Topic Wiki

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 3211549 times)

Offline PETERP

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Oct 2011
  • Posts: 2924
  • Total likes: 5
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: NYC
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13820 on: May 15, 2023, 01:12:08 PM »
EDIT: The post I was responding to is this one:This one is excellent value if a 14" is the right size for you. The 15/16 size is overpriced right now IMHO.
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/inspiron-14-laptop/spd/inspiron-14-5425-laptop/nn5425fjngs

Thank you

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13821 on: May 16, 2023, 04:41:05 AM »
I was going to recommend the $200 hp stream 14.
https://www.dansdeals.com/shopping-deals/walmart/gateway-14-1-fhd-core-i5-512gb-ssd-ultra-slim-laptop-just-279-shipped-walmart/
These are both not what he asked for, though I allowed for it in my post:
Unfortunately, you are going to have to compromise on something. Here's the list of your choices:
A) Compromise on processor and brand, and get something physically junky and also slow (for example, a $200-$300 Hyundai model with Celeron/Pentium and 4GB RAM, plus add your own SSD because it comes with an emmc drive you want to avoid using)
B) Compromise on the size you want and get a 14" instead.

However, I will address both comments as so:
Don't get a Gateway without some kind of insurance or guarantee. They are physically cheaply built. Performance should be fine, though. Note that both have emmc drives, which are soldered on. Check if you can add your own drive instead.
The comment about the emmc doesn't apply to the Gateway Darth1 linked to, but it does apply to the Stream. They are also notoriously hard to get into and may not even have the option of adding a drive. If, indeed, one does want to go as cheap as possible, I usually recommend the ASUS E410, which you can get for between $100-$150 and has a slot for an M2 PCIe drive.
What is wrong with an emmc drive? I'm glad you asked.
A) What is essentially an SD card soldered on to the motherboard was never designed to run Windows off of. Although anecdotally it seems to be fine (and I can add a few happy users to your parents), it seems that we should avoid it if we can, either by getting a laptop without it or by getting one we can bypass by adding our own drives instead.
B) Because the drive is soldered, if it dies, you cannot replace it. This is a very fundamental flaw and again, should be avoided unless you absolutely cannot spend more. (Agav, the same applies to soldered RAM, but at least there, you gain about a GHz in speed in return.)
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline Chuchum Ainer

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Apr 2020
  • Posts: 415
  • Total likes: 147
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13822 on: May 16, 2023, 05:03:22 AM »
Any ideas for a laptop just to write chidushei Torah on? No web needed, it will be blocked.
Should be small 13 inch, light, and cheap ($400 range)? Can upgrade my own ram if needed.
https://www.costco.com/lenovo-flex-5-14%22-2-in-1-touchscreen-laptop---12th-gen-intel-core-i3-1215u---1920-x-1200---windows-11-s-mode.product.100984049.html
$350

It's a 14 inch.

General q, why wouldn't you prefer a 15 inch or bigger?


Offline shmooz

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Dec 2010
  • Posts: 2298
  • Total likes: 137
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13824 on: May 16, 2023, 09:47:32 AM »

General q, why wouldn't you prefer a 15 inch or bigger?

Thanks
Its for carrying around to beis medrash, so needs to be light and small.

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13825 on: May 17, 2023, 05:07:19 AM »
Thanks
Its for carrying around to beis medrash, so needs to be light and small.
I think that @Chuchum Ainer means to ask why davka 13". That is a highly specific size to ask for when you have a budget, because for some reason 13" laptops are considered a premium size and you pay for it (generally). 14" are almost always small enough. Have you measured the space underneath the shtender and determined that 14" is too big?
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline shmooz

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Dec 2010
  • Posts: 2298
  • Total likes: 137
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13826 on: May 17, 2023, 10:02:33 AM »
I think that @Chuchum Ainer means to ask why davka 13". That is a highly specific size to ask for when you have a budget, because for some reason 13" laptops are considered a premium size and you pay for it (generally). 14" are almost always small enough. Have you measured the space underneath the shtender and determined that 14" is too big?

Its not about the shtender but about being easy to carry, but maybe you are right that 14" would be good, as long as its light. I'll make sure whatever it is, it's returnable just in case.

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13827 on: May 17, 2023, 10:13:22 AM »
Its not about the shtender but about being easy to carry, but maybe you are right that 14" would be good, as long as its light. I'll make sure whatever it is, it's returnable just in case.
Usually under 3.5 lbs. Is that light enough?
Over the years, I found that 4 lbs was a bit much but I was (and am) perfectly happy with 3 lbs. I just don't know for sure you can find one in your price range, but certainly for a but more you can get a 3 lbs 14".
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline yaakovely

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jun 2017
  • Posts: 586
  • Total likes: 87
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 5
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13828 on: May 17, 2023, 02:48:16 PM »
Looking to purchase 100x 17" Laptops with Intel i5 processors. Target price $350-$400. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Offline shmooz

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Dec 2010
  • Posts: 2298
  • Total likes: 137
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13829 on: May 17, 2023, 03:28:34 PM »
Usually under 3.5 lbs. Is that light enough?
Over the years, I found that 4 lbs was a bit much but I was (and am) perfectly happy with 3 lbs. I just don't know for sure you can find one in your price range, but certainly for a but more you can get a 3 lbs 14".

3 lbs should be okay, I'll check with the person I'm buying for.

