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Warning: most of the wiki that follows was written a very long time ago and the information on it can be outdated.

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 3527080 times)

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13940 on: July 12, 2023, 10:11:02 AM »
all the cheap 2-in-1s come glossy
There's a Dell AMD with a matte touch screen which is great. The 5515 series.
Not a 2-in-1. Also, your opinion on the screen is subjective.
https://www.ultrabookreview.com/48134-dell-inspiron-15-5515-review/
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13941 on: July 12, 2023, 11:28:51 AM »
Depends who you ask. AMD versus Intel? Whatever is cheaper, if they are all way more than you need for basic work. Or gets you better battery life. They are both good deals.
You didn't specify a screen size - so I didn't either.

@mevinyavin What do you recommend as best bang for buck current deal on a 14" laptop that isn't a 2 in 1? (Around the $500-$600 price range) I have amazon 40% (added $60) on top of the prime day deals... Also have $200 dell credit for AMEX biz plat and I live in queens NY right near a brick and mortar microcenter...

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13942 on: July 12, 2023, 11:52:48 AM »
@mevinyavin What do you recommend as best bang for buck current deal on a 14" laptop that isn't a 2 in 1? (Around the $500-$600 price range) I have amazon 40% (added $60) on top of the prime day deals... Also have $200 dell credit for AMEX biz plat and I live in queens NY right near a brick and mortar microcenter...
I don't know how to translate those discounts you list above into actual money. (Not a mumche in that area.) Right now the best 14" value is these two:
Swift 3 from Costco for $515 shipped ($500 in store). i5-1240P (28W, really super), 16GB RAM, 512GB. Thin and light, built well, highly recommended as a daily driver.
https://www.costco.com/acer-swift-3-14%22-intel-evo-platform-laptop---12th-gen-intel-i5-1240p----1080p---windows-11.product.100973090.html
$550 in store only at Micro Center: HP Elitebook 645 G9 with Ryzen 7 5U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 3 year warranty.
https://www.microcenter.com/product/667439/hp-elitebook-645-g9-14-laptop-computer-silver

Over what they sell by Dell, the first is far more portable and built out of strong metal, and the second is a high-class business laptop with 3-yrs warranty.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13943 on: July 12, 2023, 12:04:10 PM »
I don't know how to translate those discounts you list above into actual money. (Not a mumche in that area.) Right now the best 14" value is these two:
Over what they sell by Dell, the first is far more portable and built out of strong metal, and the second is a high-class business laptop with 3-yrs warranty.

the discounts translate to $60 off amazon on top of prime day discounts and $200 credit at Dell (but I can use it on something else)

Offline dailykasha

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13944 on: July 12, 2023, 12:45:13 PM »
Excellent deal on a 14 inch laptop here:

https://www.newegg.com/classic-black-msi-modern-14-c7m-048us-work-business/p/N82E16834156444?Item=N82E16834156444

MSI Modern 14 14" Ultra Thin and Light Laptop AMD Ryzen 7-7730U UMA 16GB 512GB NVMe SSD Win 11 home, C7M-048US

$539

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13945 on: July 12, 2023, 01:01:30 PM »
MSI Modern 14 14" Ultra Thin and Light Laptop AMD Ryzen 5-7530U UMA 16GB 512GB NVMe SSD Win 11 home, C7M-049US

https://www.newegg.com/classic-black-msi-modern-14-c7m-049us-work-business/p/N82E16834156445?Item=N82E16834156445

Can also get it with a Ryzen 5 for $469.

Offline davidrotts63

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13946 on: July 12, 2023, 01:21:47 PM »
Howell, NJ Walmart just lowered the price on this to $339 (was $949).
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Nitro-5-15-6-Full-HD-IPS-144Hz-Display-11th-Gen-Intel-Core-i5-11400H-NVIDIA-GeForce-RTX-3050Ti-Laptop-GPU-16GB-DDR4-512GB-NVMe-SSD-Windows-11-Ho/607988022?

It's possibly still in stock in the store even though it says out of stock in Howell on the product page. The inventory count online is often off.



thanks, but I just went and they still have it on display, but are OOS, Would have certainly been nice  :)
(Quit) pulling out the flowers, and watering the weeds. -Peter Lynch

Offline Ready4Takeoff

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13947 on: July 12, 2023, 07:28:13 PM »
HP 15.6" laptop, Ryzen 3, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD $259.99 (-$230) at Office Depot

https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/6655776/HP-15-fc0013od-Laptop-156-Screen/

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13948 on: July 13, 2023, 01:49:03 AM »
thanks, but I just went and they still have it on display, but are OOS, Would have certainly been nice  :)
Avail from Walmart in zip code 18337 for $639 & can ship as gift

