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 3211146 times)

Offline clear thinker

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jun 2014
  • Posts: 2596
  • Total likes: 2
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7400 on: December 09, 2014, 04:41:21 PM »
Sorry Guys, didn't have any time for DDF the last month or so. Bring on the questions again lets see if I have a little more time now.
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=11287.msg986646.msg#986646


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 #7402 on: December 09, 2014, 05:12:04 PM »
Dell - Inspiron 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i3 - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Black $309 from BestBuy
Nice deal

Offline ari9

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Jun 2012
  • Posts: 368
  • Total likes: 6
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7403 on: December 09, 2014, 09:06:40 PM »
Awesome looking laptop. I just got a few and ordered more. Looks really nice, very light, great specs and 3 year warranty. Haven't run extended testing on it yet but at first glance I like it.
thanks for the reply
actually ordered it and only after I ordered did I see some negative reviews about the battery so was waiting for the expert opinion before I opened it - going to try it out now ;D

Offline thaber

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 3915
  • Total likes: 467
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 4
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7404 on: December 10, 2014, 01:12:24 AM »

Offline mama_mia

  • Dansdeals Silver Elite
  • **
  • Join Date: Dec 2014
  • Posts: 81
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7405 on: December 10, 2014, 03:23:22 AM »
anyone have thoughts on this? http://www.woot.com/offers/lenovo-thinkpad-x131e-11-6-intel-laptop?ref=cnt_dly_tl
the specs are a little on the older side but it's a Lenovo think pad.... those dinosaurs last for a while...

Offline joeshmoe11

  • DansDeals Copper Elite
  • *
  • Join Date: Jan 2014
  • Posts: 22
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: dallas
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7406 on: December 10, 2014, 10:16:55 AM »
I need some advice.
I want to get a laptop for my mom for her birthday. She said that she wants one that has a smaller screen, somewhere around the 12.8 mark. I wanna get her something light like a notebook with a faster processor maybe an i5 or k'domeh. I don't mind dropping anywhere below $500 on it but I am having a hard time finding the right product for her with the right price tag.
Any advice would be great!
Thanks

Offline katherine123

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 344
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: USA
« Last Edit: December 10, 2014, 12:41:08 PM by katherine123 »

Offline clear thinker

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jun 2014
  • Posts: 2596
  • Total likes: 2
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7408 on: December 10, 2014, 07:58:40 PM »
Thanks, Clear Thinker for your feedback. I was very concerned about getting that laptop because of the mixed reviews but now I think I will  give it a shot.
While still on the subject of notebook deals, I thought I would also throw in that Staples is also having a $100 deal on an Asus subnotebook, kind of like a Windows answer to the Chromebook. It's not quite as zippy as the Chromebook but seems pretty decent as a small machine.
It's an in-store only item and I'll see if I can get one of those as well (hopefully not one of those "4 per store" kind of items.

This is the flyer link:  http://weeklyad.staples.com/StaplesSD/WeeklyAd?storeid=2278696#!/

It's the Asus X205TA, 11.6" HD Laptop .    It's basically a sub-notebook  with a 32 GB SSD drive (think flash drive) with a slot for a micro-SD card. They say up to 64 GB cards but people claim that 128 GB cards work fine as well. It has 2 GB of RAM. I would have thought it would run horribly with only 2 GB of RAM and running Windows 8 but it seems to run fine at least for browsing (including running youtube) and word processor-like tasks.
So I never checked up, u ended up buying it if yes how is it?

Offline DH Data Recovery

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jul 2012
  • Posts: 4559
  • Total likes: 6
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 64
    • View Profile

Offline clear thinker

  • Dansdeals Presidential Platinum Elite
  • ********
  • Join Date: Jun 2014
  • Posts: 2596
  • Total likes: 2
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile

Offline dsw193

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Silver Elite
  • *****
  • Join Date: Feb 2013
  • Posts: 649
  • Total likes: 7
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: Brooklyn, NY
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7411 on: December 11, 2014, 12:28:35 PM »
Usb 2.0 data transfer rate is: upto 60 megabytes per second

24x DVD'S (which is equivalent to
216x CD rates) is: 33.240 megabytes per second.

on the other hand Usb 3.0 can handle up to 640 MBps but there aren't any readers or writers or (dvd's) that can go that fast as far as I know
« Last Edit: December 11, 2014, 12:35:18 PM by dsw193 »

Offline chayal101

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 917
  • Total likes: 137
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7412 on: December 11, 2014, 12:31:17 PM »
@clear thinker, i don't know if you're referring to my post, but in case you are, i kept the Dell laptop, not happy with the touchpad and keyboard, it's a junk! i should have known based on the reviews...
It's also a touchscreen, but i don't see any use out of that...
Chaya L.

Offline chayal101

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite + Lifetime Gold Elite
  • ******
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 917
  • Total likes: 137
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 2
  • Gender: Female
    • View Profile
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7413 on: December 11, 2014, 12:32:23 PM »
And the LG CD/DVD player works just fine, i actually used a large CD with lots of pictures and they loaded quick and easy!
Chaya L.

Offline katherine123

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 344
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: USA
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7414 on: December 11, 2014, 01:31:31 PM »
No.
No.

Can you recommend a laptop? Basically need mostly for internet browsing, nothing heavy duty except to be able to have a lot of tabs open at once without freezing. Want to buy a solid laptop that will last and that is under $300.

Offline Yehuda57

  • Dansdeals Lifetime Presidential Platinum Elite
  • *********
  • Join Date: Jan 2014
  • Posts: 5229
  • Total likes: 14906
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 6
    • View Profile
    • Squilled
  • Location: Brooklyn
  • Programs: Official Dansdeals salad correspondent
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7415 on: December 11, 2014, 01:37:39 PM »
Can you recommend a laptop? Basically need mostly for internet browsing, nothing heavy duty except to be able to have a lot of tabs open at once without freezing. Want to buy a solid laptop that will last and that is under $300.

Chromebook

Offline katherine123

  • Dansdeals Platinum Elite
  • ****
  • Join Date: Oct 2013
  • Posts: 344
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 1
    • View Profile
  • Location: USA
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7416 on: December 11, 2014, 02:02:05 PM »
Chromebook

It needs to be Windows 7. It's for my parents and it was hard enough to teach them Win 7, I can't start with Chromebook.

Offline qtb4me

  • Dansdeals Silver Elite
  • **
  • Join Date: Jun 2012
  • Posts: 91
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: New Jersey

Offline Dan

  • Administrator
  • Dansdeals Lifetime 50K Diamond Elite
  • **********
  • Join Date: May 2008
  • Posts: 68927
  • Total likes: 17312
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 16442
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
  • Location: CLE
  • Programs: UA GS, AA EXP, DL Dirt, Hyatt Glob, Fairmont Lifetime Plat, DD Diamond, Blocked By @NeriaKraus
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7418 on: December 11, 2014, 08:25:17 PM »
No.
Save your time, I don't answer PM. Post it in the forum and a dedicated DDF'er will get back to you as soon as possible.

Offline qtb4me

  • Dansdeals Silver Elite
  • **
  • Join Date: Jun 2012
  • Posts: 91
  • Total likes: 0
  • DansDeals.com Hat Tips 0
    • View Profile
  • Location: New Jersey
Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #7419 on: December 11, 2014, 08:29:33 PM »
darn - What am I missing?   Whats wrong with the specs of this laptop?