I finally have the money to replace my stolen laptop. But there are so many choices out there that its a bit overwhelming and I’ve never really been very good at this sort of thing. Plus its kind of difficult to do from my phone, which I am typing this right now with.
My last one was a Panasonic Toughbook CF-74 and I absolutely loved it. However I don’t have over $3000 to get another one with. This time I need to keep it below $1000.
Ideally, my next laptop will have:
CD-ROM drive
USB ports
Windows XP or 7
Be rugged or semi-rugged
Small is okay, don’t need a big giant one to have to lug around
Touch screen is cool, though not absolutely necessary
I’m sure there are other things but I can’t think of them this second.
As I said, I’m kind of clueless about this kind of thing and don’t want to inadvertently buy something that sucks or get ripped off or pay too much for something I could’ve paid less for. Also I live in a place where there are no stores nearby that sell computers, so I’ll have to order whatever I decide on.
So, if any of you computer savvy guys (or girls) can help Me with this bewildering task, I would be supremely grateful.
I’ve had great experiences with DELL, SK, and I don’t have a complaint at all. The rugged part is as rugged as it can get without being a toughbook. I’ve dropped and traveled with my laptop and it works very well. With the exception of the desktops, which I build myself, the dell laptops are pretty good. You can also try for a Sony VAIO but they run a little more expensive as is.
I’ll look some stuff up and see what I can come up with
It’s a bit more expensive, but you can’t beat the VAIO’s stabily and overall usability. These are normal laptops, as durable as they come. But I think with structural stability, SONY might be the better offer, their cases for their latops just feel more solid.
If it’s too much then go with the EB series for SONY Vaio. You’ll have to sacrifice some of the features as you would normally get with dell, but the solid build is worth the money based on what you’re looking for.
There is an important question you have to answer before I can make a suggestion. What are you going to use it for?? e-mail? Web surfing? photo editing? Excel? Word? etc.
You might want to consider an Inspiron 15 (1545). The second from the left HERE. You might even get it for less than the $549.99 if the place you work at is “public sector”.
It’s a little hard to browse those links on my phone, I tried with MtJim’s Sony Vaio link and it came up but hard to navigate with having to scootch the page all around. That’s why I haven’t been here on PT much, I can access it obviously, but all that scootching the page around just kills me, lol.
Hey, has anyone heard of a Samsung NB30 netbook? It might be perfect, but maybe needs more RAM or something like that. Could I trouble you guys to look that one up for me and tell me what you think? All the specs and numbers don’t mean anything to me. I do know I’d need an external CD-ROM drive for that.
I have a netbook, doing things I’m used to, even forum browsing is gonna be easier w a full function laptop. Netbooks get the job done, and if you just got on for like an hour a day then you’ll be fine with it. Refurbs are good too, I just had a bad experience with it, and didn’t wanna do it again. I’m on my phone too and ill look it up as soon as I get home
Hey Silly;
Checked it out. OK for Web surfing and e-mail, but a bit light in memory and processing power for Excel or photo editing. By the way, you might want to check out a library computer for this thread.
This day and age, if you are paying more than $500 for a new laptop, it better be one of the top qualities. I got a new Dell for $300, and it seems much better than two previous ones (HP and Toshiba from 5+ years ago, lol) which were around ~ $1500+ each.
Hi SK, I sent you a email last week but I see your having computer problems so maybe you missed it. Just wanted you to know I did respond to your PM.
I have a desk top and two laptops. My desk top and lap top are from Gateway and I love them. I always used them and never had a problem.
My other laptop is a Macbook which I have had for about a year. I like it but its takes getting used to because everything is a bit different. Plus its been in the shop twice so far. If you have a apple store near you its great but if you dont its a pain in the ass. I was surprised by the massive amount of people at our apple store bringing notebooks and such in for repairs. I will say there customer service is excellent even though I feel there product leaves a little to be desired.
There Ipad and Itouch are more reliable then their laptops IMO.
