Member of the Month

PartyBullshiit
March, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

So I'm going to get a laptop

profile picture
JORMUNGAND
Posts: 360 - Karma: 480
I need a laptop but I don't know much about them. I just need it for school and normal computer purposes. Any suggestions on what to get?
Jul 30 2013 5:16PM
68 41
profile picture
Logey.
Posts: 2996 - Karma: 457
Don't be a queer and get a 1500 dollar Mac when you can get something that has the same computing power for 1/3 the price. I would reccomend dell, best computers and customer service.
Jul 30 2013 5:19PM
8 23
profile picture
Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,012
check out the sony vaio line, solid construction and a variety of prices
Jul 30 2013 5:21PM
3 3
profile picture
JORMUNGAND
Posts: 360 - Karma: 480
I do not want a mac
Jul 30 2013 5:21PM
5 4
profile picture
pat_in_the_hat
Posts: 3019 - Karma: 2,695
I have a samsung thats on their higher line. I love it. Never have had a problem.
Jul 30 2013 5:27PM
0 0
profile picture
JustForYou
Posts: 275 - Karma: 2,143
Made an account just for you, OP.


Coming from experience, you will only need an inexpensive laptop for college. As previously said, fuck macs. I recommend buying one with an SSD. An SSD will allow you to have <8 second boot time, which is fucking crucial when you need it.

But yah, AMD would be a good place to start. They have quality laptops at a cheaper price due to them being relativley unknown compared to giants such as Intel.

GL in the laptop hunt.
Jul 30 2013 5:28PM
2 1
profile picture
VT_scratch
Posts: 8710 - Karma: 5,615
dell = worst customer service in my experiences...
Jul 30 2013 5:31PM
3 0
profile picture
a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
i have a macbook pro from 2010 and mac hate and whatever but it's a nice computer. the construction is nice, the touchpad is nice, screen is nice, everything work and all. But yeah, If I could go back and do it again, i'd build a desktop for gaming and get a cheap laptop and just run ubuntu on it so i wouldnt even have to buy an OS.

Do you guys even call customer service? what goes wrong with your stuff that you cant fix yourself? If it's a new part you need you can replace stuff.
Jul 30 2013 5:35PM
1 1
profile picture
WVskiing
Posts: 3007 - Karma: 1,948
If you plan to watch porn, buy a Mac

If you plan to not, but a PC
Jul 30 2013 5:39PM
0 0
profile picture
eheath
Posts: 61110 - Karma: 118,312
I'm sorry bud but a $500 windows desktop will NOT out last a $1500 MBP. MBPs by far are the best constructed laptops on the planet. If you're pissed you can't upgrade, buy a fucking desktop then. My 2 year old MBP is just as viable as any other computer on the market right now and ive used it heavily for 2 years. It will last me at least another 2-3 years no doubt, maybe longer.

Anyone I know who's had a cheap windows laptop (< $500, i've had probably 10-15 people i know who have got cheap laptops) have either had theirs break and buy a better laptop (either more expensive windows or MBP) or they just buy a new shitty laptop every 2 years.

To get a laptop that is just as good as a MBP, you have to spend about $1000 on a windows laptop, end of story. Im not saying mac is better, im currently typing this from a windows desktop, MBPs just have superior construction and their components last for years.
Jul 30 2013 5:40PM
5 1
profile picture
CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5711 - Karma: 20,627
I've got a $600 HP laptop that I bought in 2007. It just crashed on me and it's a simple fix that will cost $80 and I can do myself. It's not a rigor on your machine thing, it's a knowing how to use it kind of thing. Unless you need the industry-specific functionality of a Mac (even then there are other options) it's absolutely unnecessary to spend literally three times the price for sex appeal.
Jul 30 2013 5:45PM
0 0
profile picture
eheath
Posts: 61110 - Karma: 118,312
You've gotten very lucky/are very tolerant of problems. I had two friends buy the same laptop on sale (they spend like $300 but I believe it retailed for $500-600) and within a year, both of their screens had broken, both computers were literally worthless. They both got some fixes done, i think through warranty and one guy gave up after about 2 years and got a MBP and my other friend had it for almost 3 years but it just died one day and he gave up.

Granted, they only spend $300 so it wasnt as big of a deal, but the design and construction of the MBPs is spot on. People still use original intel MBPs from 2006 and they run flawlessly.

Yes, how you treat/maintenance your computer makes a difference. A hard drive crashing is a big deal to someone who has no idea how computer work and they get charged $300 to fix it on their $500 computer. For someone who knows whats up, it cost $80 for a drive and you fix it.

