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Please, when posting a link to a laptop listing, make sure to include the price at time of posting. It helps.
Requesting help with a purchase? Please post here: https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=135662.msg2794782#msg2794782

Dell:
Precision - Very powerful desktop replacements - great warranty, ridiculously expensive - Usually overpriced or overkill

Latitude - Good Laptops - Great warranty! Highly recommended for any Business environment - Sometimes expensive.

Vostro  - Lower end Business Machines - Better Priced - still durable - Usually 1 Year warranty.

XPS - The nicer looking dell machines, Some are better than others...

Inspiron - YMMV Every model is different

(Plain) Insprion Series - Dells lowest end laptop
(R) Insprion Series - Perfect Home use, dependable, decent build quality, recommended
(Z) Insprion Series - A little slimmer than the R series, Some are Ultrabooks (Very often don't include Optical Drives)

HP:

Spectre - Top of the line personal (dragonfly is the top of the line for business) - lightest laptops, and beautiful!

Pavilion - YMMV (Some better than others)

Probook - Stable durable business systems - Usually a little on the heavy side.

Elitebook - Business Higher end systems, usually pretty expensive

ENVY - Used to be the HP sleek and nicer systems, they pretty much replaced most of the standard pavilions now and call them either ENVY or sleekbooks

Sleekbook - like it sounds slimmer line of laptops

Lenovo:

Thinkpad Series - Very Dependable Business Machine, Expensive (Not Pretty but Durable)

IdeaPad Series -

S Series
U Series - Usually the slimmer line Ultrabooks, Doesn't always include DVD Drive
Y Series - Nice machines with good specs and features (Cool Backlit Keyboards)
Z Series - Step up from the G Series, all around decent build, priced nicely, great home use laptop
G Series - Lower end

Samsung:

Series 3
Series 5
Series 7
Series 9 - The nicest, sleekest looking laptops I've seen in a long time - Can pass for a Macbook!!


HT: Dh Data Recovery & Name Changed


A great post by caliheat:
I believe that there are many factors when deciding what laptop to purchase.
1) What is your intended use and necessary features. e.g. light use vs. heavy use & optical drive, computer speed etc.
2) As mentioned several times in this thread, RAM itself is very easy to upgrade after you purchase.
3) Brand - IMHO this is pretty important as well - which do your prefer vs. which brand do people recommend.
4) Price - you should decide a price range that best suits your needs.
5) Operating System - Many people like myself prefer Windows 7 vs. 8.1, so this would be another consideration.
6) Warranty - does it include 1 year or more, cost for extending warranty.
7) Detailed Specs:
  Processor  - model and speed i3, i5, & i7 2.0 Ghz, 3.0 Ghz etc.
  RAM - This IMHO should be minimum 8GB, especially if running 8.1, however can be added easily.
  Hard Drive - SATA vs. SSD, the latter being much faster. SATA itself offers 5400 RPM vs. 7200 RPM again, the latter being faster.
  Screen Size - this is a personal preference as you can always attach a larger screen in an office setting.
  Battery & Weight - overall laptop weight preference & battery life.
  Graphics - Integrated graphics vs. dedicated graphics, e.g. Intel 4400 vs. Nvidia GTX etc.

In summary, you have to decide what are you priorities, what can be upgraded and what you are flexible on.



Excellent article about the differences between the Intel processor suffixes.

Excellent "Laptop Buying Guide" by @dailykasha, written for Black Friday 2021, updated for holidays 2023

Author Topic: Laptop Deals Master Thread  (Read 3207705 times)

Offline stooges44

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10760 on: March 28, 2017, 03:55:04 PM »
I've been going through the thread but haven't gotten an answer for what I'm looking for.
I need a laptop mostly to log in to my office computer when I'm out of town. For that I think this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-15-6-laptop-amd-a6-series-4gb-memory-500gb-hard-drive-black/5606300.p?skuId=5606300 will work fine.
But my question is, I use CAD and would want to install it on my laptop as well so I can use it without needing to log in to the work computer. That laptop would work according to CAD system requirements however I don't know if it's optimal. If it makes a difference I am using regular CAD- nothing 3D or fancy. Any advice would be great.
TIA

I don't think 4gb of ram will work with cad. When the requirements say that it will work it simply means that it won't not work, so officially it will work but it will crawl especially with just an A6

But I dont see anything at that price with better specs (not surprising)
If it's not free shipping it's not worth it.

Offline Boruch999

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10761 on: March 28, 2017, 04:51:59 PM »
I think you can do better on the laptop. It sounds like a video card will make a big difference. If you are willing to get a 15.6" you will have many more options.

I've installed 10s of those ssds and never had an issue with them
I found this which seems to have all the specs you recommended at a good price.  I have never owned an Acer.  What do they compare to?

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-575G-53VG-15-6-Inch-Windows/dp/B01DT4A2R4


Offline alex89

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10763 on: March 29, 2017, 11:20:27 AM »
For reference, I used this laptop for a couple of months: https://www.costco.com/HP-Pavilion-15-au123cl-Touchscreen-Laptop---Intel-Core-i5.product.100314589.html

I found it too big, but I also didn't find it to be especially zippy.  It has a 7th gen i5 and 12 GB DDR4 RAM.

