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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 3199037 times)

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10120 on: November 24, 2016, 12:26:53 AM »

Offline isthmus

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10121 on: November 24, 2016, 12:37:00 AM »
just bought one of these for a friend. thanks. $489

Sure. Im still vacillating. You opted for the 12gb Lenovo over the 8gb HP with SSD. Can I ask for your reasons?

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10122 on: November 24, 2016, 12:41:02 AM »
Sure. Im still vacillating. You opted for the 12gb Lenovo over the 8gb HP with SSD. Can I ask for your reasons?
he's moat worried about speed, and will use about 150gb for storage off the bat. I am totally making this up, but I think the extra 4 gb ram will more than compensate for lack of a ssd, and he'll get his space.

Offline JamesIV

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10123 on: November 24, 2016, 12:46:44 AM »
Anyone have a good recommendation on a laptop for some serious video editing?
I had a Lenovo Ideapad Y series for 3 years. Just recently broke down on me.
Looking for a good i7 $700-$1,000 preferably with ssd.

Offline isthmus

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10124 on: November 24, 2016, 12:49:01 AM »
he's moat worried about speed, and will use about 150gb for storage off the bat. I am totally making this up, but I think the extra 4 gb ram will more than compensate for lack of a ssd, and he'll get his space.

Goodness, this is getting painful for me.

So if Im running excel workbooks with 10-15 pages, eahc of which has a hundred lines and multiple references and formulas, which do I need more:

1. a faster CPU ie uad core vs 7th gen
2. More Ram ie 12 vs 8
3. SSD

Thanks in advance!!!!

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10125 on: November 24, 2016, 01:10:20 AM »
Anyone have a good recommendation on a laptop for some serious video editing?
I had a Lenovo Ideapad Y series for 3 years. Just recently broke down on me.
Looking for a good i7 $700-$1,000 preferably with ssd.
ASUS ROG G752VT-DH74 17-Inch Gaming Laptop, Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 6 GB VRAM, 24 GB DDR4, 1 TB, 256 GB NVMe SSD - $1099

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015ZG9D74/?tag=cl03f-20

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10126 on: November 24, 2016, 01:11:20 AM »
Goodness, this is getting painful for me.

So if Im running excel workbooks with 10-15 pages, eahc of which has a hundred lines and multiple references and formulas, which do I need more:

1. a faster CPU ie uad core vs 7th gen
2. More Ram ie 12 vs 8
3. SSD

Thanks in advance!!!!
you need a pro :) buy both and return one

Offline myi

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10127 on: November 24, 2016, 01:24:26 AM »
$330 after 270 discount
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/274674/HP-15-ay195nr-Laptop-156-Screen/?

HP 15-ay195nr Laptop, 15.6" Screen, Intel® Core™ i5, 8GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive, Windows® 10 Home
Quote
Need your LG Exalt fixed? Cracked in half? Water damage? Or parts to repair yourself. 347.201.2501

Offline isthmus

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10128 on: November 24, 2016, 01:33:02 AM »
you need a pro :) buy both and return one

Apparently the quad core has had overheating issues. HP built the Envy wihtout adequate cooling and I just looked through the forum - not alot of support. That explains why its so cheap - its about a third of what it was 2 years back. I may go for the same one you went for.

Are you serious about buying both and returning one? I cant seem to find the return policies

Offline thaber

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10129 on: November 24, 2016, 01:39:27 AM »
Apparently the quad core has had overheating issues. HP built the Envy wihtout adequate cooling and I just looked through the forum - not alot of support. That explains why its so cheap - its about a third of what it was 2 years back. I may go for the same one you went for.

Are you serious about buying both and returning one? I cant seem to find the return policies
I was serious but without checking hte return policies.

Offline isthmus

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10130 on: November 24, 2016, 01:46:47 AM »
I was serious but without checking hte return policies.