Im not trying to convince OP to buy a MBP, i just hate when kids like the one I quoted come in and shit all over apple because they're so butthurt that they cant afford one. No one who can afford a MBP buys a $500 windows laptop.
Jul 30 2013 5:49PM
3 0
profile picture
Bateman
Posts: 8590 - Karma: 8,600
Just saying if this laptop of yours if for anything else than gaming a Macbook Pro/Air would definitely satisfy your needs, not neccecarily your wallet, but still. I've never been happier with my laptop ever since i acquired a Macbook Pro. Not saying that you can't get other good laptops, but I'll obviously reccommend somehting i've experienced as 'good'.

inb4 omg wut a idiet 4 buyeng computzor for so much dough, yo wun dell (LOL) haz eqully gud computor
Jul 30 2013 5:51PM
1 0
profile picture
Titus69
Posts: 9327 - Karma: 17,742
im content with my Acer Aspire. unless you can handle it dont get a laptop with windows 8 shits annoying. dont get a mac if you want to get downloadable games. Dell, Acer, and HP make good inexpensive laptops.
Jul 30 2013 5:53PM
1 0
profile picture
a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
it's not even that. people just hate it cause lots of people have them.

i'm with eheath, apple laptops are well constructed and theres no doubt about that and because of they're expensive. My 2010 macbook pro has had zero issues so far. You can get other well constructed laptops that aren't as expensive as an apple one but they're not going to be cheap either, not like a $500 dollar difference. My girldfriend has some asus laptop thats really nice, it's very thin, metal, has an SSD, light. It's a nice portable computer. I believe it's an asus zenbook of some sort and I like it plenty. I don't think it was cheap though.

But i'll say this, i've never used a better touchpad than on an apple laptop. plastic ones suck and even some other glass ones aren't as nice. don't know why.
Jul 30 2013 5:58PM
1 0
profile picture
.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
I don't give a shit what computer OP buys, I just want to throw this out there...

The only people who hate on "z0mg thuper expensive" Macs are the people who

A. Can't afford them
B. Have never even used one
C. Don't give a shit either way, but love to jump on any bandwagon rolling by at the moment

$1500 isn't even a lot of money. How long do you plan on using a laptop? Five years or so? That's less than a dollar a day, not including maintenance. I'm sure you could cut $.80 out of your life daily. Get a grande instead of a venti at Starbucks.
Jul 30 2013 5:58PM
4 0
profile picture
CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5711 - Karma: 20,627
It's true, there is a lot of hate from kids who just want to spit hate, but you can't deny that the amount Apple charges for the lowest end of their MBP line is crazy. 13 inch screen and pretty sad performance starting at $1200. I'm not denying that they may have great construction and they can last long, but you can get great PCs that last a long time for much much less than that.

And I don't think I got lucky because it's not my first PC that I've had last 4+ years.

As we have all seen play out in the past, there's no place for agreement between Mac and non-Mac users and that's totally cool. To each their own as long as you're happy with the decisions you make. Macs have their place and I will give them that they are good machines that hold their value. But by the same token of your hate on the butthurt kids, it drives me nuts when some dumb bitch who literally only surfs the net and listens to music on her $2,000 MBP starts screaming at me about PCs being inferior and then not being able to explain why her precious machine is actually a quality piece.

In summary, there really isn't a wrong decision. Just do you research and be smart about how you spend your money OP.
Jul 30 2013 5:59PM
3 0
profile picture
eheath
Posts: 61110 - Karma: 118,312
Yeah man, I agree with you. The low end 13" are stupid, literally buy a MBP air instead, same price and way more for the buck. 15" mbp is where its at, only a few hundred more than 13" and 10x better.

But like you said, most just surf the internet/type papers. You can do that on a windows xp laptop.
Jul 30 2013 6:02PM
1 0
profile picture
Bateman
Posts: 8590 - Karma: 8,600
This is pretty accurate. But saying that $1500 is not a lot of money is just douchey. It is, but totally worth it for a quality computer with a quality customer service. Get apple care, sick of your mac? getting slow? pour coffe on it and get a brand new one.
Jul 30 2013 6:04PM
1 0
profile picture
Logey.
Posts: 2996 - Karma: 457
Well i guess you get what you pay for with reliablity. Spending 1500 on the most basic MacBook pro is in my opinion stupid. A $1500 windows laptop would out preform a MBP in pretty much every way.
Jul 30 2013 6:05PM
1 1
profile picture
Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
I don't necessary hate on macs, but I highly prefer windows. Only forthe reason that I have been using windows for my whole life, and am very comfortable with the os, and don't see the reason for me to switch to Mac when I don't have to. I am perfectly content with my windows comp