I assume then that the inspiron 13" 5000 with i5 and 8GB RAM won't feel so quick either?  or maybe since it's a smaller screen it'll be different?

Offline stooges44

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10764 on: March 29, 2017, 11:32:36 AM »
For reference, I used this laptop for a couple of months: https://www.costco.com/HP-Pavilion-15-au123cl-Touchscreen-Laptop---Intel-Core-i5.product.100314589.html

I found it too big, but I also didn't find it to be especially zippy.  It has a 7th gen i5 and 12 GB DDR4 RAM.

I assume then that the inspiron 13" 5000 with i5 and 8GB RAM won't feel so quick either?  or maybe since it's a smaller screen it'll be different?

If the costco one wasn't fast enough for you then you're correct the i5 with 8gb wont be any better but like all the discussions here we have no idea what you have on it or how you are using it  ;)

Also,
This one http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/451362/Dell-Inspiron-13-5000-Series-2

And this one
https://www.walmart.com/ip/span-Dell-Inspiron-15.6-rdquo-Gaming-Laptop-Touchscreen-AMD-FX-9800P-Processor-16GB-RAM-1TB-hard-drive-Windows-10-span/54735611

You are comparing an intel with an amd. Some people swear only by intel and think amd is utterly worthless while others hold very highly of amd and treat it as a true competitor of intel. Aside from that, the officedepot  is a 2 in 1 and if you are looking for true mobility obviously that would be a better choice.
If it's not free shipping it's not worth it.

Offline stooges44

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10765 on: March 29, 2017, 09:25:46 PM »
ASUS K501UW-AB78 15.6-inch Full-HD Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i7, GTX 960M, 8GB DDR4, 512GB SSD) Glacier Grey

$799 Leoa

Amazon.com: ASUS K501UW-AB78 15.6-inch Full-HD Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i7, GTX 960M, 8GB DDR4, 512GB SSD) Glacier Grey: Computers & Accessories

6th-generation Intel Core i7-6500U 2.5GHz (Turbo up to 3.1GHz). Skylake
15.6 inches Matte FHD display. 1920 by 1080 resolution. Windows 10 Operating System.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M gaming graphic card; 8GB RAM; 512GB SSD Storage.
Gigabit Dual-Band 802.11AC ultra-fast Wi-Fi.
2x USB 2.0, 2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone-out & Audio-in Combo Jack, 1x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, 1x HDMI, 1x Card Reader

Also at newegg for $798 (yup, $1 less) where you wont pay tax - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=1TS-001A-00382
If it's not free shipping it's not worth it.

Offline myi

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Quote
Need your LG Exalt fixed? Cracked in half? Water damage? Or parts to repair yourself. 347.201.2501

Offline ae123

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10767 on: April 02, 2017, 12:38:13 AM »
If Dell has a laptop I want on clearance, is that an indication that there is something wrong with it?

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10768 on: April 02, 2017, 12:44:52 AM »
If Dell has a laptop I want on clearance, is that an indication that there is something wrong with it?
I don't think so. It might just be last years models or so.

Offline ae123

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10769 on: April 02, 2017, 12:59:21 AM »
What's your opinion of this one?
http://deals.dell.com/productdetail/8lu

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10770 on: April 02, 2017, 01:05:35 AM »
What's your opinion of this one?
http://deals.dell.com/productdetail/8lu
It is a decent laptop (though I'd love to see it with an SSD... but you can't have everything...) but all depends on price. You can have it from Amazon for $556 https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Touchscreen-i7-6500U-Windows/dp/B01NCEBRNX

ETA: Oh, I see now it is a 2-in-1. If you need that capability maybe you'd anyhow want something smaller. If you don't really need it I doubt it is worth the extra $150.

Offline ae123

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10771 on: April 02, 2017, 01:21:32 AM »
I don't need 2-in-1 at all.
But it's on clearance, so I figured it was a good deal.

I need a powerful enough laptop to be running 30+ windows of Otzar Hachochmah, 30+ windows of Bar Ilan, and 10 or so windows of Davka Writer simultaneously - with no issues and quickly.

Currently, I have a 10 year old Inspiron E1505 Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 (2MB/1.6GHz/533MHz).
It works a lot better and faster than most newer computers that my wife and friends have. No idea why, though.

Do you think I'll be happy with the Dell  Inspiron 15 7000?

Thank you.

ETA: I followed your link to Amazon. That computer is 5000. The one on Dell's site is 7000. They don't seem to be the same.
« Last Edit: April 02, 2017, 01:24:55 AM by ae123 »

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10772 on: April 02, 2017, 01:56:17 AM »
I don't need 2-in-1 at all.
But it's on clearance, so I figured it was a good deal.

I need a powerful enough laptop to be running 30+ windows of Otzar Hachochmah, 30+ windows of Bar Ilan, and 10 or so windows of Davka Writer simultaneously - with no issues and quickly.

Currently, I have a 10 year old Inspiron E1505 Intel Core 2 Duo T5200 (2MB/1.6GHz/533MHz).
It works a lot better and faster than most newer computers that my wife and friends have. No idea why, though.

