Author Topic: laptop advice..  (Read 7274 times)

Offline moishh

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laptop advice..
« on: March 30, 2011, 04:30:15 PM »
Hey..im looking to buy a the best laptop for me under $700.  I need something as portable as can be with an optical drive.  A great battery life (an honestly good battery life, not the fake stuff they write on specs). and something really fast.  I use my comp mostly for surfing the web and downloading movies from Graboid and watching them.  Occasionaly I play a good game like Civ...any ideas?

Offline yissie

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2011, 07:39:18 PM »
I would purchase a refurbished macbook from eBay they are superior in every way and mainly they won't slow down from spyware and adware viruses
KTH

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2011, 11:45:00 PM »
I would purchase a refurbished macbook from eBay they are superior in every way and mainly they won't slow down from spyware and adware viruses

Flamebait!
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Offline yissie

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2011, 08:43:36 AM »
unanimous ;) not flammatory
KTH

Offline Mordy

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2011, 12:49:28 PM »
If by unanimous you mean "completely incorrect", then yes I would agree with you.

I've gone over this many MANY times here. And this is from someone who used to be a self proclaimed Mac fanboy about a decade or two ago (when they actually designed their own architecture that was superior to PCs of the era). Nowadays, it all boils down to personal preference. The architecture is the same, and since PCs have more competition, you will get ALOT more for your money.

As for the OP- I very highly recommend the Dell Outlet. If you can wait for a coupon to come around, that would be the best, but otherwise you can't beat their selection and prices per performance.
I recently got a 15R i5/6GB/640GB for just over $300 by talking to someone over the phone there, and convincing them to apply a 20% coupon (there was a technical error that prevented my coupon from working online, so I was able to get him to apply the coupon to the non-coupon price). Apparently, calling them gives you access to inventory not normally shown online. Very helpful.
I can give you the name and number of the guy who helped me if you are interested- he was very informative and left me his contact info as a "personal purchasing assistant". But I think calling anyone there would be helpful as well (he actually mess up my order the first time).

To put all of this into contrast: I checked Apple's refurbs (everytime I buy a computer, I give them a chance- after all the architecture is the same and I consider myself platform agnostic) and the best price I could get for similar specs was close to $2,000, and that model actually had less memory. Apple, where you pay more for significantly less!

Just not worth it, man!
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Offline yissie

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2011, 02:50:59 PM »
If by unanimous you mean "completely incorrect", then yes I would agree with you.

I've gone over this many MANY times here. And this is from someone who used to be a self proclaimed Mac fanboy about a decade or two ago (when they actually designed their own architecture that was superior to PCs of the era). Nowadays, it all boils down to personal preference. The architecture is the same, and since PCs have more competition, you will get ALOT more for your money.

As for the OP- I very highly recommend the Dell Outlet. If you can wait for a coupon to come around, that would be the best, but otherwise you can't beat their selection and prices per performance.
I recently got a 15R i5/6GB/640GB for just over $300 by talking to someone over the phone there, and convincing them to apply a 20% coupon (there was a technical error that prevented my coupon from working online, so I was able to get him to apply the coupon to the non-coupon price). Apparently, calling them gives you access to inventory not normally shown online. Very helpful.
I can give you the name and number of the guy who helped me if you are interested- he was very informative and left me his contact info as a "personal purchasing assistant". But I think calling anyone there would be helpful as well (he actually mess up my order the first time).

To put all of this into contrast: I checked Apple's refurbs (everytime I buy a computer, I give them a chance- after all the architecture is the same and I consider myself platform agnostic) and the best price I could get for similar specs was close to $2,000, and that model actually had less memory. Apple, where you pay more for significantly less!

Just not worth it, man!

Mordy:

hmmm. why do you check apple refurbs every time....  it's not worth the extra money for extra experience. My point exactly I didn't say it wasn't overpriced I just said it was superior.
We agree,   we both "check apple every time"....
KTH

Offline whYME

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2011, 05:16:28 PM »
I would purchase a refurbished macbook from eBay they are superior in every way and mainly they won't slow down from spyware and adware viruses
well obviously they have to be "superior in every way", I mean why else would so many people pay so much more for a mac?

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #7 on: April 06, 2011, 05:17:15 PM »
well obviously they have to be "superior in every way", I mean why else would so many people pay so much more for a mac?

Perceived vs. actual value...
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Offline Dan

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2011, 05:18:12 PM »
I mean why else would so many people pay so much more for a mac?
Really good marketing!
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 whYME

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #9 on: April 06, 2011, 05:18:54 PM »
Perceived vs. actual value...
C'mon you're the last person here I expected to not realize I was being sarcastic...

Offline yissie

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2011, 11:36:24 PM »
When the first Mac (convert) owner enters this thread and agrees with the bitter PC owners I will give you all a handshake!
KTH

Offline Mordy

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #11 on: April 07, 2011, 12:11:00 AM »
When the first Mac (convert) owner enters this thread and agrees with the bitter PC owners I will give you all a handshake!

::points to self::

Allow me to introduce myself. My dad worked on telecommunications protocols with early Mac computers. I grew up with only Macs in my house. I loved Apple. I hated PCs.
They used to truly be superior computers, first consumer desktop with integrated sound (heck, my 1984 era classic Mac can still TALK, PCs at the time only beeped), first to bring the revolutionary RISC chips that enhanced graphic routines, etc... its no wonder they were immediately pegged as the superior choice for desktop publishing and media creation.

