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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 3153075 times)

Offline GEMARAKOP

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13660 on: November 21, 2022, 03:52:23 PM »
I don’t do any of the 2. I need it for basic browsing and also to open and work with heavy mostly PDF files.
I now have an great XPS laptop and it’s just a breeze to work with. I’m looking for the same idea in a desktop.

This is What my laptop has,
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5
9th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9750H (12MB Cache, up to 4.5 GHz, 6 cores)
You currently have an h class processor with a graphics card way overkill for what your using for. Definitely not necessary

Offline yossig

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13661 on: November 21, 2022, 04:20:55 PM »
your graphics card does not really help you browse any better. its really just internet speed, ram, and cpu. if you get any i7 computer, 16gb-32gb ram, and a fast internet connection you should be fine. don't bother getting a high powered graphics card.
I get it. Is any of these 2 new options sometime worthwhile?

Is Intel® UHD Graphics 770 considered better then average?

And BTW I do work with large files just not the ones that would need a fancy graphic card.


Offline yossig

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13662 on: November 21, 2022, 04:27:28 PM »
You currently have an h class processor with a graphics card way overkill for what your using for. Definitely not necessary
not sure what H class stands for. But you are probably right.

I used to use a Dell insperin I7, now 8 years old. And it keeps on freezing, works very slow, takes a while to turn on etc. now with my XPS everything is just a breeze. That’s why I was looking for similar specs. But I appreciate your response and advise.

Offline Yo ssi

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13663 on: November 21, 2022, 05:15:15 PM »
I get it. Is any of these 2 new options sometime worthwhile?

Is Intel® UHD Graphics 770 considered better then average?

And BTW I do work with large files just not the ones that would need a fancy graphic card.
Nothing beats 770 ;)
_    ,
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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13664 on: November 21, 2022, 10:57:01 PM »
not sure what H class stands for. But you are probably right.

I used to use a Dell insperin I7, now 8 years old. And it keeps on freezing, works very slow, takes a while to turn on etc. now with my XPS everything is just a breeze. That’s why I was looking for similar specs. But I appreciate your response and advise.

Just saying:
Possible explanations that have nothing to do with specs such as processor, graphics or RAM:
Freezing=8 years old. (Main reason old laptops die is dust buildup in the cooling system, and they sometimes freeze when overheating.)
Very slow=HDD.

Also saying: A 4th or 5th gen i7 benchmarks roughly equal to a 8th gen i3 (a little weaker in quick tasks and a little better in long tasks that task the processor). PCMark rates it better than the N5300 you find in some garbage computers but not as good as the N6000 you find in other garbage computers.

My advice is a bit more conservative than the others above. Get an 11th gen i3 or better, or a Ryzen 3 4xxxx or better. No need for 16GB of RAM unless you like to keep massive amounts of tabs open on your browser. Don't even think about the graphics unless you like converting videos. Obviously make sure it has enough space on the drive for your needs. The computer will fly.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13665 on: November 22, 2022, 12:56:18 AM »
This is laptops thread not the desktops, but I'll throw in my 2 cents.
Desktops generally have less issues than laptops, as there is no battery issues, much easier to have adequate cooling etc.
If you have the budget, and it sounds like you, you definitely want 16gb ram, and an i5 or i7/ryzen 5 or 7.
Skip the graphics cards, though for the record a cpu with weak integrated graphics can be a problem not only for gaming or video editing.
An Xps is built well and will last a long time and is, imho, not a total waste of money, but you're totally fine going a step down. There are many factors that make a computer run well and aren't measured in the specs. SSD channels for instance.

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13666 on: November 22, 2022, 12:57:09 AM »
@mushkovits @sguitarist18 Did you end up getting anything?

Offline sguitarist18

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13667 on: November 22, 2022, 01:01:32 AM »

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13668 on: November 22, 2022, 01:06:06 AM »
the $279 dell i3 might be good for you, depending how much power that program takes. Unless you prefer 14 inch.

