Boxing Day Laptop Purchase - help please
 

Hello everyone and Happy Holidays!
need some help deciding a laptop - i need one for regular school work only and prefer a full keyboard without the numpad.

I saw these within my price range (less than $400) and wanted some opinions before purchasing. I read some horrific reviews on HP laptops but do not have any personal experience with them, so any advice and other suggestions for a better one is greatly appreciated!

AMD vs Intel
#1. Compaq at FS for $249
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/produ...b5d628f5bcen02

or

#2. HP at BB for $299
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/.../10159617.aspx

thank-you very much!

With what you need it for, those will do.. But be aware you are buying super cheap notebooks with old technology.... I say spend a few hundred more and get something nice... You get waht you pay for.. Guarantee something will happen to those notebooks in 1 year after warranty.

hmm good point! thanks for the reply. do you have any recommendations on brands/models that you would invest in? maybe my budget can increase to $600 for something of higher quality

links on specific laptops would help me IMMENSELY and greatly appreciated :)

if u want to spend a bit more than 600
ncix has the asus ul80vt for 699.99 and asus ul30a for 599.99 / asus ul30a w/ 500gb passport HD + office 2010 for 669.99 on sale right now

Acer timeline 3820 or the netbook equivilant

Of those two, I'd definitely get the HP from BB. Dual Core > Single Core.

Another consideration would be the Sony E-Series unit we have at Staples on clearance for $347 (Clearance, so YMMV, but we have 2 in Duncan, so I'd imagine the Lower Mainland will have some, too). Newer P6100 Pentium Dual Core, 4GB DDR3, 320GB, 15.5" screen, solid feel, and a much nicer keyboard (still International layout, bleh, but much better than the HP and Compaq keyboards). It's not advertised in the flyer, but the price drops on Boxing Day.

Last year, I made the mistake of buying an entry-model Toshiba. It's already on its way out.

My advice: spring a little more for a better laptop. Don't skimp out, or you'll end up with a POS like mine.

thanks everyone for all the helpful tips!
i was deciding over the asus ul30 vs. acer timeline, but couldn't find a place to purchase the timeline other than memory express which costs a lot more than the asus at ncix...

so i think my final decision is asus ul30 for $599 at ncix! a lot more than i thought i would pay but i think it will be a wiser investment in the long run!

HP is a garbage brand.. never buy from them..
Myself and my friend both bought HP laptops (different models 1 year apart) BOTH our laptops fucked up on us after a year.. both our screens died ..

Honestly pay a little more for something like Asus .. after my shitty hp I spent the same amount on a Asus and this suckers still working wonders and its been 3 years.
Not to mention they have the sickest 1 year warranty ever.

2 of my friends and 1 all bought our hp;s at the same time. all our screens blew up within the year! mine happened day after warranty expired.

HP sucks big time... HP users that I know seem to always have problems with their laptops, I myself did too awhile back and I'm never gonna buy any of their products again. On the other hand product reliability-wise you really can't go wrong with ASUS, Lenovo and Dell products. Toshiba laptops aren't so bad either :)

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/l...-win-hp-fails/

asus has the least amount of problems with hp being the most.
with that being said HP owns Compaq and i've known quite a few people who own a HP laptop and their laptops all crapped out within a year and a bit. the screens didn't die, they just over heated like crazy even only a couple of minutes of being on using non-intensive programs. *shrugs*
i've had a dell for about 4 years now, just for school. works perfectly fine, and i got it with a bigger battery so it lasts about 5-6 hours on low performance mode. you get what you pay for

BuT but but hp teamed up with dr. Dre
Posted via RS Mobile

^Making HP even less credible.

HP is a piece of shit. Unless you plan to buy a new laptop every year or something, don't go HP route. Somehow, someway, it just effs up right after warranty period.

hey everyone, so i picked up the asus ul30a exactly a week ago and for the 7 days of possession i've used it for web surfing exclusively...probably 4 hours total per day at most. Just yesterday, while i was doing a search on google, the computer restarts itself for no reason whatsever..and this error comes to screen after the reboot:

SMART capable & status bad
ACHI port0 device error

...this is my first asus...does this problem re: hard disk failure occur often!?
the laptop apparently can't be recovered...so..now i'm thinking it was only 7 days of usage!? anyone have this similar problem? should i be concerned with my new one?

Hard drives are precise mechanical devices, and are prone to failures.

Some drives are DOA, or die early in its lifecycle, while others will perform solidly for years... just luck of the draw.

I would not be concerned after getting the drive replaced through warranty.

I wouldn't be concerned either. Most laptop manufacturers source their hard drives from the same companies anyways (Hitachi usually I think), so changing to a different company might still get you the same hard drive. Like InvisibleSoul said - it's just luck of the draw with Hard Drives.

Yeah honestly all electronics are a hit or miss with lemons.. You win some you lose some.. As for your case hard drives die all the time.. Warranty will cover the replacement of hard drives and if not I believe hard drive have 3-5 year manufacture warranty.. So pretty safe there.. My biggest recommendation is to alway back up you computer... I dont know how many times I see people come in to my shop with a dead hard drive praying for help that we can retreive their data... People put their whole lives in their computer and cant do something as simple as backing them up... BTW congrats on your new system Asus notebook are nice. Plus since its a notebook you get 1 year free accidental warranty... Drop it in a lake in 350days and claim a new one :P