I need a new laptop!

[Gabriella Laurence 301887]

Hello everyone :)

 

It's time for me to buy a new laptop and I find myself in need of some guidance. First, le me say that I am not interested in going the Mac way so for those of you who only swear by Mac, please do not try to convince me lol ;)

 

One of the most important question I keep asking myself is- should I invest in a really good and expensive laptop or just get something decent?

 

I do not work with any photoshop programs nor am I a gamer but I definitely love watching movies on my laptop, especially when I travel.

 

I am also looking for something that will last me for quite some time (maybe 2 years) and where the fan will not give up on me after 6 months even though I am careful on how I use my laptop (proper ventilation).

 

I am also looking for a quality screen because I do spend a lot of time on my laptop working on different projects. Great sound is also a bonus for watching movies :)

 

As for the weight, about 10 pounds or so with the power extension would be great.

 

So I guess I am looking for a quality laptop but I am not certain how much 'quality' I need to do the 'basics'.

 

Your advice and guidance would be much appreciated!

 

Thank you in advance :)

[Carrie Moon 68826]

I recently purchased a lenovo refurbished on the future shop site. After reading the reviews I felt sure.. it was only $274 plus a printer for $50 off.. delivered free to my house. I am happy with it :)

[Gabriella Laurence 301887]

I recently purchased a lenovo refurbished on the future shop site. After reading the reviews I felt sure.. it was only $274 plus a printer for $50 off.. delivered free to my house. I am happy with it :)

Thanks, carrie :)

 

How many inches is the screen? Yes, in this case, size matters lol

[Guest jrose]

If your requirements are web surfing and movie watching just about anything will do these days. Depending on your personal taste you might want to make sure you don't get a glossy one - they pick up fingerprints.

 

Some other tid bits to consider

 

- look for one with a hdmi out port - then you can use a cable to connect to LCD tvs when you travel to watch your movies on

- movies mean storage. 500 gb hard drive is the smallest you should look at

- 15 inch is fine, almost too big for on planes and such. 17 gets heavy and awkward to watch out and about

- Bluetooth would be nice then you can source Bluetooth headphones and not need to have the wire. Bluetooth mice are nice too

- consider buying a spare battery

- if you are in store and they have a demo do this. Start menu, right click on the menu item called "computer" and select properties. A window will pop up with a line in the middle that says "windows performance rating". 7.9 is max, and anything under 3.8 or so will give you trouble when you. Ultimate task

 

You should be able to meet the basic specs at your local future shop for $450 new. Buy a refurb and take at least 100 off that. Bluetooth can be added for as low as 25

 

 

Hello everyone :)

 

It's time for me to buy a new laptop and I find myself in need of some guidance. First, le me say that I am not interested in going the Mac way so for those of you who only swear by Mac, please do not try to convince me lol ;)

 

One of the most important question I keep asking myself is- should I invest in a really good and expensive laptop or just get something decent?

 

I do not work with any photoshop programs nor am I a gamer but I definitely love watching movies on my laptop, especially when I travel.

 

I am also looking for something that will last me for quite some time (maybe 2 years) and where the fan will not give up on me after 6 months even though I am careful on how I use my laptop (proper ventilation).

 

I am also looking for a quality screen because I do spend a lot of time on my laptop working on different projects. Great sound is also a bonus for watching movies :)

 

As for the weight, about 10 pounds or so with the power extension would be great.

 

So I guess I am looking for a quality laptop but I am not certain how much 'quality' I need to do the 'basics'.

 

Your advice and guidance would be much appreciated!

 

Thank you in advance :)

[Leber 1328]

From experience, I find HP quality is better than the others. For your use, you can pick one up pretty easily from one of the local computer stores.

[Guest jrose]

Make sure to type out a few lines on the keyboard if you can too. Besides the monitor it's the thing you will spend most of the time using...

