Laptop Suggestions

[6o4__boi]

Looking for a laptop to replace my ancient one from 6 years ago.

Budgets around $500-$600
Nothing fancy but looking for something that's going to be reliable for at least the next three years.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[Dragon-88]

Lenovo Thinkpads, well build business class notebooks. Make sure you look at the thinkpad line and not the ideapads.

[freakshow]

+1 for thinkpads

[6o4__boi]

Thanks, will definitely keep that in mind when looking around.

Just browsing around a few right now, and Asus & Lenovo seem to be the better ones around.

Any thoughts on Toshiba/Acer? I seem to recall an Acer one from either Newegg or Memory Express or NCIX that was decently priced and had pretty decent specs.

[sonick]

I am pretty picky for my electronics, but my current laptop is an Acer. They used to be very unreliable and I would not have touched them with a 10 foot pole, but in recent years they have been better. They have the better performance value, but do not have the build quality that Asus or Lenovo has.

If its for in-home use where you aren't throwing it around much and its just being moved from room to room, it is fine. But if you need it to use it outside of the house (going in and out of laptop bags, moved around desks, etc.), and need something more rugged I would stick to Lenovo and Asus.

[VeeDubya]

Just bought an Acer V3-772G and couldn't be happier. Runs pretty much every game out there and is good for day to day stuff and didn't completely break the bank!

[Kidnapman]

Originally Posted by Dragon-88

Lenovo Thinkpads, well build business class notebooks. Make sure you look at the thinkpad line and not the ideapads.

Originally Posted by freakshow

+1 for thinkpads

Really? Have you guys ever owned one? In my family we got 3 X series models and they were all shit. Keyboard and trackpad would not work every once in awhile. It overheats every now and then. Construction of some parts are crap and break easily. Screen is pretty crappy compared to others. Batteries always break and even when the batteries aren't broken they still use up pretty quick. Some USB ports stop functioning every now and then. All in all, shitty computer for the price.

K done bashing the IBMs. Next laptop is definitely gunna be an Acer.

[Zedbra]

I've had several brands of laptops including Dell, HP, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, and Lenovo. The ones that have been the toughest thus far and no problems have been the Toshibas. My kids beat the heck out of theirs - spill milk, juice all over it, pull the screen down flat, and all I have ever done is replace the keyboard once. Never turn it off and keeps ticking after 5 years. Hence, I bought another one for my personal use.

The worse laptops were the Lenovos and Dells - both having overheating issues and crappy keyboards.

[Ulic Qel-Droma]

honestly, if you are one who properly cares for electronics, you won't have a problem with any brand.

if your laptop lasted 6 years. you're probably ok.

some ppl don't respect electronics. moving shit around when its on, then complaining later when their disc drives die.

let it get dirty as fuck. then complaining about heat problems when u use it on your bed... or other dusty non ventilated areas.

dead batteries when you leave it plugged in CONSTANTLY... or using it on your bed where it's hot as fuck and battery life is deteriorated.

if it doesn't look brand new and clean all the time. you're treating your electronics wrong. they're fragile machines.

for instance... people with crumbs all over their keyboards and smudge gross drink splash/spill marks on their screens. fucking disguising.

the fact that they even let that scenario happen... ie they let drinks or food NEAR their computers shows that they're not adept to avoid those situations. they really have no right to complain unless they bought some rugged all weather condition laptop.

that being said... i've had a dell one for over 10 years now. im about to throw it out. and i have had an asus for 2 years. no complaints from me.

i'd just go for the one with the best warranty and customer service.

[Presto]

Acer has improved greatly in the last few years. If you do need service, their repair center is in Burnaby. Recently, I had to get my tablet repaired, and was able to setup the RMA via their online chat. Took less than 5 min. I was in the area, so I chose to drop off the tablet, and they shipped it back to me in less than a week.

My wife has a Lenovo T410 that I purchased from IBM's EPP. It has the best laptop keyboard that I have laid my hands on. They have some decent deals on business-class laptops. It might be worth a look. Shipping is included, 7 day money-back, 90 day warranty. $40 off with coupon code: ibmepp

[6o4__boi]

Originally Posted by Presto

Acer has improved greatly in the last few years. If you do need service, their repair center is in Burnaby. Recently, I had to get my tablet repaired, and was able to setup the RMA via their online chat. Took less than 5 min. I was in the area, so I chose to drop off the tablet, and they shipped it back to me in less than a week.

My wife has a Lenovo T410 that I purchased from IBM's EPP. It has the best laptop keyboard that I have laid my hands on. They have some decent deals on business-class laptops. It might be worth a look. Shipping is included, 7 day money-back, 90 day warranty. $40 off with coupon code: ibmepp

hmm, never knew Acer's repair centre is in Burnaby that's a good thing to know.

