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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 3203603 times)

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12340 on: May 10, 2020, 08:40:40 PM »
Just throwing out there, for anyone looking for a solid, midrange computer:
https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/shop/cty/pdp/spd/inspiron-14-5491-2-in-1-laptop/n25491dswgh?cartitemid=40101581-ade1-47fd-939a-5be73f11ac99&ref=carconfigedittitle&configurationid=c1cee58c-13c4-44a8-95bc-9cc748f4a638
$681, -10% for signing up with email, -10% dell amex, -10% rakuten cashback,  is $496 plus tax. If you have 4pts offer from amex, youll earn ~2k points besides your regular cashback, value at $30, you are looking at under $500 total, less with plat.

Metal chassis, backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, fhd 2in1 touchscreen, 8gb 2666mhz ram, 10th gen i5.
average weight for a 14 inch, a bit on the heavier side.

the 15inch 2in1 is currently $30 more, but it keeps fluctuating.
same laptop is available on amazon for ~$600, but of course, no rakuten, different amex credit.

another option which just went out of stock for delivery, still in stock in some stores
https://www.staples.com/lenovo-ideapad-5-15iil05-81yk-15-6-notebook-intel-i5-8gb-memory-512gb-ssd-windows-10-81yk000tus/product_24435796

Offline jose34

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12341 on: May 11, 2020, 07:29:21 AM »
Just throwing out there, for anyone looking for a solid, midrange computer:
https://www.dell.com/en-us/member/shop/cty/pdp/spd/inspiron-14-5491-2-in-1-laptop/n25491dswgh?cartitemid=40101581-ade1-47fd-939a-5be73f11ac99&ref=carconfigedittitle&configurationid=c1cee58c-13c4-44a8-95bc-9cc748f4a638
$681, -10% for signing up with email, -10% dell amex, -10% rakuten cashback,  is $496 plus tax. If you have 4pts offer from amex, youll earn ~2k points besides your regular cashback, value at $30, you are looking at under $500 total, less with plat.

Metal chassis, backlit keyboard, fingerprint reader, fhd 2in1 touchscreen, 8gb 2666mhz ram, 10th gen i5.
average weight for a 14 inch, a bit on the heavier side.

the 15inch 2in1 is currently $30 more, but it keeps fluctuating.
same laptop is available on amazon for ~$600, but of course, no rakuten, different amex credit.

another option which just went out of stock for delivery, still in stock in some stores
https://www.staples.com/lenovo-ideapad-5-15iil05-81yk-15-6-notebook-intel-i5-8gb-memory-512gb-ssd-windows-10-81yk000tus/product_24435796
The biggest question is Inspiron as good... may be.
Got the Lenovo and ran a benchmarking test on it. Link to results: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/27878959

Offline mochjas

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12342 on: May 11, 2020, 11:33:31 AM »
Does anyone know the difference between Inspiron and XPS?

Offline sysg1

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12343 on: May 11, 2020, 01:04:19 PM »
Does anyone know the difference between Inspiron and XPS?
different level quality builds (XPS is higher). usually a XPS would last way longer.

Offline Iz

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12344 on: May 11, 2020, 09:00:02 PM »
More powerful processor, newer wifi chip, and pretty much the same specs otherwise (biggest difference is 16 instead of 32gb ram) for around $1600
https://store.hp.com/us/en/ConfigureView?langId=-1&storeId=10151&catalogId=10051&catEntryId=3074457345619587323&urlLangId=&quantity=1

The main thing he has better is that it's available now, not in a month.
Thanks.

Offline Yo ssi

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12345 on: May 12, 2020, 02:10:33 AM »
LENOVO Yoga C740 (14”) Laptop Core i5 $699.99
Or with the 10th Generation Intel Core™ i7 for $779.99

Use code: SNEAKPEEKMD4


https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/yoga/700-series/Lenovo-Yoga-C740-14/p/81TC000NUS
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Offline Yehudaa

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12346 on: May 13, 2020, 11:51:56 AM »
How's this? Currently $499.99.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/vivobook-15-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-12gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-vega-10-512gb-ssd-transparent-silver/6403424.p?skuId=6403424

VivoBook 15 15.6" Laptop - AMD Ryzen 7 - 12GB Memory - AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 - 512GB SSD - Transparent Silver

Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
15.6" 1080P IPS-Level Display
Ryzen 7 3700U 2.3 GHz (4GHz Turbo, 6MB Cache)
AMD VEGA 10 Graphics
12GB (4GB soldered + 8GB DIMM) DDR4 2400 MHz Ram
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
720P HD WebCam
Dual Band 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.1
2 Cell 37 WHr Battery
3.75 lbs