[Carrie Moon 68826]

Here's the one I got B575. http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/lenovo-lenovo-15-6-amd-dual-core-e-450-laptop-b575-black-b575/10193111.aspx?path=ede429bd792f3789b901a02392402851en02

 

Sorry can't seem to find it refurbished.. they must be all out at the moment.

 

For the record I've had 2 HP pavillion laptops.. I did like them but my screen has now gone twice on the more recent of the two.. (a fatal flaw in that design apparently) so now I have an xp laptop, a vista and now my 2nd windows 7

 

My last one was too small.. toshiba with a very noisy fan at the end of my use of it. I would still use it for touring perhaps.. but I missed the larger screen.

[Gabriella Laurence 301887]

Thank you for the replies!

 

I should've asked earlier... What does refurbished mean?

[Carrie Moon 68826]

It means it's been returned and fixed up but not returned to the original user.. or someone just returned it... still comes with a warranty. You can get 100 or more off the price this way... and I go through laptops every couple of years.

[Leber 1328]

Thank you for the replies!

 

I should've asked earlier... What does refurbished mean?

 

Here's the link for info on refurbished electronics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refurbishment_(electronics)

[Guest jrose]

Refurbished also means, in most cases, only 90 days warranty rather than a year.

 

By it with most credit cards and the warranty on new items is doubled too!

[Areez 11906]

I know the following might be biased... but .. the way its been going screen resolution and size is the real estate of mobile electronic.

 

The nerd in me went for a look: haha!

 

Dell have their Inspiron series special edition @ 15" - 1080p Resolution screen! ($899/999)

http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=ni15ra5t_ft_040&model_id=inspiron-15r-se-7520&c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1

 

:) makes movie watching all that much more fun!

[Guest Ou**or**n]

Personally I find the HP's to have sunk greatly in terms of quality. My current laptop is a Lenovo and I would highly recommend one. Most of their sales are done from their website - http://www.lenovo.com/ca/en/index.html

 

I'd go for Carrie's recommendation of the E-450 from Futureshop or the G575 from their website.

[Cowboy kenny 50799]

I go both ways... I'm a PC & Mac guy, lol. I picked up a great Acer Aspire at Walmart of all places last summer for just under 300 bucks,for a project as my previous HP laptop finaly bit the dust. This after serveral visits to the repair shop for repeated cold solder joint faults, finally the power supply and mother board fried. I agree with Out For Fun HP laptops have gone down in quality.

 

 

That HP laptop cost nearly 700 bucks and was only 3 years old. This little Aspire 5333 has not let me down, I use it regularly for some photographic applications and it runs Photoshop 7 with ease. Not bad for 300 bucks new and warrantied.

 

I still use my HP desktop for multimedia applications and my Macs for everything else but I'm very impressed with the aspire 4gb DDR Ram, LED display and a 6 cell battery that goes forever and not let me down yet.

[abcd 100]

Hi Gabrielle,

Given that you travel a lot, the 3rd generation ultrabook laptops (thin and light) would make sense for you. Presently, they are a little on the expensive side but, if you can wait until Sept 21 (launch date of Windows 8), their should be a lot of affordable ultrabook options hitting the market on that day.

[Gabriella Laurence 301887]

Thank you for all the replies, advice and information! :) It is much appreciated!!

 

Hi Gabrielle,

Given that you travel a lot, the 3rd generation ultrabook laptops (thin and light) would make sense for you. Presently, they are a little on the expensive side but, if you can wait until Sept 21 (launch date of Windows 8), their should be a lot of affordable ultrabook options hitting the market on that day.

 

After much consideration, I believe an ultrabook would be best for me. I'm just not sure which brand is 'best' or of good quality (they all claim to have the best products, best images, best sound, ect. lol).

 

A 15"6 or a little larger would do the trick for me- remember, I spend quite a bit of time working on other projects other than the 'Gabriella projects' so a wide® screen is needed.

