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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 3212892 times)

Offline yandmk

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8340 on: July 22, 2015, 10:29:16 PM »
I'm looking to buy a good quality laptop with high speed ferformance that should last me a long time. Here are some things I found.
1) Any recommendations?
2) Are these decent prices, or are they very overpriced?
3) Is there any reason to buy with a retail store like Staples or Bestbuy over Amazon?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver-matte/8963082.p?id=1219698447246&skuId=8963082

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-8gb-hybrid-hard-drive-black/1312698695.p?id=mp1312698695&skuId=1312698695

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-17-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-natural-silver/7890128.p?id=1219686591241&skuId=7890128

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i5548-4167SLV-Touchscreen-Broadwell/dp/B00ZS64K7K/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437616884&sr=1-4&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Touchscreen-RealSense-Bluetooth/dp/B010F0XW9U/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617001&sr=1-7&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/HP-ENVY-17t-17-3-Laptop/dp/B00SEF4MJ8/ref=sr_1_62?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617650&sr=1-62&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Processor-1920x1080-Touchscreen/dp/B00NF0IM5M/ref=sr_1_65?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617791&sr=1-65&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-17-3-Inch-Laptop-Drive-80FG0037US/dp/B00SB4B330/ref=sr_1_77?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617946&sr=1-77&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

Thanks in advance. (other recommendations are welcome as well)

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8341 on: July 22, 2015, 10:48:53 PM »
I'm looking to buy a good quality laptop with high speed ferformance that should last me a long time. Here are some things I found.
1) Any recommendations?
2) Are these decent prices, or are they very overpriced?
3) Is there any reason to buy with a retail store like Staples or Bestbuy over Amazon?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver-matte/8963082.p?id=1219698447246&skuId=8963082

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-8gb-hybrid-hard-drive-black/1312698695.p?id=mp1312698695&skuId=1312698695

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-17-3-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-natural-silver/7890128.p?id=1219686591241&skuId=7890128

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i5548-4167SLV-Touchscreen-Broadwell/dp/B00ZS64K7K/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437616884&sr=1-4&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Touchscreen-RealSense-Bluetooth/dp/B010F0XW9U/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617001&sr=1-7&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/HP-ENVY-17t-17-3-Laptop/dp/B00SEF4MJ8/ref=sr_1_62?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617650&sr=1-62&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Processor-1920x1080-Touchscreen/dp/B00NF0IM5M/ref=sr_1_65?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617791&sr=1-65&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-17-3-Inch-Laptop-Drive-80FG0037US/dp/B00SB4B330/ref=sr_1_77?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1437617946&sr=1-77&keywords=laptop&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817225011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%7C2289793011%7C2289794011

Thanks in advance. (other recommendations are welcome as well)
What do you plan on using it for?
I dont know of any difference where you get it from
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Online aygart

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8342 on: July 23, 2015, 12:24:33 AM »
Travel agency. I open a lot of web pages at once. And currently my computer is a disaster. It takes forever for anything to open. (And I have decent Internet speed) I was recomended to look for 8GB RAM or more. Is there a major difference between 8GB or 12GB or 16GB RAM that it would be worth investing more money? (If yes, I would spend the extra few hundred dollars for it. I need high speed)
chromebook?
Feelings don't care about your facts

Offline yandmk

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8343 on: July 23, 2015, 12:57:40 AM »
What do you plan on using it for?
I dont know of any difference where you get it from

Travel agency. I open a lot of web pages at once. And currently my computer is a disaster. It takes forever for anything to open. (And I have decent Internet speed) I was recomended to look for 8GB RAM or more. Is there a major difference between 8GB or 12GB or 16GB RAM that it would be worth investing more money? (If yes, I would spend the extra few hundred dollars for it. I need high speed)

Offline shulemw

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8344 on: July 23, 2015, 10:38:57 AM »
Is this a good deal for $579?
Is it a good laptop?

Using for booking tickets and other fast things on the internet.

