Question:
Budget laptop
Hello everyone, I discovered this site just a few days ago and have found it VERY helpful, with a lot of great people helping others out.
Recently my Mom decided to get a laptop while she can still write it off as a business expense. It is mostly for me but it will be used for some business related stuff as well.
I've finally gone through our budget and what we're looking for so that someone on this sight might be able to help us decide.
All prices are in Canadian dollars
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
Max amount to be spent is 1250CAD (maybe 1300), but prices closer to 1000 are much preferred.
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
I've mostly been looking at 15" screens, but I wouldn't mind a 14" (17 is too big and 13 is too small)
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
For the most part it will be used for surfing, typing, the usual stuff, but I wouldn't mind to be able to do some light gaming and possibly photo-editing.
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Mostly it will be sitting on a desk/table somewhere, but it will probably be taken for trips into the city every now and then (2 hour drive being used) and moved between our house and my Mom's business (5 min drive).
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
I'd like to play a few games that I've been looking at trying for a while, such as HL2, fable, KOTOR, maybe some RTS style games.
Mostly the games will be a few years old.
One thing in particular I was wondering was about integrated vid cards, since they are about the only thing we can afford. How well do they handle older games? What is the best I can expect from an Intel 950? what about non-Intel cards?
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I've had clashing arguments with Dells, I've talked to a few people who said to stay away and my cousin recently had a very hard time dealing with their customer service. But on this site and others people have said that they are very happy with what they got and strongly recommend them.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
I would like to have at least 3 hours but I'm still deciding if 2-2.5 would be enough.
I mostly won't be running wi-fi, etc. and when it is being used w/out an external power source it will mostly be used for typing and DVD playing
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
Getting one in store is much preferred, and I can't guaranty that it can be purchased online (my Mom is jittery about not seeing it first and well, it's her money:D ) unless it was from a reputable site like Dell or has an outlet we could get to (like future shop).
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
Canada
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen is preferred for DVD viewing, but if the deal is right I will go for standard
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
c. UXGA - 1600x1200 - Very small text and graphics icons, you can fit lots of stuff on the screen.
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
I don't really have a preference
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
I don't really have a preference
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
I've always preferred function over looks, and with our budget this is especially so
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
It will probably be bought within a month or so (maybe there'll be a boxing day sale or something), it would preferably last 3+ years, as I'd like to get to university while still having this laptop.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?
80GB min, preferred is 100GB+.
Also, can HDD's be upgraded on a laptop?
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
A DVD writer would be nice but it not needed (but it usually comes standard anyway so...)
Since I've already been shopping around a bit I have a few LT's that have caught my eye.
HP
There are a few LT's by HP that I've seen in our price range and really like, but one thing I'm worried about is the bloatware, which is bad on HP's (Our desktop is a Compaq so I know firsthand), can I just delete it all and be done? or is something more drastic needed?
999 LT:
DV6110CA
This is very close to what we want except for the relatively small HDD. What kind of battery life should I expect with this LT?
1250 LT:
DV6140CA
This one has more RAM and a bigger HDD. But I'm still deciding if it's worth the bigger price. What kind of battery life should I expect with this LT?
1200 LT:
DV6125SE
This one has pretty good specs, and only one GB RAM less than the above HP, it has a very big battery but I'm not sure if it will be used enough to justify having the huge battery.
Toshiba
1050 LT:
A100-TA6
This is very comparable with the first HP except for a bigger HDD and slightly worse GPU. There is also one for 1250 but without a better vid card the other one isn't really that much better for my purposes
One for 1250:
A100-TA7C
Acer
Acer seems to have good deals throughout but relatively poor battery life compared with the other brands. And on this site I've seen people mention bad build quality (along with others who are happy with their purchase).
899/999 LT
AS5050-5554F
Note: while the link is a 899 price, in store I found one for 999 with one more GB of RAM, otherwise their specs were the same.
This one is the best deal of the around-1000 group hardware-wise, except for the battery.
1250 LT:
AS5630-6803
This is the only LT in our price range with a dedicated GPU, but it also has a dismal 2 hour battery life. Another concern I have is cooling, would you expect this LT to heat up a lot more that the others?
