Help on buying a laptop.

[Shane136]

I bought a nice desktop computer a bit ago when I was into computer gaming, but I've been out of that for almost 6 months now. I want to get a laptop and was wondering if you could help me out on a good one for under $1100.

I really have no idea what is powerful and I don't think I really need a suped up one as I mainly just watch videos, listen to music, view forums and talk to friends now so I don't need a top of the line graphic card.

I've only had Dells before and when I looked at Macs they were really expensive and like my max budget is the lowest price on their worse laptop lol.

So do you know any laptops that might suit me and can you tell me from what I listed what would be good Specs for what i would use it for?

 

[Dracwolley]

If that's all you're really doing the best choice for you would be an iPad, I think. It's $500 and is fantastic for the things you mentioned. However, if you want to do a little more, a nice Acer netbook, notably the Aspire One AOD150.

However, for reasons such as build quality and usability, etc, I would go for a MacBook. It's $1000 normally, but you can get it for $900 if you're still in school. You could also find a used last-gen MacBook on eBay. These things last forever; if you get a good deal you can have a perfectly functioning 2.0GHz laptop with a 160GB hard drive, 13 inch screen, 2GB ram, and - most importantly - the ability to install Windows on it whenever you please (and switch between Windows and OS X!).

/2¢

 

[Owen.C93]

Or you could stick to Dell, get a 2.8GHZ quad core, 1GB Decent Graphics card (you can game on low settings easily), 4GB DDR3 ram, 15" HD screen. $900

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-15/fs

Yeah I would just try building your own laptop on Dell website. Definitely worth looking at the business section to.

 

[nick09]

How about this laptop? Comes with a i5 cpu, 4GB DDR3, 500GB 7500RPM HDD, BD Combo Drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M w/ 1GB DDR3 dedicated to graphics(This card is DirectX11), and a 15.6" monitor with 1920x1080 resolution. It's a good value for the money and more portable than a 16" or a 17" is. ASUS is well known for the quality of their electronics and I'm an happy owner of an ASUS laptop.

 

[Bram Turismo]

I'm an happly owner of an ASUS laptop.

I'll second that 👍

 

[Shane136]

If that's all you're really doing the best choice for you would be an iPad, I think. It's $500 and is fantastic for the things you mentioned. However, if you want to do a little more, a nice Acer netbook, notably the Aspire One AOD150.

However, for reasons such as build quality and usability, etc, I would go for a MacBook. It's $1000 normally, but you can get it for $900 if you're still in school. You could also find a used last-gen MacBook on eBay. These things last forever; if you get a good deal you can have a perfectly functioning 2.0GHz laptop with a 160GB hard drive, 13 inch screen, 2GB ram, and - most importantly - the ability to install Windows on it whenever you please (and switch between Windows and OS X!).

/2¢

I never really even considered an iPad, I'll look more into them, I know they are cheap but would they function like a laptop and I'm a big dude, I'm 6'2" 210 pounds with huge hands so would I have problems typing with the touch screen keyboard?

EDIT: Would a 16gb be good for my use? Like could it stream youtube videos fast without it reloading every 10 seconds? I have good internet so I don't know if it would be the internet or the power of the iPad.

Or you could stick to Dell, get a 2.8GHZ quad core, 1GB Decent Graphics card (you can game on low settings easily), 4GB DDR3 ram, 15" HD screen. $900

http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-15/fs

Yeah I would just try building your own laptop on Dell website. Definitely worth looking at the business section to.

I looked at a few and saw a 15 inch one I liked and I'm comfortable and satisfied with a Dell so why change? =p

How about this laptop? Comes with a i5 cpu, 4GB DDR3, 500GB 7500RPM HDD, BD Combo Drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M w/ 1GB DDR3 dedicated to graphics(This card is DirectX11), and a 15.6" monitor with 1920x1080 resolution. It's a good value for the money and more portable than a 16" or a 17" is. ASUS is well known for the quality of their electronics and I'm an happy owner of an ASUS laptop.

I'll look more into that, I never heard of that company before =p.

 

[Dracwolley]

I never really even considered an iPad, I'll look more into them, I know they are cheap but would they function like a laptop and I'm a big dude, I'm 6'2" 210 pounds with huge hands so would I have problems typing with the touch screen keyboard?

EDIT: Would a 16gb be good for my use? Like could it stream youtube videos fast without it reloading every 10 seconds? I have good internet so I don't know if it would be the internet or the power of the iPad.

If all you would be doing is what you said in the original post, then yes, this would be all you would need and probably the most pleasant to use. And it can run a couple very good games, it's actually a better ebook reader than you might think, etc. As for the keyboard, I have huge hands as well, and there are two methods I would typically use for typing. You can type normally with it in landscape (it isn't all that bad this way), or you can put it in portrait mode and type with your thumbs as you would do on, say, a phone. However I would still recommend using a bluetooth keyboard with it.

The 16GB would be fine to hold around maybe 1500 or so songs and maybe five or six movies. As for the internet, the iPad actually has quite good N-spec wifi, so the only thing holdin you back would be your router. I'd recommend picking up an N router, and you will see results improve dramatically.

 

[Shane136]

If all you would be doing is what you said in the original post, then yes, this would be all you would need and probably the most pleasant to use. And it can run a couple very good games, it's actually a better ebook reader than you might think, etc. As for the keyboard, I have huge hands as well, and there are two methods I would typically use for typing. You can type normally with it in landscape (it isn't all that bad this way), or you can put it in portrait mode and type with your thumbs as you would do on, say, a phone. However I would still recommend using a bluetooth keyboard with it.

The 16GB would be fine to hold around maybe 1500 or so songs and maybe five or six movies. As for the internet, the iPad actually has quite good N-spec wifi, so the only thing holdin you back would be your router. I'd recommend picking up an N router, and you will see results improve dramatically.

I have really good internet, I have the newest iPod and it streams very well. The iPad has been on for a bit now, do you think I should wait a few months or so in case they come out with a new and improved version?

 

[nick09]

Well before you buy an ipad you should really go to a store and try it out before you buy. I have looked up a bit of information from PCWorld that the ipad does not support flash(one of your requirements), you won't be multitasking, no camera, you need itunes to mange it, and there is no way mange files on the ipad(source). I have dug up some articles here and here.

Even if you buy an Macbook you could get much better hardware in a PC at the same price.

 

[Dracwolley]

Well before you buy an ipad you should really go to a store and try it out before you buy. I have looked up a bit of information from PCWorld that the ipad does not support flash(one of your requirements), you won't be multitasking, no camera, you need itunes to mange it, and there is no way mange files on the ipad(source). I have dug up some articles here and here.

Even if you buy an Macbook you could get much better hardware in a PC at the same price.

You still have the YouTube app, though, but yes, no flash. Also, he will be multitasking, as a firmware update was released recently, and there is a model already being manufactured with holes in the right spots for two cameras. Should be here in the coming months. Also, there is a way to manage files on it, but it requires a jailbreak. It's not illegal and although they say it voids your warranty, you can restore and become completely and totally unjailbroken, and even if you don't, they will still replace or fix it even when it is jailbroken if you feel the need.

And I agree with your second point, a lot, they are dreadfully overpriced, but they are extremely reliable, so you get slightly more for your money than you would appear to. Also, I don't own one specifically for the hardware, rather the software - it's just a joy to use, particularly for the tasks mentioned in the original post.