Do you think I'll be happy with the Dell  Inspiron 15 7000?

Thank you.

ETA: I followed your link to Amazon. That computer is 5000. The one on Dell's site is 7000. They don't seem to be the same.
If you don't need a 2-in-1 then it is a waste to pay for it. From what I can see the 7000 series is identical to the 500 beside it being 2-in-1. So the Amazon is certainly rather than the Dell deal.

It is very hard to predict if these specs will suffice your needs, and an SSD (which these Dells do not have) gets more and more popular and it certainly makes a difference. But all in all an i7 with 8GB RAM is pretty decent.

Offline ae123

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10773 on: April 02, 2017, 02:08:22 AM »
Thank you.

1 - How can I predict as accurately as possible what would work for my needs? Would you know why my old computer worked so well (and so long)?
2 - There are a lot of negative reviews on Amazon. Should that worry me?
3 - How does this one compare to the one you're showing me on Amazon? http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-5567-laptop/fncwg2397h
4 - Dell has an option to purchase a support plan which Amazon doesn't. Also, Dell's accident coverage for 4 years is $70 less than Amazon's.

Thanks for your help.

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10774 on: April 02, 2017, 02:22:48 AM »
Thank you.

1 - How can I predict as accurately as possible what would work for my needs? Would you know why my old computer worked so well (and so long)?
2 - There are a lot of negative reviews on Amazon. Should that worry me?
3 - How does this one compare to the one you're showing me on Amazon? http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-5567-laptop/fncwg2397h
4 - Dell has an option to purchase a support plan which Amazon doesn't. Also, Dell's accident coverage for 4 years is $70 less than Amazon's.

Thanks for your help.
1 - I said it's hard to predict, let alone accurately. To really be able to do that you'd need to monitor your PCs running at heavy use what gets maxed out and so. But really anything will be better specced than is your old system. I cannot possibly know why that is running so good, I guess it was a good system at the time and you cared well for it.
2 - I wouldn't worry. 4 stars for a laptop is way over average, so 3.5 stars is pretty good, and reading through the bad ones most are DOA style of things which you'd notice right away and return it.
3 - The Amazon on is an i7 but last generation and the Dell one is the newer gen but i5. I'd say they are about the same good.
4 - The support plan I doubt is worth to buy, but you're right about Dell's accident coverage which is very cheap (not sure if they are easy to deal with though.)

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10775 on: April 02, 2017, 07:13:39 AM »
A few months ago (probably closer to a year) we got a whole bunch of the original Dell 2in1 that you posted with an i5, 8gb ram and 256gb ssd, I was very impressed by them when we got them and I was not let down, they are built very well and can take a lot of physical abuse. I don't think I've ever seen a 2in1 built so solid (Just something to consider)
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10776 on: April 02, 2017, 02:38:02 PM »
1 - I said it's hard to predict, let alone accurately. To really be able to do that you'd need to monitor your PCs running at heavy use what gets maxed out and so. But really anything will be better specced than is your old system. I cannot possibly know why that is running so good, I guess it was a good system at the time and you cared well for it.
2 - I wouldn't worry. 4 stars for a laptop is way over average, so 3.5 stars is pretty good, and reading through the bad ones most are DOA style of things which you'd notice right away and return it.
3 - The Amazon on is an i7 but last generation and the Dell one is the newer gen but i5. I'd say they are about the same good.
4 - The support plan I doubt is worth to buy, but you're right about Dell's accident coverage which is very cheap (not sure if they are easy to deal with though.)

Thanks for all your help.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10777 on: April 02, 2017, 07:13:50 PM »
Yisroel -

If I want to be absolutely sure (as much as possible) that the computer will be great for my needs, what would I look to improve upon the one you showed me on Amazon (if I don't end up buying it)?
16 GB instead of 8 GB? Something else?
Is this one worth the extra $200?
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Generation-Graphics-i5567-7292GRY/dp/B01L8PENQM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491174755&sr=8-2&keywords=dell+inspiron+i7+16+gb

Thanks for your time and help!

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10778 on: April 02, 2017, 07:29:04 PM »
Yisroel -

If I want to be absolutely sure (as much as possible) that the computer will be great for my needs, what would I look to improve upon the one you showed me on Amazon (if I don't end up buying it)?
16 GB instead of 8 GB? Something else?
Is this one worth the extra $200?
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Generation-Graphics-i5567-7292GRY/dp/B01L8PENQM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1491174755&sr=8-2&keywords=dell+inspiron+i7+16+gb

Thanks for your time and help!
As said, an SSD is also something that may make a difference. Hard to say if additional 8GB is "worth it", but if you want the real good stuff it won't be much cheaper than that. (also the i7 in this one is the newest, which is better than the one before.)

Offline ae123

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10779 on: April 02, 2017, 09:11:20 PM »
Thanks again for your help and patience!

1 - What is the advantage of SSD - speed, multi-tasking, longevity, other?
2 - Do you know of something in this price range that is SSD?
3 - Don't computers with SSD have much smaller hard drives - less room for storage?
4 - If I pay more for additional 8 GB, in what way would the computer be improved?