Dell
Now, I don't have a link for this one, but I was able to set up a 6400 (1501) for 1299 with an X1400(I think?) and a 9-cell battery. it seems like a good deal, but the the things I've heard about dell are putting me off. Also, what battery life should I expect?
Whew, that took a while. I hope at least one person was able to read all that and is willing to help me, but I welcome all responses none the less.
If you have some other brand to recommend, please post it! I have tried to look at every possibility but there is probably something I missed.
Anyways, thanks in advance for any info you guys can offer.
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
Mr. Blah - First of all, Welcome to the forums!
If you want to play games, even older ones, I would strongly suggest that you stay away from integrated graphics if at all possible. Although they can technically run these older games, the performance is often dismal and you will have to turn down the settings. It's not worth it.
That said, I think your best option is the Dell Inspiron 6400. It is really cheap ($1000 w/ X1400), has a pretty good screen for the price, and has good battery life. The downside is the shaky reliability...sometimes Dell is really good sometimes they are really bad. It's a bit of a gamble, but the low price means that you don't have to worry too much if your laptop fails.
I would stay away from HP/Compaq in Canada. Their laptops are not well-priced here and most of them are equipped with AMD processors, which are really inferior to the Intels right now. Also, the cheap ones are not available with dedicated graphics.
I would also stay from Acer. Although they are very cheap, the build quality is really really shoddy, and you can feel it and see it. Go to a store and check them out to see what I mean. Also check out the video for a further example.
Another option is the Lenovo R60, you can get one with a 15" SXGA+ LCD and X1400 for only $1350. The downside is the LCD is not the greatest and it's not glossy, but some people prefer the matte screens. The R60 is built rock solid though and comes with many features that are found in laptops twice its price.
One last thing, you may want to check out the link in my sig for some more options that interest you.
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
First off, is 1250 USD or CAD?
As for Dell, I personally never had any problems with them but can't speak for everyone here though.
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
All the prices are in Canadian, I've put that in the post now, sorry for the confusion.
Evil Sheep, thanks for that link, it's got me thinking more of the dell now, and that compal sure looked nice too, but could you tell me where one might purchase one? I'll check out that Lenovo too (again, where might I find it?).
The links in my original post are fixed now, I don't know how I messed them all up that bad.
Oh and also, we have been into some stores to look at laptops, and the Acer's didn't look that bad to me, but I guess I haven't seen enough LTs to really know.
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
You can only purchase a Dell through their website, they do not sell Dell in stores. Go to dell.com and configure your own. The naming scheme is abit different there I think the E1505 here is called 6400 there etc, but they are the same thing.
Lenovo, again, Lenovo.com and look for the thinkpads, while you might be able to find them in store, most however, don't carry lenovo's, so your best bet is their website.
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
idofgrahf, I was asking about the compal, not the dell. Thanks for the tip anyway.
But I have found that milestone sells the compal and the lenovo's. Now I just have to figure out how I'm gonna afford them lol.
So far the dell looks like my best bet, but I'm having a hard time convincing my mom, who right now is leaning towards the toshiba.
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
Lenovo has a website at Lenovo.ca. However, many local shops carry Lenovo and usually cheaper than Lenovo.ca. I live in Vancouver so I only really know about the stores out here...one store that usually has pretty good prices is Computrak Systems, I think they ship nationally. For example, they have a R60 w/ Intel T2300e and ATI X1400 for $1350, instead of $1450 at Lenovo.ca (unfortunately you just missed a sale where Lenovo.ca had that model for only $1100.) One thing about Lenovo is that all the Thinkpads, although very well-built, have matte screens rather than glossy because they are meant for business. For some people that may be a turn-off.
There aren't many places to get Compal in Canada, I only know of two. The best would easily be MilestonePC.com. That's where I got the $1400 price from. The only other place I know i s NCIX.com, which costs way more. You should also know that that quote doesn't include a copy of Windows. You may have a copy of Windows sitting around you can use, otherwise that's another $100+.
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
I live in southern Manitoba, so the stores around here are probably different from the ones where you live.
Too bad I missed that sale, when was it by the way?
Answer:
Re: Budget laptop
Lenovo sale was during the last week. Today is the last day but almost everything is sold out. Here is the link. If you keep checking Lenovo.ca they may have another Boxing Day sale that's just as good. A lot of places ship these days...you can also skip paying PST if you ship from somewhere out of province (such as Milestone)