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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 3153147 times)

Offline Thingywingy

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #820 on: July 17, 2012, 04:50:02 PM »
look in the circular front page on bottom will see 3 lap tops

http://weeklyad.staples.com/Staples/BrowseByPage?storeid=2622279&promotionviewmode=2&promotioncode=Staples-120715&listingid=0&sneakpeek=N
It seems like that price of 499.99 includes the the $50 off.
I am sometimes accused of overthinking things. I am still mulling over whether that accusation has merit.

Offline SPLP

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #821 on: July 17, 2012, 05:21:49 PM »
It seems like that price of 499.99 includes the the $50 off.
OK ONE MORE TIME  -- if u go into the store or internet it will price at $499 like the adv. --- at check out u give them the $50 off coupon --- last week i and a friend bought same lap and used a $100 of coupon --if i am not clear -- maybe someone else can help u --- or  find the $50 off coupon and go on line or into a store and buy it -

the $50 coupon has "not a thing to do with" the $50 easy rebate u see in adv

Offline dhalpern1

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Offline Daniel

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #823 on: July 18, 2012, 03:11:20 PM »
Any thoughts on this laptop? i5 and only 3 pounds.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/en_US/pd/productID.237488800?WT.mc_id=mercent&mr:referralID=8bad8de6-57ef-11e1-a1f9-001b2166c2c0&siteID=NKa3hZyYoHA-nkMG74z6XqWT63GKMwAzBA


Its sold out already. I just bought a Dell XPS 15 from the dell outlet- i5 8gb ram 750gb sata 7200 HD, 1gb graphics card for a little over $530 shipped inc tax. They have a 20% deal now combined with the $100 amex/twitter/dell promo

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #824 on: July 18, 2012, 03:53:03 PM »
Its sold out already. I just bought a Dell XPS 15 from the dell outlet- i5 8gb ram 750gb sata 7200 HD, 1gb graphics card for a little over $530 shipped inc tax. They have a 20% deal now combined with the $100 amex/twitter/dell promo

AMEX twiiter deal expired I thought.  They have a new deal ? Was this a refurb ?

Offline Dan

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #825 on: July 18, 2012, 03:54:51 PM »
If you are registered it's good till 07/31.
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.

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #826 on: July 18, 2012, 04:13:52 PM »
Thanks  :)

But I don't see i5 for $530 inc. tax and shipped @Dell

Offline Daniel

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #827 on: July 18, 2012, 04:19:01 PM »
Thanks  :)

But I don't see i5 for $530 inc. tax and shipped @Dell

It's 630 after 20% off coupon and then $100 with twitter/amex promo

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #828 on: July 18, 2012, 04:22:29 PM »
It's 630 after 20% off coupon and then $100 with twitter/amex promo

Refurb, scratch And dent or new ?  Link please. Thx

Offline Daniel

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #829 on: July 18, 2012, 04:24:59 PM »
Refurb, scratch And dent or new ?  Link please. Thx

Refurb- there are no links since each system is seperate. Just look on the site- systems are coming and going

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #830 on: July 18, 2012, 08:50:19 PM »
This Dell Inspiron 15R

is $499 after the $100 twitter credit and after using a $50 coupon. PM me for a code

Specs:
i5-3210M
8GB Ram
1TB Hard Drive

5x UR points for INK Card account holders.

This is Dell's New Inspiron 15R, I have not seen one yet to give my review

Offline Daniel

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #831 on: July 19, 2012, 04:42:45 PM »
DEll latitude E5520
$499
+ Get $200 gift card

We're sorry, but we are unable to process your request. The product or offer you are attempting to locate is no longer available.

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #832 on: July 19, 2012, 04:46:10 PM »
DEll latitude E5520
$499
+ Get $200 gift card
That one has an i3 Processor, 2GB Ram, 250GB Hard Drive.

For a Latitude at $299 its a steal...

I would upgrade the processor to i5-2430 $60

I would upgrade the Ram myself - as Dell is charging $85 for 4GB, you could get 8GB for $50

Offline myb821

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #833 on: July 19, 2012, 04:47:46 PM »
That one has an i3 Processor, 32GB Ram, 250GB Hard Drive.

For a Latitude at $299 its a steal...

I would upgrade the processor to i5-2430 $60

I would upgrade the Ram myself - as Dell is charging $85 for 4GB, you could get 8GB for $50
u need more than 32GB ram? I assume you meant something else cause 32....

Offline chaimmayer

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #834 on: July 19, 2012, 04:49:35 PM »

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #835 on: July 19, 2012, 04:49:40 PM »
DEll latitude E5520
$499
+ Get $200 gift card
Vote U-no-me '14!

Offline myb821

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #836 on: July 19, 2012, 04:52:05 PM »
DEll latitude E5520
$499
+ Get $200 gift card
it says the gc is only for systems 599+

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #837 on: July 19, 2012, 04:53:46 PM »
it says the gc is only for systems 599+
It says in the product desc -

Also Included
Latitude E5520
Energy Star 5.0 Enabled / EPEAT Gold
No Modem
$200 Dell Promo e-Gift Card Arrives in 10-20 days via email, 90 Day Exp. Terms at Dell.com/giftcard
90W A/C Adapter (3-pin).

f you order it, you will get the GC, that $599 is prb a mistake

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #838 on: July 24, 2012, 03:22:32 PM »
Buying laptops seems like quite the challenge.

I am trying to find something for my daughter who is going off to college in less than a month.  For her, it is all about the look and feel.  For me, I want something with more power than she needs now as we know how Windows bogs down over time and I would like for it to last.

She really likes the look/feel of the Toshiba P845-S4200 from BB.  Currently priced at $650.  It is 14" (15.6" is too big.  I tried to get her into a 15.6 since there are more options/performance for the price, but I now agree that the 14" is a better fit for her.)

My biggest concern is that it has an i5-3317U which seems somewhat slow at 1.7 GHz vs. an older generation i5-2450m at 2.5 GHz, or even an i3-2350 if looking at PassMark scores.  I know that PassMark isn't the end-all, but I am concerned.  I know that models in this size generally have Intel graphics, and the 3xxx series processors have the Intel 4000 graphics which is obviously better than the Intel 3000 graphics of the 2xxx series processors.

She like the silver color of the Toshiba, and the keyboard layout, and of course the size.

Anyone had some ideas on a 14" laptop that isn't "boring gray" and has some decent performance specs?  I was hoping to keep the initial cost (before tax, warranty options, etc) no higher than $750 if possible.

Obviously, reviews are important too.

Please help a frustrated guy.   :o

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #839 on: July 24, 2012, 03:40:42 PM »
My biggest concern is that it has an i5-3317U which seems somewhat slow at 1.7 GHz vs. an older generation i5-2450m at 2.5 GHz, or even an i3-2350 if looking at PassMark scores.  I know that PassMark isn't the end-all, but I am concerned.  I know that models in this size generally have Intel graphics, and the 3xxx series processors have the Intel 4000 graphics which is obviously better than the Intel 3000 graphics of the 2xxx series processors.
I would suggest to find a laptop that has the non mobile version of the i5, like the i5-2450m or i5-3210m. The i5-3317U is a mobile version of the i5, that uses much less battery power. This model is typically found in ultra books. I would not call the Toshiba P845-S4200 an Ultrabook, and from what you are saying, it doesnt seem thats what you are looking for.