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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
Warning: most of the wiki that follows was written a very long time ago and the information on it can be outdated.
[Deleted post based on DH Data Recovery's experience dated 2013. Maybe I'll take a stab at replacing it with something similar at some point.]


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. EDIT: Unless there are no RAM slots for upgrading.
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 3728127 times)

Offline Darth1

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14900 on: November 04, 2024, 06:47:33 AM »
Looking for a good priced laptop for programing. Need a good processor, enough ram, usb c display port, 15-16", metal build, ~$600 budget. Best I found was: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 16 AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS 16GB LPDDR5X 512GB $520 from ebay.

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14901 on: November 04, 2024, 09:20:23 AM »
Looking for a good priced laptop for programing. Need a good processor, enough ram, usb c display port, 15-16", metal build, ~$600 budget. Best I found was: Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 16 AMD Ryzen 7 8845HS 16GB LPDDR5X 512GB $520 from ebay.
Is your programming light enough to lock yourself into 16GB of RAM?
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14902 on: November 05, 2024, 04:44:01 AM »
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14903 on: November 05, 2024, 04:46:01 AM »
Yoga 7 14" with Ryzen 7 8840HS, 16GB RAM and TB SSD for $600 at Best Buy. Decent price for a quality machine, but only if you were looking for a 2-in-1.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-7-2-in-1-14-2k-touchscreen-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-8840hs-with-16gb-memory-1-tb-ssd-artic-grey/6571366.p?skuId=6571366
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14904 on: November 06, 2024, 11:12:37 PM »
Sounds almost like a price mistake... Clearance deal:

HP - Envy 17.3" Full HD Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core 13th Gen i7-13700H - 16GB RAM - 1TB SSD
$368.99
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-17-3-full-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-ssd-natural-silver/6535750.p?skuId=6535750

Offline elazarmn

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14905 on: November 06, 2024, 11:32:59 PM »
Sounds almost like a price mistake... Clearance deal:

HP - Envy 17.3" Full HD Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core 13th Gen i7-13700H - 16GB RAM - 1TB SSD
$368.99
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-envy-17-3-full-hd-touch-screen-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-1tb-ssd-natural-silver/6535750.p?skuId=6535750
Tried checking out it says error out of stock

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14906 on: November 07, 2024, 03:57:10 AM »
Sounds almost like a price mistake... Clearance deal:
A number of times, I have seen clearance deals like this listed. They are never actually in stock. I wonder if that is because they get instantly snapped up or if it is only available in some random store that we don't live near.
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14907 on: November 07, 2024, 07:41:28 AM »
Vivobook S 14 OLED with Lunar Lake i5, 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $750 at Best Buy.
Never saw a review of this model but as it is only 1080p, you can expect battery life that goes and goes. 2.87 lbs. Copilot, if that kind of thing interests you. Wifi 7.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-vivobook-s-14-14-oled-laptop-copilot-pc-intel-core-ultra-5-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-neutral-black/6595523.p?skuId=6595523

My Best Buy members get this light-gaming laptop for $430, cheapest I have ever seen a laptop with this level of graphics: https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-victus-15-6-full-hd-gaming-laptop-amd-ryzen-5-7535hs-8gb-ddr5-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6550m-512gb-ssd-mica-silver/6578933.p?skuId=6578933

Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14908 on: November 08, 2024, 03:50:51 AM »
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 #14909 on: November 10, 2024, 01:31:23 AM »
Yoga 7 14" with Ryzen 7 8840HS, 16GB RAM and TB SSD for $600 at Best Buy. Decent price for a quality machine, but only if you were looking for a 2-in-1.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-7-2-in-1-14-2k-touchscreen-laptop-amd-ryzen-7-8840hs-with-16gb-memory-1-tb-ssd-artic-grey/6571366.p?skuId=6571366
The intel 125u/512gb versions is now $550
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-7i-2-in-1-14-2k-touchscreen-laptop-intel-core-ultra-5-125u-with-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-storm-grey/6571362.p

The 8840hs is a much more powerful chip and together with the larger ssd is worth $50 more.

The q is if the intel u will get better battery life. And if that's worth it over the power.

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14910 on: November 10, 2024, 03:41:19 AM »
The intel 125u/512gb versions is now $550
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-7i-2-in-1-14-2k-touchscreen-laptop-intel-core-ultra-5-125u-with-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-storm-grey/6571362.p

The 8840hs is a much more powerful chip and together with the larger ssd is worth $50 more.