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13830 on: May 18, 2023, 06:30:59 AM »
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13831 on: May 18, 2023, 06:33:32 AM »
Looking to purchase 100x 17" Laptops with Intel i5 processors. Target price $350-$400. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Call every company and ask for a quote. I haven't seen any laptops in your target price range (I did see Ryzen 5, though). However:
$338 - ASUS 17.3" laptop with i3-1220P, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD.
Stellar price on 17" especially. Also, the 1220P is a 28W processor with more e-cores than the standard 15W i3, and actually matches or outperforms the i5 15W (which has the same number of cores).
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ASUS-17-3-Full-HD-Intel-Core-i3-1220P-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-Silver-Windows-11-Laptop-K1703ZA-WH34/388412236

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4819vs4765vs5089/Intel-i3-1220P-vs-Intel-i5-1235U-vs-Intel-i5-1240U
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline AsherO

  • Global Moderator
  • Dansdeals Lifetime 30K Presidential Platinum Elite
  • **********
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 31015
  • Total likes: 7975
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 79
    • View Profile
  • Location: NYC
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13832 on: May 20, 2023, 11:58:11 PM »
Looking to purchase 100x 17" Laptops with Intel i5 processors. Target price $350-$400. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

My friend in the wholesale business typically sells business-grade hardware and says it sounds to him like your price target is too low for non-refurbished consumer laptops.
DDF FFB (Forum From Birth)

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13833 on: May 21, 2023, 12:44:01 AM »
My friend in the wholesale business typically sells business-grade hardware and says it sounds to him like your price target is too low for non-refurbished consumer laptops.
Correct. You might even be too low for consumer-grade, but you are close, so I figured you have nothing to lose by calling.

Agav, "with Intel i5" is usually a nonsense requirement. Just saying.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13834 on: May 21, 2023, 03:27:13 AM »
It is hard to find 13" laptops for cheap, much less (mostly) indestructible Latitudes. So:
Refurb 13" Latitude for $180 at Woot with 8GB/256GB, i5 8th gen (so at least a hyperthreaded quad core). 2 year Asurion warranty is $16. If you can replace the Dell battery with a Dell battery (and it is even needed), you should get stellar battery life too.
If you need 16GB RAM, you get that and a 512GB SSD for $230, so just about what you would pay to upgrade yourself. The 32GB/TB is overpriced.
https://computers.woot.com/offers/dell-latitude-5300-13-3-fhd-laptop-1?ref=w_cnt_wp_0_1
The above is a 5300. There is a 7390 model for not much more. 7390 is slightly lighter and smaller (See pic). The screen of the 7390 is slightly brighter. The 7390 has only one RAM slot (max 16GB) versus the 5300's two (max 32GB).
https://computers.woot.com/offers/dell-latitude-7390-13-3-fhd-laptop?ref=w_cnt_wp_0_4


There are 14" Latitudes on sale too, not a good deal IMHO.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline cozmohoot

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jan 2012
  • Posts: 4440
  • Total likes: 95
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 5
    • View Profile
  • Location: NY
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13835 on: May 21, 2023, 08:51:21 AM »
I've bought a few 5490 14-in on eBay from a reputable seller and a couple 7290 12.5 in ,and have been very happy so far.
All were i5 8th with either 8gb ram or 16gb ram and of course an ssd.

Offline Yo ssi

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Aug 2019
  • Posts: 6814
  • Total likes: 2643
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 60
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13836 on: May 21, 2023, 12:29:57 PM »
I've bought a few 5490 14-in on eBay from a reputable seller and a couple 7290 12.5 in ,and have been very happy so far.
All were i5 8th with either 8gb ram or 16gb ram and of course an ssd.
At what price?
_    ,
' )  /
 /  / __   _   _   o
(__/_(_)  /_)_/_)_<_
 //
(/

Offline Chuchum Ainer

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Apr 2020
  • Posts: 415
  • Total likes: 147
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13837 on: May 21, 2023, 03:56:16 PM »
Looking to purchase 100x 17" Laptops with Intel i5 processors. Target price $350-$400. Any leads would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks



Agree with the other posters that those specific parameters might just not exist.

Lichora though if you drop one of your requirements you can find something.

Go down to recent i3, 15.6inch, or refurbished.
Though I have no clue where you would source 100 from.

Are chromebooks an option?

Offline mevinyavin

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Sep 2022
  • Posts: 1850
  • Total likes: 2293
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
    • Laptop help/deal request template
  • Location: Yerushalayim
  • Programs: Windows 10 and 11 Home, Word/Excel/Publisher 2021, Wordweb, McGill English Dictionary of Rhyme, VLC, Torat Emet, 7-Zip, Lightshot, Calibre, FDM, FreeFileSync, Teracopy, Handbreak, Lightshot
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13838 on: May 22, 2023, 04:24:10 AM »
I figured I would let people know: @theblakdavid is selling a bunch of older, open box laptops at good prices (IMHO). There isn't anything there for other than office work, but they run the gamut from really budget cheap to indestructible to thin and light classy. The thread for details is here: https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=133178

I am not affiliated with him in any way.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline biobook

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Platinum Elite
  • *******
  • Join Date: Apr 2020
  • Posts: 1400
  • Total likes: 1692
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13839 on: May 22, 2023, 12:04:46 PM »
I'm looking for a laptop for someone who has destroyed two of them in the past 3 years, and will use it for a few months of travel, so is also liable to lose it or have it stolen.  Instead of all sorts of wonderful features, I should probably be looking for the cheapest thing that will work and just be happy if it lasts for 4-5 months. 

Will be used for Word docs and internet, often multiple tabs of both open at once
All my docs are on flash drives, so needs usb port
Not more than 3 pounds, so it can be carried around all day
Smaller is better than larger

1. What are the concerns with buying used/ refurbished?  That it's liable to break or that it will have something undesirable installed on it?

2. Is there a tablet with a keyboard that would work?  What would be the disadvantages of that?

Thanks for any advice.