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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 3151817 times)

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9620 on: May 13, 2016, 08:46:57 AM »
ThinkPad 20C6S01Q00 E540 i5-4200M 2.5GHz 4GB 500GB 15.6" W7P-W8P 64

I put in a ssd and another 4 gig ram (total 8)
The ThinkPad is better specs
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9621 on: May 13, 2016, 08:47:51 AM »
The ThinkPad is better specs
What do you recommend?

I am desperate and I don't mind to spend about 500

I have the 8 gig ram card so 4 gig is enough if I can add
Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9622 on: May 13, 2016, 08:49:09 AM »
What do you recommend?

I am desperate and I don't mind to spend about 500
What are you using it for?
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9623 on: May 13, 2016, 08:50:50 AM »
What are you using it for?
Mainly a bunch of chrome tabs quicken word etc..

What  I had was good so something like that but must be more durable since it's at home and fell a bunch of times...
Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9624 on: May 13, 2016, 08:53:45 AM »
Mainly a bunch of chrome tabs quicken word etc..

What  I had was good so something like that but must be more durable since it's at home and fell a bunch of times...
That should do the job for you especially with an SSD, thats not durable like a Dell latitude but it's decent
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9625 on: May 13, 2016, 08:54:33 AM »
That should do the job for you especially with an SSD, thats not durable like a Dell latitude but it's decent
Which latitude? Have any specific model in mind?

Thanks!
Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9626 on: May 13, 2016, 08:55:15 AM »
Which latitude? Have any specific model in mind?

Thanks!
No, they are also way more expensive
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9627 on: May 13, 2016, 08:56:41 AM »
No, they are also way more expensive
Yeh but if it will last me more than the year and 2 months this one did it is worth it. I said I am looking to spend 500 does not mean I will end up spending more
Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9628 on: May 13, 2016, 09:37:43 AM »
If any one has anything mind please share
Money talks...mine says goodbye!


Offline yakov116

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Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9631 on: May 13, 2016, 11:24:29 AM »
Rather get this and do my own upgrade? http://www.provantage.com/dell-y9dmh~7DELL5Q9.htm
Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9632 on: May 13, 2016, 02:03:02 PM »
Rather get this and do my own upgrade? http://www.provantage.com/dell-y9dmh~7DELL5Q9.htm
Bump!

Sorry If anyone can help I need a computer for next week
Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline yakov116

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9633 on: May 14, 2016, 10:06:45 PM »
Bump
Money talks...mine says goodbye!

Offline beeweegee

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9634 on: May 17, 2016, 11:32:00 PM »
After a few hand-me-downs, I'm looking to buy my first laptop. Please tell me if this makes sense:

The primary usage would be for college work - a lot of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, obviously web browsing, and one program that I need to use a lot (SPSS) - not much else. I would like decent RAM, because at times I require having tens and tens of tabs open at a time, but RAM can easily be added later. Does it make sense to look for an i5, 4GB RAM (add 4 more), and 320GB HDD (minimum)? I'd like the screen size to be between 13 & 15 inches, closer to 15 inches is ideal. And lastly, I'll be carrying it around a LOT, so the thinner and lighter, certainly the better. My preferred price ceiling is $300, give or take a bit. I know that it's low, especially for an i5, but certified (manufacturer) refurbs do seem to be in that range.

Does this make sense? Anyone have any particular suggestions? Anything anyone can add would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks!

Offline beeweegee

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9635 on: May 18, 2016, 02:32:12 PM »
After a few hand-me-downs, I'm looking to buy my first laptop. Please tell me if this makes sense:

The primary usage would be for college work - a lot of Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, obviously web browsing, and one program that I need to use a lot (SPSS) - not much else. I would like decent RAM, because at times I require having tens and tens of tabs open at a time, but RAM can easily be added later. Does it make sense to look for an i5, 4GB RAM (add 4 more), and 320GB HDD (minimum)? I'd like the screen size to be between 13 & 15 inches, closer to 15 inches is ideal. And lastly, I'll be carrying it around a LOT, so the thinner and lighter, certainly the better. My preferred price ceiling is $300, give or take a bit. I know that it's low, especially for an i5, but certified (manufacturer) refurbs do seem to be in that range.

Does this make sense? Anyone have any particular suggestions? Anything anyone can add would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks!
Like this, for example. Good deal? Sound right for what I'm looking for?

http://arrowdirect.com/hp-compaq-elitebook-8460p-2-50ghz-intel-core-i5-gen2-320gb-4096mb-4.html

Offline springles

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9636 on: May 19, 2016, 12:10:36 PM »
Like this, for example. Good deal? Sound right for what I'm looking for?

http://arrowdirect.com/hp-compaq-elitebook-8460p-2-50ghz-intel-core-i5-gen2-320gb-4096mb-4.html
I think this might be a heavy one.  Not sure though

Offline beeweegee

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9637 on: May 19, 2016, 12:33:37 PM »
I think this might be a heavy one.  Not sure though
Yes, you are right-I realized that after posting. Any recommendations?

Offline springles

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9638 on: May 19, 2016, 12:41:37 PM »
Yes, you are right-I realized that after posting. Any recommendations?
not really. I just got a cheap chromebook and am very happy with it.  But for your purposes, needing all the microsoft office programs as well as SPSS it wouldnt work. 

Side question, How are you getting SPSS on the computer? student version? its still pretty expensive

Offline sruli1234

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #9639 on: May 19, 2016, 01:05:19 PM »
Like this, for example. Good deal? Sound right for what I'm looking for?

http://arrowdirect.com/hp-compaq-elitebook-8460p-2-50ghz-intel-core-i5-gen2-320gb-4096mb-4.html

It's a 2nd gen i5... the newest I3 runs faster