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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 3152098 times)

Offline dhalpern1

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« Last Edit: July 09, 2012, 10:54:14 AM by Dan »

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #781 on: July 09, 2012, 10:54:25 AM »
+ 5% Open Savings.
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.

Offline Ergel

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Re: Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #782 on: July 09, 2012, 11:11:05 AM »
+ 5% Open Savings.
So total cost 800 - 5% -$140 (conservative estimate on xbox) -6% (urm) = $572
Seems like a really good deal, thoughts name changed?
Life isn't about checking the boxes. Nobody cares.

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Re: Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #783 on: July 09, 2012, 11:59:57 AM »
So total cost 800 - 5% -$140 (conservative estimate on xbox) -6% (urm) = $572
Seems like a really good deal, thoughts name changed?
It is a really good price.  A steal for these specs

Just this laptop doesn't have great ratings.


Offline Thingywingy

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #784 on: July 09, 2012, 12:06:27 PM »
Any good deals on a 17' inch?
I am sometimes accused of overthinking things. I am still mulling over whether that accusation has merit.

Offline Thingywingy

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #785 on: July 09, 2012, 12:09:47 PM »
Here Bestbuy is selling a Dell Inspiron 15

Its for $330 - Instore pick up, but you could order online.

Specs:
i3-2350m
4GB Ram
500GB Hard Drive
Bluetooth

This price likely wont last. Its a great price for the specs.
446.98 on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-I15N-2733BK-i3-2350M-Processor/dp/B008IUK5W2/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1341850034&sr=8-6&keywords=I15N-2733BK
I am sometimes accused of overthinking things. I am still mulling over whether that accusation has merit.

Offline Walk On the Ocean

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #786 on: July 09, 2012, 01:36:57 PM »
Here Bestbuy is selling a Dell Inspiron 15

Its for $330 - Instore pick up, but you could order online.

Specs:
i3-2350m
4GB Ram
500GB Hard Drive
Bluetooth

This price likely wont last. Its a great price for the specs.
Yep you were right
Looks like it's $399 now

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #787 on: July 09, 2012, 01:43:34 PM »
Yep you were right
Looks like it's $399 now
I talk from experience. ;)

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #788 on: July 09, 2012, 05:51:02 PM »
I talk from experience. ;)
would you be able to give me an opinion on the following:
I'm looking for a netbook/ultraportable. most of wht I'm seeing is (low end, $250-300) with Intel Atom processors (1.6 Ghz)
however there are some that seem to use i3 processors; i3 330UM(1.20GHz) or even i3-2357M (1.30 GHz)
but it seems the processors or no faster than the Atoms
is there something I'm missing here? should I just stick with the low-end pieces?
thanks for your input

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #789 on: July 09, 2012, 09:34:03 PM »
would you be able to give me an opinion on the following:
I'm looking for a netbook/ultraportable. most of wht I'm seeing is (low end, $250-300) with Intel Atom processors (1.6 Ghz)
however there are some that seem to use i3 processors; i3 330UM(1.20GHz) or even i3-2357M (1.30 GHz)
but it seems the processors or no faster than the Atoms
is there something I'm missing here? should I just stick with the low-end pieces?
thanks for your input
There are a few Intel Atom processors, But they are all really low end processors that are in netbooks.
Ultra portable laptops are higher end portable laptops, not really comparable to a netbook.

The i3-330UM processor - even though its a 1.2GHz as comparing to the Atom processor, the i3 is much more powerful. It could be slower in speed, but could handle much more. (Besides that it could get much hotter, and still perform.)
The i3-330Um is an i3 processor built for low power consumption - specially for netbooks.
The i3-2357M is mostly found in Ultrabooks, it also is a scaled down version of the typical i3, just this one is the newer model. The i3-330UM is about 2 years old - when the i3-370M came out.

BTW - just like there is a difference between the netbook/ultrabook i3 and laptop i3, the i3 for desktops are much more powerful than the laptop i3 processors.

Offline gozalim

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #790 on: July 09, 2012, 10:44:13 PM »
There are a few Intel Atom processors, But they are all really low end processors that are in netbooks.
Ultra portable laptops are higher end portable laptops, not really comparable to a netbook.

The i3-330UM processor - even though its a 1.2GHz as comparing to the Atom processor, the i3 is much more powerful. It could be slower in speed, but could handle much more. (Besides that it could get much hotter, and still perform.)
The i3-330Um is an i3 processor built for low power consumption - specially for netbooks.
The i3-2357M is mostly found in Ultrabooks, it also is a scaled down version of the typical i3, just this one is the newer model. The i3-330UM is about 2 years old - when the i3-370M came out.

BTW - just like there is a difference between the netbook/ultrabook i3 and laptop i3, the i3 for desktops are much more powerful than the laptop i3 processors.

Thanks alot
so the dell from newegg I linked to should be a better deal (at <$300) than most of the acer/asus atom netbooks I'm seeing. or the samsung from microsoft store is actually worth something (although it's a different league). is that one a good deal?

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #791 on: July 09, 2012, 10:56:57 PM »
Thanks alot
so the dell from newegg I linked to should be a better deal (at <$300) than most of the acer/asus atom netbooks I'm seeing. or the samsung from microsoft store is actually worth something (although it's a different league). is that one a good deal?
Yes the Dell from Newegg is deff much better than the acer netbook

The MS Store Ultrabook  - is a different league ... SSD Drive, the processor is somewhat better than the i3-330UM but not crazy different. That Laptop isnt a good price (its the retail price)

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #792 on: July 09, 2012, 11:20:31 PM »
Yes the Dell from Newegg is deff much better than the acer netbook

The MS Store Ultrabook  - is a different league ... SSD Drive, the processor is somewhat better than the i3-330UM but not crazy different. That Laptop isnt a good price (its the retail price)
thank you

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #793 on: July 10, 2012, 04:08:24 PM »
Yes the Dell from Newegg is deff much better than the acer netbook

The MS Store Ultrabook  - is a different league ... SSD Drive, the processor is somewhat better than the i3-330UM but not crazy different. That Laptop isnt a good price (its the retail price)
thanks you.
would the i3-330 also be better than a celeron?

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #794 on: July 10, 2012, 05:26:30 PM »
thanks you.
would the i3-330 also be better than a celeron?
That celeron is better that the i3-330UM

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #795 on: July 10, 2012, 05:50:19 PM »
Yea :)

Confusion, wrong address, leaky plumbing had not opened the box yet . Will post back  ;)

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #796 on: July 10, 2012, 08:10:20 PM »
Lookin for a laptop/netbook cheapest possible one without getting garbage, just to use for browsing and typing up papers, any ideas?

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #798 on: July 10, 2012, 10:38:42 PM »
opinions on this deal:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Samsung-Silver-15.6-NP305V5A-A0CUS-Laptop-PC-with-AMD-Quad-Core-A6-3410MX-Accelerated-Processor-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-with-Windows-8-Pro-Upgrade/19757523
That's my current laptop. Had it for about 5 months now and not 1 complaint. I upgraded to 8 gig ram cuz I had a  gc. Point being I love it :) (I did get it for cheaper though long story I think it's earlier in this thread)
See my 5 step program to your left <--

(Real signature under my location)

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #799 on: July 10, 2012, 10:49:58 PM »