The q is if the intel u will get better battery life. And if that's worth it over the power.
Hard to believe anyone needs that extra power (without needing even more, that is). The Intel has plenty for regular tasks. And definitely better battery life as the 8x4XHS has a rep for less efficiency, and the opposite for 125U (after all, it is a hyper-optimized Alder Lake on its fourth iteration).
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline MoYS

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14911 on: November 10, 2024, 09:11:30 AM »
The intel 125u/512gb versions is now $550
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-yoga-7i-2-in-1-14-2k-touchscreen-laptop-intel-core-ultra-5-125u-with-16gb-memory-512gb-ssd-storm-grey/6571362.p

The 8840hs is a much more powerful chip and together with the larger ssd is worth $50 more.

The q is if the intel u will get better battery life. And if that's worth it over the power.
Now down to $500

I already bought the amd one (still sealed), need to decide if I should return that one...

Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14912 on: November 10, 2024, 09:13:28 AM »
Now down to $500

I already bought the amd one (still sealed), need to decide if I should return that one...
Link? I think you're looking at the 16inch

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14913 on: November 10, 2024, 10:03:01 AM »
HP laptop 17" on sale for $370, customizable. Note ship date before you decide it is for you.
Starts at i5-1334U, 8GB RAM (upgradeable) and 256GB SSD
or
Ryzen 5 7530U, 8GB RAM (upgradeable) and 128GB SSD.
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laptop-17t-cn300-173-7p3q0av-1
https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/pdp/hp-laptop-17z-cp300-799v0av-1
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14914 on: November 10, 2024, 10:27:24 AM »
Quote from: ExGingi
Echo chambers are boring and don't contribute much to deeper thinking and understanding!

Offline mevinyavin

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14915 on: November 11, 2024, 10:02:10 AM »
Some Micro Center deals, pickup only unless noted.
$450 - MSI laptop with Core i5-12450H and RTX 2050. https://www.microcenter.com/product/683300/msi-thin-15-b12ucx-2425us-156-gaming-laptop-computer-black
$503 - 13" metal Dell Latitude, i7-1265U, 16GB RAM and 256GB SSD. Good price for 13", much less a quality system like this one. https://www.microcenter.com/product/677872/dell-latitude-5330-133-laptop-computer-aluminum
$730 - Acer Nitro V 15.6" - Ryzen 7 7435HS (older but high wattage) and RTX 4060. Consider if your workload is heavy on the graphics and less so on processing. https://www.microcenter.com/product/677170/acer-nitro-v-anv15-41-r2ms-156-gaming-laptop-computer-obsidian-black
$800, also ships - Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge 14" with Snapdragon X Elite. Battery life and lightweight, plus AMOLED screen. Only 512GB SSD, though. There's a haskama on this computer upthread somewhere. https://www.microcenter.com/product/686531/samsung-galaxy-book4-edge-np940xma-kb1us-copilot-pc-14-laptop-computer-sapphire-blue

PSA: Do not confuse the Snapdragon X Plus with the X Elite. The former has less power (and in non-native software, this seems to matter a lot) and counterintuitively, worse battery life (not bad, just worse). At least make sure you are spending less if you will settle on a Plus model. If anyone feels like getting us some real-world data, you can get the above Samsung with the plus for $700 at the same place (it also ships). Note it doesn't have the AMOLED screen either. https://www.microcenter.com/product/685080/samsung-galaxy-book4-edge-np750xqa-kb2us-copilot-pc-156-laptop-computer-sapphire-blue
« Last Edit: November 11, 2024, 10:09:45 AM by mevinyavin »
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 #14916 on: November 11, 2024, 02:16:29 PM »
Not my usual cup of tea but seems to be a good deal for graphics power
https://www.walmart.com/ip/5687320790
HP Victus 15.6 inch FHD 144Hz Gaming Laptop Intel Core i5-13420H NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 6GB - 16GB DDR4 512GB SSD Mica Silver (2024)

Walmart+, opens to everyone in a few hours

Offline MoYS

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14917 on: November 11, 2024, 02:24:41 PM »
Just putting it out there, I got the yoga amd that @mevinyavin posted from best buy, and I got %8+%5 back with Shop thru chase and freedom flex paypal

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Offline Chuchum Ainer

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Re: Laptop Deals Master Thread
« Reply #14919 on: November 11, 2024, 07:21:32 PM »
Is this a good deal?
https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-15-6-inch-Laptop-Intel-Core-i3-N305-8GB-RAM-256GB-SSD-Natural-Silver/5098188131
with a quick look,
Good deal for the price, at least an IPS screen, instead of a TN.
But the cpu is roughly equivalent to an 11th gen i3. Thats slow. For most use cases, you'd need something stronger, at least down the line. (yes, even as I type this on a 10th gen i5 chip.)