Nephew needs a laptop for school...

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Nephew needs a laptop for school...

Posted: 12/18/2010 11:58:15 AM EDT

What's the best under $1k laptop? It's his first year of college, so I want to get him something he can use for school, but for some games too. My brother is struggling paying for tuition, so I told him I'd get the laptop for a Christmas present.

Posted: 12/18/2010 11:59:51 AM EDT

[#1]

Stop by the local China (Wal) mart, get a decent one for less than $500.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:01:11 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
Stop by the local China (Wal) mart, get a decent one for less than $500.

I want something a bit better than what $500 will buy, but not a super gaming machine.

Somewhere in the middle.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:04:02 PM EDT

[#3]

Vision computers from here in Atlanta , not the cheapest but a 3 year warranty us based customer service and a 15 second hold time for support. I have 2 in college both have been solid except kid generated issues . Like I dropped it and broke the screen

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:04:48 PM EDT

[#4]

Best laptop for the price right now is at best buy, it's a 15" Toshiba core i3 with 4gigs of ddr3 and a 500gig hard drive.

It's been $429 to $500 at various times over the last 4 weeks.

But a second one as a backup if you really feel you need to spend $1K.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:05:27 PM EDT

[#5]

Stop by Staples and see what their selection is.

I have a Dell Studio, 500gb HD, 4gb mem, Windows 7 and it was $599. Have had zero problems and like it quite well.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:07:55 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Stop by Staples and see what their selection is.

I have a Dell Studio, 500gb HD, 4gb mem, Windows 7 and it was $599. Have had zero problems and like it quite well.

I've had some VERY bad experiences with Dell...I don't think I'll ever buy another.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:21:17 PM EDT

[#7]

Don't know what to get him but that's very nice of you.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:22:58 PM EDT

[#8]

Lenovo.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:24:29 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Don't know what to get him but that's very nice of you.

Gotta take care of family.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:34:57 PM EDT

[#10]

I used to buy Dell laptops off their website, but my last one I bought at Best Buy. I got to actually see it first, and Geek Squad cleaned out the unwanted stuff. I will go that route in the future for my next one since I don't need a top of the line custom set-up laptop.

Save the Dell hate for another thread. I have had three and am happy, so far, with Dell. If they change, then I will change. I actually looked at several other brands this time, but went with the Dell. Next time around, I will look for what is the best deal for me as well.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:36:28 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
I used to buy Dell laptops off their website, but my last one I bought at Best Buy. I got to actually see it first, and Geek Squad cleaned out the unwanted stuff. I will go that route in the future for my next one since I don't need a top of the line custom set-up laptop.

Save the Dell hate for another thread. I have had three and am happy, so far, with Dell. If they change, then I will change. I actually looked at several other brands this time, but went with the Dell. Next time around, I will look for what is the best deal for me as well.

All my Dell hate comes from desktop computers...maybe their laptops are better?

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:41:41 PM EDT

[#12]

Check out New Egg . They have quite a few deals right now.

ETA: We use Dells at work and have had 0 problems.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:42:37 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I used to buy Dell laptops off their website, but my last one I bought at Best Buy. I got to actually see it first, and Geek Squad cleaned out the unwanted stuff. I will go that route in the future for my next one since I don't need a top of the line custom set-up laptop.

Save the Dell hate for another thread. I have had three and am happy, so far, with Dell. If they change, then I will change. I actually looked at several other brands this time, but went with the Dell. Next time around, I will look for what is the best deal for me as well.

All my Dell hate comes from desktop computers...maybe their laptops are better?

Your experience may vary; my Dell has served me well for years, and there are reasons I'll never consider a Toshiba or HP laptop.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:46:09 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I used to buy Dell laptops off their website, but my last one I bought at Best Buy. I got to actually see it first, and Geek Squad cleaned out the unwanted stuff. I will go that route in the future for my next one since I don't need a top of the line custom set-up laptop.

Save the Dell hate for another thread. I have had three and am happy, so far, with Dell. If they change, then I will change. I actually looked at several other brands this time, but went with the Dell. Next time around, I will look for what is the best deal for me as well.

All my Dell hate comes from desktop computers...maybe their laptops are better?

dont count on it, i supporting one of my field tech right now with a one month old e6510. Looks like the hd is dead after 30 days.(i havent seen it yet but i'll bet its a seagate hd).
Of course i'm posting on a 6 month old dell with a failing hard drive also,

Typically i dont get all of the warranty bs but you better with a laptop.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:46:20 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I used to buy Dell laptops off their website, but my last one I bought at Best Buy. I got to actually see it first, and Geek Squad cleaned out the unwanted stuff. I will go that route in the future for my next one since I don't need a top of the line custom set-up laptop.

