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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
Warning: most of the wiki that follows was written a very long time ago and the information on it can be outdated.
[Deleted post based on DH Data Recovery's experience dated 2013. Maybe I'll take a stab at replacing it with something similar at some point.]


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. EDIT: Unless there are no RAM slots for upgrading.
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 3877122 times)

Offline mevinyavin

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Quote from: ExGingi
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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15101 on: January 15, 2025, 10:30:30 AM »
Also available: the Slim 5 16 is back to $480 and better value than the Deal Zone Aspire 5 for $500 (certainly better than the cheaper ones with 8GB soldered RAM). https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1811273-REG/lenovo_83fw0007us_16_ideapad_slim_5.html

Great deal.
If you live near a microcenter, you might prefer the version with a much more powerful chip (and therefore shorter battery life) for $20 more
https://www.microcenter.com/product/678491/lenovo-ideapad-slim-5-16ah9p-16-laptop-computer-abyss-blue

Third version:
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-500/ideapad-slim-5i-gen-9-16-inch-intel/83fw0005us
 $530 after code IPDEAL1 (check portals)

Has the Core 7 150u which is definitely not worth paying $50 for over the Core 5 120u of the BH deal. The reason to consider it is that jt has a touchscreen. And ships, unlike the non touch, ryzen H microcenter deal.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15102 on: January 15, 2025, 10:31:40 AM »
Omnibook X 14 with Snapdragon X Plus for $550 at BB.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-omnibook-x-copilot-pc-14-2-2k-touch-screen-laptop-snapdragon-x-plus-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-glacier-silver/6593546.p?skuId=6593546
This or the vivobook s at $600?
I'm pretty sure I'm not recommending snapdragon yet, especially the x not the elite

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15103 on: January 16, 2025, 03:42:18 AM »
Third version:
https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/p/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-500/ideapad-slim-5i-gen-9-16-inch-intel/83fw0005us
 $530 after code IPDEAL1 (check portals)

Has the Core 7 150u which is definitely not worth paying $50 for over the Core 5 120u of the BH deal. The reason to consider it is that jt has a touchscreen. And ships, unlike the non touch, ryzen H microcenter deal.
And one more option for y'all. 16GB RAM takes the price to $470. Touch adds another $50 at which point the Lenovo with the Core 7 is the better buy.
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/ConfigureView?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&catEntryId=3074457345621247819&urlLangId=&quantity=1&color=natural%20silver
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 #15104 on: January 16, 2025, 03:46:21 AM »
This or the vivobook s at $600?
I'm pretty sure I'm not recommending snapdragon yet, especially the x not the elite
Depends on your use case. If you definitely are only doing internet browsing and word processing, the HP is the better choice. But the Vivobook gives you more flexibility, and the best integrated graphics in the price range.
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 #15106 on: January 19, 2025, 04:34:39 AM »
Gram SuperSlim 15.6" with CU7 155H for $900. Weighs 2.18lbs, OLED screen.
Cons: To get decent battery life, you must run it on battery saver. Only USB-C (2xTB4, 1x3.2).
LG gram Superslim 15.6-inch Thin and Lightweight Laptop, Intel Evo Edition - AI-enabled Intel Core Ultra 7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD with OLED Display, Black ( )

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 #15107 on: January 19, 2025, 09:23:24 PM »
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CV62R75W?tag=cl03f-20
$400
Acer Aspire 5 A515-58PT-50UJ 15.6" Laptop, 16GB LPDDR5 | Slim, FHD 1920x1080 IPS Touch, Intel Core i5-13420H

Definitely a great price for those specs in a budget, but solid, build.

Whether it's worth paying $80-$150 more for some of the other recent deals, depends which features you value.
This has touchscreen, no usb c, I'd assume middling battery life compared to the weaker core 5 U chips, and for sure worse battery compared to the lunar lake.


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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15108 on: January 20, 2025, 03:54:57 AM »
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CV62R75W?tag=cl03f-20
$400
Acer Aspire 5 A515-58PT-50UJ 15.6" Laptop, 16GB LPDDR5 | Slim, FHD 1920x1080 IPS Touch, Intel Core i5-13420H

Definitely a great price for those specs in a budget, but solid, build.

Whether it's worth paying $80-$150 more for some of the other recent deals, depends which features you value.
This has touchscreen, no usb c, I'd assume middling battery life compared to the weaker core 5 U chips, and for sure worse battery compared to the lunar lake.
Good price. Based on what I've read, I would assume at least six hours battery life on light tasks, maybe even more. The model with the 12420H (the one from Newegg that keeps being posted) got 12 hours in light tasks, which was astounding considering the other Alder Lake models' dismal efficiency. For those looking for a solid system and trying to spend as little as possible, this works very well.
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 #15109 on: January 20, 2025, 03:57:31 AM »
Omnibook Ultra 14 with Ryzen AI 9 365 (Zen 5, Radeon 880M) for $900 at HP. Not a customizable model.
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-omnibook-ultra-laptop-14-fd0087nr#pdpOverview
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 #15110 on: January 22, 2025, 08:19:00 PM »
Urgently looking if anyone can recommend  a 16-17 inch laptop  up to $1000.00, best value for that price, I missed all the previous sales last month and my current computer keeps on crashing...

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15111 on: January 22, 2025, 11:58:06 PM »
Urgently looking if anyone can recommend  a 16-17 inch laptop  up to $1000.00, best value for that price, I missed all the previous sales last month and my current computer keeps on crashing...

try reinstalling the operating system
Feelings don't care about your facts

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15113 on: January 23, 2025, 02:52:39 PM »
Current recommendations for entry level laptop? Needed for a student to have online classes.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15114 on: January 24, 2025, 12:27:59 PM »
Current recommendations for entry level laptop? Needed for a student to have online classes.

Wirecutter Recommends this current deal:

Lenovo - Flex 5i 14" FHD Touchscreen 2-in-1 Laptop -
Intel Core i3-1215U with 8GB Memory - Intel UHD Graphics - 256GB SSD - Storm Grey
$399.99
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/6571566.p

« Last Edit: January 24, 2025, 12:54:34 PM by Jojo202 »
My real Username is Flippy but I dont know how to change it...

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15115 on: January 24, 2025, 12:53:28 PM »
Or a cheaper model might be fine for you.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/6588661.p

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #15118 on: January 26, 2025, 10:11:04 AM »
For those who don't mind a fixer-upper, so to speak:
Dell Inspiron 14 7xxx 2-in-1, Ryzen 5 8640HS, 8GB upgradeable RAM, 512GB SSD for $400
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-14-2-in-1-14-ips-led-fhd-touch-screen-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-with-8gb-memory-512gb-ssd-midnight-blue/6576719.p?skuId=6576719
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 #15119 on: January 26, 2025, 10:35:38 AM »
XPS 13.4" with Lunar Lake CU7 256V, 16GB RAM (non-upgradeable) and 512GB SSD for $1000. Open box starts at $838. @Jojo202
https://www.bestbuy.com/product/dell-xps-13-13-4-lcd-fhd-laptop-intel-core-ultra-7-copilot-pc-with-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-graphite/6598704/openbox?condition=fair
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!