Laptop's Broken Need Suggestions Guys

[TheObiJuan]

My herculean strength got the best of me last night. I opened the laptop as usual and one of the screen hinges broke. :mad:

I needed to replaced it already since the HD was failing and screen would not stay up at most angles.

I need suggestions for a LOW COST and good laptop.
I have a budget under $800.
I do not care for gaming or super high performance.
I do want a large screen [<15"]--weight is not an issue.
I want at least 1GB of RAM; HDD size is irrelevant past 40GB.
I would prefer not to buy from a Texas based store because of taxes, so a Dell online at a non-Texas store would be great.

Any suggestions for sites to shop at? Any deals out there waiting to be nabbed?
I checked ebay-lots of great deals-but would prefer a laptop with warranty.

I have a shoebox taped to the back of the laptop screen now to support it, so I can get by for now....:p

[BBPhoto]

Sorry to hear about your screen Obi. I am not sure what Dell you can get within your budget and I am not familiar with the US site but checking Costco.com might be worth it. Here north of the border you'll get the same price at Costco.ca for an equivalent dell.ca system (within a few dollars) but the warranty is different. Generally the Costco purchased system includes, for the same price, an upgraded warranty over the direct Dell purchased system. It's usually the 3 year NBD on site complete care package. Hope that helps. Good luck!

[TheObiJuan]

Thanks, I appreciate it.
I will check Costco!

[fotogmarc]

I agree with NG, Dell has some good prices. If you need it today you might have to go to a store. Don't forget Wi-Fi, it always comes in handy.
ZDnet offers some pretty good reviews on laptops if you want to do some research first.

[JTL]

If you're O.K. with an AMD processor...then these have amazing specs and performance for the price...

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/cto_inspn_1501?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

[TheWengler]

I think you can get a student discount on the Dell website or maybe even through the university book store. The discount depends on how much you spend (2-8%, i think). If I remember correctly, they might try to charge you more for shipping when you used the discount then when you don't. Anyway, nothing to write home about but it's worth a look.

[Rhys]

1st buy a brand new laptop - you don't buy 2nd hand shoes so buy a new laptop.

2nd - most companies have decent low-priced laptops.

A lot of people make negative comments about Acer but quite honestly they're not so bad. You should always backup your data anyway. By the time an Acer fails you should have replaced your laptop anyway.

[fionndruinne]

Look at HP/Compaq! Compaq computers are made by HP now, and they're high-quality and well made, but cheap. I bought my Presario V2000 over a year ago, and it works like a champ.

Go to HP.com or compaq.com and look at customizable comps; that's the very best way to buy a laptop these days, because what's in stores is bound to have some thing or other which you don't need. But manufacturers offer deals all the time on their customizable models, usually about $100-200 off regular price, plus maybe a freebie like a free upgrade to DVD-RW drive or some such. My advice on configuring? Buy a good fast processor, since you can't ever change that on a laptop usually, save money by getting the minimum RAM, and at the same time order some extra from newegg.com, at least a 1GB stick, which is much cheaper there than what the comp manufacturer will charge you. And they're a snap to install. Get a BrightView LCD screen, and a writable drive (DVD-RW is best, you'll be able to back up lots of GB of photos easily).

Dell-wise, well, they're good, but they're no longer very budget-friendly. Gone are the days when Dell produced a lot of cheap, low-performance laptops, which is fine with me.

[3In2Out]

If you're O.K. with an AMD processor...then these have amazing specs and performance for the price...

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/cto_inspn_1501?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Yeah, I have an Inspiron 6000 that I bought about 2 1/2 years ago from them. Was right at $800 OTD...has been a great computer. Only issues I have had with it were my doings. LOL

Though, Ill probably end up going with an Apple next just to give them a try, but they start in the 1100-1200 range I believe.

[fionndruinne]

Oh, and I'm an AMD fan as well. On the extreme side, the Intel Core Duo highest-end processors are the very best, but for real-life users without treasure-hoards, the AMD processors are very good and much less costly. I have a Sempron 3300+ 2.01 GHz running XP. You'll probably be best with a Turion dual-core of somewhere around 2 GHz if you can afford it, using Vista. I still prefer XP, but Vista comes loaded on pretty much every new PC. You can pick up an XP OEM CD for only about $60 online, though, or install it with your own XP disk, if you have one.

