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  • #1

    Laptop Questions

    Sifting through the threads in this category, I know that this topic has been brought up once or twice, but I'm curious to get input/recommendations on laptops.

    My parents are getting up there in years and have asked me to find them a laptop they can use. They'll use it for email/internet browsing, music storage, and the occasional word processing need and are looking to spend in the < $700 range.

    They've been to the usual places and the sales folks have steered them away from the standard Dell/HP/Toshiba and more towards Acer (?!) and Asus. I have an Asus and have been relatively happy with the computer itself, but their service and support sucks. It was my impression that Acer is poor quality, but I could be wrong.

    Has anyone heard anything similar? Does anyone have recommendations?
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  • #2
    Originally posted by TheAzzuri View Post
    Sifting through the threads in this category, I know that this topic has been brought up once or twice, but I'm curious to get input/recommendations on laptops.

    My parents are getting up there in years and have asked me to find them a laptop they can use. They'll use it for email/internet browsing, music storage, and the occasional word processing need and are looking to spend in the < $700 range.

    They've been to the usual places and the sales folks have steered them away from the standard Dell/HP/Toshiba and more towards Acer (?!) and Asus. I have an Asus and have been relatively happy with the computer itself, but their service and support sucks. It was my impression that Acer is poor quality, but I could be wrong.

    Has anyone heard anything similar? Does anyone have recommendations?
    I have an Asus and I haven't been happy with it. Apparently there's a problem in the computer's BIOS that prevents it from keeping proper time. Every other time I turn the computer on the date skips ahead a few days or it goes back to some day in late November 2009. I've looked for ways to remedy the problem and I haven't found one. Every other day I have to update the time and date, it's annoying but probably not that big of a deal.

    There are some HP and Toshiba models with an i3 processor that's selling for less than $500. It also has a 500GB hard drive and 4 GB of RAM. For around $650 you can get an HP or Toshiba with an i5 processor with the same hard drive and RAM -- that's a great deal. I recommend spending the extra $150 and getting the i5 laptop.

    Don't go with Acer or Asus.
    Part of it is based on academic grounds. Among major conferences, the Pac-10 is the best academically, largely because of Stanford, Cal and UCLA. “Colorado is on a par with Oregon,” he said. “Utah isn’t even in the picture.”

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    • #3
      Originally posted by TheAzzuri View Post
      Sifting through the threads in this category, I know that this topic has been brought up once or twice, but I'm curious to get input/recommendations on laptops.

      My parents are getting up there in years and have asked me to find them a laptop they can use. They'll use it for email/internet browsing, music storage, and the occasional word processing need and are looking to spend in the < $700 range.

      They've been to the usual places and the sales folks have steered them away from the standard Dell/HP/Toshiba and more towards Acer (?!) and Asus. I have an Asus and have been relatively happy with the computer itself, but their service and support sucks. It was my impression that Acer is poor quality, but I could be wrong.

      Has anyone heard anything similar? Does anyone have recommendations?
      Maybe a netbook would suit their needs? Having just bought a laptop, I think they could easily find one for under $700 that will suit their needs. I ended up with a Dell, but I heard good things about HP and Toshiba.
      What's to explain? It's a bunch of people, most of whom you've never met, who are just as likely to be homicidal maniacs as they are to be normal everyday people, with whom you share the minutiae of your everyday life. It's totally normal, and everyone would understand.
      -Teenage Dirtbag

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      • #4
        I hope I didn't make a mistake this morning. I've been looking for an inexpensive laptop - my wife kind of wants one but not enough to pay a lot of money for it. I've missed a couple deals over the past two weeks so when I saw a special at Staples for an ACER with decent specs, I jumped on it. I knew ACER didn't have the best reputation, but I checked one site that offered a good review of this particular model. Now that I've ordered, I've read more bad news on ACER laptops, and I'm a little worried.

        On the other hand, I only paid $400 so I'm not expecting too much. Just hope it doesn't fall apart.
        "It's devastating, because we lost to a team that's not even in the Pac-12. To lose to Utah State is horrible." - John White IV

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        • #5
          asus is review blog darling and competes in every way with the big boys. from what it sounds like, you do not need to worry about memory, hdd size, video card, etc., and should probably focus more on screen size (i assume their eyesight prevents them from staring at a tiny netbook screen), and quality hardware. honestly, there are very few ways you could go wrong. i would avoid compaq, toshiba, and hp from anecdotal bad experiences, but you really cannot go wrong.

          i recently spent $300 on a 15" lenovo g555 (3gb memory, dual core 2.1ghz) for essentially the sole purpose of processing excel docs. i also have had a 13.3" white macbook since they first came out in 2006 (paid ~$1100), and it's been a great computer. these represent two opposite ends of the laptop computing spectrum, and either would be great for browsing/music/word processing.
          Te Occidere Possunt Sed Te Edere Non Possunt Nefas Est.

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          • #6
            This seems to be the perfect thread for this question...

            My son is graduating from high school this month and he plans to attend one semester of college at BYU-I before heading out on a mission. We've got all that worked out except for his laptop and I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to buy a new laptop for his to use for 4 months and then it sits for two years during the mission. Any thoughts/ideas? I looked at renting a laptop and that isn't economical, and most places require a 12-month lease on it. I guess we could buy a used laptop but I'm weary of doing that and getting a lemon.
            "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Moliere View Post
              This seems to be the perfect thread for this question...

              My son is graduating from high school this month and he plans to attend one semester of college at BYU-I before heading out on a mission. We've got all that worked out except for his laptop and I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to buy a new laptop for his to use for 4 months and then it sits for two years during the mission. Any thoughts/ideas? I looked at renting a laptop and that isn't economical, and most places require a 12-month lease on it. I guess we could buy a used laptop but I'm weary of doing that and getting a lemon.
              Get a cheap factory-refurbished Dell.

              Edit: Like this one: https://www.dellrefurbished.com/item...de-5410/1.html
              "I think it was King Benjamin who said 'you sorry ass shitbags who have no skills that the market values also have an obligation to have the attitude that if one day you do in fact win the PowerBall Lottery that you will then impart of your substance to those without.'"
              - Goatnapper'96

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Pelado View Post

                Get a cheap factory-refurbished Dell.

                Edit: Like this one: https://www.dellrefurbished.com/item...de-5410/1.html
                I think this is the way. However, as an anti-Mormon heathen, I’d suggest offering him a high end MacBook, if he chooses not to go on a mission. SJBH
                As I lead this army, make room for mistakes and depression
                --Kendrick Lamar

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                • #9
                  A used laptop will be fine. It needs to last one semester and then you could probably resell it for 70% of what you paid for it. Get something no older than 2023 model and you’ll be fine.
                  Prepare to put mustard on those words, for you will soon be consuming them, along with this slice of humble pie that comes direct from the oven of shame set at gas mark “egg on your face”! -- Moss

                  There's three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who's got the same first name as a city; and never go near a lady's got a tattoo of a dagger on her body. Now you stick to that, everything else is cream cheese. --Coach Finstock

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                  • #10
                    Great advice, thanks guys!
                    "Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the blessing of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator discipleship” is a preferred if not primary way of worshipping." -Pres. Uchtdorf

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