Can you please recommend a laptop?

[3kids4me]

I've never bought a laptop before, but we now need one for my son. It would need to have the same capabilities as his current desktop (which is a Dell 4600 with 512k of memory) and allow him to browse the internet as well as do some "Sims-type" gaming.

I'm clueless on where to start, what to look for, and how to know when we have a good deal.

I know this topic has been covered in the past, and I apologize for not saving the previous thread!

Thanks for any help!!

Sharon

 

[LauraS93]

Do you have a Best Buy near you? I've had good luck in their computer department. Plenty of knowledgeable people, who ask questions about your needs and price range, and help you choose just the right one.

Try to go when it's not so busy. Sometimes the department gets tons of customers waiting around to get personal assistance.

I have a Toshiba PenTablet, which I love!

 

[Makai Guy]

No harm in asking again. Models and technology change so quickly the old thread probably wouldn't have been of much use anyhow.

 

[Linda74]

Hi Sharon
I just bought a Dell today. They have a good sale on. I upgraded the RAM but kept everything else the same. I just wanted this to take on vacation because I still prefer my desktops at home. Anyway, free shipping and cd/rewrite drive. This will be great for places that have wireless internet. Easier than finding a cyber cafe in some locales abroad. I bought my daughter an Apple Powerbook which she loves but that was almost $2,000 a few months ago. Good Luck. For your son, be sure to get damage protection. My daughter's desk collapsed in her apartment and dented the case so the power cord would not plug in. Luckily, nothing else was broken. But it was still a hefty fee to have it repaired.

 

[Konalolo]

I'd get a Dell with an extended warranty..... I've used the gold star warranty on my Dell twice in two years, no questions asked and a service tech comes to your place to fix it!

 

[MOXJO7282]

check out edealinfo.com it lists the current Dell deals, including any promo code that may be available. It sends you right to the Dell website to complete the purchase.

Regards.
Joe

 

[Icarus]

How much do you want to spend and how important is weight?

-David

 

[Dani]

I purchased the Dell Inspiron 600 last year and love it. David makes an important point. The weight of the lap-top was a very important factor to me. I orgininally purchased a cheaper Dell laptop that weighed over 7lbs and it was way too heavy for me. The Inspirion 600 is much lighter at a little over 4lbs.

 

[3kids4me]

Thanks for the input.

I hadn't thought about weight. Light is helpful, although at this age he won't be carrying it around too much. We'd probably end up also using it to bring on vacation. We were thinking around $1,000...is that reasonable?

Sharon

 

[dougef]

Sharon,

Are you a member of Costco? If so they always have several models and usually excellent prices. I saw a few today in Norwalk that might fit your needs and price. And their return policies are the best. On computers it is 60 days - so if anything is wrong or just unhappy with the choice, no problem.

Doug

 

[Pat H]

dealcatcher.com also lists good deals.

 

[frenchieinme]

I'd get a Dell with an extended warranty..... I've used the gold star warranty on my Dell twice in two years, no questions asked and a service tech comes to your place to fix it!

I am presently sending this email via using my Dell XPS M140 which I bought on QVC. The laptop works very well. What concerned me was the warranty. With it came a 4 year in home warranty which I had to use the 1st week as from the 20,000 + that were sold on QVC that Xmas special day, 5000 of them had faulty/malfunctioning magnetic read switches. Guess which group mine was part of? I called QVC's XPS hotline and within 2 days a tech rep was at my house repairing it. I can't complain to date with this Dell product. It keeps catching these wireless hot spots when turning it on. Real neat littl rig.

frenchieinme

 

[Jan]

I love my Dell Inspirion 6000 that I got over the holidays! Got the entended warrenty-make sure it includes accident- cause the dog already chewed the power cord. Jan

 

[Icarus]

XPS M140, starts at $899. Starting weight is ok at 5.5 lbs. Not the lightest notebook, but it's a good deal.

I would add the following upgrades:
$29 - better screen
$100 - 1G memory.

Plus whatever warranty/protection plan you might want to add to it.

I didn't check dealcatcher, but I looked at Dell Home. They were offering free dvd-rw upgrade and the better battery upgrade. The better battery adds a bit of weight.

------------------

They have two intriguing models right now .. the E1705 (from Dell Home) and what appears to be an identical model from Dell Small Biz, the Inspiron 9400. Both start at $999 with dual core processors, but both weigh in at a hefty 8+ lbs. I wouldn't think of traveling with an 8 pounder, but I'd still like to have one of these at home, with tons of memory, a 7200RPM hard drive and the Nvidia graphics adaptor.

Some people here seem to be pretty happy with their Inspiron 6000s. Starting weigh is 6.5 pounds, which is getting a bit heavy for travel weight. (You'll also be carrying an AC adaptor, various cables, maybe an airplane power adaptor, headphones, etc. You have to add a few pounds to the starting weight, plus the weight of the bag, and anything else you stuff into that carry-on bag.)

-David

 

[ginsun88]

If cost is a factor, consider Dell Outlet

Hi Sharon:

I bought a Dell Inspiron 6000 for my teenage son's birthday last month online from Dell's Outlet. They have 3 categories: refurbished, scratch and dent, and previously ordered new.

We picked a previously ordered new model, Pentium M Processor 740, 60 GB HD, 512 MB RAM, Windows XP Media Center, 8x DVD +/- RW, and 2200 Wireless Card for $699.

Grace

 

[pwrshift]

I bought a new Gateway convertible laptop for one of my staffers and he loves it. The screen (14") rotates around and can be used as a notepad for signing contracts, watching movies, drawing, giving presentations, etc. Fun.

Personally...I played with it for a while and did not like the 'shiny screen' compared to my Compaq Presario X1000 screen (15.5"), and inspite of its smaller size the Gateway seemed heavier with its huge battery. It surely came 'loaded' though...and the price is coming down fast.

Brian

 

[The Conch Man]

I bought a Sony Centrino - Model PGC - Series V505EX ~~ back in 2004 @ Best Buy ~~ It came with 1024 megs of ram, CD, weights less than 4 lbs., Memory Stick, 60 meg of disk & a bunch of other stuff ~~ The screen is less than 14" & has given me no problem at all ~~ it cost me bout $ 1,800 at that time ~~ its great for the road & where ya stayin ~~ I'm sure the cost is a lot lower now ~~ I've used at the Hyatt in Bonita Springs & Key West ~~ hook-up was easy ~~ actually just do the connection when you are in range ~~ used it at Marriot in Jacksonville as well ~~ I use the laptop at home with no problems ~~