Also op, check out the Samsung series 7 chronos. I have it and it is a very nice laptop that will suit your needs
Jul 30 2013 6:05PM
1 0
profile picture
CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5711 - Karma: 20,627
I'm super curious, what do they charge for this? Last time I bought something from Best Buy their accidental protection was a ludicrous amount.
Jul 30 2013 6:07PM
0 0
profile picture
Logey.
Posts: 2996 - Karma: 457
And I don't hate macs. I hate the stupid people that use there Mac for Facebook cruising and Microsoft word.
Jul 30 2013 6:07PM
0 0
profile picture
Bateman
Posts: 8590 - Karma: 8,600
Also, if you do get a macbook, get an SSD instead of an internal hard drive. way faster, way more resilient. that is if you can store your shit elsewhere, like an external hard drive like i do.
Jul 30 2013 6:08PM
0 0
profile picture
eheath
Posts: 61110 - Karma: 118,312
we're not even talking performance right now. For the average user a $1500 mbp and a $1500 windows laptop they'd see no difference.
Jul 30 2013 6:12PM
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,043
To those saying a sub 500 buck laptop is not worth it I would just like to say I have been using a 450 windows laptop for the last 5 years. Before I got my desktop I was running all my 3d work on it including all the animation I did. I even did all my animation work on it for salomon when it was 3 years old. As long as you don't abuse a laptop even a cheap one will run fine and last a long time. And if all your doing is school work and browsing the web it is absolutely pointless spending any more unless money is no object to you.
Jul 30 2013 6:14PM
0 0
profile picture
Logey.
Posts: 2996 - Karma: 457
Yeah but the average consumer would see the apple logo and automatically think its better just because it's apple.
Jul 30 2013 6:17PM
0 0
profile picture
eheath
Posts: 61110 - Karma: 118,312
Very true, but thats just how it is.

I swore off windows for awhile, especially seeing my friends struggle with windows vista. I bought a desktop last winter and have been using windows 7 for awhile and I like it. Yes, it was a $1400 build so its pretty fast ha but still, I don't mind windows it works just fine. The ultrabooks these days are getting close to MBP quality but at that point you're spending $1200+ so I'd rather just spend a little more on a MBP.
Jul 30 2013 6:19PM
0 0
profile picture
CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5711 - Karma: 20,627
Click for larger image
Jul 30 2013 6:23PM
1 0
profile picture
7springsprod
Posts: 2661 - Karma: 3,181
This. I got the s series and its super fast, lighter than all of my friends laptops and has fantastic overall performance.
Jul 30 2013 6:24PM
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,043
^ windows vista is what I'm running on that 5 year old laptop. No it's not as good as 7 but its really not that bad.
Jul 30 2013 6:24PM
0 0
profile picture
SamMcChesney
Posts: 2905 - Karma: 2,198
and....................fuck youuuu
Jul 30 2013 6:26PM
1 0
profile picture
CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5711 - Karma: 20,627
Oh my god. It still haunts my dreams. I used to be a computer tech and they deployed that OS to our entire campus. Pretty much every legacy application we had failed on it and as a result of that we had hundreds of users who would either come swearing and nearly tearing a hole in the universe because we no longer had their app, or they would literally kick the computers. I had to go through one-by-one and install patches for the ones that maaayyyyybe had some support drivers for Vista. Literally the worst year of my life. As a result of it we downgraded all 490 machines to XP and reinstalled all the necessary apps.
Jul 30 2013 6:27PM
0 0
profile picture
tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,043
Oh yeah I could see if you were having issues with old apps not working that would suck but for someone like me who was starting fresh on vista it was absolutely fine.
Jul 30 2013 6:45PM
0 0
profile picture
JustForYou
Posts: 275 - Karma: 2,143
Not sure why you would sacrafice RAM, it's literally the cheapest hardware upgrade. It does a lot to when upgrading from say 2 to 6. Just make sure you you have a 64 system if you're going above 4.
Jul 30 2013 6:46PM
0 0
profile picture
Fun_dip
Posts: 2623 - Karma: 913
Not to threadjack, but should i get a new laptop for college since my current one is about 6/7 years old? I know absolutely nothing about computers and their components.

I currently have Dell Inspiron 1525. It runs fine, gets a little laggy here and there. Gets bad when I play music and surf the internets. I plan on using it for playing music, watching videos, writing papers, just the typical college student stuff.
Jul 30 2013 6:54PM
0 0
profile picture
CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5711 - Karma: 20,627
That's personal preference man. If I were in your position I'd take whatever money you have set aside for a new laptop and just hide it away. Then when your Dell craps out (guaranteed it will happen exactly when you need your computer) it's no biggie and you can just go buy a new one. Just make sure you're backing up your stuff.
Jul 30 2013 6:56PM
0 0
profile picture
feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,084
not to hate too much on macs, but fact is that i can get at least two comparable "other" laptops for the same money.