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13949 on: July 13, 2023, 05:13:38 AM »
the discounts translate to $60 off amazon on top of prime day discounts and $200 credit at Dell (but I can use it on something else)
Well, if that's the case, the best buys I saw are the two Dells I listed upthread.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13950 on: July 19, 2023, 11:10:03 AM »
Cheapest price on an RTX 4060 so far: $800. Upgrade the RAM for best use of the graphics (8GB RAM is always a bottleneck for high-end graphics.)
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-cyborg-15-6-144hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-with-8gb-ram-and-512gb-ssd-black/6532164.p?skuId=6532164
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13951 on: July 19, 2023, 11:20:50 AM »
Cheapest price on an RTX 4060 so far: $800. Upgrade the RAM for best use of the graphics (8GB RAM is always a bottleneck for high-end graphics.)
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-cyborg-15-6-144hz-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-nvidia-geforce-rtx-4060-with-8gb-ram-and-512gb-ssd-black/6532164.p?skuId=6532164
What's the wattage?
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Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13952 on: July 19, 2023, 11:36:12 AM »
What's the wattage?
https://www.pcgamer.com/msi-cyborg-15-2023-rtx-4060-review-benchmarks/
Quote
a paltry 45 watts
But apparently the kuntz is it can run quietly.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13953 on: July 20, 2023, 11:33:17 AM »
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13955 on: July 24, 2023, 02:05:16 PM »
The 16" version is quite a bit more than the 13" one but I do like the aspect that most of the components are serviceable and upgrade-able such as the keyboard, screen, battery, SDD and more!
https://frame.work/products/laptop16-diy-amd-7040 so if you damage a component, you replace just that component.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13956 on: July 25, 2023, 04:38:53 AM »
The 16" version is quite a bit more than the 13" one but I do like the aspect that most of the components are serviceable and upgrade-able such as the keyboard, screen, battery, SDD and more!
https://frame.work/products/laptop16-diy-amd-7040 so if you damage a component, you replace just that component.
And the video controller/card, too.
If the price went down I would buy, but I wouldn't buy one computer for the price of two even with these advantages.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13957 on: July 26, 2023, 09:22:51 AM »
Hi, I haven't been on here for a while  :-[

I am looking to buy a good laptop for video editing and graphix.
When do you prefer I buy one? If I can wait until black friday, should I wait?
Are there black friday deals during the year or are those more likely price mistakes?

Any good laptops out there now for a very good price?

thanks guys and gals.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13958 on: July 30, 2023, 05:25:57 AM »
Hi, I haven't been on here for a while  :-[

I am looking to buy a good laptop for video editing and graphix.
When do you prefer I buy one? If I can wait until black friday, should I wait?
Are there black friday deals during the year or are those more likely price mistakes?

Any good laptops out there now for a very good price?

thanks guys and gals.
1. I have not found the Black Friday savings to be worth waiting for.
I will explain: It is true that there are (some) big ticket items with huge savings. For example, there will be a $500 laptop for $250, or a $1000 one for $600.
However, anyone who pays attention to the prices will know that this same $500 is almost always available somewhere for, say, $315. Ditto on the $1000 one for $650. Is that kind of savings worth waiting for? Only if you don't have the money in the first place or you don't really need the computer (at least yet). My opinion, for what it is worth.

2. Is the laptop you are looking for going to be a work computer on which you do graphics stuff all day, or is it one for the occasional edit but mostly office work? Is portability a factor? Screen size? Battery life?
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13959 on: July 30, 2023, 05:31:22 AM »
Best Buy sales. Officially end today.
$370 if you have My Best Buy plus or total, otherwise $450 (okay but not great price): Aspire 3 with Ryzen 5 7520 (quad core optimized for battery life over performance), 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD (both upgradeable).
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/acer-aspire-3-laptop-15-6-full-hd-ips-amd-ryzen-5-7520u-8gb-lpddr5-512gb-nvme-ssd-steam-blue/6530235.p?skuId=6530235

$850 for ASUS ROG Zephyrus 13.4" 2-in-1 with Ryzen 9 and RTX 3050TI, highly portable and excellent battery life when not using high power. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-13-4-touchscreen-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-9-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-3050-ti-v4g-graphics-1tb-ssd-off-black/6494640.p?skuId=6494640

$520 for HP Victus 156 with Ryzen 5 7535HS (35W 6 core), RTX 2050 (hits between the GTX 1650 and the RTX 3050), 8GB of RAM (upgrade this), 512GB SSD. Low stock. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-victus-15-6-full-hd-144hz-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-7535hs-8gb-ddr5-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2050-512gb-ssd-mica-silver/6541840.p?skuId=6541840
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!