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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Warning: most of the wiki that follows was written a very long time ago and the information on it can be outdated.

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 3660823 times)

Offline smart brit

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #180 on: December 07, 2011, 09:29:43 PM »
acer aspire intel core i5 2.66ghz 15.6 led windscreen for 400 after rebate 0f 50 dollars through tiger direct sounds like a great deal what do u guys think

Offline farmerjoe

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #181 on: December 07, 2011, 09:56:45 PM »
acer aspire intel core i5 2.66ghz 15.6 led windscreen for 400 after rebate 0f 50 dollars through tiger direct sounds like a great deal what do u guys think
link? its hard to judge a laptop just by its processor, however i just got a acer and im very happy.

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #182 on: December 07, 2011, 11:11:07 PM »
link? its hard to judge a laptop just by its processor, however i just got a acer and im very happy.
+1

Either way sounds like a good price for the specs. From the desc - the i5 2.66 probaly is the first gen one... Please post the details

Offline AsherO

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #183 on: December 07, 2011, 11:35:04 PM »
Either way sounds like a good price for the specs. From the desc - the i5 2.66 probaly is the first gen one... Please post the details

Yup, 1st gen it is.

It's sold out online, but still available in store.
DDF FFB (Forum From Birth)

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #184 on: December 07, 2011, 11:52:24 PM »
Yup, 1st gen it is.

It's sold out online, but still available in store.

Deff a good price for the specs.
Enjoy ur new laptop!  :)

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #185 on: December 08, 2011, 12:21:31 AM »
Here is a Dell 15R with latest i5, 4gb ram, 500gb Hard drive for $499

Get the $300 gift card with FREE $50 to make this laptop $449 Here


Offline Deal Guy

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #186 on: December 08, 2011, 12:31:08 AM »
Here is a Dell 15R with latest i5, 4gb ram, 500gb Hard drive for $499

Get the $300 gift card with FREE $50 to make this laptop $449 Here


I can't believe I didn'y buy that saveology coupon. It keeps on eating me up. :'(

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #187 on: December 08, 2011, 12:33:32 AM »
i have a dell 15r with 540 gb... 6g in my card for 550 incl tax with a 125 amex gift card if anyones interested

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #188 on: December 08, 2011, 12:54:58 AM »
Im looking for a good deal on a netbook (really dont wanna spend more than $200-$250.)  I need it for basic web browsing and document/file
editing, and like the protability of netbooks.
I found this deal on meritline.
http://www.meritline.com/asus-1005hab-rblu005s-10-1-eee-pc-netbook---p-62598.aspx
I know people arent big fans of netbooks, but for what I am using it for I think it should be fine. Can someone please tell me if the specs are good?
also if you know of any other deals on netbooks, please post em. thanks!

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #189 on: December 08, 2011, 07:38:12 AM »
Im looking for a good deal on a netbook (really dont wanna spend more than $200-$250.)  I need it for basic web browsing and document/file
editing, and like the protability of netbooks.
I found this deal on meritline.
http://www.meritline.com/asus-1005hab-rblu005s-10-1-eee-pc-netbook---p-62598.aspx
I know people arent big fans of netbooks, but for what I am using it for I think it should be fine. Can someone please tell me if the specs are good?
also if you know of any other deals on netbooks, please post em. thanks!

it's very basic, but then again it's a netbook. If that's all your looking to spend I would go with that, however, it's out of stock!

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #190 on: December 08, 2011, 08:33:13 AM »
I found this deal on meritline.
http://www.meritline.com/asus-1005hab-rblu005s-10-1-eee-pc-netbook---p-62598.aspx
I know people arent big fans of netbooks, but for what I am using it for I think it should be fine. Can someone please tell me if the specs are good?

Do not get this one

It's the first gen of the atom processor, And only 1gb of ram this on is really slow, you will deff regret it.... On top of that its a refurb  >:(
This is really not a good deal for the price....

Walmart was selling an acer with the N570 Processor for $228 I see they are out of stock online... Keep your eyes out, and you should be able to get a good deal

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #191 on: December 08, 2011, 01:24:09 PM »
@Name Changed - So much for it being such a sick deal. Just got an email from Dell that my order won't ship til at least 12/31, more than a month after I ordered it. Had I known that I would've gone with a different computer; now all the deals are over.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. - Dr. Seuss

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #192 on: December 08, 2011, 01:27:57 PM »
@Name Changed - So much for it being such a sick deal. Just got an email from Dell that my order won't ship til at least 12/31, more than a month after I ordered it. Had I known that I would've gone with a different computer; now all the deals are over.

Yup - I also got that email  :( (I bought a few of those, some came and some got delayed)

Call Dell and complain, they got pretty good customer service... Hopefully You'll be able to get a $50 credit

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #193 on: December 08, 2011, 11:29:43 PM »
Here is a decent netbook

Acer Aspire One AOD257-1671 - $229.95

It has the n570 processor - dual core

Offline Shmelly

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #194 on: December 09, 2011, 12:37:15 PM »
Yup - I also got that email  :( (I bought a few of those, some came and some got delayed)

Call Dell and complain, they got pretty good customer service... Hopefully You'll be able to get a $50 credit
Pretty good customer service?! I just spent 31 minutes on the phone with them. Not only did I not get any credit, I never even made it to the right department!

Got transferred 6 times, not 1 English speaker.

"I wanted to know if there is anything that can be done to expedite my order?"
"Ok sir, I understand you want to cancel your order?"
"No my order got delayed, is there anything you can do to make it come to me faster"
"Please sir, I dont understand. Would you like me to cancel your order for you today? It is not a problem"

That was a real conversation with the 3rd rep I spoke with. Do you have a good number to call? That was one of the most frustrating cust serv experiences I've had.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. - Dr. Seuss

Offline joeb1

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #195 on: December 09, 2011, 12:56:54 PM »
chat

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #196 on: December 09, 2011, 01:00:59 PM »
Order support chat is broken.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. - Dr. Seuss

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #197 on: December 09, 2011, 01:09:42 PM »
i had bad experiences with them as well !!

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #198 on: December 09, 2011, 01:14:16 PM »
Waiting on hold now for the 3rd transfer of my 2nd call; 32 minutes in now, nothing accomplished.
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. - Dr. Seuss

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #199 on: December 09, 2011, 01:27:33 PM »
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.