I need to buy a new computer. I currently have an HP Labtop that is 7 years old.
I know nothing about computers, and before I get taken by a guy at Best Buy I figured I should ask for advice from you guys.
I know there was a thread about someone buying a new computer a couple of months ago but I can’t for the life of me find the thread…
Anyways, I mostly use my computer for Research, Social sites, and youtube. I’m currently unemployed but with my last company I didn’t need to use my own labtop.
Looking to spend 800-1200-Max. Monies tight right now, so any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.
While I’m not the most tech-savvy dude around, my wife recently picked me up a Microssoft Surface. It’s the size of a tablet, BUT it’s a full computer, running windows, and with USB ports. So you get something as amazingly portable as a tablet, but it actually lets you be as productive as you would be on regular computer.
It does come in several different models, with different base levels of storage, but you don’t really need to get a lot because flash drives are so inexpensive and you can just plug 'em right in and make up for getting a lower level model.
Go talk to a Best Buy fellow about your needs, but don’t buy a laptop there.
Come home, do a bit more research now that you have a bit more information, and find something.
Since you’re not gaming or anything though, just about any Toshiba (I love Toshiba laptops, all other brands can suck it) laptop in that price-range will be good.
In general, go for things that have as much RAM and as fast a processor (pay attention to the GHz) as you can get. Physical memory is not relevant anymore, since everything seems to have like 500+gb now.
First you need to decide on mac or windows. Theres some affordable google options as well but very very minimalist. I’ve always owned a macbook, and have always loved the product. My big thing is that macs are a lot less prone to viruses, like a lot. It really bugs me that people can make a virus to ruin something you own so that was my deciding factor. but its a choice you need to make. Macs are also pricey
[quote]magick wrote:
Go talk to a Best Buy fellow about your needs, but don’t buy a laptop there.
Come home, do a bit more research now that you have a bit more information, and find something.
Since you’re not gaming or anything though, just about any Toshiba (I love Toshiba laptops, all other brands can suck it) laptop in that price-range will be good.
In general, go for things that have as much RAM and as fast a processor (pay attention to the GHz) as you can get. Physical memory is not relevant anymore, since everything seems to have like 500+gb now.[/quote]
Well I went to best buy and I think I’ve narrowed it down to an HP envy and A Lenovo U530.
Why do you say I shouldn’t buy a computer there?
[quote]bulkNcut wrote:
First you need to decide on mac or windows. Theres some affordable google options as well but very very minimalist. I’ve always owned a macbook, and have always loved the product. My big thing is that macs are a lot less prone to viruses, like a lot. It really bugs me that people can make a virus to ruin something you own so that was my deciding factor. but its a choice you need to make. Macs are also pricey [/quote]
For what its worth, i ended up getting a hp pavilion 500-164 desktop for 499 and a 24 inch led 1080p tv for 149. I feel it delivers the picture i wanted, and the speed combo as well. I ended up buying from bestbuy myself and i was really happy with the service i got there. I felt they were honest and gave me decent recommendations for what i was looking for. Of course i also received great advice from others here in that thread above as well. I’m 2for2 as far as buying great machines at bestbuy so far.
As far as not buying in bestbuy would be pricing mostly. But if you look around and depending on what you’re looking for the pricing isn’t that much different in some cases. Just need to do a little research to know what you are looking for. Of course if you go the refurbished route, that will entail a bigger difference regarding price.
For social sites and facebook you can go about as basic as they come and still have a great performance. But what kind of research do you do? I know for some research requires video playback and etc, some just basic excell and etc. So depending on the research you do, you may adjust your search a little.
What else is important to you, what are you looking for in your labtop?
For what its worth, i ended up getting a hp pavilion 500-164 desktop for 499 and a 24 inch led 1080p tv for 149. I feel it delivers the picture i wanted, and the speed combo as well. I ended up buying from bestbuy myself and i was really happy with the service i got there. I felt they were honest and gave me decent recommendations for what i was looking for. Of course i also received great advice from others here in that thread above as well. I’m 2for2 as far as buying great machines at bestbuy so far.
As far as not buying in bestbuy would be pricing mostly. But if you look around and depending on what you’re looking for the pricing isn’t that much different in some cases. Just need to do a little research to know what you are looking for. Of course if you go the refurbished route, that will entail a bigger difference regarding price.
For social sites and facebook you can go about as basic as they come and still have a great performance. But what kind of research do you do? I know for some research requires video playback and etc, some just basic excell and etc. So depending on the research you do, you may adjust your search a little.
What else is important to you, what are you looking for in your labtop? [/quote]
Thanks for the response.
Well considering that my current computer takes 15 minutes to tun on and has to reinstall something every 3 hours I’m looking for something fast!
Im looking for a computer that I can have videos and websites open at the same time. Just looking for something that won’t impede my learning experience…if that makes sense.
[quote]bulkNcut wrote:
My big thing is that macs are a lot less prone to viruses, like a lot. [/quote]
This post is invalid if you look at too much porn
[quote]Phoenix44e wrote:
Well I went to best buy and I think I’ve narrowed it down to an HP envy and A Lenovo U530.
Why do you say I shouldn’t buy a computer there?[/quote]
You can find a broader and better selection online, on websites such as neweggs.
[quote]The Greek wrote:
If you’re looking for fast, get a laptop with a Solid State Drive (SSD). Much faster than a regular hard drive. [/quote]
Yes, because that’s amenable to the OP’s needs of cost effectiveness. His requirements aren’t high so there’s no reason he needs to get a SSD unless he has a tendency to beat the shit out of his computers.
I used to sell computers full-time a few years back (disclaimer: my knowledge may not be super up to date). If you’re going to get an HP, research the shit out of the model you like before you buy it. HPs had one of (if not the) highest return rate to the store for defectives. You shouldn’t necessarily let this stop you if you find one for a steal: there are certainly some which are great deals. Just do your research and make sure there are no known hardware issues because some models are much more prone to problems than others. One thing I’ve also noticed is that they seem to throw out a lot of heat.
One brand I really like is Asus. You will probably want to look at reviews/research hardware issues, as some models are better than others. They aren’t top of the line quality, but they’re pretty good and won’t set you back as much as a Toshiba would, so I think they’re a better bang for your buck. They seem to favour smaller, lighter laptops (for the most part), which tend to be great for carrying around and have a decent battery life. No problems with heat. The downside is that they may sacrifice some computing power for it (unless you’re willing to pay for it lol).
[quote]bulkNcut wrote:
My big thing is that macs are a lot less prone to viruses, like a lot. [/quote]
This post is invalid if you look at too much porn[/quote]
[quote]bulkNcut wrote:
My big thing is that macs are a lot less prone to viruses, like a lot. [/quote]
This post is invalid if you look at too much porn[/quote]
You leave my porn viewing out of this [/quote]
I was speaking from personal experience
