Text Only | Text with Attachments

gametechmods

Off-Topic => Off-Topic Discussion => Topic started by: Somebody on July 22, 2010, 02:41:18 PM

Title: I needs a laptop
Post by: Somebody on July 22, 2010, 02:41:18 PM: I need something able to play RA2. Good for multitasking. Maybe good enough for a few other games. Only needs 250gbs or less hard drive. Needs to be uber-reliable. Can't be a netbook.
I have $350 to spend, although I might be able to get a bit more money out of my parents.

Any suggestions?
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Sage on July 22, 2010, 02:45:58 PM: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10388551-1.html (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10388551-1.html)

See if that helps. more money would be nice. $500 is usually a good minimum for a decent laptop.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Hydro on July 22, 2010, 03:05:25 PM: Get the one that doesn't suck.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Serge on July 22, 2010, 03:13:04 PM: Meh. You won't be able to get a good laptop for $500. Wait 'till you have more, buy a macbook. inb4 mac hate: It's gonna lat you forever (the typical Acer is made to last three years). You can install Windows (XP/Vista/7) on it.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Sage on July 22, 2010, 03:28:55 PM: Mac Comp + Windows OS = best option out there.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Somebody on July 22, 2010, 03:52:06 PM: I can tell you now that I am not getting a Macbook. I doubt I can get a good Macbook for cheap anyways (heard they are very expensive). The highest I could convince my parents to maybe go would be to match my money, basically $700.

Also, what I was looking at was the Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX (I think). Its $299 at Best Buy. Rated 4.5 stars in 463 reviews on their site. Problem is, every bad review talks about failures like battery is fried, will not start, etc. and how crappy COmpaq customer service is.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Sage on July 22, 2010, 05:53:16 PM: I got a presario. it died right after the warranty ran out (just after a year). go with something better.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: frezal on July 22, 2010, 06:25:03 PM: Quote from: Somebody on July 22, 2010, 03:52:06 PM
I can tell you now that I am not getting a Macbook. I doubt I can get a good Macbook for cheap anyways (heard they are very expensive). The highest I could convince my parents to maybe go would be to match my money, basically $700.

Also, what I was looking at was the Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX (I think). Its $299 at Best Buy. Rated 4.5 stars in 463 reviews on their site. Problem is, every bad review talks about failures like battery is fried, will not start, etc. and how crappy COmpaq customer service is.
Buy used.
http://www.themacstore.com/parts/show/c-u69644 (http://www.themacstore.com/parts/show/c-u69644)

You may not be near any of these stores, but I'm sure you can find a store that sells used Macs for similar prices nearby.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Somebody on July 22, 2010, 06:26:03 PM: Thats what a lot of them said too. All of the good ones just said: "I GOT THIS YESTERDAY AND I LOVE IT ITS SO GREAT".
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Natef on July 24, 2010, 01:57:41 PM: Quote from: Sage on July 22, 2010, 03:28:55 PM
Mac Comp + Windows OS = best option out there.

Agreed.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: Trovaner on July 24, 2010, 03:27:52 PM: I was recently looking into a new laptop and after making up my mind, I found this study (http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:NfnTzfcv0lsJ:www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf+SquareTrade+reliability+survey&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShicGb0aCEAAZHffA6YpPR3VyI6Pdva2yzrZ_ClleuGtWb6-zfrnDLX1UYmeBuJilO0U0-hFEnypEC_IYn9EUdsTjXjH7zflU-fueJUUfO5PmE58I__qxS5lfK1PMEGCXo5ZKuD&sig=AHIEtbT8pW8NZd_6X_hE_OlvP4HAmJl8Fg). The three year study which was released in Nov. of 2009 was conducted by a computer warranty company, SquareTrade, and concluded that ASUS and Toshiba were the most reliable laptops.

If you plan to be multitasking, you want as much ram/memory as you can get.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: 123savethewhales on July 24, 2010, 04:09:42 PM: How much you want to pay depends on how often you want to update your laptop. Laptop gets outdated quite fast, and can become obsolete even if it is still operational.

So if you want to update every 2 - 3 years, buy a cheap laptop.
Title: Re: I needs a laptop
Post by: SKBT on July 27, 2010, 12:40:27 PM: This might help.

http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/406/best-laptops-under-500/ (http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/406/best-laptops-under-500/)