Laptop suggestions?

[wasilvers]

Well there you go: to be fair, I haven't actually purchased any new machines from Dell aside from my own laptop in about 2 years now... in light of some of the things I am reading here in this thread, I would definitely be thinking long and hard about buying from Dell again this fall when it's time to order up a bunch of new tech for the school. Problem is, I have no faith in any of the other manufacturers either, so how do you really pick one? Like I said, warranty-wise, Dell has always been good to me (and I never claimed their laptops were necessarily BETTER than anyone else...)

LOL - sounds like you will soon be in the same boat I am now - who makes a machine that is 'better" than average. I'm thinking of Asus. I had an IT friend recommend them. Said they worked great. And no one here has said anything bad about them yet.

I should say, I understand that some machines just aren't going to work right, and parts break and need repair. It's the reation of the company that tells me their character. Dell used to be awesome. They shipped me a new hard drive overnight for the business computer. They supported their printers. Just a stand up company. Later I called them and got the run-around, then I read about others getting run-arounds too - then they hit the papers. YIKES.

Macs are Macs. Nobody seems to complain about them - it's like a cult or something. They guys in my church use them and are always having something not work just like they want it too. But they never complain about it, but just live with it. My problem with them is I can buy 2 low end laptops for the same price as one low end macbook.

Well, I'll be buying tonight. If I have any trouble with the machines we get, I'll let you guys know

 

[wasilvers]

Thanks for the suggestions. I went cheap and ordered this from office max. They arrived today.

https://www.officemax.com/technology/computers/laptop-computers-and-tablet-pcs/product-prod3070182

Acer Aspire 15.6" HD Notebook

Reg: $629.99
Save 21% :$130.00
Your Price: $499.99

Features
Intel Core i3-350M processor
4096MB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066MHz Memory
320GB 5400PM SATA Hard drive
15.6" HD Widescreen Cine Crystal LCD Display
802.11 b/g/n WiFi CERTIFIED wireless connectivity and Gigabit Ethernet LAN
1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam
Windows® 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
1-year Limited Warranty

We'll see how they do. It was one of the cheaper I3-350 chips I could get. Could have gone with an I5 for about $100 more per machine, but didn't think it would be needed.

BTW - I had to order 3 because my home laptop quit on Saturday. HP with power supply/charging issues - the third one in 4 years - hmmm, I see a pattern.

 

[wasilvers]

Got the machines yesterday, so once they cleared up my credit card info, it took a whole 19 hours shipping time from Office Max. Very sweet.

The laptops are really nice. The reviews I read said they were good machines housed in really old laptop cases. Personally, I really like the case. They top is a rubberized coating that will never show a fingerprint The edges are well rounded, and bottom tapered in. Actually very sleek looking. At 5lbs they do not feel heavy, but you know you have one when it's on your lap.

They do not come with tons of bloatware on them either. I was very happy for this. A few games, Office 60 day trial, Google toolbar, and Norton online backup, McAffe 90 day Internet Security. That's about all the bloatware on the machines. Most of this I might load up myself, so not too bad.
The display is really nice, keys look like they are spaced a bit far apart (about the same spacing as the tops of they keys on my normal keyboard ) -so it feels right. The wireless connections has a good range on it, better than my HP and Dell machines.
The default setup on the machines is great for home use. It recognizes your wireless right away, automatically downloads updates, runs McAffy, etc. The display is adjusted just right with about the perfect resolution. The default startup is num-lock on (don't know why more vendors don't do the little things like that) Even pressing the power button shut's down the laptop instead of suspending it. These are thinks I personally like and was ready to adjust yesterday. The only thing I added was OpenOffice - because it's free and works. The kids don't really need MS Office yet.

The only negative items, sound from the laptop is low (but it's a laptop). With a window A/C unit running behind me and the TV blaring in front I had to strain to hear the speakers. Also I am leary of the power connection, but that is with any laptop. We are testing the battery life today, other review reported anywhere from 4-6 hours on it.

Anyway, so far so good, as expected, the machines run fast. I don't plan on reaching the limits of their processing power any time soon. Overall - after 6 hours of use, my initial rating would be a 10 of 10.

 

[Quackrstackr]

I was just coming here to ask the same thing. =D>

The spouse is going on a shopping expedition in TN this weekend to take advantage of their tax free sales for qualifying items.

Pretty much anything that can be used for school can be purchased, so we were thinking about buying a laptop computer.

I know nothing about them.

We don't need anything super fancy but of course the bigger the screen, the better.

 

[Jis4jeep]

I am a Mac guy too but they are pricey, We have 3 in our house. I also Have a EEE PC which are great for kids you can get 120 gig HD for about 300$. My opinion only you pay for what you get and for me my money in in Apple