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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.
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Warning: most of the wiki that follows was written a very long time ago and the information on it can be outdated.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 3603664 times)

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14780 on: August 16, 2024, 01:02:40 AM »
Thank you for your  assistance! It's a very strong preference, otherwise, I probably won't need it for much. Worst case, I have a free laptop, also not bad. I guess if can't work in 32gb RAM, I'd prefer in this order: 17", lightweight, long battery.
We can do 32GB of RAM, pretty sure. Just might have to throw everything else out the window. Let's see what there is to find...
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 #14781 on: August 18, 2024, 12:35:58 PM »
@WAM I had forgotten about you! Here goes

Best 17" model is generic HP 17 in three varieties. RAM and storage are upgradeable.
1. $350. Ryzen 5 7530U (Zen 3, 15W six core), 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/ConfigureView?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&catEntryId=3074457345620699825&urlLangId=&quantity=1&color=jet%20black
2. Same laptop configured with Ryzen 7 7730U (Zen 3, 15W eight core) for $510.
3. Same laptop also configured with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $570. Definitely do this if you won't necessarily be upgrading at all. https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laptop-17-cp3047nr#techSpecs
Note that the screen on these is garbage. Don't expect the color to look good. But it should be fine for work.

15.6" model that might compete with the above is a Lenovo LOQ with a 55W i5-12450HX, which should prove advantageous over the 15W varieties above. $550.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-loq-15-6-144hz-gaming-laptop-fhd-intel-12th-gen-core-i5-with-12gb-memory-intel-arc-a530m-512gb-ssd-luna-grey/6573727.p?skuId=6573727

I did not see anything in your budget with battery life as a plus that did not have soldered RAM.
Hatzlacha!
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline Ergel

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14782 on: August 19, 2024, 08:55:41 AM »
USAGE: Zoom meetings, browsing. youtube

SIZE: 15.6"

BUILD QUALITY: It gets bumped around a lot - stronger the better

WHERE CAN YOU SHOP? Online, shipping to NY. Needs to be delivered by next week

What do you want to spend? Up to $500, flexible on a good deal

Other features
Battery life - great battery would be nice, but not required
Number pad - not necessary
Backlit keyboard - nice, but not required
Touch screen - nice, but not required
2-in-1  - not wanted
SSD - ideally would have SSD
Hard Drive size: at least 512GB

Might have access to a Amex Platinum with dell credit
« Last Edit: August 19, 2024, 08:59:34 AM by Ergel »
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Offline Ergel

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14783 on: August 19, 2024, 09:00:01 AM »
15.6" model that might compete with the above is a Lenovo LOQ with a 55W i5-12450HX, which should prove advantageous over the 15W varieties above. $550.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-loq-15-6-144hz-gaming-laptop-fhd-intel-12th-gen-core-i5-with-12gb-memory-intel-arc-a530m-512gb-ssd-luna-grey/6573727.p?skuId=6573727
This is now $749 :(
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Offline Ergel

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14784 on: August 19, 2024, 09:14:32 AM »
USAGE: Zoom meetings, browsing. youtube

SIZE: 15.6"

BUILD QUALITY: It gets bumped around a lot - stronger the better

WHERE CAN YOU SHOP? Online, shipping to NY. Needs to be delivered by next week

What do you want to spend? Up to $500, flexible on a good deal

Other features
Battery life - great battery would be nice, but not required
Number pad - not necessary
Backlit keyboard - nice, but not required
Touch screen - nice, but not required
2-in-1  - not wanted
SSD - ideally would have SSD
Hard Drive size: at least 512GB

Might have access to a Amex Platinum with dell credit
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-computer-laptops/new-inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3530-laptop/useichbts3530grxd?ref=variantstack
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-computer-laptops/inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3520-laptop/nn3520gzvhs#ratings_section
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-computer-laptops/new-inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3530-laptop/useichbts3530grxd
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-computer-laptops/new-inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3530-laptop/useichbto3530grvl?view=configurations
Is this a good choice with Dell $200 + 10% back?
« Last Edit: August 19, 2024, 09:18:30 AM by Ergel »
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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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« Last Edit: August 19, 2024, 01:16:59 PM by Ergel »
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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14787 on: August 20, 2024, 01:55:57 AM »
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-computer-laptops/new-inspiron-15-laptop/spd/inspiron-15-3530-laptop/useichbts3530grxd
This one isn't better with i7 processor?
BUILD QUALITY: It gets bumped around a lot - stronger the better
You don't want to buy plastic.