But I personally witnessed the end of their supremacy when Intel started fighting with AMD, artificially accelerating how often new chips came out. One day, the Core 2 Duo came out and blew the pants off of Apple's own R&D teams. Apple gave up trying to come up with new things, and accepted that Intel's architecture was faster and better, and starting adopting PC guts into their own computers. They are now riding on their reputation of the past (design houses who have been using MacOS for decades won't switch now) as well as the popularity of the iPod/iTunes symbiotic relationship, and using that name recognition are simply re-branding PCs with high end designs and logos.

You're looking for a "Mac convert"? How about a Mac loyalist that finally saw the light? I dare you to find someone more legit on this issue than me. When PCs were suddenly superior in every way so much that Apple switched over to their hardware, it was time to stop paying more for Apple. And most hardcore computer gurus feel the same. Some of us sort of feel cheated by Apple, that they sold out.

Let me guess- you've used PCs your entire life until one day you tried out a Mac and were immediately converted? Its a popular trend these days. Like most popular trends now, it just shows how shallow the public has become.

One of the ONLY reasons legit people buy a Mac these days is because of OS preference. Some people just prefer the way MacOS feels and works, and that's cool if you're willing to spend the extra cash on it. In reality, you can install Mac OS on a PC (my friend bought a Dell Mini 10V just to install osX on it), and Windows on a Mac. They are actually quite interchangeable now that the platforms are identical. But you're paying to be part of the exclusive club, to have an Apple logo, and to have someone at the "genius bar" talk you through a problem when you can't figure out... but NOT because it is actually superior. When my sub-$400 PC laptop can render an After Effects composition in half the time a $1200 Macbook can, its very difficult to argue that anything is "superior" about Mac.

That is all.
« Last Edit: April 07, 2011, 12:23:22 AM by Mordy »
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Offline whYME

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #12 on: April 07, 2011, 01:01:38 AM »
Ouch!

Yissie, I'm waiting on that handshake.

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #13 on: April 07, 2011, 01:20:43 AM »
Yissie, I'm waiting on that handshake.

+1
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Offline yissie

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #14 on: April 07, 2011, 07:52:20 AM »
::points to self::

Allow me to introduce myself. My dad worked on telecommunications protocols with early Mac computers. I grew up with only Macs in my house. I loved Apple. I hated PCs.
They used to truly be superior computers, first consumer desktop with integrated sound (heck, my 1984 era classic Mac can still TALK, PCs at the time only beeped), first to bring the revolutionary RISC chips that enhanced graphic routines, etc... its no wonder they were immediately pegged as the superior choice for desktop publishing and media creation.

But I personally witnessed the end of their supremacy when Intel started fighting with AMD, artificially accelerating how often new chips came out. One day, the Core 2 Duo came out and blew the pants off of Apple's own R&D teams. Apple gave up trying to come up with new things, and accepted that Intel's architecture was faster and better, and starting adopting PC guts into their own computers. They are now riding on their reputation of the past (design houses who have been using MacOS for decades won't switch now) as well as the popularity of the iPod/iTunes symbiotic relationship, and using that name recognition are simply re-branding PCs with high end designs and logos.

You're looking for a "Mac convert"? How about a Mac loyalist that finally saw the light? I dare you to find someone more legit on this issue than me. When PCs were suddenly superior in every way so much that Apple switched over to their hardware, it was time to stop paying more for Apple. And most hardcore computer gurus feel the same. Some of us sort of feel cheated by Apple, that they sold out.

Let me guess- you've used PCs your entire life until one day you tried out a Mac and were immediately converted? Its a popular trend these days. Like most popular trends now, it just shows how shallow the public has become.

One of the ONLY reasons legit people buy a Mac these days is because of OS preference. Some people just prefer the way MacOS feels and works, and that's cool if you're willing to spend the extra cash on it. In reality, you can install Mac OS on a PC (my friend bought a Dell Mini 10V just to install osX on it), and Windows on a Mac. They are actually quite interchangeable now that the platforms are identical. But you're paying to be part of the exclusive club, to have an Apple logo, and to have someone at the "genius bar" talk you through a problem when you can't figure out... but NOT because it is actually superior. When my sub-$400 PC laptop can render an After Effects composition in half the time a $1200 Macbook can, its very difficult to argue that anything is "superior" about Mac.

That is all.

KTH

Offline jackb

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #15 on: April 07, 2011, 06:00:29 PM »
Current 15% dell outlet coupon code TP1CH37H9M5Q3M

Offline Jay the PRESIDENT

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2011, 02:50:55 PM »
okok sooo

Help?--need portable laptop for school........

new Macbook air 13 inch or Macbook Pro 13 inch?  or can someone save me from falling for a Mac??



Offline Simcha89

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #17 on: August 10, 2011, 09:24:52 PM »
definitely go for the mac. go with the air if you wont need a cd drive

I've been using a mac for the past year, its great. takes under a minute from when you turn it on until you can start using it

Offline Bh101

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #18 on: August 10, 2011, 09:49:22 PM »
i personally use a dell laptop and its great, there's no way that i would switch to a mac (although many ppl here would prob yell at me 4 that) most programs are made 4 a regular computer and compatible with windows.   

Offline mercaz1

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Re: laptop advice..
« Reply #19 on: August 11, 2011, 10:04:48 AM »
hp is having a sale on a blueray laptop for i think 500