Buying a computer while in Orlando? And if you have rec’s for minecraft I’m listenin

[coastgirl]

Ds has his b’day on Saturday. He’s been playing Minecraft on his ipod and is quite obsessed, but we don’t have a PC for him to use that can handle it. All I am looking for is a notebook or something cheap but reliable that’s NOT a tablet (tablets use the “pocket edition”, same as ipod, which doesn’t have full functionality). Truly, the kid doesn’t need a $500 laptop.

So, we are curious about buying while in Fl. Are we going to find better selection/prices? I was hoping to spend $200 or so (less than $300 for sure!), and have it capable of running MS office stuff for his school work too. The only thing I can find here for that price range is refurbished (and scarce even at that). Would we be totally without warranty if we do? Warranties being what they are, that may not be a huge issue, especially if the starting price is low enough.

Anyone done this, or know someone who has?

And if you know anything about Minecraft, I’d love to know what will give us minimum acceptable performance.

 

[bankr63]

I wouldn't plan on buying electronics in the US. For all the price discrepancies you hear about between the two countries, almost NONE of them apply to electronics. The same list prices on both sides of the 49th and you are just as likely to find a sale either side.

Case in point, I broke my own rule this March and bought a Nexus 7 down there because I found it $20 dollars off at Staples, and I have been waiting for months for a sale up here. Got home and found that Staples in Canada had finally put it on sale... $25 off. Could have saved $5 by waiting!

I would not buy a refurb in the US as you will need the support of the retailer if it is still not fixed. We had this issue with my son's last laptop from BB here. There was probably a good reason why it was returned in the first place (lemon) and they really couldn't fix it. Eventually they gave a good deal on a non-refurb unit.

I think $200 is too low for any laptop, even refurbished. He may want to run Minecraft now, but that will pass and he'll be on the something else - my son's infatuation with MC lasted a few months at most. And games are actually much MORE demanding of PC resources than business apps. Even Minecraft is video and processor intensive. $500 should probably be your entry point for a system that will last him a couple of years. For something that will serve longer, stick with a big name system and expect to pay around $800 plus. There's a reason that good gaming desktops still run $1-2k - and that's what my DS is now saving for...

(FWIW - my qualifications, I am a Computer Engineering Technologist and run an IT shop for several hundred customers. At home we have 6 laptops, 2 netbooks, 3 tablets, 3 e-Readers, a couple of Smartphones, 3 gaming systems, etc, etc...)

 

[MedicGoofy]

I bought a computer in Pennsylvania. Good and bad about the whole experience.

I saved a TON of money. So the PP is really accurate. They have a ton of great sales in the US, usually far better than here. I paid about $1000 for my computer, and got it nearly $500 off. They didn't have a comparable computer here (laptop).....it was a top of the line computer meant for gaming. I only bought it, case it looked nice, and was cheap for what it offered.

I would definitely buy in the US again. Having said this, there will be a drawback. I had an issue with mine, and because it was manufactured in the US, there were no parts here for it (had an usual cord for the laptop). I had to have it 'fixed' or order parts within the US.

I bought my computer through a large company, so, while it was bought in Pennsylvania, I could take it back to NY to have it serviced. Which, going across the border is only 15 minutes for me. It was closer to do that, then take it somewhere close to my home in Canada.

If you buy new, and aren't close to the US, and don't buy from a big chain store, then I wouldn't buy. IF you can say yes to those things, then I wouldn't hesitate to buy in the US again.

 

[coastgirl]

Thanks. I'm not spending $500 for a laptop for him right now; he doesn't need it. He has a netbook issued by the school that he uses there, and he can use one of ours for homework as needed. So while it'd be nice for it to do double duty, and I'd be willing to pay for an extra copy of Office to keep him off ours, I'm not prepared to spend a fortune so he can game. We have a wii, and an xbox, and his ipod.

Our problem is maintenance. Our computers slow down to a crawl and we don't bother working out how to make them faster, so we replace them. The laptop dd uses used to be dh's, and there's nothing wrong with it except it needs someone to clean it up. Dh won't pay for someone to do that for us, and says that he'll do it--and he doesn't. So it's our own fault.

He will probably enjoy shopping while we're away, so I'll keep him to the caveats, medicgoofy!

 

[stefanospops]

If you are okay with e desktop instead of a laptop then check out tigerdirect.ca. you can get a decent desktop without a monitor for $165. This is not going to have great performance, but way better than what it sounds like you have now.

If you have an existing PC consider reinstalling the operating system, assuming you don't care if everything gets wiped out from the PC. That can also help considerably with the slowness. Good luck.