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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 3152226 times)

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #940 on: August 03, 2012, 01:20:07 PM »
i cann prob help u out with the .edu if needed let me know
I think is says student ID is required

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Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #941 on: August 03, 2012, 01:24:08 PM »
I think is says student ID is required

I got that too but not sure how that would help

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #942 on: August 03, 2012, 02:41:05 PM »
name changed: I think 7.5 pounds is heavy . I see you are talking about a different deal. Would that serve my purpose too or do you have a different one to recommend?
I would like a lighter laptop.
Thanks for all your help.

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #943 on: August 03, 2012, 02:48:37 PM »
name changed: I think 7.5 pounds is heavy . I see you are talking about a different deal. Would that serve my purpose too or do you have a different one to recommend?
I would like a lighter laptop.
Thanks for all your help.
Both the Lenovo from Staples, and the Gateway from Bestbuy will be good for you.

(The XPS is a much higher end machine, has dedidcated graphics, subwoofer, and much better build quality)

I would go with the Lenovo over the Gateway, if its avail in ur area


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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #944 on: August 03, 2012, 02:50:04 PM »
When looking at a computer what is best way to find out about battery life. I know 6 cell or 9 cell is a big factor, but thats not the whole story. Most sites (Amazon, Bestbuy, etc..) don't say. Is there a site dedicated to checking battery life on different models? Are there any specific specs  to look for othere than battery cell amount? Are specific brands better in this regard? For some reason I have in m head that Asus has very good battery life. Correct?
I am sometimes accused of overthinking things. I am still mulling over whether that accusation has merit.

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #945 on: August 03, 2012, 03:01:03 PM »
I live in Lakewood. I will call Staples around the area.
Which credit card should I use? UR?

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #946 on: August 03, 2012, 03:09:54 PM »
Nope, no laptops left in the area for this deal.
If I will spend the money is the XPS a good deal or should I wait?

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #947 on: August 03, 2012, 03:10:13 PM »
I live in Lakewood. I will call Staples around the area.
Which credit card should I use? UR?
Unless you have an INK Bold, put in on an Amex for warranty. UR 5x points is only if ordered online.


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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #948 on: August 03, 2012, 03:11:55 PM »
I have an INK Bold but I cancel the cards once the annual fee starts
Does the warranty work if the card is cancelled?

If I end up ordered the Dell I should use the UR?

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #949 on: August 03, 2012, 03:15:53 PM »
When looking at a computer what is best way to find out about battery life. I know 6 cell or 9 cell is a big factor, but thats not the whole story. Most sites (Amazon, Bestbuy, etc..) don't say. Is there a site dedicated to checking battery life on different models? Are there any specific specs  to look for othere than battery cell amount? Are specific brands better in this regard? For some reason I have in m head that Asus has very good battery life. Correct?
I haven't seen a site, it would be nice if there was one.

Cell amount is the biggest factor, but there is a lot of other factors.

In the actual battey mAh is a factor.

The specs of the laptop play a different role in how the battery is consumed. Higher end processors use more battery, mobile processors use less. Bigger, brighter screens use more ect.

(For the record, bloatware will consume more battery power)


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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #950 on: August 03, 2012, 04:00:17 PM »
Nope, no laptops left in the area for this deal.
If I will spend the money is the XPS a good deal or should I wait?
The XPS is a great price for this unit. Its just that you have to want this unit for it to be worth it (size/weight)

I have an INK Bold but I cancel the cards once the annual fee starts
Does the warranty work if the card is cancelled?

If I end up ordered the Dell I should use the UR?
If you cancel, you wont get the warranty anymore
If you order the Dell go thru UR Mall, and pay with an Amex

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #951 on: August 03, 2012, 05:41:57 PM »
What am I getting extra in the XPS? I dont really know what I need.
I want to watch videos, open a lot of browsers with high images and not slow me down.
webcam for skype...

You said I should buy on Amex, even a blue cash card not a platinum on the UR mall amex not chase saphire?
I am going to cancel my platinum in 30 days.
Starwood I am keeping open and for now I have the chase saphire for 1 year.
Which card?

Thanks

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #952 on: August 04, 2012, 10:57:19 PM »
What am I getting extra in the XPS? I dont really know what I need.
I want to watch videos, open a lot of browsers with high images and not slow me down.
webcam for skype...

You said I should buy on Amex, even a blue cash card not a platinum on the UR mall amex not chase saphire?
I am going to cancel my platinum in 30 days.
Starwood I am keeping open and for now I have the chase saphire for 1 year.
Which card?

Thanks
The XPS is a higher end machine. The Lenove or Gateway has the specs that will be more than fine for you, an i5, and 6GB is plenty for what you are using the laptop for.

The only actual spec in performance that the XPS has is dedicated graphics. But it is not a necessity for the use you are doing.

If you buy the Dell, go thru UR mall to get the bonus points, and pay with the SPG for warranty, and SPG has a higher point value

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #953 on: August 05, 2012, 02:22:56 AM »
Usually when you buy through the UR mall even if you pay on a non chase card you get the credit.  Getting the extra year warranty through Amex is valuable so it's worth it to buy through the UR mall and put in on yournamex card.
You don't need to keep open the actual card you bought it on to make a claim - just to have any Amex card open.

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« Last Edit: August 06, 2012, 11:51:45 PM by Dan »
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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #955 on: August 06, 2012, 10:59:24 PM »
IMO its only a good price for a sony - they are way more expensive than other companies!! You can get an i7 lenovo or dell or hp for this price anytime!

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #956 on: August 06, 2012, 11:36:19 PM »
IMO its only a good price for a sony - they are way more expensive than other companies!! You can get an i7 lenovo or dell or hp for this price anytime!
That Sony has a 1080p and 1GB Dedicated graphics. I doubt you could find a HP or Lenovo with those specs at that price

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #957 on: August 06, 2012, 11:43:36 PM »
You can get a dell inspiron 15r with better specs (except for the hd screen) for $550! And in my experience working on thousands of laptops sony ranks as worst customer service, highest priced, and most costly to fix. aside from the fact that they are a ridiculous elitist company!

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Re: Looking for cheap good Laptop deal
« Reply #959 on: August 06, 2012, 11:52:07 PM »
Here is a Lenovo with i7-2670QM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M 1GB, 8.0 GB RAM, 15.6", 500 GB HD, Bluetooth $699

Coupon Code: DOORBUSTERDEAL