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| Thread ID: 136596 | 2014-03-20 12:20:00 | How To Find a New Laptop - Bewildering Choices?? | Winston001 (3612) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1370804 | 2014-03-24 10:12:00 | If you give yourself a specific budget of say $1200 and just look at the 6 laptops that sit in that group and then throw a dart and buy which ever one the dart lands on, because to be honest, you could spend all day reading up on which one has this best spec or that best spec and still be none the wiser as to which one you want because they are all going to be pretty similar. The way I bought my current one was to decide on: *my budget, *maker (ASUS cos of my good experience with my Nexus 7 and many recommendations on here for the brand) and *what I want it for. It was easy after that and I got what I want... So my recommendation Winston, for what it is worth, is to work out your answers to the three questions I have quoted, and you should find it easy after that! :-) Excellent advice team, and thank you. Appreciated. |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 1370805 | 2014-03-24 10:20:00 | All of which makes me think we need a sticky thread with sensible guidelines for buying a laptop. There have been a lot of people asking the same question over the last couple of years but of course the models and technology have moved slightly each time. It isn't possible for knowledgeable members to recommend a specific machine given that it may be out of date within 6 months and unavailable. However a thread from people who deal with these machines daily advising on the important features would answer the perennial "what laptop?" questions before they are asked. Admins please give this some thought. Cheers. Winston. |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 1370806 | 2014-03-24 19:17:00 | All of which makes me think we need a sticky thread with sensible guidelines for buying a laptop . There have been a lot of people asking the same question over the last couple of years but of course the models and technology have moved slightly each time . It isn't possible for knowledgeable members to recommend a specific machine given that it may be out of date within 6 months and unavailable . However a thread from people who deal with these machines daily advising on the important features would answer the perennial "what laptop?" questions before they are asked . Admins please give this some thought . Cheers . Winston . The main reason I would have for buying a laptop would be for something to take with me when I want to work away from home when writing code (There's no decent code writing apps yet that I'm aware of) . For everything else I could pretty much get by with just using a tablet . |
Webdevguy (17166) | ||
| 1370807 | 2014-03-24 21:34:00 | Winston - agree with the idea of a sticky. Glad my comments were of some use when taken with others. | John H (8) | ||
| 1370808 | 2014-03-25 08:19:00 | Cheers John and you gave very sensible advice. I used to keep up when desktops were normal but not any more. |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 1370809 | 2014-03-25 20:47:00 | Cheers John and you gave very sensible advice . I used to keep up when desktops were normal but not any more . Windows laptops are just like Windows desktop computers in that they also loose half of their retail value every 6 months as they get replaced by the next updated model . As to which laptop to buy, well as long as you are just doing regular garden variety computing - looking at photos, editing a few photos, making and uploading a few cat videos to Facebook or Twitter, web browsing, videos on youtube, replying to emails, a few word docs or spread sheets etc then any of the main computer brands will be fine . So just pick one that fits in your budget . |
Webdevguy (17166) | ||
| 1370810 | 2014-04-19 10:05:00 | Hopefully not wasting your time . My preference guided by years here on PF1 is Asus or Toshiba . However Noel Leeming have a well-speced HP Envy currently at $999 . Plus the online sale (but not the shops oddly enough) includes an active cam (for no obvious reason) as an extra . 8 GB Ram and 2GB graphics . My demands of a laptop are modest but I would like much better sound which the Beats technology claims to provide . . noelleeming . co . nz/shop/computers/notebooks/pc-notebook-computers/hp-15-j102ax-15-6-envy-notebook/prod128685 . html?ref=pricespy" target="_blank">www . noelleeming . co . nz |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 1370811 | 2014-04-20 07:10:00 | Here's what I do. #1 - FIX your budget and stick to it. Write a list of things that are important to you about your laptop usage. Then use that list to look for features that will work for YOU; What software do you run? What are the physical requirements to run that software? Size. Weight and screen size - what will fit that list you made. Look carefully at the screen surface, is it non reflective? Does that even matter to you? Keyboard configuration, layout and key type (how do the keys *feel* to you) Do you need a number-pad? DVD drive is a must (In my opinion) Ports, check these out carefully, what peripherals will you want to attach? Mouse, camera, number-pad, HDMI, another monitor? Do you need a card reader? etc etc What is the battery life? Upgrade-ability, can you replace RAM, graphics etc to extend its life? Bundled software, is it what you need or is it just bloatware? After sales service, warranty etc. I like the Dell website because it allows you to play with different configurations to tweak what you can get for your budget. You don't have to buy from them but it will give you a feel for the different components and what you can get for your money. Once you have a clear idea of your maximum budget and minimum specs, do a trawl of the online stores and see what you can get that matches your needs, then go to a few shops to get a sense of the physical feel of the various machines. Leave your wallet at home. Sleep on all that for a few days and then make your selection. Never go back and look at what else you *could* have got - Murphy says there will always be a better deal. Good Luck |
EFFIGY (12530) | ||
| 1370812 | 2014-07-10 11:14:00 | First may I gently object to threads being closed at 3 months. I wanted to add these comments to an earlier thread but its been 4 months. Six months might be a better cut-off. Anyway bought a new machine because the old one developed problems with the last XP updates. I bought an HP laptop from Noel Leeming: i7 with 750 hybrid drive, Windows 8.1, 8GB RAM, 2GB Nvidea etc for $1050. Never expected to get an i7 at that price. It is very nice - extraordinarily fast and really way overspeced for my needs but I'm a closet geek so what can I say. Had intended to stick to Toshiba or Asus but my experience with HP has been good for 15 years. Reservations? Always had Pro level laptops so this is the first consumer machine and it feels more flimsy. In fact I kept going back to my 8yr HP because it felt more solid. The keys on the new pc are soft and the touch pad isn't as good - not sensitive enough and can't find a setting to change that. Mind you I'm a one-finger punch typer so these things may not bother others. Windows 8...am adjusting. :D |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 1370813 | 2014-07-10 13:50:00 | Don't want to bring you down from your high of a new toy :) But the HP consumer laptops really are junk! Not just the electronics inside them but also the build quality and materials. Keep an eye on the hinges and the bottom edges of the top lid/screen as we've had a ton of these through the workshop that have been broken due to very poor design and cost cutting by HP. Credit to HP though who have been replacing the top lids under warranty as they must know they really are badly designed. Stick with the HP business machines as they are so much better. |
CYaBro (73) | ||
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