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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 3152382 times)

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13380 on: February 02, 2022, 05:10:40 PM »
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/msi-modern-15-6-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-carbon-gray/6427572.p
$659

How is the build quality from MSI? Anyone understand their various product lines?
I've been seeing their non gaming laptops more and more often.

Offline avadah

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13381 on: February 12, 2022, 09:24:43 PM »
Hi,
Im looking for a cheap 13-14 inch laptop used primarily for excel, internet browsing and otzar hachochma. I would prefer a touchscreen.
TIA

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13382 on: February 13, 2022, 02:51:55 PM »
Hi,
Im looking for a cheap 13-14 inch laptop used primarily for excel, internet browsing and otzar hachochma. I would prefer a touchscreen.
TIA

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Aspire-5-14-0-Full-HD-IPS-Display-11th-Gen-Intel-Core-i5-1135G7-8GB-DDR4-256GB-M-2-NVMe-PCIe-SSD-Safari-Gold-Windows-11-Home-A514-54-501Z/945394621
$429. Seems to check the boxes
i5 11th Generation
8gb ram
14" FHD ips screen
I believe metal lid, I'm not sure about the bottom

Can go more expensive and get this higher end machine
https://www.costco.com/.product.100794404.html $650
14", 16gb ram, good screen.


Two other options, I don’t think as good.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-Ideapad-3i-14-0-FHD-Intel-Core-i5-10210U-8GB-512GB-SSD-Platinum-Grey-Windows-11-Home-81WA00Q7US/725997675 $429

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/asus-vivobook-14-f415ea-ub34-14-laptop/9434h9slmksl?activetab=pivot:overviewtab $439


Dell:
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxon
Good value at $342, 15 inch.
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/d053
2in1, $470, not sure if it's metal
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxnz
$470, metal
The dells are only worth it with the 10% off from amex, or the platinum credit.

Edit: add prices at time of posting
« Last Edit: February 13, 2022, 02:57:39 PM by Chuchum Ainer »

Offline avadah

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13383 on: February 13, 2022, 03:10:01 PM »
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Aspire-5-14-0-Full-HD-IPS-Display-11th-Gen-Intel-Core-i5-1135G7-8GB-DDR4-256GB-M-2-NVMe-PCIe-SSD-Safari-Gold-Windows-11-Home-A514-54-501Z/945394621
$429. Seems to check the boxes
i5 11th Generation
8gb ram
14" FHD ips screen
I believe metal lid, I'm not sure about the bottom

Can go more expensive and get this higher end machine
https://www.costco.com/.product.100794404.html $650
14", 16gb ram, good screen.


Two other options, I don’t think as good.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-Ideapad-3i-14-0-FHD-Intel-Core-i5-10210U-8GB-512GB-SSD-Platinum-Grey-Windows-11-Home-81WA00Q7US/725997675 $429

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/asus-vivobook-14-f415ea-ub34-14-laptop/9434h9slmksl?activetab=pivot:overviewtab $439


Dell:
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxon
Good value at $342, 15 inch.
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/d053
2in1, $470, not sure if it's metal
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxnz
$470, metal
The dells are only worth it with the 10% off from amex, or the platinum credit.

Edit: add prices at time of posting
Thanks. Why is the lenovo not as good as the acer? How's the dell 2-1 dell compare? It's only $40 more w/o amex credit

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13384 on: February 13, 2022, 03:48:30 PM »
Quote from: avadah
Thanks. Why is the lenovo not as good as the acer? How's the dell 2-1 dell compare? It's only $40 more w/o amex credit

The acer has the newest i5, the lenovo has the last gen. I don't have full info on the lenovo display, but the acer aspire is likely the same or better. The big question is build quality. I haven't used the aspire 5, but I'd assume it's slightly better build quality than the ideapad 3. If anyone has more info, please weigh in.

The dell 2in1 has a weaker proccesor. There are different versions of the 2in1, some plastic some metal. If it's metal it's likely a better build. If it's plastic, probably not. The better build may outweigh the weaker proccesor. I'm not sure, so I'd feel safer with the aspire.
Of course you can order and return if you don't like it.

Offline avadah

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13385 on: February 14, 2022, 09:13:39 AM »
Thank for the thorough replies!
What would you recommend in 15.6? (Same requirements)

Offline avadah

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Offline Moish613

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13387 on: February 14, 2022, 11:51:57 PM »
I bought this and returned it.
The screen got dark when not on a perfect angle. I'm not sure what causes that, but it really bothered me.

