Laptop purchase

[mom2boys]

OK I'm totally overwhelmed. I am looking for a laptop for DS - aged 15 for Christmas. Obviously we want it for his schoolwork & he likes to play games. He thinks he wants a dual core processor. We'd like to keep the price under $700, less is better.
Any suggestions?
Is one brand any better than another?
And finally, if you know of any great sales, please share.

Thanks!

 

[lovesmurfs]

OK I'm totally overwhelmed. I am looking for a laptop for DS - aged 15 for Christmas. Obviously we want it for his schoolwork & he likes to play games. He thinks he wants a dual core processor. We'd like to keep the price under $700, less is better.
Any suggestions?
Is one brand any better than another?
And finally, if you know of any great sales, please share.

Thanks!

DS is 16 and I've been shopping for a couple of months for a laptop for him for Christmas as well.

I'm leaning toward http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/494694/Acer-Aspire-AS5517-1208-15-6/. Black Friday it will be $379.

 

[Micca]

No specific recommendations, but I think I'd get something fairly inexspensive--maybe not the absolute bottom dollar price, but just a notch up from there.

At 15 I'd be concerned it's going to get lost, dropped, etc. Let him bang one around until he's ready for college, then get something better quality. He may be a great kid, very responsible,etc. but there will be something better in a couple of years anyway.

 

[mom2boys]

Thank you for the suggestions. I am hoping to find a great Black Friday deal. I'm not so much worried about him dropping it - he's not likely to take it outside of the house. I am concerned about viruses and things he might be exposed to on the gaming sites he visits.

 

[ProgressCity]

The type of computer you buy has absolutely nothing to do with viruses, unless you're getting him a Mac. A $4,000 PC will get viruses just like a $400 PC. Virus protection is up to the user to be smart in their online habits and get good virus protection software.

Or you could just get a Mac , it works right out of the box, no additional software or drivers needed, and you don't have to worry about viruses! My last Mac laptop lasted me 8 years and I would have never gotten a new one except they switched to Intel processors and the software I use for my business stopped updating the pre-Intel versions. In the long run it's cheaper because you don't have to upgrade as much or spend time fixing your computer when it breaks. But I digress...

Seriously though, if you know what games he wants to play, find out the requirements for them. If he's not playing anything that will even use a dual processor then it's a waste of money. Nothing he would be doing for school would use a dual processor if he had one, so if his games won't use them either, then there's no use in spending the money on one. I agree the cheaper the better for a 15 year old if you're the one buying it. You'd be better off spending that money on a faster processor. If you know the games he plays post them here and we can look around and see what's going to be the best bang for your buck

 

[shelly3girls]

My company offers an employee purchase program through Dell. I have been shopping around but so far it is a better deal than any of the deals I see for black Friday. Maybe you could check to see if your employer or someone you know gets a deal through any of the suppliers. Not only can I get a good deal on the computer but I get 50% off Microsoft Office including Excel, Word and Powerpoint (which I think is a necessity for a student), Norton Anti-virus 36 months for $20 and many other cheap add-ons.

 

[JessicaR]

Have a look at www.newegg.com

 

[dundee10]

You can get a pretty decent notebook computer for $700.00. Dual core shouldn't be a problem. You probably could even find one with discrete video memory, which would help with gaming.

 

[mrodgers]

My company offers an employee purchase program through Dell.

Same here. Through my supplier's discount, I can get any Dell PC or laptop for..... $30 more than any normal person can on the website!

A fantastic discount.....

I like my other discounts which are usually from $8,000 to $10,000 off on a Nissan or crappy Chevy.