Also, the i5-1340P in the $550 metal Inspiron is significantly better than the i7-1355U found in the $570 plastic Inspiron. It has more P-cores, a better single-thread speed, and larger caches.
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 #14788 on: August 20, 2024, 03:13:35 AM »
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline Ergel

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14789 on: August 20, 2024, 09:29:30 AM »
Also, the i5-1340P in the $550 metal Inspiron is significantly better than the i7-1355U found in the $570 plastic Inspiron. It has more P-cores, a better single-thread speed, and larger caches.
The i7 isn't plastic, my screenshot shows aluminum exterior
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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14790 on: August 20, 2024, 12:51:54 PM »
The i7 isn't plastic, my screenshot shows aluminum exterior
Hmm... Never seen a 3000 series with aluminum, but you are correct! (Though it sounds like "aluminum exterior shell" means the base is plastic? Tzorich iyun... The 5000 model also says that.) Regardless, the cheaper i5 model I posted is the better computer. In addition, the difference between 15.6" and 16" is also nothing to sneeze at.
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 #14791 on: August 20, 2024, 01:01:34 PM »
Selling the following Chromebooks all brand new in box.

4 Lenovo chromebooks at $110 each
Lenovo Chromebook S330, 14" HD, Mediatek MT8173C, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC SSD, Chrome OS, Black, 81JW0001US
https://www.walmart.com/ip/206750547

And 3 Asus chromebooks at $100 each
ASUS Chromebook CX1, 11.6" HD NanoEdge Display, Intel Celeron N3350 Processor, 32GB eMMC, 4GB RAM, Chrome OS, Transparent Silver, CX1100CNA-AS42
https://a.co/d/fGAg99h
Bump

These are all still available. Willing to do a good “take all” deal if anyone’s interested.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14792 on: August 20, 2024, 01:05:08 PM »
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus for $900 before SAVE10 coupon drops it to $810 (didn't test this). Note that this is a Snapdragon X Plus, not an Elite. Don't expect anything but office work, though that should be stellar and fast.
https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-computer-laptops/new-inspiron-14-plus-laptop/spd/inspiron-14-7441-laptop/useichbts7441hcjp?ref=variantstack

Review notes say 14" 25x16 IPS tch X1P64100 16GB soldered /512GB SSD 3.17lbs 2xUSBC 1xUSBA audio jack microSD fingerprint reader 17h battery (playing 4K vid at 250nits)
This is the cliff notes of this review:
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2415368/dell-inspiron-14-plus-7441-review-another-copilot-pc.html
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline Ergel

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14793 on: August 20, 2024, 06:25:55 PM »
Hmm... Never seen a 3000 series with aluminum, but you are correct! (Though it sounds like "aluminum exterior shell" means the base is plastic? Tzorich iyun... The 5000 model also says that.) Regardless, the cheaper i5 model I posted is the better computer. In addition, the difference between 15.6" and 16" is also nothing to sneeze at.
Bought the i5. Thanks for your help.
Got 4 years premium support plus given my wife's track record. with 10% student off and amex plat $200 dell credit plus 10% off, all in at $551 with 4 years warranty, pretty nice deal
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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14794 on: August 21, 2024, 01:52:59 AM »
Bought the i5. Thanks for your help.
Got 4 years premium support plus given my wife's track record. with 10% student off and amex plat $200 dell credit plus 10% off, all in at $551 with 4 years warranty, pretty nice deal
You should both use it in good health.
Let me know if "aluminum exterior shell" means anything other than everything aluminum - that is, if some part of it turns out to be plastic. And thanks for the extra work - now I'll have to check every 3000 series Dell for a metal option.  8)
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 #14796 on: August 22, 2024, 03:40:26 AM »
HP 255 G10 15.6", Ryzen 5 7330U (Zen 3, six cores), 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD, pickup at Micro Center for $330.
https://www.microcenter.com/product/680006/hp-255-g10-156-laptop-computer-silver
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 #14797 on: August 22, 2024, 01:25:46 PM »

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14798 on: August 26, 2024, 03:07:12 PM »
I'm looking to replace my wife's laptop, currently a HP Spectre x360.

She needs something durable (metal), OLED touch screen, decent processing (many many tabs open, and a few programs for work).

What is my best option, I don't mind paying a lot for something worth it.

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Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!