PORTS:
1x USB 3.0
2x USB 2.0
1x USB 3.0 Type-C
1x HDMI
1x Micro SD Card Reader
1x Audio Combo Jack

Offline sysg1

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12347 on: May 13, 2020, 12:01:38 PM »
How's this? Currently $499.99.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/vivobook-15-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-12gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-vega-10-512gb-ssd-transparent-silver/6403424.p?skuId=6403424

VivoBook 15 15.6" Laptop - AMD Ryzen 7 - 12GB Memory - AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 - 512GB SSD - Transparent Silver

Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
15.6" 1080P IPS-Level Display
Ryzen 7 3700U 2.3 GHz (4GHz Turbo, 6MB Cache)
AMD VEGA 10 Graphics
12GB (4GB soldered + 8GB DIMM) DDR4 2400 MHz Ram
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
720P HD WebCam
Dual Band 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.1
2 Cell 37 WHr Battery
3.75 lbs

PORTS:
1x USB 3.0
2x USB 2.0
1x USB 3.0 Type-C
1x HDMI
1x Micro SD Card Reader
1x Audio Combo Jack

assuming you know its not in stock, but its not a bad deal.
my main issue is, i dont like the processor. a 7th gen i5-7300U is a similar processor and thats 3 years old

Offline asd

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12348 on: May 13, 2020, 02:16:05 PM »
What labtop should i get if i just need it for  zoom and youtube?

Offline mochjas

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12349 on: May 13, 2020, 02:23:45 PM »
What labtop should i get if i just need it for  zoom and youtube?
ipad

Offline MoYS

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12350 on: May 13, 2020, 02:42:02 PM »
ipad
Why is that easier than using a laptop? with an ipad either you need to buy a stand, which are a hassle, or position it just right. If you need to use it for multiple hours a day its probably more convenient to get a laptop with a webcam, even just a chromebook.

Offline Yo ssi

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12351 on: May 13, 2020, 02:50:11 PM »
What labtop should i get if i just need it for  zoom and youtube?
Perhaps a cheap Chromebook?

Not very cheap but on sale,
https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/cty/pdp/spd/chromebook-11-3100-laptop/s003c310011us?
« Last Edit: May 13, 2020, 03:01:56 PM by Yo ssi »
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Offline pointer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12352 on: May 13, 2020, 06:23:10 PM »
What labtop should i get if i just need it for  zoom and youtube?
Cheapest smart phone you can find, and a milk bottle from one of your kids lunches to prop it up.

Offline AllEars

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12353 on: May 13, 2020, 07:19:02 PM »
assuming you know its not in stock, but its not a bad deal.
my main issue is, i dont like the processor. a 7th gen i5-7300U is a similar processor and thats 3 years old

Isn't the AMD Ryzen 7 3700U the rough equivalent of the Intel Core i7-8565U?

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12354 on: May 17, 2020, 03:53:49 AM »
The biggest question is Inspiron as good... may be.
Got the Lenovo and ran a benchmarking test on it. Link to results: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/27878959

Wow, that's actually a very good score. My personal machine is an asus vivobook flip with 8th gen i7 and 16gb ram, falls short of that one. https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/25767639

Regarding the inspiron, the 5000 series is pretty good from what I've seen, and will probably last longer than the lenovo ideapad. A family member has a 14 inch 5000 series with an 8th gen i3 and 4 gb ram, and it's snappy, reliable, good screen etc. Was purchased on a deal for ~$300 https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/25743598 amazing score for an i3 and only 4gb ram.

Offline justmeha

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12355 on: May 17, 2020, 11:57:27 PM »
looking to buy a xps or specter x360. and i was wondering where might i find the best price, shipping speed? ETC.

Offline El Capitan

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12356 on: May 19, 2020, 10:22:37 AM »
Not a deal per se but still great bang for the buck

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1558021-REG

Any comments on this? Am I the only who thinks specs are great for price?
Still looking for a good MS method :)

Offline Shevs177

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12357 on: May 19, 2020, 01:05:17 PM »
Looking for refurbished laptop. Just for basic zoom teaching, word documents, shopping online and davka program.

I came up with these 2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085VSTC2L/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_1H0WEbA3YQAVM
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WP6MB36/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_.Q0WEbVQ09K91

Also not sure if amazon is the best place to get a refurbished laptop?

Any help is appreciated!

Offline etech0

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12358 on: May 19, 2020, 01:06:34 PM »
Someone told me they did very well buying refurbished directly from dell
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline El Capitan

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12359 on: May 19, 2020, 01:18:06 PM »
Someone told me they did very well buying refurbished directly from dell
In general buying refurbished directly from companies is usually a good bet
Still looking for a good MS method :)