Alright guys, I'm gonna need a new laptop soon. I have a Dell Latitude that was plagued with problems from the get go, and it just gave me the blue screen of death. I'm sick of trying to fix it and get it working properly, so I wanna start off with a clean slate for when I go back to school.

I'm no computer expert at all, just know some basic things about them. This Dell was my first laptop, so I'm a little apprehensive about purchasing a second one, especially since it's such a big purchase.

What I usually use it for is browsing the internet (needs to have a good wireless card), typing on word, stuff like that. No gaming at all. Some video playing and DVD watching, some CD burning. I will need to use AutoCAD and probably photoshop and similar programs for school. I dont want to be running CAD and have it slow down the computer to a crawl. I don't need a top of the line machine though, just something that's reliable and quick, and won't break if I tap it too hard.

I'm a little apprehensive about buying a laptop on ebay. Would prefer to buy it new but can't really afford anything that expensive. Maybe $600-$700 at most. Anyone have anything for sale? Or, what would you guys recommend based on your experience?

 

E-bay. you can buy a laptop for $200, then when it gives up it's ghost, buy another for $200.

 

yeah I bought a dell on ebay for $200ish once, it was an old POS that didn't do much at all.

 

http://www.dell.com/content/products/categ...&lid=543237

You want something cheap? Get a Dell. You want something good? Get a Mac.

Since it's a laptop, you won't be changing out parts or upgrading much... so you don't have to worry about the Mac repair stuff, because any laptop will require you to take it somewhere. The Apple laptops are freakin' sweet. I haven't bought one yet, but they're flat out awesome. Although pricey, they are very nice.

If you want something cheap, go to the Dell Outlet and find a $500 15" laptop

I had a Toshiba for 7 years... I loved some aspects, hated others. The hard drive died one. Battery died twice. Had a HORRIBLE design flaw that restricted air flow to processor when you actually had it on your LAP, and it would overheat and turn off. They've since fixed that problem, but that was an issue for me for years. I couldn't play online games without it overheating. It was a very nice laptop tho... keyboard popped out and was wireless, nice 16" screen.

I personally don't like IBM. I use one for work, Lenovo, and don't like it. It's ugly too.

 

Well I was actually considering Dell again, just not a Latitude. The XPS M1330 looks cool, and I've heard good things about the Inspiron.

I was thinking about Macs, because in the design world they are the laptop of choice. They are the recommended laptop for all of the design courses at my school. I've used them in the past and liked them. Just they are expensive. So maybe down the road, not now though, or anytime soon.

 

When I was working at Best Buy I sold TONS of Gateways, Lots of Toshibas, Some Compaqs, and very few Sony's. The ones that came back for service most often were the Sony's. Go to Newegg.com there is a good deal on a Compaq for $449 shipped and a Gateway for $479 shipped.

 

if you got the bank and are looking for something really reliable i say go with a thinkpad, they're tanks. i got one and have had it for almost 5 years now. it has a magnesium internal frame, titanium hinges and a magnesium "honey comb" behind the screen for added protection. and if you do happen drop it and completely destroy it, it has an accelerometer in it so it will detect the drop and pull the reader form the hard drive to protect the data, had a friend benefit from this the hard way when he was drunk.

heres a cool ad for them on youtube. now i will say i would never even think of trusting mine with that kind of punishment but regardless of how biased it may be its still a cool ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw78gcU713g

 

I got an Acer from Best Buy for 399.00 with a 3 yr warranty and its been rock solid. It was pretty damn good sale they had. Before the sales person knew what I was interested in, I asked him to name a laptop that he has had the least returns on. Pointed right to the Acer I had my eye on.

 

Sold several of those too, never had one come back that I know of.

 

Toshiba is, and always has been, notorious for hard drive problems. I do not reccommend.

Acers are good, and generally cheap.

Same with HP.

Dell is usually a little more expensive, but they have better customer service.