if you take care of it for a long time, go buy a mac. but things happen sometimes and then you lost 1500 instead of 500 (if you take the cheapiest semi-legit laptop)

but i really hate this almost religious debate on macs. fact is that most people wouldnt buy a mac without that sneaky apple and the nice design. DEAL WITH IT. not implying YOU (who are currently reading this) did it, but the majority is ticking like that.


you can go both ways and be disappointed and happy equally. people should need to stop going apeshit in these discussions. but if you need a cheap laptop for interwebz and office, go fucking get a 400$ one, its probably more than enough.
Jul 30 2013 7:18PM
1 0
profile picture
CaptainObvious.
Posts: 5711 - Karma: 20,627
Interesting. I actually thought this was a reasonable discussion for once. Especially considering the subject matter.




.....have we all become desensitized??!?
Jul 30 2013 7:20PM
2 0
profile picture
.AR6rider.
Posts: 15976 - Karma: 8,799
I, for one, have no problem admitting that part of what drew me to Apple was the sleek design. Why would I want to buy something I use every day and hate looking at it? It's like people who pretend they don't care about the graphics on their skis as long as they "perform well." Given two (almost) identical park skis, I will bet almost anything people would buy the one that was either 1. made by a brand they already like or see as the "popular" brand or 2. looks better, even if that ski is a bit more money. It's just the way shit works. People seem to get stuck on the Apple thing though because it's essentially them vs every other PC running Windows.
Jul 30 2013 7:25PM
1 0
profile picture
chapz
Posts: 10182 - Karma: 66
i have a samsung series 9 (13") and love it. i'd go for a 15" for a bigger battery, but i still get over 5 hours of battery life with mine.
Jul 30 2013 7:36PM
0 0
profile picture
Wolfgang.
Posts: 807 - Karma: 866
Go alienware, buy one of them alien laptops. Processing power of a million raging bulls.
Jul 30 2013 7:45PM
2 1
profile picture
Spinoza
Posts: 12763 - Karma: 3,844
my Dell crashed after 10 months. they sent me the discs to reinstall the whole OS myself. then it crashed again 3 months later - outside of warranty. and again i had to reinstall Windows myself.
every one of their customer service guys lived in india and was not helpful at all.
my brother had the same experience.
fuck dell.

i have a Lenovo Z570 now and its dope
Jul 30 2013 7:54PM
1 0
profile picture
Laurent.
Posts: 10054 - Karma: 25,277
Another thing to consider with Mac's is that because they are so popular the resale value is high, very very high.

I helped a friend sell his 17-inch pro a few weeks ago and his loss over roughly 2,5 years was just 400 something euro. Even after two years most Macs often sell for 70-80% of their value.
Jul 30 2013 8:06PM
2 0
profile picture
eheath
Posts: 61110 - Karma: 118,312
This, I sold a 3 year old mbp for like $1k or something? (super old first gen intel version) and then had another 15" for a year and solid for like 200-300 less than i bought it and no my 17" i could probably sell for 400-500 less than i bought it for and its 2 years old.

Also, I dunno who said apples customer service sucks, but thats just wrong IMO. My first laptop had about $1500 in repairs over 3 years and it was all free. Took my computer to the apple store and it was always fixed within a day or two. Apple Care is second to none.
Jul 30 2013 8:15PM
1 0
profile picture
Arabian
Posts: 667 - Karma: 880
Or you could just get a real laptop for a third of the price and the same hardware and just... i don't know... learn to fix and maintain laptops yourself? It's easy. And you're not overpaying for your computer which is nothing but a nice chassis. There are literally 0 things that are unique to the MBP that you can't find elsewhere in a laptop half the price.
Jul 30 2013 8:45PM
2 2
profile picture
eheath
Posts: 61110 - Karma: 118,312
--> assuming I don't know how to maintain laptops. I wasn't talking about myself I was referring to the average population.
Jul 30 2013 8:53PM
0 1
profile picture
Dirac
Posts: 1304 - Karma: 335
where is a computer as thin and durable as a macbook pro retina with the same specs?

couldn't find one when I bought mine.
Jul 30 2013 8:56PM
0 0
profile picture
Chewy.
Posts: 4113 - Karma: 4,856
I bought a Macbook Air 13 inch for $475 on EBay and I love it. It really is so much better than any other computer I've had. To everyone saying people use Macs because they're trendy is right. But personally I usually hate Apple. I have a droid, so much better than any of you kids that are talking shit about Apple's iphones. Buy quality, not what's cool. Macs just happen to be cool.
Jul 30 2013 9:16PM
0 0
profile picture
Arabian
Posts: 667 - Karma: 880
Yes, because thin and durable are certainly what you should look for in a notebook you fucking retard.
Jul 31 2013 1:08AM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4)