Laptop Suggestions

Banger

Banger

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Thanks to my loving mutt, I have to replace my laptop in the coming weeks. I right now have an ASUS with i7 intel core.
I loved my laptop. I paid 2200 for it just over 3 years ago and it was working fine up until it's mishap with a protein shake. Even still, it's working but it has to be plugged in.

I was leaning towards PC again but my boyfriend is really on my case to just try a mac. I am on the fence about spending another 2G on something that could have another mutt mishap again.

Things I MUST have.

VERY FAST. I can't go slower.
15" no smaller
Good battery life 6+ hours
Durable

Other then that, I am open to all suggestions. I've been surfing the internet, asking friends and such. Now I am asking you.

All I do with my computer is download work documents. Use word, Stream movies and go on the internet/skype. Nothing fancy.
 
Banger said:
until it's mishap with a protein shake.
.
Click to expand...
Waiting for the impending jokes to follow.




Sent from my tablet using my paws
 
Samsung Series 7 Chronos 15.6"
Around $1100 top

Has all that you're asking....
thats what im looking to get next

You can always go play with MacBooks...we have a macbook pro at work and im not a fan of having to use it...
 
RockerGuy said:
Waiting for the impending jokes to follow.




Sent from my tablet using my paws
Click to expand...

Let me just clear this up before anyone has a chance hahahaha.

Dog knocked over a protein shake onto the keyboard
 
I love Macbooks. IMO they are the most usable of any laptop. The trackpad is the best of any laptop (I have never read a review that argues this), the keyboard is great, battery life is on the higher end for a laptop, design of it is beautiful, warranty support is second to none. You can also buy Applecare for cheap at anytime before the one year warranty runs out. You get another two years of coverage, works the same as the regular warranty, I paid ~$150.

For your usage, I wouldn't be concerned with hardware specs at all, you really don't need the latest and greatest. Any half decently specced laptop sold today will work just fine, and will be equally outdated as the current bleeding edge spec three years from now.

If you do go the Macbook route, I'd suggest to buy from Apple's refurbished store. You get the full regular warranty and the product that you get looks, feels, and runs brand new. You really can't tell the difference outside of a plain brown box instead of the shiny retail box. You can get a well specced 15" Macbook Pro for $1360 plus tax, pickup 8gb of ram for $30 and you're set.

If you're not afraid to buy off Craigslist/Kijiji, there are some good deals on there. For instance, a quick search found an almost new Retina Macbook for $1900 (http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-computers-99-BRAND-NEW-RETINA-MACBOOK-PRO-W0QQAdIdZ417598969)
 
Samsung chronos, Asus series n or Eurocom get my vote.

Sent from spaaaaace!
 
Get an hp envy or dell Alienware and buy accident protection plan from the manufacture

Then buy a wireless mouse because the track pads suck.

As for satisfaction with the notebook I've been way happier with my Mac than any windows pc. Just had training for windows 8 and I don't know what ms is thinking but I see apples market share growing. Only problem with apple is no accident protection plans
 
Does it need to be brand new or the latest and greatest?

If not you can get some pretty good machines in the refurbished off lease market for under $200 including windows 7, and they look and feel new. I use them for work (year or two old Lenovo's) and they have been fantastic. Never the latest machines but have never had a performance issue and we do some pretty heavy stuff on them.
 
Based on what you described your usage as, make sure it runs on a solid state drive. That will provide the most tangible sense of a fast laptop over anything else. All MacBooks run on SSD's, and most mid and high end of other manufacturers run them as well. Samsung makes some pretty great laptops, and they have excellent SSD's.
 
My Lenovo think pad has a spill proof keyboard. It also has a touch screen but you might not need that, it's an x201 tablet but there are lower models. Solid state drive so its shockproof too. It's plenty fast when you load the ram up to max.
 
jc100 said:
My Lenovo think pad has a spill proof keyboard. It also has a touch screen but you might not need that, it's an x201 tablet but there are lower models. Solid state drive so its shockproof too. It's plenty fast when you load the ram up to max.
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A buddy has a Thinkpad from work. It's big, heavy, and feels like a tank. Good if you want that sort of thing. Companies love them because they have a reputation of being indestructible, don't see a lot of consumer demand for them though.

Couldn't believe their solution for a backlit keyboard when I saw it, it's simply a led light from the top of the display that shines down.
 
Mines not big or heavy. Depends on the model. It's built really well which is why I recommended it.
 
jc100 said:
Mines not big or heavy. Depends on the model. It's built really well which is why I recommended it.
Click to expand...

Lenovo's do feel indestructible, that's for sure. A 15" T series (their most common line) is 1.4" thick though
 
Banger said:
All I do with my computer is download work documents. Use word, Stream movies and go on the internet/skype. Nothing fancy.
Click to expand...