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13669 on: November 22, 2022, 03:54:43 AM »
Amazon: Swift X just dropped to $778. I've been using this laptop for a year, so:
Pros: 3050TI if you need serious graphics but not that much of it, paired with a regular 15W 8-core Ryzen 7. Battery life is more than ten hours doing light work and 1.25 hours under load - light load can be as much as 4 hours). Extremely light for the specs - just over 3 lbs. 16GB RAM (but see cons). Empty second M2 slot. Supports USB-C charging (but comes with barrel charger) that can keep up with the laptop even under load (if the USB-C charges at 90W, at least, because that's the only charger I had to test it).
Cons: no SD/micro slot. Screen the reviewers don't like (personally, I am fine with it). Only 512GB SSD (upgraded it the day I got it). RAM is soldered and not upgradeable. A bit more money gets a lot more power - Best Buy has the 14" ASUS G14 with a 3060 for $900 (pretty sure), though it weighs a bit more.

PM me with any questions re the laptop.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093TK1PXF?tag=georiot-us-default-20&th=1&ascsubtag=laptopmag-row-9783539202580167000-20&geniuslink=true
« Last Edit: November 22, 2022, 04:02:56 AM by mevinyavin »
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline sguitarist18

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13670 on: November 22, 2022, 07:02:23 AM »
the $279 dell i3 might be good for you, depending how much power that program takes. Unless you prefer 14 inch.

My concern is that with this style of body, I've seen that the hinges and trim around the screen tends to pull away and break.

Offline yossig

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13671 on: November 22, 2022, 08:27:26 AM »
Just saying:
Possible explanations that have nothing to do with specs such as processor, graphics or RAM:
Freezing=8 years old. (Main reason old laptops die is dust buildup in the cooling system, and they sometimes freeze when overheating.)
Very slow=HDD.

Also saying: A 4th or 5th gen i7 benchmarks roughly equal to a 8th gen i3 (a little weaker in quick tasks and a little better in long tasks that task the processor). PCMark rates it better than the N5300 you find in some garbage computers but not as good as the N6000 you find in other garbage computers.

My advice is a bit more conservative than the others above. Get an 11th gen i3 or better, or a Ryzen 3 4xxxx or better. No need for 16GB of RAM unless you like to keep massive amounts of tabs open on your browser. Don't even think about the graphics unless you like converting videos. Obviously make sure it has enough space on the drive for your needs. The computer will fly.
thanks for your input.
One more curious question, what is the difference between Windows home and pro?

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13672 on: November 22, 2022, 08:51:55 AM »
thanks for your input.
One more curious question, what is the difference between Windows home and pro?
Firsthand: Don't know.
Secondhand (as in likt en kup, probably from one of the computer magazines I read every month): Something to do with networking that seems important only to office IT departments that are trying to have all the company's computers connection. Also something to do with virtual machines. In other words, nothing for regular people.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline yossig

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13673 on: November 22, 2022, 10:02:32 AM »
Firsthand: Don't know.
Secondhand (as in likt en kup, probably from one of the computer magazines I read every month): Something to do with networking that seems important only to office IT departments that are trying to have all the company's computers connection. Also something to do with virtual machines. In other words, nothing for regular people.
got it. Thanks for your help!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13674 on: November 22, 2022, 10:14:04 AM »
Cheapest 3060-powered laptop I have ever seen: $650. Upgrade the RAM for greatest effect. If this is like the previous laptops in the series (do your own research), it should have a second M2 slot and support RAID.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Acer-Nitro-5-15-6-144Hz-FHD-Gaming-Laptop-AMD-Ryzen-5-5600H-Nvidia-GeForce-RTX-3060-8GB-DDR4-512GB-NVMe-SSD-Windows-11-AN515-45-R6XD/836840444?fulfillmentIntent=Shipping&athbdg=L1100
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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« Last Edit: November 22, 2022, 02:20:28 PM by Chuchum Ainer »

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13676 on: November 22, 2022, 02:54:37 PM »

https://www.costco.com/lenovo-flex-5-14%22-2-in-1-touchscreen-laptop---11th-gen-intel-core-i3-1115g4---1080p---windows-11-s-mode.product.100857936.html $399

down to $299.97. probably will not stay in stock for long.
vs the $279 dell, the lenovo is 14 inch, touchscreen, slightly better build, usb c. the dell is 15 inch, comes out (much) cheaper after amex credits.

The newer version with a 12th gen i3 and 300nit 100%srgb screen is has been at $399 for a while.

Offline sguitarist18

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #13677 on: November 22, 2022, 05:24:40 PM »
thanks for your input.
One more curious question, what is the difference between Windows home and pro?

There may be other differences, but I can confirm that home does not have the ability to join a domain, which as Mevinyavin said, allows it to be part of a network.


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