laptop????

[duff]

Hey guys my wife is thinking of getting a laptop computer, I told her we could probably find a decent used one, but I am pretty ignorant to this stuff. I saw radioshack had some new ones in the $500 range. That is my baseline knowledge.

What do I want to stay away from, it will be mainly for internet, and microsoft office type functions.

[TagTeamHunter]

Can't tell you what brand to stay away from ( I would stay with the main brands, Dell, HP,Sony,IBM). I would also get one with min: wireless card, 1 Gig of Memory, 60 Gigs of Disk, SD/MMC/XD card slots, DVD burner. I bought one for $599.00 from Best Buy 6 Mos ago and no problems so far. Make sure you turn on the Demo model, screen resolution is important. Also is she going to be traveling with this Laptop? Than weight and size matter.

[duff]

marwat06 said:

Than weight and size matter.

I have been telling her the opposite for the last 10 yrs ;D

Thanks, I just got off the phone with my bro. He is in the computer biz and he gave me simular advice. I went on e-bay and was overwhelmed instantly.

[daworz]

Remember you get what you pay for? I would stay away from celeron processors. Thats what you normaly get in the low end Laptops. Spend the extra money and get a good processor.

[hoosiercanuck]

Ryan,

Office Depot and Office Max usually have some good deals on laptops in their weekend flyers. Working in the IT industry I would definitely recommend you stay with one of the big boys as at least it is easier to find accessories and stuff for it down the line.

[lonniephillips]

These things have really been dropping in price for the last several years

I wouldn't be afraid to buy one of those bargin laptops for $500

my mother in-law bought a Toshiba 3 years ago for that price and it had a built in wirless card (most all of the do now a days) she uses it every day and has yet to have any problems with it

Most all those bargin priced PC's come with some type or warrenty and you can buy and extended warrenty

I have powned a HP for years and I bought it used and had no problems

[lonniephillips]

I think the best thing to remember is keep a up to date anti-virus , worm blocker program on it at all times

[drgreyhound]

I love my Dell Inspiron 6000, which I got two years ago with a "media center" setup (media buttons and speakers on the front)--it's easily the best computer I've ever owned! With all the kids needing laptops going back to school, this is a good time of year to get a great deal on a high-quality laptop.

[duff]

daworz said:

Remember you get what you pay for? I would stay away from celeron processors. Thats what you normaly get in the low end Laptops. Spend the extra money and get a good processor.

He told me the same about the celeron too. I got a bid going on e-bay now. I will see where it takes me, if it is usual I will loose about 3 attempts and end up going and buying a new one anyways.

[bookert]

One thing to keep in mind is the tech support that you will or will not get with your purchase. I've known people that have spent hours on the phone with DELL and GATEWAY at not charge. My DELL desktop took a lightning strike and fried the modem. The company walked me through all the trouble shooting to figure out what the problem was and then they sent me a new one at no charge (I was surprised). Having a brick and mortar building to go to is nice to have as well. Dealers choice.

[fuzzyhoyt]

We just purchased 2 of these Compaq Presario Notebooks from Best Buy for 429 bucks each. I am VERY happy with them. They have CD/DVD dual side burners in them, 80 gig hard drive and all the works with a 15" monitor.
I would reccommend them
Fuzzy