I have a MacBook Pro Retina. There are certainly less expensive laptops out there but the Retina screen offers one of the crispest, cleanest displays of any laptop I have seen and it is blisteringly fast. Other features you will appreciate are the keyboard (which is also backlit) and the light weight. And as others have said, the keypad (either built in or the bluetooth one) are easy to use and for me, they have eliminated wrist and hand strain.

For what it is worth, Word 2011 on the Mac is less buggy than the 2008 release. I am a freelance writer and I use my Mac at my client's site. When I transfer files, there are no issues opening up the files on a Windows machine.

Another option you might want to consider is an iPad. If the documents have a relatively simple format, the Pages word processor on the iPad is very compatible with Word. I would not want to edit 500 pages of tables with six levels of decimal headings but short, simple documents transfer without incident. Movies, Skype, surfing, and typing using a bluetooth keyboard all work quite well.
 
For what your are doing with it, I don't see why you are spending so much money.

I just bought a new laptop through a buddy who works at HP. It is just an AMD something or other, I forget the specs, got it for $270 including tax with a 15.6" monitor, 500gb HD, and 4GB RAM... that is with a large employee discount, but still the computer is just a $399 best buy special...

Hell, for surfing the web, opening pdfs or word files, and streaming movies, I doubt you would even notice a difference between a fast and expensive processor and something cheap like mine. Your bottleneck will be your internet connection speed and possibly your HD read rate, as stated above. Your I7 was barely utilized doing what you were doing with it.
 
Diesel said:
For what your are doing with it, I don't see why you are spending so much money.
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This is absolutely true. The OP could use a small, inexpensive laptop and attach a monitor for viewing if you don't mind sitting in one spot. My reasons for an MBP Retina were that I use it a lot and I appreciate the ease of use, the display which is so clear and crisp that it reduces eye fatigue, and I can write it off as a freelancer.
 
Think twice before leaping into Apple world.

You'll get stuck with their overpriced proprietary accessories, programs, products, and you'll be dishing out cash like theres no tomorrow. After paying a premium to begin with, then they expect you to pay even more for AppleCare.

When done with my current Macbook..... the Sony Vaio and the new HP laptops will be vying for attention. I've used a few Sony Vaio's now and came away impressed.

This Sony laptop was rated better than the MacBook Pro in Cnet's ratings.

http://www.cnet.com/laptops/sony-vaio-s-series/4505-3121_7-35374673.html


The HP Spectre series are a good choice as well, earning a "Best of CES" award.

http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/envy14-spectre/index.html#.UGg95hw2-68



As a wild card.....

The new Asus Transformer TF700T is a good option as well. Lighter, thinner, faster than iPad.

I believe now ships with Androids excellent JellyBean OS, you can use it as a tablet OR a laptop. It has an optional dockable keypad with a separate battery that will allow you to go longer on a single charge.

http://www.neowin.net/news/review-asus-transformer-pad-infinity-tf700t




Happy shopping and best wishes to whatever you choose!
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone for these great tips!

I will be picking it up this weekend so fingers crossed I get what's right for me and I am most certainly looking at every model you all suggest. BIG HELP SO FAR
 
Check out the Acer Aspire B-940 15.6" at future shop for $299. I price matched it at best buy ($399) and ended up paying $320ish to be shipped to my door.
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...4566-english-black-as5750z-4566/10214839.aspx

4GB RAM
500GB HD
6 cell lithium ion battery (good for up to 4.5hrs)
15.6" LED display

I had been looking forever for something decent under $300 bucks (is that possible)? but just settled on this. I have to slowest internet connection at home which will be disconnected when the wife gets a smartphone and from then it'll be tethered to our smartphones.
 
elkymutt said:
Check out the Acer Aspire B-940 15.6" at future shop for $299. I price matched it at best buy ($399) and ended up paying $320ish to be shipped to my door.
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...4566-english-black-as5750z-4566/10214839.aspx

4GB RAM
500GB HD
6 cell lithium ion battery (good for up to 4.5hrs)
15.6" LED display

I had been looking forever for something decent under $300 bucks (is that possible)? but just settled on this. I have to slowest internet connection at home which will be disconnected when the wife gets a smartphone and from then it'll be tethered to our smartphones.
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with these cheap laptops. They'll give you decent hardware specs at an extremely good price. If you don't use your laptop much, or just want something disposable, this is what I would recommend.

If you do use your laptop a lot, these cheap laptops will drive you insane. The trackpads do not work in any way that you would want, the keyboards are terrible, the screens suck, battery life is bad and deteriorates very quickly. Just everything about them becomes a pain.
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