HP say "For the Holidays, HP.com will gladly accept returns up to January 15th, 2017 for most products.":

http://store.hp.com/us/en/PDPStdView?catalogId=10051&urlLangId=-1&langId=-1&productId=1487151&storeId=10151


Offline JamesIV

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10131 on: November 24, 2016, 01:47:44 AM »
ASUS ROG G752VT-DH74 17-Inch Gaming Laptop, Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M 6 GB VRAM, 24 GB DDR4, 1 TB, 256 GB NVMe SSD - $1099

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015ZG9D74/?tag=cl03f-20
Saw that but it's too big :(
« Last Edit: November 24, 2016, 02:01:08 AM by JamesIV »

Offline metsgiantsfan

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10132 on: November 24, 2016, 06:40:19 AM »
i have been browsing so many sites looking for a solid laptop at a good price..I think I found it..Just purchased it...Regular price $899, on sale for $499...the same model at Hewlet is $650 today...

http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/702293/HP-15-ay198nr-Laptop-156-Touchscreen/

HWP, touch screen, i-7 7500, 8gb (was thinking of 16gb), 256gb ssd drive  (this allowed me to go with the 8gb)

$499, pretty good IMO...finally committed..   g luck all.

Offline sky121

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"Not all who wander are lost"

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10134 on: November 24, 2016, 09:36:46 AM »


Goodness, this is getting painful for me.

So if Im running excel workbooks with 10-15 pages, eahc of which has a hundred lines and multiple references and formulas, which do I need more:

1. a faster CPU ie uad core vs 7th gen
2. More Ram ie 12 vs 8
3. SSD

Thanks in advance!!!!

Of those 3, an SSD will make the biggest difference by far. Although a graphics card is really what you need.
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10135 on: November 24, 2016, 09:42:33 AM »
he's moat worried about speed, and will use about 150gb for storage off the bat. I am totally making this up, but I think the extra 4 gb ram will more than compensate for lack of a ssd, and he'll get his space.
The extra 4gb RAM probably won't even make a difference, the slowest part of a computer is the hard drive so if the hard drive is being maxed out, even 32gb of ram won't do much to help you because it's stuck on the hard drive.

Here's an analogy: think of a 12" pipe that has 1 part that's 6" wide, you can't get more water thru by making it 18" wide because you're still stuck on the 6" part.
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 #10136 on: November 24, 2016, 09:51:34 AM »
The extra 4gb RAM probably won't even make a difference, the slowest part of a computer is the hard drive so if the hard drive is being maxed out, even 32gb of ram won't do much to help you because it's stuck on the hard drive.

Here's an analogy: think of a 12" pipe that has 1 part that's 6" wide, you can't get more water thru by making it 18" wide because you're still stuck on the 6" part.
Understood.  For someone with basic needs,  (outlook,  browser with multiple tabs) is the speed advantage of a SSD noticeable?

Offline avromie7

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #10137 on: November 24, 2016, 09:56:58 AM »
Understood.  For someone with basic needs,  (outlook,  browser with multiple tabs) is the speed advantage of a SSD noticeable?
YES! Although I'm not going to say they need it it's certainly very nice and makes a very noticeable difference especially over time. The most notable is on startup, when I first started installing ssds I was setting up a computer and had to restart it so I pressed restart and turned around for 30 seconds (literally) and when I turned back I wasn't sure if I restarted it or not because it was up and running like nothing happened.
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 #10138 on: November 24, 2016, 10:45:50 AM »
YES! Although I'm not going to say they need it it's certainly very nice and makes a very noticeable difference especially over time. The most notable is on startup, when I first started installing ssds I was setting up a computer and had to restart it so I pressed restart and turned around for 30 seconds (literally) and when I turned back I wasn't sure if I restarted it or not because it was up and running like nothing happened.
So http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/702293/HP-15-ay198nr-Laptop-156-Touchscreen/ is a better deal than the same thing with 12gb ram and 1tb hdd

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