Which laptop?

[MAH4546]

There is not a single warranty in the world that covers strawberry syrup keyboard replacement.

My Sony Vaio's warranty certainly does, as do the accidental damage-including warranties by any other manufacturer.

 

[SalandJeff]

Does anyone have any experience with Acer laptops?

There is one on sale at Staples for $599...here are the specs
Intel® Core™ i5-430M Processor (2.26GHz)
4GB installed memory
500GB hard drive
Acer® CineCrystal 15.6" (1366 x 768) TFT display
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
5-in-1 card reader; 1 - HDMI Port
Acer InviLink™ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™
Integrated Acer® Crystal Eye webcam
Dimensions 15"W x 10"D x 1.3"H (5.7lbs)
6-cell lithium ion battery: up to 4.0 hours of battery life
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

It seems like a really good deal to me. In researching online, I can find people who have negative things to say about every single brand (Acer, HP, Dell, etc.), so that doesn't really help much.

Also, a software question....if I want Outlook, does that come as part of Windows 7 or MS Office?

Thanks for the help...you guys are great.


Oh, BTW....for anyone else who is looking, I believe Staples will have quite a few computers in their ad tomorrow (5/23).

 

[4Seasons]

We're getting this one for dd who is graduating HS in 2 weeks and needs one for college:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...=5608152&Sku=G180-15651&cm_re=Homepage-_-Spot 01-_-CatId_17_G180-15651

I've done alot of research and keep coming back to this as being a great deal.

Also if you sign up with Bingcashback they have a 10% rebate on purchase from Tigerdirect.com

I've ordered several times from Tiger Direct and they are excellent.
We got our 52" Samsung LCD tv right before Christmas from them (also got 8% Bingcashback, free shipping......arrived in 2 days......and a free BluRay player) as well as several smaller things.

I highly recommend them.

 

[cglaura]

Does anyone have any experience with Acer laptops?

There is one on sale at Staples for $599...here are the specs
Intel® Core™ i5-430M Processor (2.26GHz)
4GB installed memory
500GB hard drive
Acer® CineCrystal 15.6" (1366 x 768) TFT display
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
5-in-1 card reader; 1 - HDMI Port
Acer InviLink™ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™
Integrated Acer® Crystal Eye webcam
Dimensions 15"W x 10"D x 1.3"H (5.7lbs)
6-cell lithium ion battery: up to 4.0 hours of battery life
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)

It seems like a really good deal to me. In researching online, I can find people who have negative things to say about every single brand (Acer, HP, Dell, etc.), so that doesn't really help much.

Also, a software question....if I want Outlook, does that come as part of Windows 7 or MS Office?

Thanks for the help...you guys are great.


Oh, BTW....for anyone else who is looking, I believe Staples will have quite a few computers in their ad tomorrow (5/23).

Outlook comes with Office. But I think windows might have some sort of mail program, similar to what Outlook Express was, not sure of the name. But if you want all the stuff like task manager, etc, then you'll have to get Outlook.

That seems like a good deal. I don't personally have experience w/ Acer but my dd's friends have them for about year now with no issues. I know a year isn't the greatest test, sorry!

I do have personal experience w/ Dell. I bought an InspironE1505 3 years ago and have had 0 issues. Unlike the pp, I've only had good experinence with Dell support, though it was about orders, not tech, so I'm sure they are different units.

I was so happy with her last system that I just bought this one for dd's grad gift, it was $699. I was able to reformat her old 15 back to factory fresh (you can do this yourself by the way, you don't need to pay dell to reset it...there are instructions in the book/online) and am using for myself as a backup in case my desktop gets frisky on me. As you can see the Acer you are looking at is less money, but has faster cpu and more hd space. Smaller screen though, which is what my dd wanted, the 17", and this was within my budget. So you have to weigh out what you really want for within your budget. If you like the 15" size and don't need to put too much stress on the videio card then I think the Acer deal is the way to go.

The video card is something you want to pay attention to also. Usually an independent like ATI or Nvidea (?) is better than integrated intel. For example, the ATI below added $125 to the price...

New Inspiron 17 Inspiron 17 Notebook

Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit

Processor NEW 2010 Intel®Core™ i3 - 330M

Memory 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz

LCD 17.3" HD+ WLED

Video Card ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 1GB

Hard Drive 320GB, 5400 RPM

System Color Obsidian Black

Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0

CD ROM/DVD ROM 8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

Sound High Definition Audio 2.0

Wireless Dell 1397 Wireless-G

Camera Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam

Office Productivity Software MS WORKS 9.0 With Office Home and Students 60 days free trial

Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months

Battery Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)

Service 1 Year Basic Service Plan

Service 1 Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year​

I removed McAffee though and put on AVG.

