Silk Road forums
Discussion => Off topic => Topic started by: PriscillaMarie90 on January 18, 2012, 07:23 am
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So my 2 year old laptop crapped out on me. Won't turn on, won't respond whatsoever, I'm pretty sure the motherboard is fried.
Anyway, not interested in fixing it, I want to buy a new one.
What are the best brands for the price? I really don't want to spend more than $300 if possible, and I know a REALLY good computer costs more than that, but I'm hoping to find a decent computer for cheap, possibly on ebay or overstock.com or something. I'd REAALLLYYYY love a Sony Vaio, but so far I can't find one anywhere for less than $500. :(
I don't really need a computer for gaming or anything, I'd like a computer with at least a 1.7GHz processor and at least 2GB RAM. I really just need to be able to store a reasonable amount of photos/documents and roam the Web at a decent speed.
Does anyone have any opinions on the following laptops?:
- Acer Aspire S3
- Dell Latitude D610
- Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook
- Toshiba Z830
- HP Pavilion dv6
Any advice is appreciated. :)
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While I can't comment on those specific models without doing some research, here's my advice, as someone who has repaired laptops for a living.....
all of the brands you mention design great laptops but also some shitty ones as well.
I say "design" because often the assembly happens in the same factory, whatever the brand.
business class laptops are generally better than consumer class laptops, when buying used. magnesium or alu alloy chassis do a lot to reduce stress on components over the life of the product.
beware of laptops which were ground breaking designs when they came out (example - dell M1330) they often tried out new manufacturing methods which proved to be unsuccessful.
For the above reasons, if you want to ensure a reliable laptop, then go for an older, proven business class model from someone like lenovo. not so sexy, but proven reliable and plenty on the used market going cheap via companies liquidating ex corporate stock.
These types of machines do not have the bells and whistles of consumer grade machines. Their spec will seem crappy compared to consumer machines. but they will work, day in day out, for a long time.
check out the market for spares on ebay. if there is a ton of vendors selling a particular part, it may suggest that the original had a defect.
laptops are not like a regular desktop - parts are proprietary - ie you need the exact specific replacement part. So in this respect, laptops are more like appliances than PCs. for this reason, laptops are the only type of computers where it is a good idea to buy a warranty.
So ff you want a machine that has the bells and whistles of a consumer grade product, laptops are the one time I would recommend buying new and getting a full warranty.
There are lots of deals around where you can buy a brand new laptop for $400 and get a full warranty for another couple hundred. Well worth it in this scenario. I am currently typing on a $1500 dell which I got for free because the previous $800 dell I had developed multiple problems which were un-economical to fix. so they replaced it after 2 years.
before that I used a toshiba business class sub-notebook which I bought from a corporate liquidizer for $200, which had an original price tag of $2500.
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...lenovo or Dell !
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Priscilla what you want to do is buy an "enterprise" laptop. What that means is a laptop model specifically designed to be purchased in bulk and deployed to employees of a company as their work computer. Enterprise level equipment is usually made with far higher quality parts than consumer grade laptops. The Dell Latitude you mention is an example. I've had a lot of experience with the D610's and they are extremely reliable as a whole but they are older and not very fast.
That said I recommend a IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad. See if you can find a new T420. Walmart was selling a decent spec'd T420 for $450 before Christmas. Keep your eyes open on Slickdeals.net. If you can't find a new one in your price range, find a T61. Thinkpads are incredibly well made and durable.
Good luck.
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avoid acer and dell like the plague - acer are crap full stop and the cheaper dells are really shoddily built.
you can't go wrong with Lenovo or Toshiba. HP are a bit flimsy
FYI - Sony aren't as good as they used to be - you are paying mostly for the vaio badge, the newer ones i've worked on are really poor specimens
do really think that about acer i have an acer aspire and im very happy with it. SO FAR. i can't say anything about the others as i never owned of those.
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Wow. Well, my Acer laptop is 6 years old, loads real fast, even with 56GB of iTunes. And 220 GB of movies.
