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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

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 3213213 times)

Offline MidasLefko

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8200 on: June 11, 2015, 04:13:40 PM »
processor speed and ram are more important than i*

Ok... what would you recommend for $700?

Offline bb1836

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8201 on: June 11, 2015, 05:24:14 PM »
Ok... what would you recommend for $700?
chip in a few hundred bucks more and buy a mac!
As @davidmal says: "Likes" feed the family

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8202 on: June 12, 2015, 12:50:43 AM »
I have this laptop, which I love, but need a bigger hard drive, and a new battery. Is it worth buying a 512gb SSD, and replacing the current HD, (I'm currently using about 300gb on my desktop, it would be a clone essentially) and buy a new battery, or should I get a new laptop?
 

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8203 on: June 14, 2015, 03:04:51 AM »
I have this laptop, which I love, but need a bigger hard drive, and a new battery. Is it worth buying a 512gb SSD, and replacing the current HD, (I'm currently using about 300gb on my desktop, it would be a clone essentially) and buy a new battery, or should I get a new laptop?
 
one last question -  if I go for a new one, what would be considered a good cpu benchmark number?

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8204 on: June 14, 2015, 03:05:54 AM »
one last question -  if I go for a new one, what would be considered a good cpu benchmark number?
What do you need it for and what's your budget
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8205 on: June 14, 2015, 03:09:02 AM »
What do you need it for and what's your budget
Budget ranges. I need to browse, store up to 300 GB of files (maybe more) and use microsoft office, particularly outlook, with no lag time. My current laptop (http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/scanview/B106FFDD31D926C3) was great till it got full, and after seeing what's out there I'm thinking of just putting in a 512GB SSD as the best option for another year or two.

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8206 on: June 14, 2015, 03:11:45 AM »
Budget ranges. I need to browse, store up to 300 GB of files (maybe more) and use microsoft office, particularly outlook, with no lag time. My current laptop (http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/scanview/B106FFDD31D926C3) was great till it got full, and after seeing what's out there I'm thinking of just putting in a 512GB SSD as the best option for another year or two.
I can't see your specs from there what processor do you have
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8207 on: June 14, 2015, 03:20:18 AM »
I can't see your specs from there what processor do you have
i5 M 560 @ 2.67
thanks!

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8208 on: June 14, 2015, 03:25:22 AM »
i5 M 560 @ 2.67
thanks!
I would keep that laptop and put in the ssd because it's decent enough especially with an ssd, and you can move the ssd on to a new laptop in a year or two if need be, making this a very small investment into a decent computer
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8209 on: June 14, 2015, 03:26:24 AM »
I would keep that laptop and put in the ssd because it's decent enough especially with an ssd, and you can move the ssd on to a new laptop in a year or two if need be, making this a very small investment into a decent computer
excellent. will do. any recommendation on where/what to buy an ssd? or just the cheapest thing on newegg?

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8210 on: June 14, 2015, 03:33:40 AM »
excellent. will do. any recommendation on where/what to buy an ssd? or just the cheapest thing on newegg?
samsung are the best, crucial and kingston are also good I always use the 240gb kingstons in my office. I look for any of these 3 usually from newegg or amazon
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8211 on: June 14, 2015, 03:36:13 AM »
samsung are the best, crucial and kingston are also good I always use the 240gb kingstons in my office. I look for any of these 3 usually from newegg or amazon
Thank you for all your help

Offline Miracle

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8212 on: June 14, 2015, 12:41:23 PM »
I'm looking for a very inexpensive laptop. It's going to be used only for kids playing educational games ages 5-11.

Anything out there for 200 usd?

Thanks

Offline Alexsei

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8213 on: June 14, 2015, 03:50:17 PM »
Which windows laptop is most similar to a macbook in sleekness, power and style?
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Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8214 on: June 14, 2015, 04:40:41 PM »
I'm looking for a very inexpensive laptop. It's going to be used only for kids playing educational games ages 5-11.

Anything out there for 200 usd?

Thanks
there's plenty, hp is having a clearance sale now, and bestbuy open box is always something to try.

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8215 on: June 14, 2015, 04:41:55 PM »
Which windows laptop is most similar to a macbook in sleekness, power and style?


That's a funny question, literally apples and oranges. I would imagine one of the highend ultrabooks or something would do the job, but it would be easier to help if you can explain what you're looking for.

Offline Miracle

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8216 on: June 14, 2015, 04:45:45 PM »
there's plenty, hp is having a clearance sale now, and bestbuy open box is always something to try.
Can you send a couple links my way?

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8217 on: June 14, 2015, 04:45:58 PM »
samsung are the best, crucial and kingston are also good I always use the 240gb kingstons in my office. I look for any of these 3 usually from newegg or amazon
So I wanted to update you, I discovered that my laptop has a lenovo ultraslim bay that allows you to basically slide out the dvd drive and replace it with a SSD. I'm more comfortable with that because I was having trouble making a recovery disk, and I retain the original 320 GB + 500 SSD. I think ideally I should be putting my OS on the SSD, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to transfer. I ordered the adaptor and the SSD, I'll let you know how it goes, if I can.
Maybe we should spin the tech discussion into a separate thread.

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8218 on: June 14, 2015, 04:54:29 PM »
Can you send a couple links my way?
best buy open box is in store only.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_97_0?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A565108%2Cp_n_availability%3A1248800011%2Cp_74%3A00000-39999&bbn=565108&ie=UTF8&qid=1434315148
I would suggest a chromebook or something similar.
None of these are extra special deals, if I bump into one I'll post.

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8219 on: June 14, 2015, 04:57:42 PM »
So I wanted to update you, I discovered that my laptop has a lenovo ultraslim bay that allows you to basically slide out the dvd drive and replace it with a SSD. I'm more comfortable with that because I was having trouble making a recovery disk, and I retain the original 320 GB + 500 SSD. I think ideally I should be putting my OS on the SSD, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to transfer. I ordered the adaptor and the SSD, I'll let you know how it goes, if I can.
Maybe we should spin the tech discussion into a separate thread.
If you don't move the is to the SSD its a waste of money, there are many clone and backup tools. I always use redo backup (that's what my boss uses, I just learned from him) its very simple to make a backup that you can put on a flash drive and then restore to the ssd, then once you know that the clone worked you can format the old drive and use it for storage
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.