To the person with the internet issues after the reset your computer. Do you have a router. If so, you might need to reset that as well. When I rest the old 15 I mentioned above, it didn't find the network. I had to unplug the router and let it set a few minutes, then rebooted laptop and everything was good to go. I suggest turning off the Dell auto updates, but keep the Windows. Set windows to let you analyze before installing in case there is stuff you don't need or want (like for me personally, I unchecked IE8 and all drivers, since messing with drivers is something you should do independent and read instructions, etc.)

 

[EclecticWAHM]

We just got this one for DD: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0327678 I couldn't BELIEVE we got such a nice one for under $300. Microcenter has great deals from time to time. They had a lot to choose from. DD loves it and it's working perfectly!

 

[mickeysmate65]

Our experiences:

Toshiba Satellite: Lasted 5 yrs before the blue screen of death; battery hot from the beginning; casing felt solid. Overall was a good computer.

Dell Inspirion 1505: Not even 3 yrs old. PIECE OF JUNK! Casing is plastic-y; hinge and screen framing are cracked so can't close it; replaced charging cord as it frayed; battery didn't last very long; keys are coming off keyboard. Under warranty the first 2 years. At 15months fan stopped working - called customer service & got the run around with hours over several days on the phone; first service tech lied about something - ended up on a conference call with CS, local service people with no resolution; second tech from another area was great. Emailed US Dell contacts who did respond by email and called me - received an apology and $100 credit for my troubles. I'm okay now with Dell's customer service as I know some of the issues were with their subcontractor. I still think this computer is cheaply made so I wouldn't purchase again.

Sony VIAO: DD's first college laptop. Died about 2.5 yrs later. Battery never seemed to hold charge. Slow to start up to the point she just left it on all the time.

MacBook Pro: DD bought the 15inch and I bought the 13 inch in January. Love it! Feels solid. Battery good so far. Really like the power cord set-up. Wish there were more software applications. Haven't needed customer service so no experience there. Did I say I love it! I was looking at a Dell Latitude but the cost of this computer wasn't really any different.

Go for the MAC!

 

[chaoslobster]

Okay, everyone here seems to be giving advice that's based on getting the absolute best machine with the most power for the least money. I'm not sure that's what the OP needs.

You say that you'll be using the laptop only for email, research (I assume you mean on the web) and simple document drafting. If you're not going to be playing games or doing graphic editing or trying to have 6 instances of Word 2009 open at the same time, then you do not need the power and speed everyone's suggesting. You'd do quite well with a piece of crap 10 year old Inspiron, if all you need it for is email and word processing.

If the cost is really the most important thing here, my advice is to get yourself a netbook. Those are the smaller laptops that've become popular in the past year. They are MUCH cheaper than a full-sized laptop and often only a little bit less powerful.

I have one of the "original" netbooks, the ones that seem to have started the weird netbook craze, an Asus eeePC. It has a 7" screen and weighs about a pound. Very tiny. I bought it on eBay for about $200 and I use it for travel, email, web surfing, chatting, etc. I've never had a single problem with it and I adore the thing. Best computing purchase I have ever made -- I mostly build my own systems instead of buying off the shelf. Maybe that means I know what I'm talking about, maybe it just means I'm a geek who is totally out of touch with what "normal" people need a computer to do, so it's up to you whether to listen to me or not, lol.

I can tell you from personal experience that a netbook can do pretty much everything a full-sized laptop can do, in terms of everyday household tasks. If you're a gamer, a graphic designer, or a professional editor, then you need more power than a netbook can provide. Anyone else? Get the netbook. It can email, browse the web, and word process with the best of 'em, and the main difference is that it's smaller and cheaper. You don't need the latest Lynnfield i7 if all you're doing is writing emails and college papers. If money is an issue, which it sounds like it is (and these days, is there anyone for whom it's not?) then I really think you should stop asking yourself how much computer you can possibly get for an affordable price, and start asking how much computer you really need.

 

[TinkOhio]

Thanks for all of the help. I really don't need great graphics - no time for gaming and such. I will need to create documents and worksheets. I would like to do some digital scrapbooking, but lord knows when the time for that will magically appear! I do know that I will need Office, and I don't want a system that runs terribly slow. We have cable access here, and it's nice an quick. I can't justify the cost of a Mac for the basic way that I will be using it. Decisions, decisions!!