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13388 on: February 15, 2022, 12:04:31 AM »
some of the dells look interesting.
The $343 one (posted above) is very good at that price. I think it was $14 cheaper around black friday. (re the DDMS post about dell presidents day deals, IMHO this laptop should have been included. I think this one is worth the extra $43 for the extra ram vs the $299 version, and I'm not sure the $399 one is worth the extra $58. the i5 chip it has is last gen, has 4 cores, but the 2 cores in this latest gen i3 are faster, and it has better graphics as well). reposting link: https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxon $343
All that said, it is still a plastic, low end build.

https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxtb $549
i5h 8gb touchscreen. it's a cut above the Inspiron 3000s, metal build.

Another 14inch i saw
https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9964426/Lenovo-IdeaPad-5i-Laptop-14-Screen/ $549
Great deal. 16gb ram, metal build, good battery, 300nit screen. full specs https://psref.lenovo.com/Detail/IdeaPad/IdeaPad_5_14ITL05?M=82FE013RUS

some other links, may be better for someone's specific needs.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203705858642 $550 Samsung - Galaxy Book Flex2 Alpha 13.3"
https://www.costco.com/.product.100794404.html $650 Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 14"
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxtf $629 Inspiron 15 ($80 more than the above dell for basically just extra ram, minus touchscreen)
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavilion-15-6-FHD-AMD-Ryzen-5-5500U-8GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-Horizon-Blue-Windows-11-15-eh1052wm/531869839 $549
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenovo-Ideapad-Slim-7i-Pro-14-0-Intel-Core-i5-11300H-16GB-256GB-NVMe-TLC-SSD-Intel-Iris-Xe-Graphics-Windows-11-Home-Slate-Grey-82QT000QUS/661718571 $769 (was $699 BF, I think it's still great at this price)

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13389 on: February 15, 2022, 12:13:49 AM »
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laptop-15t-dw300-touch-optional-1b9n3av-1

is this good?
$419 starting, costs $469 with FHD screen (pretty necessary)
This is the lowest end HP line, as opposed to the ones with names (pavilion, envy, etc.) not at all worth it at that price. can get the next step up for just about the same https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-pavilion-laptop-15z-eh100-2h5a8av-1

The $343 or $399 dells are cheaper, still with FHD screens

I bought this and returned it.
The screen got dark when not on a perfect angle. I'm not sure what causes that, but it really bothered me.
Which laptop are you referring to?
Most likely it was a TN screen, a cheaper screen with bad viewing angles. another reason to stay away from the lowest tier laptops.
IPS, or dell's WVA, which stands for wide viewing angles, are what to look for 

Offline Moish613

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13390 on: February 15, 2022, 12:29:17 AM »
This is the exact model I bought.
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laptop-15z-ef2000-touch-optional-2k3t2av-1
I upgraded to the 1920x1080 ips screen.

Offline avadah

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13391 on: February 15, 2022, 12:47:20 AM »
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxtb $549
i5h 8gb touchscreen. it's a cut above the Inspiron 3000s, metal build.

This is an i5?
The touch screen and metal build is worth another $ 200 over the $343 dell?
« Last Edit: February 15, 2022, 12:54:49 AM by avadah »

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13392 on: February 15, 2022, 01:25:40 AM »
https://deals.dell.com/en-us/member/productdetail/cxtb $549
i5h 8gb touchscreen. it's a cut above the Inspiron 3000s, metal build.

This is an i5?
The touch screen and metal build is worth another $ 200 over the $343 dell?

Oops, mixed them up.
It's an AMD ryzen 5. Similar to an i5.

I think it's worth $200 more if it's in your budget and you are buying a single computer for personal use.

It's has a better proccesor, more storage, larger battery, half a pound lighter, backlit keyboard and includes USB c.
Its also built better, and should last longer. Likely will run cooler as well, which means quieter fans, longer battery life on a charge, and longer battery life in the long run.

Touchscreen is a nice feature if you use it. If not it's just a hit on battery life (and often more expensive)

Offline avadah

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13395 on: February 17, 2022, 12:26:14 PM »

Offline avadah

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13396 on: February 17, 2022, 01:58:08 PM »
So basically, avadah nisht
well said!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13397 on: February 19, 2022, 08:57:00 PM »
https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/9964426/Lenovo-IdeaPad-5i-Laptop-14-Screen/ $549
Great deal. 16gb ram, metal build, good battery, 300nit screen. full specs https://psref.lenovo.com/Detail/IdeaPad/IdeaPad_5_14ITL05?M=82FE013RUS

Now $500. I know a few people with very good experiences with this line.

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13398 on: February 20, 2022, 01:17:03 AM »
Non-touch screen?

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13399 on: February 20, 2022, 04:56:32 PM »
Best laptop to get today with at least i7, 16gb ram and 512 SSD under $1,000?