The battery still holds a charge for 3 hours on conserv, 1 on full. And I leave it in when plugged in, too.
When it dies, I will prob get another Acer.
Good luck.
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Get a desktop, laptops are easily broken and overpriced. Most people wont ever take there laptop out of there house, so 9 times out of 10 it defeats the purpose. Computers are not meant to be transported; it causes problems with your internal hardware. Also, its much harder to perform hardware upgrades on a laptop as the insides are very complicated and parts are hard to come around. So you need to be an expert.
tl;dr- laptops are shit.
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I just got that HP but before purchasing was told acer was first following that HP;.....I didnt know much about Acer thats why I bought the "so called" second in line on the market. GL mint
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- nice to haves / factors to look for :
usb3
DVI external monitor
eSata
does the dvd drive slot out easily, find the drive chassis which takes another harddrive...costs etc..
gigabit network (=1000Mb....10/100 lan indicates old technology laptop...no thanks)
how much is a docking station, or a belkin generic type -nice to connect up at a desk and disconnect when sitting on a couch.?!
+ other connectors for the package..
browse their support website, would you find what you were looking for (drivers) if needed to rebuild or troubleshoot laptop..?!
where can you buy / how much are additional batteries?!
compare your model with a lower spec harddrive ...whats the cost difference if you kept the default drive with its image and bought a higher capacity elsewhere, since its for SR/Tor you will probably format it and they won't like the OS if ever you return it for repair -so need the existing base image to swopout before sending in -(obviously) don't make the mistake Gary Glitter made sending PC in with underage porn on the drive....doh...(Tor etc...)
- not generally overly important factors
how pretty is looks..
one button features...
gimmicky addons to convince you to buy it..
free stupid mobile phone packages ...unless the laptop works out cheap paying it off with a mobile contract...then ok...
- sometimes you gotta look at their track record, on average / statistics / time spent in repair etc, i know collecting this info may be difficult but does give an inside view of what overall or general quality is for the particular vendor; having said that the above experience with an acer is well a surprise and that good info. i would say Lenovo is IBM, i've not researched this before posting this but had heard Lenovo are massive and had taken "over" some of / most of IBM's hardware business, IBM might be cocks but their hardware is good and usually ahead of their time so to speak hence w/o even researching any of the specific models i'd go with Lenovo.
- another point is your budget, no matter whats the absolute best laptop you only have so much to spend so its always a compromise, hence look into above point cos you need to base it on past performance. i would search and work out how reliable those specific models are at the moment, there's no point buying it if its going to bring the same hassles till they integrate the fixes in the newer model.
;) :D ;) :D
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Thank you all for the advice, it's very helpful!
One post suggested I get a Desktop computer instead of a Laptop, and that's not out of the question. I don't really care if it's a laptop or a desktop, as long as it does what I need it to do. The only thing is I'm probably going to buy my new computer online, and shipping a desktop computer would be a much greater risk and probably cost more... I dunno. :/
But anyway, thank you all again for the brand suggestions and everything, I'm still looking for my dream-computer lol. ;D
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....laptops don't seem to last as long as what PC's used to, is this down to more and more integration yes and no, yes because when it goes wrong for a laptop it might
very well mean it needs a new motherboard since just about everything is on it, laptops are also easier to damage from dropping and other mysterious problems
arising from their occasional use; no because newer PC's are also supposed to have more integration, smaller and smaller components and everything on-one
boards ...etc...its still my view PC's still last longer ?!
seems laptops are more delicate, its your choice.