 

[kelly1218]

Outlook comes with Office. But I think windows might have some sort of mail program, similar to what Outlook Express was, not sure of the name. But if you want all the stuff like task manager, etc, then you'll have to get Outlook.

That seems like a good deal. I don't personally have experience w/ Acer but my dd's friends have them for about year now with no issues. I know a year isn't the greatest test, sorry!

I do have personal experience w/ Dell. I bought an InspironE1505 3 years ago and have had 0 issues. Unlike the pp, I've only had good experinence with Dell support, though it was about orders, not tech, so I'm sure they are different units.

I was so happy with her last system that I just bought this one for dd's grad gift, it was $699. I was able to reformat her old 15 back to factory fresh (you can do this yourself by the way, you don't need to pay dell to reset it...there are instructions in the book/online) and am using for myself as a backup in case my desktop gets frisky on me. As you can see the Acer you are looking at is less money, but has faster cpu and more hd space. Smaller screen though, which is what my dd wanted, the 17", and this was within my budget. So you have to weigh out what you really want for within your budget. If you like the 15" size and don't need to put too much stress on the videio card then I think the Acer deal is the way to go.

The video card is something you want to pay attention to also. Usually an independent like ATI or Nvidea (?) is better than integrated intel. For example, the ATI below added $125 to the price...

New Inspiron 17 Inspiron 17 Notebook

Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit

Processor NEW 2010 Intel®Core™ i3 - 330M

Memory 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz

LCD 17.3" HD+ WLED

Video Card ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 1GB

Hard Drive 320GB, 5400 RPM

System Color Obsidian Black

Network Card Integrated 10/100 Network Card

Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0

CD ROM/DVD ROM 8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

Sound High Definition Audio 2.0

Wireless Dell 1397 Wireless-G

Camera Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam

Office Productivity Software MS WORKS 9.0 With Office Home and Students 60 days free trial

Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months

Battery Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)

Service 1 Year Basic Service Plan

Service 1 Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year​

I removed McAffee though and put on AVG.

To the person with the internet issues after the reset your computer. Do you have a router. If so, you might need to reset that as well. When I rest the old 15 I mentioned above, it didn't find the network. I had to unplug the router and let it set a few minutes, then rebooted laptop and everything was good to go. I suggest turning off the Dell auto updates, but keep the Windows. Set windows to let you analyze before installing in case there is stuff you don't need or want (like for me personally, I unchecked IE8 and all drivers, since messing with drivers is something you should do independent and read instructions, etc.)

I just bought this same laptop today for $599. (the 17" screen was a free upgrade)
I will agree that Dell customer service is horrible (we've had quite a few Dell's in my family) But my brother is now my tech support for the most part, so that's not important to me.

 

[EclecticWAHM]

Thanks for all of the help. I really don't need great graphics - no time for gaming and such. I will need to create documents and worksheets. I would like to do some digital scrapbooking, but lord knows when the time for that will magically appear! I do know that I will need Office, and I don't want a system that runs terribly slow. We have cable access here, and it's nice an quick. I can't justify the cost of a Mac for the basic way that I will be using it. Decisions, decisions!!

Remember if you need Outlook with your MS Office, do NOT buy the Home and Student edition - it doesn't include Outlook. My dad made that mistake and luckily I told him before he opened it so he exchanged it.

 

[4Seasons]

If you do consider a netbook for your only computer, just be certain you can live with the small screen size and smaller keyboard size.
I borrow my son's netbook sometimes and while they are great, I could not have that as my only computer. Great for travel and portability but it is different than using a regular sized laptop.
I'd recommend going into somplace like BestBuy, etc. and spending a couple hours playing around on them to see what if most comfortable before spending any $$.

 

[petlvr1064]

I have a sony vieo lap top that i have had for about almost 4 years now and i love it. i have not had any major problrems with it except acdent damge to the key board. that the warnty took care of through best buy.

 

[crewmatt]

The other thing I'd say would be to check out sites like corporateperks.com where you can get access to fairly steep discounts (a lot of companies basically sharing employee purchase plans). I got my HP through them (my company participated in that site, but I believe its open to the public now). Saved a few hundred dollars, got free shipping, and a free printer. If you're looking for a specific brand/model I can try to get you info.