 

I came across this ultrabook just now (haven't done much research yet) and I was wondering what you thought about the product:

 

http://www.vizio.com/thin-light/features

 

Amongst other things, one of the features I really like is this:

"With additional smart innovations, like concealed passive heat venting that eliminates unnecessary grills and fans."

 

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

The idea is a good one but do a little research on this new innovation.Read reports about that model you are considering to ensure their are no reported problems with the model you are choosing.

[toine 30556]

There are many review sites...CNET is one of the better known for all things electronic...Here is their review of the best ultrabooks.

Best,

toine

[abcd 100]

Hi Gabrielle,

Given that you travel a lot, the 3rd generation ultrabook laptops (thin and light) would make sense for you. Presently, they are a little on the expensive side but, if you can wait until Sept 21 (launch date of Windows 8), their should be a lot of affordable ultrabook options hitting the market on that day.

 

Sorry, just noticed a mistake in my post. Launch date of new ultrabooks and Win8 is OCT 26 and NOT Sept 21 as previously mentionned.

[abcd 100]

Thank you for all the replies, advice and information! :) It is much appreciated!!

 

 

 

After much consideration, I believe an ultrabook would be best for me. I'm just not sure which brand is 'best' or of good quality (they all claim to have the best products, best images, best sound, ect. lol).

 

A 15"6 or a little larger would do the trick for me- remember, I spend quite a bit of time working on other projects other than the 'Gabriella projects' so a wide® screen is needed.

 

I came across this ultrabook just now (haven't done much research yet) and I was wondering what you thought about the product:

 

http://www.vizio.com/thin-light/features

 

Amongst other things, one of the features I really like is this:

"With additional smart innovations, like concealed passive heat venting that eliminates unnecessary grills and fans."

 

Thoughts? Suggestions?

 

Hi Gabrielle,

 

The price/value of Vizio unit you are looking at is excellent. It has higher end components and solid tech specs. There is mention in some reviews of the keyboard feeling a little different but overall it looks great.

 

Here is a review on the unit : http://gizmodo.com/5918565

 

If there is anything you are unsure about or need confirmation of, please feel free to ask. I will be happy to help.

[etasman2000 15994]

The Vizio and all (?) Ultrabooks don't have a DVD player as they are trying to enter the Macbook Air market.

 

Further more it would be prudent if you look and hear how each laptop plays movies or browse a website before deciding.

 

We may have the best technical suggestion and that might not result in the best user experience.

[Guest Fis**********t**th]

I've been using a Lenovo Thinkpad R61i for a couple years now. It plays DVDs well and I've not had any problems with it at all. I don't know what the current equivilent model is but I suspect it will be about $600 or so. Works well and it's reliable. I'd buy another one.

[Areez 11906]

Just my 2cent on this Gabi, ( I swear I dont intend to make this a hard decision :P )

 

If I understand correctly .. Ultrabooks gets pretty warm rather quick... those tiny weeny slim fans dont pump out enough air to cool the component. If you do intend to use for a long duration through the day .. this could be a concern.

[DukeSSk 3430]

In case you haven't bought one yet, the coming weeks would be a good time with all the back-to-schools sales!!

 

I've had good experiences with Dell, I've always bought online here: Dell Laptops & Notebooks

 

There's some ultrabooks and you can filter the search criteria. What I like about Dell is that you can customize your order by adding a more powerful component, for an added cost obviously, but it's a nice touch. I don't think many retailers do this.

 

There's also www.newegg.ca, at first glance, it seems that they cater to high-end gaming laptops and PCs, but looks like they have offering for different budgets. For sites like newegg (i.e. not a manufacturer), take the time to understand their warranty and return policies...

 

I've never dealt with them before, but their name was tossed around back when I was into PC gaming some time ago.

[Guest qwert123]

I won't get Dell. Personal bad experience. Sure, the specification looks good but the parts are often meh.

 

Will you be carrying the laptop around a lot? If yes, I'd invest in an ultrabook. You can always get a slim external dvd drive if you need one. Vizio is a new brand, personally I'd give a pass as it seems to have some quirks.