Build my laptop

Flamethrøwer

Flamethrøwer

New Member
I know a lot of you like to come up with laptop builds, so here's the scenario (if you're willing):

We're getting my wife a new laptop, and looking for the cheapest possible option that will still run well. She is NOT a gamer, the things she will be using it for will be simple things like photo storage, document creation, and running her online store.

I know very little about putting a computer together, but I do know that her only request is a 17" screen (easier for her to work with). So, in my inexperienced opinion, she would need a decent sized hard drive, but could compromise on things like graphics and processor speed. I was thinking about using newegg unless you guys can recommend something better.

Thanks!
 
Marinus said:
I'm gonna set a $500 limit for now, but as cheap as possible would be great :)
Click to expand...
I'd recommend Lenovo, Toshiba, or ASUS as brands, but Toshiba will likely be out of your price range.

I strongly advise against buying an HP, Dell, or Acer laptop.

I recommend going for an Intel i5 (you probably won't find an i7 in your price range and you can probably do better than the i3 if you find a good sale).

If discrete graphics aren't a requirement, you should be able to find a Lenovo or ASUS laptop with an i5 and a respectable amount of RAM (4GB minimum) at or around $500. I think. My wife wanted discrete graphics in her laptop, so we had to bump the price range a bit higher.
 
Tek7 said:
I'd recommend Lenovo, Toshiba, or ASUS as brands, but Toshiba will likely be out of your price range.

I strongly advise against buying an HP, Dell, or Acer laptop.

I recommend going for an Intel i5 (you probably won't find an i7 in your price range and you can probably do better than the i3 if you find a good sale).

If discrete graphics aren't a requirement, you should be able to find a Lenovo or ASUS laptop with an i5 and a respectable amount of RAM (4GB minimum) at or around $500. I think. My wife wanted discrete graphics in her laptop, so we had to bump the price range a bit higher.
Click to expand...

Don't tell her I'm saying this, but my wife can be easily misled into thinking some brand names are better than they are. I caught her saying she really wanted an HP. When I asked her why, she says "I just do - my old HP was good". After some pressing, she thought an ASUS might be ok (my desktop is an ASUS). I'm convincing her that we would get better deals from Newegg or another online site as compared to a chain store, but she says chain stores make her "feel better because there's somewhere she can go if there's a problem." I tried explaining that my company gets most of their hardware from Newegg, so we'll see where that gets us. It's almost comical, because she has no faith in internet purchases (ironic), but for some reason has a lot in places like Best Buy and Walmart, when they have done nothing to merit such trust! /sigh
 
Were you planning on getting an extended service plan? If so, maybe she would be happier buying it online if it's a plan where they come to you as opposed to shipping it out. I wound up with a Lenovo, and my warranty is in-home, next business day. Maybe that would be more acceptable to her? I'm not saying that to promote Lenovo. Just wondering if something LIKE that would expand your options.
 
I have a Dell laptop (a Studio 1737 that was a replacement for an Inspiron E1705 when Dell couldn't fix the Inspiron properly). My wife had an HP. We decided to get her a Lenovo when the video card in her HP died. 'nuff said.

But with the $500 budget ceiling, you might have to go with Dell after all.
 
Hescominsoon said:
i've great success with dell hp and acers. I get most of my machines from the dell outlet which are return that get resold..they have the same warranty as a new machine..:) you can easily find great notebooks for well under $500. 17 inch for under 500 with any kind of decent quality other than a reconditioned isn't going to be easy.

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnline...earch.aspx?brandId=2201&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's starting to be a problem. She's not settling for less than 17", but it pains me to pay so much for a machine that is going to be used as a web browser, document creator, and photo storage.
 
Tek7 said:
I have a Dell laptop (a Studio 1737 that was a replacement for an Inspiron E1705 when Dell couldn't fix the Inspiron properly). My wife had an HP. We decided to get her a Lenovo when the video card in her HP died. 'nuff said.

But with the $500 budget ceiling, you might have to go with Dell after all.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I found a couple Dells at the outlet site that might work.
 
Ember said:
Were you planning on getting an extended service plan? If so, maybe she would be happier buying it online if it's a plan where they come to you as opposed to shipping it out. I wound up with a Lenovo, and my warranty is in-home, next business day. Maybe that would be more acceptable to her? I'm not saying that to promote Lenovo. Just wondering if something LIKE that would expand your options.
Click to expand...

Definitely not paying for an extended service plan. I was a finance major in college and my old profs would kill me for doing such a thing :p The cost to insure such an item, whether through a special computer coverage endorsement on your insurance policy, or self-insuring by assuming the risk yourself is much lower than the cost of an extended warranty. Most of what you are paying on an extended warranty is salesperson commission, and the rest of it goes to actually insuring the risk.
 
Marinus said:
Definitely not paying for an extended service plan. I was a finance major in college and my old profs would kill me for doing such a thing :p The cost to insure such an item, whether through a special computer coverage endorsement on your insurance policy, or self-insuring by assuming the risk yourself is much lower than the cost of an extended warranty. Most of what you are paying on an extended warranty is salesperson commission, and the rest of it goes to actually insuring the risk.
Click to expand...
3-year next business day service warranty with Lenovo was $104. Considering the cost of the laptop itself, we felt it was well worth the investment.

Dell replaced my Inspiron E1705 with a Studio 1737 while my Inspiron was under warranty. I'd still be trying to play TF2 and newer games with a GeForce Go 7800 if not for the extended warranty.

But for products other than mid-range to high-end laptops, I agree: Extended warranties are usually scams.
 
Save 10% on any Dell Outlet XPS 13 Ultrabook! Enter LHZ3C4Z6L3TB9P at checkout: http://del.ly/6019rkiz (Exp. 5/22, 11:59pm CT)

8m Dell Outlet ‏ @DellOutlet
Save 20% on any Dell Outlet Inspiron R series laptop! Enter 8?0XC$?RP0JFLJ at checkout: http://del.ly/6010rki8 (Exp. 5/22, 11:59pm CT)

13m Dell Outlet ‏ @DellOutlet
Save 25% on any Dell Outlet Inspiron 14z laptop! Enter 2$W?S4XQ23DVS4 @ checkout: http://del.ly/6011rk9N (Exp. 5/22, 11:59pm CT)
 
ewoksrule said:
Save 10% on any Dell Outlet XPS 13 Ultrabook! Enter LHZ3C4Z6L3TB9P at checkout: http://del.ly/6019rkiz (Exp. 5/22, 11:59pm CT)

8m Dell Outlet ‏ @DellOutlet
Save 20% on any Dell Outlet Inspiron R series laptop! Enter 8?0XC$?RP0JFLJ at checkout: http://del.ly/6010rki8 (Exp. 5/22, 11:59pm CT)

13m Dell Outlet ‏ @DellOutlet
Save 25% on any Dell Outlet Inspiron 14z laptop! Enter 2$W?S4XQ23DVS4 @ checkout: http://del.ly/6011rk9N (Exp. 5/22, 11:59pm CT)
Click to expand...

Looks like good deals, but they are missing her only must-have, a 17" screen.
 
First I understand the need for a 17" screen, the difference between a 15" can reduce eye strain considerably. Secondly I must agree with extended warranties for high end items including expensive laptops. It may seem a little apples/oranges, but despite a lot of advice to the contrary we got a 3yr /100K miles warranty on a used car. It saved us 4k on an engine replacement, and a few other items. Don't dismiss all extended warranties, some can be well worth it.
 
Lenovo

Acer

Gateway

All the other ones on newegg were refurbished and I'm not sure how you feel about those... but there were more that would definitely work as a 17" web surfing machine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top