So I Need A Computer

My favorite is TigerDirect. They've had laptops as low as $299 in the last month, but most are in the 450-650 range, often reflecting 60 percent savings (but yeah, they can be a model year behind the new-in-store ones). Don't hesitate to consider refurbished stuff -- almost every piece of electronics in my house is refurb.

Fifteen months ago I used Tiger to buy a refurb HP, 17-inch screen, 4GB, 500 HD, Intel chip, Wi-fi, Microsoft Office, for $550 shipped (marked down from nearly a grand). It still sails along like a champ, at home and on the road. I use it to edit photos, write, send, record TV off the air, stream Netflix and all that.

It's smartest to know your desired specs and brands, then shop for price within those guidelines and thoroughly check reviews on the exact model you are considering. It's an advantage to NOT be in a big hurry so you can wait for the NewEgg and Tiger deal mailings to come every day.

Don't settle for less than 4 GB of ram and insist on Windows 7 and an internal DVD/ROM burner. Don't worry so much about the hard drive; you can (and should) get an external one for work stuff. 2TB externals are less than 100 bucks on sale, $150 if USB-powered for the road.

First thing when you get it, download and run PC Decrapifier (free program gets rid of all the shitware). Load it up with Spybot Search and Destroy and a good (paid) virus fighter (I like Norton but only because McAfee bothered me with too many messages). Get all the updates (Windows and other Microsoft stuff, Flash, Acrobat, Java, Firefox) before you install programs.

Re. physical toughness, road dogs tell me Toshibas and Lenovos seem to take more hard-core travel jostling than HPs, but I believe HPs have the best displays and will be safe with a good case. Sonys are great but a poor value and not all that travelworthy (they seem optimal for video work, in my opinion). Dell can go to somewhere it rhymes with. Acer and Gateway and the rest of those off brands are totally out of the question.

Re. software: You can get by with IrfanView and OpenOffice.org (both free), though you are getting what you pay for: Basics only.

These are all my opinions and may not be your optimal choices. They won't steer you wrong, though.

 

Quality post with a lot of good info. Definitely agree on Sony, Acer and Gateway.

The only thing I don't agree with is Norton. Norton is very effective at stopping viruses but it does so by checking your programs continuously. That severely slows down your computer. If you have excess memory for what you are doing it is no problem. However, if you are on the borderline for RAM and processor speed, it will aggravate the shit out of you because your computer will run slow.

 

I'll second both of these posts. (We have a Sony laptop that did pretty well for us, but we probably could have done better for less money.)

And I used to use McAfee but the bloating and resource-hogging got completely out of control. It will use up all of your memory. Our laptop hit the point where it simply couldn't be used with the anti-virus software running. I dumped McAfee and went to the Ad-Aware free software and haven't had a problem. There are plenty of other free options out there.

 

Or just go old-school: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-RadioShack-TRS-80-Model-100-Portable-Computer-/390333922950?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae1b6fe86

 

When I bought my Macbook, pages was part of the software package. I have a personal Macbook and a work-issued Pro. Once you go Mac ...

 

agreed worth the money if you ask me...of course you'd be asking someone who had his laptop supplied by his workplace (as it should be)

 

Once you go Mac, you wish you could go back?

My college was Mac, my workplace has been Mac. Still hate it and still want my PC. Only thing it is better for is designing pages.

And don't give me the video stuff. Avid>Final Cut Pro

 

Newegg.com is a similar excellent site, as it Ibuypower.com

 

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

 

Newegg has a poor return policy.

 

This and this. Just go on TigerDirect, see what the best selling laptop is in your price range and bag it. Don't bother with any Big Box stores. They'll rip you more likely than not.

With software, open source (free) is the way to go. OpenOffice does the job and GIMP is a more than adequate Photoshop clone. You're going to have to pay for decent virus protection. I prefer AVG.

 

I had never really looked at TigerDirect before but through a quick skim they do have some great deals. That Samsung one with 2.53 GHz, 4 GB RAM for 499.99 is a good deal.