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It may seem like you have a lot of choices when it comes to laptops, but that's an illusion as there are only THREE laptop manufacturers that supply all the major vendors. HP, ACER, SONY, etc are all made by these three companies using specs and plans provided by the vendors. If you want to spend around 300 dollars, I'd point you to Newegg.com, Microcenter (if you have a store by you), or even Tigerdirect.com(occassionally decent deals with tiger). I've had the best luck with refurbished HP laptops as far as what you pay for what you get. Aim for 4 Gigabytes of RAM and a decent dual core processor. Processor speed isn't as important with laptops as you would think as they tend to run at slower speeds to save power/stay cooler and the slow hard drives they put in laptops tend to be a bottleneck long before cpu power is. Also, stay away from ANY laptop that says it has an Nvidia chipset/integrated video. Any of them in your price range will be from a defective product line that actually got HP and several other companies sued along with Nvidia.
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Thank you for this information, it's alot easier for me to narrow it down to what I want.
Just curious, does anyone know if the Samsung Chromebook is worth a crap?
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I've been a reseller for HP, Dell, Sony and Acer... all on the B2B side. I've also been a repair center for the various brands and they all suck at some point in time. I prefer HP but I would stay away from any of the dv series models.
Go to the business section of the brand site and buy from there. You dont get all of the pre-loaded bloatware like you do on the consumer models. Also, buy accidental damage protection. This will cover any type of damage: cat pee, liquid spills, drops, fire, etc. I've seen them all and the cost for the added protection is less than the repair from one of those unfortunate accidents. Cat pee is really bad: smelly when the unit boots to no end.
PM if you need more info. I'm in the business and I dont mind helping out.
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I've been a reseller for HP, Dell, Sony and Acer... all on the B2B side. I've also been a repair center for the various brands and they all suck at some point in time. I prefer HP but I would stay away from any of the dv series models.
Go to the business section of the brand site and buy from there. You dont get all of the pre-loaded bloatware like you do on the consumer models. Also, buy accidental damage protection. This will cover any type of damage: cat pee, liquid spills, drops, fire, etc. I've seen them all and the cost for the added protection is less than the repair from one of those unfortunate accidents. Cat pee is really bad: smelly when the unit boots to no end.
PM if you need more info. I'm in the business and I dont mind helping out.
Good advice. I've always liked Dell business models and Asus. I currently have an Acer and its a piece of shit lol. The audio card skips like a CD every minute, the touchpad is laggy, everything is just lame. Stay away from acer is my only advice=)
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@Bigglesworth: Uhhh, what? In your 1st response you say you are happy with your Acer, and seemingly defend it, but when I say I like MY Acer, you bash Acer, saying it is shite from your experience. So, uhh, is it not your experience that you are happy with your Acer?
Lay off the dope. Or get your lies and bullshit straight.
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Acers, though cheap, are reliable.
Never had problems with them.
You may want to consider it. Best Buy always has good deals on Acers, for $350 you can find good stuff.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Acer+-+Aspire+Laptop+-+Mesh+Gray/4776281.p?id=1218525519258&skuId=4776281
IMO I'd avoid HP.
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Lay off the dope. Or get your lies and bullshit straight.
i think that is what's known as the pot calling the kettle black my friend. if you actually bothered reading my first post OR the 2nd post where i've actually quoted someone else quoting me, you would see my first post says 'avoid acer and dell like the plague' or words to that effect
no need for insults. especially when you've made yourself look a complete tit ;D
You're right, I misread it. I thought you defended it in the 1st post, and I fucked up and am a complete tit.
I apologize, and hope you accept it.
Peace
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lenovo:
isn't one of the selling points you can pour liquid over the keyboard and it'll survive?!
Dell:
also not a small Co, and if you have the right support package they come out to replace parts even if its a m/board i've seen them...
- problem with lot of the other vendors is will you get the same support and turn around, after 3yrs and need spares...if you got some obscure acer or toshiba are you
going to be able to find lots of parts ?! -loads of dell about that don't require fiddling to make another model dvd drive to fit etc, further complicated cos they keep
changing fittings and connectors {harddrives, usb, mm....you're ok ..for now}
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avoid acer and dell like the plague - acer are crap full stop and the cheaper dells are really shoddily built.
you can't go wrong with Lenovo or Toshiba. HP are a bit flimsy
FYI - Sony aren't as good as they used to be - you are paying mostly for the vaio badge, the newer ones i've worked on are really poor specimens
do really think that about acer i have an acer aspire and im very happy with it. SO FAR. i can't say anything about the others as i never owned of those.
