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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 3207038 times)


Offline beeweegee

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Offline nirc

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Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12704 on: November 26, 2020, 12:25:21 PM »
I just bought these two (will return one or both, if need be) but not sure if it's good for the needs. Reviews are mixed....but are they ever not?!

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-ideapad-1-14-laptop-amd-a6-series-4gb-memory-amd-radeon-r4-64gb-emmc-flash-memory-platinum-gray/6359222.p?skuId=6359222

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-81JW0001US-Chromebook-S330-14-HD-Display-Mediatek-MT8173C-CPU-4GB-RAM-32GB-eMMC-SSD-Chrome-OS-Black/206750547
First is a weak machine, NOT GOOD.

The 2nd one is a Chromebook, so you need to make sure that a Chromebook is what will fit your needs. For a Chromebook it's not bad.

Offline leaf

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12705 on: November 26, 2020, 12:27:17 PM »
Looking for a good deal on powerful not-too-heavy laptop for graphic design and video editing (don't need gaming).
Any suggestions?
Reposting. Please post any deals on a powerful (but not too bulky, don't want 17") laptop for graphic design and video editing.

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12706 on: November 26, 2020, 12:27:41 PM »
any thoughts on this one?

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavilion-15-6-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-256gb-ssd-shadow-black/6427566.p?skuId=6427566
Very good! Certainly for the price!

(It's a cheaper device in general because it's AMD CPU and not Intel. But this latest gen Ryzen 5 4600H is way better than an i5 even.


Offline Dovdovmoneytree

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12708 on: November 26, 2020, 12:42:37 PM »
First is a weak machine, NOT GOOD.

The 2nd one is a Chromebook, so you need to make sure that a Chromebook is what will fit your needs. For a Chromebook it's not bad.

Thanks @Yisroel Tech! But they both seem to have similar specs (in fact the 1st one has 64 GB eMMMC storage vs 32 on the Chromebook) so what's the difference between the two? You also mention in a later comment that 4 GB doesn't cut it today (mine has 16 GB, I think, so I do know that 4 GB is slow!), so why's it ok here?? Different on Chromebooks?

 I'm sorry, I'm very limited in my computer/tech knowledge. When I bought for myself, I called B&H and bought from them.

A Chromebook shouldn't suffice for basic family use? E-mail, browsing, photos etc? Sorry, I'm clueless! I never used a Chromebook myself. But my kids used school provided ones this year. I think any MS Office type of tasks can be completed with Google apps, i.e Google Sheets vs Excel? They enjoyed it, even though it only accessed their classes  :D
« Last Edit: November 26, 2020, 12:47:05 PM by Dovdovmoneytree »

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12709 on: November 26, 2020, 12:48:16 PM »
Thanks! But they both seem to have similar specs (in fact the 1st one has 64 GB eMMMC storage vs 32 on the Chromebook) so what's the difference between the two?

 I'm sorry, I'm very limited in my computer/tech knowledge. When I bought for myself, I called B&H and bought from them.

A Chromebook shouldn't suffice for basic family use? E-mail, browsing, photos etc? Sorry, I'm clueless! I never used a Chromebook myself. But my kids used school provided ones this year. I think any MS Office type of tasks can be completed with Google apps, i.e Google Sheets vs Excel? They enjoyed it, even though it only accessed their classes  :D
A Chromebook is a limited type of laptop (can not install conventional apps in it) and therefore it requires way less powerful device to run your normal things. So what is decent for a Chromebook is BAD for a normal old-school Windows laptop.

I cannot answer you if Chromebook is good enough for you. You're right that a lot of things there are Google (and even Microsoft Office Online) alternatives but it's still not a full Windows laptop and there are a lot of things you cannot do on it. So it really depends on your way of using a laptop (but for sure you can do Basic web browsing, e-mail, and managing photos on a Chromebook.)

Offline Dovdovmoneytree

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12710 on: November 26, 2020, 01:01:47 PM »
A Chromebook is a limited type of laptop (can not install conventional apps in it) and therefore it requires way less powerful device to run your normal things. So what is decent for a Chromebook is BAD for a normal old-school Windows laptop.

I cannot answer you if Chromebook is good enough for you. You're right that a lot of things there are Google (and even Microsoft Office Online) alternatives but it's still not a full Windows laptop and there are a lot of things you cannot do on it. So it really depends on your way of using a laptop (but for sure you can do Basic web browsing, e-mail, and managing photos on a Chromebook.)

Thank you. I appreciate your help! I do think it should suffice for their needs, which are limited. I don't allow them to browse the internet. Only used for school work, which is on the limited side. Occasional essays and research. And then we allow them to use e-mail on a limited basis as we live out of town and they have friends on the east coast..... I just wonder if so little storage is enough for their pictures?? I better also double check that Gentech or other filter works on it.

Offline Yisroel Tech

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12711 on: November 26, 2020, 01:15:48 PM »
Thank you. I appreciate your help! I do think it should suffice for their needs, which are limited. I don't allow them to browse the internet. Only used for school work, which is on the limited side. Occasional essays and research. And then we allow them to use e-mail on a limited basis as we live out of town and they have friends on the east coast..... I just wonder if so little storage is enough for their pictures?? I better also double check that Gentech or other filter works on it.
If you use a Chromebook you store your pictures online... (or on an external storage.)

But I agree that you can get better Chromebooks... $119 is very very cheap for a laptop (any type), but that's up to how much you're willing to spend. Let's say something like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-Asus-Chromebook-14-Full-HD-FHD-Laptop-64GB-4GB-RAM-Intel-Celeron-N3350-Silver-C423NA-WB04/960871940

Offline Dovdovmoneytree

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12712 on: November 26, 2020, 01:20:54 PM »
If you use a Chromebook you store your pictures online... (or on an external storage.)

But I agree that you can get better Chromebooks... $119 is very very cheap for a laptop (any type), but that's up to how much you're willing to spend. Let's say something like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-Asus-Chromebook-14-Full-HD-FHD-Laptop-64GB-4GB-RAM-Intel-Celeron-N3350-Silver-C423NA-WB04/960871940

Yeah, I really don't want to spend much on this. Any more serious use can be done on my laptop (by me or my wife  ;))
Too many expenses these days  :-\
I appreciate your help!

Offline Dovdovmoneytree

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12713 on: November 26, 2020, 01:47:50 PM »
If you use a Chromebook you store your pictures online... (or on an external storage.)

But I agree that you can get better Chromebooks... $119 is very very cheap for a laptop (any type), but that's up to how much you're willing to spend. Let's say something like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-Asus-Chromebook-14-Full-HD-FHD-Laptop-64GB-4GB-RAM-Intel-Celeron-N3350-Silver-C423NA-WB04/960871940

It's $159, not $119 (the 1st one, not the Chromebook was $119)

The price definitely seems good. Comparable Chromebooks elsewhere are higher. Amazon has this exact one for $192 and up

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12714 on: November 26, 2020, 05:39:06 PM »



Offline Dovdovmoneytree

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« Last Edit: November 26, 2020, 08:40:08 PM by Dovdovmoneytree »

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If it's not free shipping it's not worth it.

Offline etech0

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #12719 on: November 26, 2020, 10:35:00 PM »
Agreed 1000% Why are they still selling 4GB machines??
1000%

Is it for people who don't know better?
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.