at all,use it every day.

[Mr VJP]

When I went to a laptop about 3 years ago, I got a Samsung.  It does everything I need it to do and has never had an issue.  I think it was about $350 and has a 15" screen.

I like Best Buy stores for good selection and price.

[Fantail]

You can check out the refurbished deals at newegg.com - most of them are A grade. Only trouble is most all laptops these days come with windows 8's faygo metro gui.

[moog5050]

_{Thanks for all of the advice.  I will check out the dell outlet and refurbs.}

[moog5050]

So, this is what I went with.  Thanks to mbucks27, I was able to save an additional $87.  Seems like a good laptop for $350ish.  Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

Dell Outlet Inspiron-15 - 3542 Windows 8.1

 

   Unit Price: $439.00

 

   Quantity: 1

 

-- Dell Outlet Inspiron-15 - 3542

 

-- 8X DVD +/- RW Drive

 

-- LCD Back Cover - Black (Touch Screen)

 

-- Certified Refurbished

 

-- Windows 8.1 (64Bit) English

 

-- Dell Wireless-N 1705 + Bluetooth 4.0

 

-- 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)

 

-- Windows 8.1

 

-- CyberLink Media Suite

 

-- Processor: Intel Core 4th Generation i3-4030U processor (3M Cache, 1.9 GHz)

 

-- Microsoft Office 365 - 1 Month Trial (Internet access required to install & activate)

 

-- 65W AC Adapter

 

-- English  Keyboard

 

-- 4 Cell Battery

 

-- 15.6 Inch LED Backlit Touch Display with Truelife and HD resolution (1366 x 768)

 

[mbucks27]

Glad i was able to help.

 

John