Acer Series Aspire
Model V3-572G-76EM
Operating System Windows 8.1
CPU Intel Core i7-5500U 2.4 GHz
Screen 15.6"
Memory 8GB DDR3L
Storage 1TB
Graphics Card NVIDIA Geforce 840M
Video Memory 2 GB GDDR3
CPU CPU Type Intel Core i7 CPU Speed 5500U (2.40GHz)
Dual-core Processor
Display Screen Size 15.6"
GPU/VPU NVIDIA GeForce 840M
1TB HDD RPM 5400RPM
Memory 8GB Memory Spec 4GB x 2

Offline yandmk

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8345 on: July 23, 2015, 12:20:13 PM »
This machine seems to have EVERY spec in it: Intel i7 16GB RAM, 1TB, touch, backlit keyboard, DVD, etc. Is it a good machine? And does the price make sense for such a laptop?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver-matte/8963082.p?id=1219698447246&skuId=8963082

Also, what about this store for $30 less? Is it as reliable of a store as BestBuy?

http://www.compsource.com/pn/i55588571SLV/Dell-2537/

Offline Work-for-ur-muny

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8346 on: July 23, 2015, 12:27:04 PM »
This machine seems to have EVERY spec in it: Intel i7 16GB RAM, 1TB, touch, backlit keyboard, DVD, etc. Is it a good machine? And does the price make sense for such a laptop?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver-matte/8963082.p?id=1219698447246&skuId=8963082

Also, what about this store for $30 less? Is it as reliable of a store as BestBuy?

http://www.compsource.com/pn/i55588571SLV/Dell-2537/
Almost. No SSD.

Offline yandmk

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8347 on: July 23, 2015, 12:37:21 PM »
Almost. No SSD.

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the benefit of a SSD? What is it?

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8348 on: July 23, 2015, 12:38:31 PM »


This machine seems to have EVERY spec in it: Intel i7 16GB RAM, 1TB, touch, backlit keyboard, DVD, etc. Is it a good machine? And does the price make sense for such a laptop?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-15-6-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver-matte/8963082.p?id=1219698447246&skuId=8963082

Also, what about this store for $30 less? Is it as reliable of a store as BestBuy?

http://www.compsource.com/pn/i55588571SLV/Dell-2537/
that is a terrible price and I'll explain why

There are many different types of i7 processors the u series are "energy efficient" making them not so great although it is fine even for heavy web browsing. Ram is easily upgradable and if it comes preinstalled you are usually paying triple the price so its worth getting a laptop with 8gb and upgrading it if needed just find out the max capacity. An SSD is really the best upgrade it helps for speed and it makes a huge difference in the long term performance however if it comes preinstalled it costs $250+ as opposed to approx $85
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline incendia

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Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8350 on: July 23, 2015, 12:47:06 PM »
Pardon my ignorance, but what is the benefit of a SSD? What is it?
An SSD is a solid state drive and works with flash memory instead of a spinning physical platter it is therefore MUCH faster and because its digital it doesn't really get slowed down over time like a HDD
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline avromie7

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I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline yandmk

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8352 on: July 23, 2015, 12:56:06 PM »
Thank you for your help.  How do I know how much memory can be added?

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8353 on: July 23, 2015, 01:08:17 PM »
Thank you for your help.  How do I know how much memory can be added?
Go to crucial.com use crucial advisor tool and on the left side it will say "maximum memory xxxxxmb"
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline Work-for-ur-muny

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8354 on: July 23, 2015, 01:21:30 PM »
I'm not sure if I'm missing some point here, but why would one want to upgrade a 1TB HDD to a 256 GB SSD (number is an example), when he is actually giving up 744 GB of storage space?

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8355 on: July 23, 2015, 01:27:16 PM »


I'm not sure if I'm missing some point here, but why would one want to upgrade a 1TB HDD to a 256 GB SSD (number is an example), when he is actually giving up 744 GB of storage space?

The difference in speed doesn't even compare and unless you are storing pictures and videos 250gb is more than enough
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline Work-for-ur-muny

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8356 on: July 23, 2015, 01:30:03 PM »

The difference in speed doesn't even compare and unless you are storing pictures and videos 250gb is more than enough
The used space on my computer is 826 GB; so I guess the SSDs aren't much good in my situation.

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8357 on: July 23, 2015, 01:32:53 PM »
The used space on my computer is 826 GB; so I guess the SSDs aren't much good in my situation.
Are you sure its not the available space?
On a desktop you can have 2 drives
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline Work-for-ur-muny

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8358 on: July 23, 2015, 01:59:26 PM »
Are you sure its not the available space?
On a desktop you can have 2 drives
It is a laptop.
« Last Edit: July 23, 2015, 02:25:20 PM by Work-for-ur-muny »

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #8359 on: July 23, 2015, 02:12:49 PM »
It is a laptop.
You must be storing a lot of videos or movies
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.