Save the Dell hate for another thread. I have had three and am happy, so far, with Dell. If they change, then I will change. I actually looked at several other brands this time, but went with the Dell. Next time around, I will look for what is the best deal for me as well.

All my Dell hate comes from desktop computers...maybe their laptops are better?

Your experience may vary; my Dell has served me well for years, and there are reasons I'll never consider a Toshiba or HP laptop.

I live on an HP laptop, but I spent well over 1k on it too.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:49:12 PM EDT

[#16]

http://www.techbargains.com/catsearch.cfm/0_3_0

Techbargains laptop deals search category link above.

Lenovo has some great deals out there right now. I haven't been as happy with my HPs, Dells, and Toshibas as I have with my Thinkpads.

You can also get into an Apple Macbook (base model) for $999.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:54:02 PM EDT

[#17]

Macbook + 3 year applecare warranty.

If he wants to play games, he can get a windows license and bootcamp the fucker.

It's an excellent laptop for a college kid.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:56:43 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
Stop by Staples and see what their selection is.

I have a Dell Studio, 500gb HD, 4gb mem, Windows 7 and it was $599. Have had zero problems and like it quite well.

I was pretty much going to suggest this, as well, so.......+1.

Posted: 12/18/2010 12:58:30 PM EDT

[#19]

This he'll thank you again and again.

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:05:21 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
This he'll thank you again and again.

He won't thank me, he'll thank his Dad. I'm getting him an R/C helo.

But I'm not an apple fan...So gotta pass on that.

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:06:09 PM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Best laptop for the price right now is at best buy, it's a 15" Toshiba core i3 with 4gigs of ddr3 and a 500gig hard drive.

It's been $429 to $500 at various times over the last 4 weeks.

But a second one as a backup if you really feel you need to spend $1K.

I have had good luck with Toshiba's

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:09:13 PM EDT

[#22]

Lenovo T 410 starts at 799, this workhorse will go for years.

ETA: Just checked starts at 749 now.

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:10:22 PM EDT

[#23]

Or this He'll thank you and it will be perfect for college since its so small. Apples last for a while and they hold their value.

Also throw this in there: amazon

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:10:22 PM EDT

[#24]

Get something from a reputable manufacturer with 4GB RAM. By the time you get to models with 4GB RAM you're already getting just about everything else you'd want.

I like the Lenovo models with the fingerprint reader - a fingerprint is more secure than a password. You can get something like that for under $800.

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:12:33 PM EDT

[#25]

I picked up an MSI (Microstar) laptop about a year ago for school.

4 Intel Core processors, 2 GB ram, 320 GB SATA HDD, WiFi and Windows 7. Got it from Fry's for about $650. Great computer.

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:13:37 PM EDT

[#26]

I have seen Lenovo G560 on sale for $400 off and on at both Office Depot and Newegg for about the last 6 weeks.

It's a 15" core i3 with 4gigs of ddr3 ....

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:29:12 PM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:

Lenovo.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 12/18/2010 1:33:09 PM EDT

[#28]

i got the wife a studio xps from dell with win 7 duel core terabyte storage 4 gigs ram for about 850 refurbished with 2 year warranty.

Posted: 12/18/2010 2:09:25 PM EDT

[#29]

Quoted:
Macbook + 3 year applecare warranty.

If he wants to play games, he can get a windows license and bootcamp the fucker.

It's an excellent laptop for a college kid.

It's an Apple, which means it will cost much more than a PC with comparable hardware. Even with Windows on it that thing will be very poor for gaming.

ETA: For roughly the same price, he could have THIS. Faster processor, more ram, more storage, better graphics, better OS, all around just a better deal.

ETA2: That was just going on NewEgg and finding the first laptop on their site that was $900-1000. OP, I highly recommend NewEgg for their excellent service, selection, and pricing.

Posted: 12/18/2010 4:00:07 PM EDT

[#30]

Toshiba Satellite A505.

Win 7+2 Core processor+2 GB RAM+500GB HDD+Webcam

You can play STALKER and upper end Half-Life mods on it.

Excellent for having multiple powerpoint and text files open on.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Nephew needs a laptop for school...

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