Getting a new Laptop
March 14, 2006 11:08 AM Subscribe
NewLaptopFilter: I have $1500 to spend on a new laptop. This includes shipping to, What do you recommend?
Im buying a new laptop and i have $1500 dollars to spend on it . I mainly do office work and browse the web however every now and then i will be doing some photoshop and quark work. Please recommned what i should get. Thanks!
Im buying a new laptop and i have $1500 dollars to spend on it . I mainly do office work and browse the web however every now and then i will be doing some photoshop and quark work. Please recommned what i should get. Thanks!
Is this a PC or Mac?
If it's PC, I'm very happy with the deal I got with Dell's outlet sales (i.e., re-certified). The deals change from day to day, but are about 25% cheaper than brand new. You could get a pretty good laptop for $1500 (I spent $1200 about 18 months ago).
posted by justkevin at 11:13 AM on March 14, 2006
If it's PC, I'm very happy with the deal I got with Dell's outlet sales (i.e., re-certified). The deals change from day to day, but are about 25% cheaper than brand new. You could get a pretty good laptop for $1500 (I spent $1200 about 18 months ago).
posted by justkevin at 11:13 AM on March 14, 2006
iBook 14", 1GB of RAM, 80GB Hard Drive, SuperDrive, $1449 with free shipping if you want to go Mac.
There's also the Dell Inspiron E1705 with a Core Duo processor, 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD, etc for about the same price if you are a Windows user.
posted by jeversol at 11:14 AM on March 14, 2006
There's also the Dell Inspiron E1705 with a Core Duo processor, 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD, etc for about the same price if you are a Windows user.
posted by jeversol at 11:14 AM on March 14, 2006
The boyfriend and I have been hella happy with our ThinkPads. He has 1, I have 2. You can get a damn nice machine for $1500.
posted by contessa at 11:16 AM on March 14, 2006
posted by contessa at 11:16 AM on March 14, 2006
Does it have to be a laptop? If it will spend most of its time sitting on your desk (that's what I infer from "office work") then a desktop PC will give you much greater value for money and upgradability.
posted by Orange Goblin at 11:28 AM on March 14, 2006
posted by Orange Goblin at 11:28 AM on March 14, 2006
Don't buy an iBook right now, they haven't been updated in a long time and are rumoured to be getting a total overhaul very soon. Wait, if you can, and buy one of the newer models when they are released.
That said, macs are the way to go. :)
posted by patr1ck at 11:37 AM on March 14, 2006
That said, macs are the way to go. :)
posted by patr1ck at 11:37 AM on March 14, 2006
Convertable "desktop replacement" tablet-PCs are in that price range, and the built-in wacom digitiser is very useful for photoshop (and a zillion other things - I wouldn't want to go back to the confines of a standard laptop now)
Just be aware that here and there is the odd model that uses a non-wacom digitiser, and those often only have on/off pressure sensitivity, instead of the full sensitivity you want for stuff like photoshop. So check that detail :)
posted by -harlequin- at 11:44 AM on March 14, 2006
Just be aware that here and there is the odd model that uses a non-wacom digitiser, and those often only have on/off pressure sensitivity, instead of the full sensitivity you want for stuff like photoshop. So check that detail :)
posted by -harlequin- at 11:44 AM on March 14, 2006
I second Patr1ck's advice. Wait two or three weeks and get the new Intel iMac that should be coming out around April 1.
posted by kevinmeyers at 11:57 AM on March 14, 2006
posted by kevinmeyers at 11:57 AM on March 14, 2006
$1500? at that price, any laptop you buy is gonna be a bit overkill if the mosty CPU-intensive thing you're going to be running is Photoshop. that said, I'd recommend the Area-51 m57000. Alienware notebooks are known for their high quality construction and awesome video capabilities. throw in a little extra to upgrade the RAM to 1gb and the whole package will cost you $1,446.00.
posted by mcsweetie at 12:07 PM on March 14, 2006
posted by mcsweetie at 12:07 PM on March 14, 2006
Ignore everyone who is telling you to upgrade the RAM with your purchase. Buy the laptop with the least RAM you can, then buy your 'real' RAM from somewhere like crucial.com. You should save a few hundred bucks that way.
posted by soma lkzx at 12:12 PM on March 14, 2006
posted by soma lkzx at 12:12 PM on March 14, 2006
Oh christ don't fucking buy an Alienware. Give the money to starving animals instead. Or just burn it.
If you need Alienware specs, buy a Sager, which is the brand that Alienware rebrands and sells for 20-40% markup.
posted by Jairus at 12:22 PM on March 14, 2006
If you need Alienware specs, buy a Sager, which is the brand that Alienware rebrands and sells for 20-40% markup.
posted by Jairus at 12:22 PM on March 14, 2006
Buy the laptop with the least RAM you can, then buy your 'real' RAM from somewhere like crucial.com. You should save a few hundred bucks that way.
Maybe on a Mac, but not generally in Wintel-land. Just as an example, Alienware wants $107 to upgrade to 2x512MB @ 533MHz DDR2. Dell wants $120 to upgrade from 256MB to 1GB of DDR2. The same would cost you $140 from Crucial, or at least $80 from Newegg unless you want absolute no-name stuff.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:33 PM on March 14, 2006
Maybe on a Mac, but not generally in Wintel-land. Just as an example, Alienware wants $107 to upgrade to 2x512MB @ 533MHz DDR2. Dell wants $120 to upgrade from 256MB to 1GB of DDR2. The same would cost you $140 from Crucial, or at least $80 from Newegg unless you want absolute no-name stuff.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:33 PM on March 14, 2006
I'd buy a IBM Thinkpad T-Series laptop off ebay for $250... and then five more! I know its a cliche, but thinkpads are the best laptops ever made, solid titanium frame, sturdy, efficient, low noise and heat. The pentium III is a beautifully built proccessor and for most everyday tasks (such as surfing the web) is actually faster and more efficient than the pentium 4 (which *is* better for playing games, but generates more heat and noise). The mouse/clitoris idea is also brilliant-- no more moving the touchpad cursor with my wrists when i type. I have both an 800mhz and 1100mhz thinkpads that run winXP, photoshop, illustrator, and firefox with 15+ tabs open without anything slowing down. Just make sure you have enough RAM. The Thinkpad laptops are famously dependable and high-quality and were the corporate standard a couple years ago (when they sold for around $3200). Now that all those tech companies have gone out of business you can get the essentially brand-new surplus thinkpads on ebay for under $300. Buying anything more expensive would be silly. Companies make their money off of insecure nerds who always need the fastest and most expensive technology-- you dont have to be one of them.
posted by petsounds at 3:14 PM on March 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by petsounds at 3:14 PM on March 14, 2006 [1 favorite]
petsounds is right... spend as little as possible to get what you want to do done. Then bank the difference for the next time around (or buy yourself a different toy)
posted by kaytrem at 6:30 PM on March 14, 2006
posted by kaytrem at 6:30 PM on March 14, 2006
I second the Acer recommendation. I bought one from PC Connection about 4 months ago and they got it to me fast, free shipping. Go for the Pentium M and an 8-Cell battery and the DVD Burner and 2 Gb of RAM and you'll still come in under budget.
posted by JamesMessick at 6:58 AM on March 16, 2006
posted by JamesMessick at 6:58 AM on March 16, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by geoff. at 11:10 AM on March 14, 2006