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Need help buying a laptop!

16 years ago

I need to buy a laptop. I have never used one. I haven't the faintest idea what to get on the computer. I know I want a wireless and that I want to be able to check my emails and to use the Paint Shop Pro Program. I think I would be happy with a 14.5" screen. I have a Dell PC and have Norton Antivirus, Windows XP, Word for Windows I can use????? Help please. Thanks, Charlene

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Comments (5)

floorman67
16 years ago
I have been using, building, and buying computers since the mid 80's and have found that you just cant beat Dell Computers for the price, support, and customer service combination. I dont even build them anymore because Dells prices are so low that it makes building them not worth the time and effort when I can buy one prebuilt and software preinstalled for a few hundred price difference.

I have had terrible experiences with Hewlett Packard and Gateway. I wouldnt even recommend them to my enemies, so I advise against buying from those companies. Deplorable customer service, and very glitchy hardware that needed to be replaced frequently. I had a gateway like 7 years ago that went through 2 motherboards, 4 hard drives, 2 cd drives, and 2 monitors. Supports, while polite, was time consuming, as was the patrs replacement scheduling and delivery. My experience with HP was bad customer service. They didnt know much and all they seemed to do was regurgitate from a manual. Dell reps, the one or two times i have used thenm, seemed to know their stuff and work with me knowledgably to solve issues I was incapable of solving on my own, plus they have an excellent online resource for issues.

I do not recommend norton products ... almost all of their products are huge system resource hogs.

McAfee is my choice in that area for email, virus, firewall, and enviroment protection. Very low on system resource consumption and complete protection. We get the whole McAfee Protection Suite free with our Comcast Internet Service, so I also recommend comcast cable internet if available to you.

Dell still offers Windows XP over glitchy Vista.
genes
16 years ago
I have owned nothing but laptops and have dealt exclusively with Toshiba and IBM (before they were bought out by Lenovo. Have not had any problems with any of them that I didnt create myself...lol.
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Acer makes a good product, I love their monitors I have an Acer LCD monitor, my husband had an Acer laptop several years ago that he liked a lot, then Acer kinda went out of biz but has come back to life in a big way with pretty good products. The main thing to watch in that price range would be the type processor I would try not to get the lower end processors like the Intel celeron, I personally prefer AMD processors. RAM you can always add more easily and cheaply as long as it has expansion slots for it. I like HP and IBM/lenovo laptops, Compaq is also now by HP. Sony is good but generally pricey. You can at times find good prices on some of the lower end Dell laptops too. Battery life should be considered for laptops if they will be used as such. I would google each model number you consider and go to sites that have real reviews by real people that own that product. I have seen some very good prices at walmart and walmart.com and at sams. You can find some good prices at www.buy.com some of those are factory reconditioned though so be aware of that, however they will still generally have a manufacturer warranty.
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mikie_gw
16 years ago
Get a lightweight if you're not going to set it at your desk and leave it. Laptops are heavy to cart around.

Get one with a long battery life if its going to set on your lap alot as those will run a bit cooler. )laptops get hot on your lap!)

You probably want some extra memory with Photoshop, get as much as you can afford. Memory speeds up photoshop, it works ok but really is a bit slow with basic amounts of memory.

I'm a toshiba user,, never a problem.
Buy any extended warranttee you want directly from the laptop maker. Look to see whats available pretty soon after purchase, you may only have 30 days more or less to buy it.
Dont buy that warrantee from mr retailer at bestbuy, circuit city, sears, online etailer, etc.

Under six pounds and otherwise the cheapest Toshiba or IBM with added memory and longish battery life,,, I need one too.
grandms
16 years ago
I've had two desktops and my current laptop from HP. I have NEVER had a problem with any of them. I also own a Dell laptop that is so bare-bones (yes, it came with "upgraded" 256MB of RAM), it is no longer usable. I cannot add more RAM myself. I have upgraded RAM on both my HP desktops with no problem, and I consulted with the online tech help before the latest upgrade just to make sure I was doing it right. In a couple of months I will be adding another GB of RAM to the laptop. When I was considering buying the new laptop last fall, I compared Dell and HP, and I got lots more bang for my buck with HP.

There HAS to be a reason why HP has overtaken Dell in sales this year. Dells are good, but so is HP. Just one person's experience as is floorman's comments.
roseluver
Original Author
16 years ago
I never thought of a lightweight, great feature to have. Also it never crossed my mind to ask about long battery life..thanks for that tip!! Floorman67 I sent you an email. Thanks ya'll keep those tips coming. Charlene

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