[TheObiJuan]

Thanks for the advice guys and fionndruinne.
LOL, I should of prefaced my post with some more info. I'm a total computer guy, been working in the industry for 7 years.
I wanted to know websites or locations for good deals. I have not shopped in 5 years for a computer or hardware, so I know things must have changed.
All I remembered was tigerdirect and newegg.

Rhys, I think I'm getting a 17" Acer with 2GB of RAM.
Reviews are great for it-especially for the price-and it seems well built. I wont ever be carrying it around so I dont need it to be build from metal or super strong polymers. Weight is a non issue too.

For under $700 the Acer includes:
17" TruBrite 1440 x 900 ( WXGA+ )
120GB HD
1.73 GHz Intel Pentium Dual-Core processor T2080
5-in-1 media card reader
DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM
Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g

I don't care that the video card is integrated, sound card is integrated, and it does not have the bells and whistles of 2k units.

[r3g]

^^ those are some good lookin specs. cant go wrong with a C2D

[TheObiJuan]

If you're O.K. with an AMD processor...then these have amazing specs and performance for the price...

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/cto_inspn_1501?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

I don't mind the AMD processor at all. I'm not doing anything processor intensive, nor am I brand addicted.

The only problem with those three is the screen is XGA, max'd at 1024x768.
This resolution is far too limiting.
The prices are attractive, though!

[r3g]

What all do you do on your laptop?

[TheObiJuan]

Surf DCRP.:o

I edit photos, surf photog stuff, and school work.
No gaming or graphic intensive stuff.
I could be fine with a 1GHZ, 2GBRAM, 40GB HDD, 15.4" WXGA laptop for a good price.
CS3, LR, DxO, etc, do not need a lot of processing power, they need RAM.

My current laptop,-both halves of it- is a P4 2.6GHZ, 1GB RAM, 30GB [350GB external], 14.X" [pathetic], 1024x768 [even more pathetic!]

I'm tired of scrolling when editing and what not.

With the increased business I'm doing I need to process the images a lot faster.
A larger screen, more RAM, better resolution, and etc should really help.

[r3g]

You can setting for a low end c2d machine with fast DDR2 memory. If you have trouble finding one that comes with 1GB+ you can always add sticks on your own seeing as DDR2 memory is so cheap now a days.

[Rhys]

My father-in-law had an Acer laptop. It looked pretty good. Can't vouch for the screen quality though as I never saw a photo on it. With the Acer LCD screens for desktops, however, I found them not very impressive and supplied a Samsung instead when I needed to replace a client's LCD screen.

[TheObiJuan]

You can setting for a low end c2d machine with fast DDR2 memory. If you have trouble finding one that comes with 1GB+ you can always add sticks on your own seeing as DDR2 memory is so cheap now a days.

CD2?
I looked into putting in my own memory, but most laptop manufacturers put in two 512MB sticks instead of one 1GB.
SO if I upgrade, I got to get two 2GB sticks.
Most places I've seen only charge 60-90 bucks for the extra GB.

[r3g]

c2d = Intel Core2Duo. Well from the things u listed above you dont really need 2gb of memory so just take 1 512mb stick out and have 1.5GB of memory :]

[BBPhoto]

Obi, One thing I forgot to mention if you end up going the Dell route is that they have a corporate discount program. If you know someone who works for an eligible company you could save a few bucks. They discount is calculated on the type of warranty you buy so it varies a little. I bought my last system that way and saved about 15%.

[BBPhoto]

Any decision yet Obi?

[TheObiJuan]

I found a 17" Acer for 698 at walmart.
I was able to temporarily fix my laptop with some gaffers tape and a shoebox and a few books. Kinda McGuyver, but it works.

My money needs to go towards lighting equipment right now to improve my portraiture and portfolio.

[BBPhoto]

Glad it worked out. No sense dropping money when you don't have to. Isn't lighting equipment *expensive*? I took a studio class last year and I couldn't believe how much the equipment we were using cost and it wasn't even really high end stuff. Anyway, hope the PC holds together.

[TheObiJuan]

If you shop for the individual components separately then the gear doesn't seem as expensive.
I got a couple of 10' stands, a 5' reflector, reflector stand, flash gun mounts, umbrellas, medium softbox, sand bags, etc.
All I need are the strobes and eventually the monoblocs.