The Conservative Cave
The Help Desk => Computer Related Discussions & Questions => Topic started by: JohnnyReb on September 06, 2012, 03:52:41 PM
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Son needs a good computer. He's a senior in high school taking advanced classes and will get some college credits for them. He wants a laptop that is WiFi compatible. Needs to have MS word and powerpoint hopefully already installed.
....and powerful enough and good enough to use for 4 years of college.
Suggestions and approximate cost ranges please.
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I would definitely buy something with enough memory... at least 4GB and maybe look at upgrading to a solid-state HDD (you would have to invest in an external drive if you didn't want to spend the money on a larger SSD). A co-worker bought an Acer -- the keyboard is really crappy. I would not like typing on it for a long period of time. Also, his came with an enormous (17-inch) screen. Another coworker has a newer Dell Inspiron. It's pretty slick and very fast but I'm not sure what the price is.
The ThinkPad is a nice computer despite the abuse they get where I work. The keyboard and display are comfortable, they're easy to work on, and parts are not expensive.
ThinkPad Edge E530
Intel Core i3 2350M(2.30GHz)
15.6" display
4GB Memory DDR3 1600
500GB HDD
7200rpm DVD±R/RW
Intel HD Graphics 3000
$559 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246486)
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I've been using a (work-issued) ThinkPad for a little over a year - I'd buy one.
Stay the hell away from Dell and ASUS. In the early 90s, I supported Dell's and they were great. Lately I've heard horror stories about Dell's tech support, and my wife and daughter have ASUS' that didn't last as long as they should have.
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For Windows, Toshiba Satellites are really good. Dell used to be one of the best, but in recent years, they went down hill.
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http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=32&name=Laptops-Notebooks
TONS of Laptops/Notebooks, at all price levels.
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I'm using a Sony laptop and it's working pretty well.
I purposely made sure to get 6 GIG memory. Software companies are always expanding their stuff and computers accumulate a lot of extra files.
MEMORY. :-)
.
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My wife has a Vaio, it is junk. I can't wait to get rid of it and get her a MAC.
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My wife has a Vaio, it is junk. I can't wait to get rid of it and get her a MAC.
well theres your problem
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http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=32&name=Laptops-Notebooks
TONS of Laptops/Notebooks, at all price levels.
Tiger Direct (http://www.tigerdirect.com/) another good site for computers and such.
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The Thinkpad T420 I'm using comes with 4GB and should support another 2GB (It currently has two 1GB and a single 2GB chip). It also comes with a quad-core 2.5Ghz Intel and probably costs less than the previous Thinkpad I mentioned (I didn't notice that one was only a dual-core).
Do a search for lease-return units for used items. They might have some wear, but they're dirt cheap.
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Tiger Direct (http://www.tigerdirect.com/) another good site for computers and such.
I bought my current desktop as a kit from TD. I'm happy with it and wil probably be upgrading to a new one soon.
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I like Toshiba Satellites. That said, whatever you get, load it up with a good sized hard drive, the best processor you can afford and also as much RAM as you can afford. It will last a long time. I have a Toshiba Satellite that's still alive & kicking, after being 13 years old, albeit slow as molasses nowadays.
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Tiger Direct, CompUSA (which is owned by Tiger Direct), and Newegg are the best online stores to get systems and hardware from.
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Another good online store is 3BTech. They're very competitive on their prices, great service, etc. Between them & Newegg is where I get most of my computer stuff. I don't care for Tiger Direct (Comp USA) as much. TD's shipping & taxes make them a lot more expensive for me.
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Something else you could do is go to http://www.Fatwallet.com and check out the hot deals section for computers. They usually have some pretty good things happening there.
Here, I gave you a head start:
http://www.fatwallet.com/laptop-deals/
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/laptop/
:) :) :)