I'm coming from an Acer and asides from it being a bit slow and unable to smoothly play higher res vids, it still does okay with day to day things. Most of my friends/coworkers have Macs but I can never justify spending that kinda money lol

The laptops probably gonna be home most of the time except for the occasional times where i take it for school/work. Depending on what the best deal is out there, I may stick around with Acer now that I know their repair center is near me

[sonick]

Originally Posted by 6o4__boi

it being a bit slow and unable to smoothly play higher res vids,

That's probably moreso just slow/outdated CPU/Video Card than the laptop brand itself.

[Manic!]

Step one is to figure out what screen size you want.

[6o4__boi]

14"-15"

[G-spec]

what about those tablet laptops ? where you can take the screen off ?
I'm in the market for one of those myself just have no idea which one is good, my wifes piece of shit Samsung laptop from future shop just died after only 2 years, personally have a horrible record with Samsung I don't know about you guys, all the 1 big screen LCD dead, Samsung S3 nothing but issues and eventually died just months after warranty, now the laptop....
so I guess from my personal experience I wouldn't go with Samsung would be my recommendation

[murd0c]

I'm actually looking at getting my first laptop as well in the next bit and don't really have a clue what I should go with. Mainly for surfing the next, torrents, pics and music. My budget is about $1000 tho. My PC is 8 years old and it's time to upgrade.

[Manic!]

After you pick the screen size you want to look at HD space. Many laptops come with SSDs that are 128GB or 256GB. Others havs standard hardrives or hybrid drives that are a lot bigger. The laptop I bought a month back has a 1TB drive with a 24 GB SSD cach drive.

For processors I would look at something in the Intel I series (3/5/7) or an AMD A8 or A10.

[kross9]

As someone who sell Laptops, Acer defenitly has gotten a lot better in terms of Quality. Defenitly a decent basic work comp.
Personally I really like Asus, for quality and the hardware that is put into it.

Now as for what you need you have your size 15 = 15.6" laptop. (Around 4-6 pounds on average). Now what do you plan to do with it? Work? Games? Word Processing?

Sources: 4 years working crappy retail.....

[6o4__boi]

Originally Posted by G-spec

what about those tablet laptops ? where you can take the screen off ?
I'm in the market for one of those myself just have no idea which one is good, my wifes piece of shit Samsung laptop from future shop just died after only 2 years, personally have a horrible record with Samsung I don't know about you guys, all the 1 big screen LCD dead, Samsung S3 nothing but issues and eventually died just months after warranty, now the laptop....
so I guess from my personal experience I wouldn't go with Samsung would be my recommendation

I've got an ASUS tf300 that i got couple years ago.
Got it cus i was too lazy to lug my tablet to school and just cus i wanted a tablet with good batt life to take notes, browse, watch shit

So far so good, not as fast as it used to be and its pretty useless outdoors but i have no complaints.
batt life is really good, got the whole package with the keyboard dock/battery. I'm still averaging about a week/week and a half before i charge it. I usually charge it when its around 35%

Overall, pretty solid and would definitely recommend. I would've spent the extra $$ for the prime but i'm still happy with this one.

[kross9]

if you want it to be a bit faster, wipe it to factory. it makes it get ride of all the useless crap

[knight604]

asus ftw

had the g73sw and now the g75vw

[murd0c]

Originally Posted by Manic!

After you pick the screen size you want to look at HD space. Many laptops come with SSDs that are 128GB or 256GB. Others havs standard hardrives or hybrid drives that are a lot bigger. The laptop I bought a month back has a 1TB drive with a 24 GB SSD cach drive.

For processors I would look at something in the Intel I series (3/5/7) or an AMD A8 or A10.

I would like to go with a 15" screen and the 1TB drive with a really good battery life. What places normally give the best pricing and do you think any decent sales will be coming up anytime soon?

[sonick]

Check RFD for upcoming Dell Deal of the Day sales, Lenovo EPP sales, and Microsoft Store sales.

Here's one that's currently on sale that seems to match your needs:
Buy HP ENVY TouchSmart 15-j051nr Touchscreen Notebook - Microsoft Store Canada Online Store

For your budget you can probably get pretty high end system with i7 Haswell (4th gen) with a dedicated graphics card.

[murd0c]

Thanks, I won't be getting one until beg of June but of course want to figure it out before hand.

[meme405]

I'm shocked by a few of the first posts in here.

Warning: I am a fan of IBM/Lenovo, and more specifically the thinkpad lineup.

1. The keyboards are rated one of the best in the biz, reviewers are constantly praising the tactile and well laid out buttons.
2. The design, although the stealth style isn't to everyones taste I am certainly a fan. Its understated and extremely functional
3. Matte/semi matte screens are a must on my laptops

I previously owned a few thinkpads from both the T-series and X-series. I am currently on a 2014 X1 Carbon Haswell, and my particular model is doing extremely well (I know some of the early runs had some issues, but mine has been good.

Would reccomend the X1 Carbon to anyone, the only pitfall for me is the lack of an SDcard slot. Other than that for 2 grand, I have a top of the line i7, 8gb of ram, 512gb SSD, great touch screen display, etc.