Wow. Well, my Acer laptop is 6 years old, loads real fast, even with 56GB of iTunes. And 220 GB of movies.
The battery still holds a charge for 3 hours on conserv, 1 on full. And I leave it in when plugged in, too.
When it dies, I will prob get another Acer.
Good luck.
the experience i've had with them is they are absolute shite - you guys may be lucky, the 'exception to the rule' and all of that, but when i had my own business, and even where i'm managing the IT now, personal Acer laptops have been very poor quality. as have dell been, and the newer Sony's.
whoever mentioned get a desktop is on to something - if you aren't going to be moving it around get a desktop, you get much more machine for your money and you will have a longer life in it, cheaper and easier to upgrade, and with the help of google you can even repair silly little hardware problems on your own without needing a watchmakers toolkit to get inside it
i still say Lenovo and Toshiba are the best way to go. Toshiba don't do desktops though. all of the above is if you can't afford or don't want an Apple - Apple machines are FAR superior than anything with Windows/*nix/Ubuntu on them - Windows actually runs faster on a standard Mac with bootcamp than it does on a PC with 12Gb RAM.
EDIT: just put rowdyrastas comment in proper quotes as its looked like its confused some poor soul....
do YOU really think that about acer? i had an acer aspire and im very happy with it. so far. i can't say anything about ther others as i never owned ANY of those.
@bigglesworth better now? so sorry i didn't reread my post before i posted it. didn't mean to confuse anyone.
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Depends from exact specs and price, but I will go for Dell or Toshiba. Stay away from HP and be careful with Acer. But it all come down to specific model and your individual preferences.
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costco has the best prices or you can wait until black friday.
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Nice thing about Costco is a great return policy and free tech support. But they deal mainly in the bloated consumer models.
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costco has the best prices or you can wait until black friday.
???
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Lenovo or Dell are the 2 to choose from on your list. Avoid Acer like the plague, Toshiba has heating issues in all of their products and HP has been generally dissatisfying every time I've used them. Good Luck on your new purchase PriscillaMarie90; btw doublemint is quite correct: desktops will get you more bang for your buck.
I wouldn't use a Chromebook for a main computer, it is a low powered Linux machine that is stripped down to a terminal shell and a web browser( you can't install anything else without modifying the OS). Until they have perfected Chromebooks I would stick to a traditional system.
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Personally I'd prefer a lenovo, but netbooks are cheap and if it's just for SR it might be pretty convienient. Some of the ASUS ones are very reasonably priced and could do everything you need.
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Thank you all so much for the advice and information!
There are such mixed reviews, but I've come to the conclusion that I probably won't know that I'll be happy with the computer until I've actually had a chance to use it. I know some people said to avoid it, but I have decided to go with an Acer Aspire. It's got 2GB RAM, but I'm going to upgrade to 4GB, a dual core processor & a 15" screen. I think it will work fabulously for what I intend to use it for, but I guess I won't know until later down the road. ;D
I'm really impressed by how much all of you know about the different computers, I expected more responses like "i have a dell it works super good!!!" but instead I got my own Technical Support team! Hehe ;)
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Priscilla, I own a company who designs custom laptops. Anything from a ruggedized notebook for desert use to a dual video card gaming desktop replacement. If you let me know what you intend to use it for (CoD, Microsoft Office, 3D Studio Max, DJing....) and how much you want to spend, I can send you a quote. You can even order with bitcoins ;) Why not?
One year warranty, optional two or three year. Free telephone and email support for LIFE. "...as long as the Original Purchaser continues to possess the Product..."
If not... consider Toshiba. They've been contracted by the US Navy, their laptops in the Satellite series are tanks. Not many frills, but you can beat em with a hammer and they keep going.