Erik Karlsson Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Buying my first laptop today. Would like to spend under 800, any recommendations or things I should look for? Not going to be used for business or anything, mostly music, movies and stuff. What brands are the best, etc. Don't know too much about laptops as you can see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tavrohorvat53 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etsen3 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 8 minutes ago, Erik Karlsson said: Buying my first laptop today. Would like to spend under 800, any recommendations or things I should look for? Not going to be used for business or anything, mostly music, movies and stuff. What brands are the best, etc. Don't know too much about laptops as you can see. "And stuff" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bissurnette Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Since you're using it for recreational stuff I would recommend Acer. They're much cheaper than the other brands and they're decent enough to for music, movies and "other stuff" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Monahan Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 7 minutes ago, etsen3 said: "And stuff" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Karlsson Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 11 minutes ago, etsen3 said: "And stuff" 4 minutes ago, meh_wassup said: Since you're using it for recreational stuff I would recommend Acer. They're much cheaper than the other brands and they're decent enough to for music, movies and "other stuff" Lol thanks, and yeah I'm not a horny teenager anymore and have a gf so there't not too much of that anymore haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Monahan Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 3 minutes ago, Erik Karlsson said: Lol thanks, and yeah I'm not a horny teenager anymore and have a gf so there't not too much of that anymore haha. I've got an Acer. I just use it for simple stuff- word processing, browsing the internet, etc. and it's been great for me. I can't remember exactly what I spent but it was maybe 400 tops. If you're just looking for basic functionality I'd definitely recommend looking at Acer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neversummer Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Don't get Acer, they are really bad quality! With your budget, you can probably get in on a lower end business line of notebook like the Dell Latitude, Samsung, or Lenovo. To stretch the bang for the buck, find something in good shape one or two years used. For example (no personal connection to either of them): 14" Dell Latitude, with i7, 8G RAM, 256G SSD, 2GB Video Card, $650 (talk him down to $600 and with the $200 saved, take your gf out to a nice night out at Rogers Arena) http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/sys/5442999512.html 13" Dell Latitude with i7, 8G RAM, 256G SSD, $460 http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/sys/5435149037.html You want one with SSD, 256GB is now the standard. If you can find one with a 1/2 decent graphics card for that price range, you're set for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Monahan Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 ^^^ Yeah I'm not the most tech-savvy person so etsen may be a more trustworthy source, but from my own experience I've liked Acer for what I've needed it for. It's been 2 years now too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 This is one of those personal preference things. Like Android and Apple. I wouldn't say one brand is the best. You're going to mostly want to look at specs. At least an i5 power processor, 6-8 gb of RAM for basic usage. You can for sure get away with less power, but in the long run you might not be happy with it in a year from now if you cheap out. Edit: Also, screen size, if it's touch screen or not will change the price a lot, so you need to figure that out as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crabcakes Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Take 30 mins and check out consumer reports at your local library. You have to be a subscriber to view the same info on line. You will find out what suits your needs best. Gaming requires a good processor, video card and RAM for example. If you're a big time gamer you will need to spend money. Otherwise, you may find you can do much better than $800 if you don't care if you have the most up to date processor. New processors etc come out every 4-6 months and they're all called i3, i5, i7 etc so if you find a really good deal it may be because the processor isn't the newest but for simple uses, it may be just as good (and a couple hundred less) Do you multi task? Do you need a dual core or quad core processor. Intel is better but more expensive. Higher RAM is desirable. You probably want a bigger hard drive if you store photo's otherwise 320 or 500 megs are fine Most of the components are made by only a few manufactures but the better brands tend to be more expensive (supply and demand). Lenovo is good but really popular (and expensive). HP and Dell are alright. Acer is a bargain brand and is ok if you want to go cheap. The guys at London Drugs recommended Asus to me once. The speakers on my old Toshiba (2009) are awful but my kid has an HP which are not bad Windows 8 or 8.1 = bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Karlsson Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 1 hour ago, CanuckianOne said: This is one of those personal preference things. Like Android and Apple. I wouldn't say one brand is the best. You're going to mostly want to look at specs. At least an i5 power processor, 6-8 gb of RAM for basic usage. You can for sure get away with less power, but in the long run you might not be happy with it in a year from now if you cheap out. Edit: Also, screen size, if it's touch screen or not will change the price a lot, so you need to figure that out as well. 1 hour ago, Crabcakes said: Take 30 mins and check out consumer reports at your local library. You have to be a subscriber to view the same info on line. You will find out what suits your needs best. Gaming requires a good processor, video card and RAM for example. If you're a big time gamer you will need to spend money. Otherwise, you may find you can do much better than $800 if you don't care if you have the most up to date processor. New processors etc come out every 4-6 months and they're all called i3, i5, i7 etc so if you find a really good deal it may be because the processor isn't the newest but for simple uses, it may be just as good (and a couple hundred less) Do you multi task? Do you need a dual core or quad core processor. Intel is better but more expensive. Higher RAM is desirable. You probably want a bigger hard drive if you store photo's otherwise 320 or 500 megs are fine Most of the components are made by only a few manufactures but the better brands tend to be more expensive (supply and demand). Lenovo is good but really popular (and expensive). HP and Dell are alright. Acer is a bargain brand and is ok if you want to go cheap. The guys at London Drugs recommended Asus to me once. The speakers on my old Toshiba (2009) are awful but my kid has an HP which are not bad Windows 8 or 8.1 = bad Okay thanks, so many different things to look at. I'm planning on keeping it for a few years so I don't wan't to cheap out, but obviously want to spend as least as possible. I don't think I want a touch screen, am I able to get atleast an i5 and 6 gb of ram for my price range? 900 is probably the most I'm willing to spend. And would that be enough to run things like Starcraft smoothly? That's pretty much the only game I play on computer, but not really a big deal if it doesn't since I mostly play my ps4. Planning on going to Best Buy today to get one. There's an HP Pavillion 15.6" i5, 16gb ram, windows 10 os, 1tb harddrive for 769.99 right now. http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-15-6-laptop-silver-intel-core-i5-5200u-1tb-hdd-16gb-ram-windows-10-15-ab258ca/10393552.aspx?path=b4237fd45796627358359347bcabed39en02 Would this be a good deal? I just searched laptops in my price range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiffyPB Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 What size are you looking for, how much battery would you want and are you a student? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down by the River Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I have a touch screen Sony Vaio. I NEVER use the touch screen. Unless you can disconnect your monitor from your keyboard, the touch screen function is more novelty than function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JiffyPB Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/acer-acer-aspire-e-15-6-touchscreen-laptop-black-intel-ci5-6200u-1tb-hdd-8gb-ram-windows-10-e5-574t-5365/10400764.aspx?path=d76194b3cd5d5da8787395fc015e7aa6en02 This laptop does the same as the other HP but is cheaper. Processor here is slightly better than the HP but the battery is probably ~30 minutes shorter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neversummer Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 HP > Acer And do a bit or research, you've got to go SSD for hard drive. That makes a huge difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Get a refurbished one. Like brand new, save money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fateless Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 If you want to watch videos, play games and listen to music - all you need is something with a strong processor and a good video card. I'd stay the hell away from Acer as its typically designed for business settings and it costs a fortune to get a half decent Acer for gaming. I'd suggest aiming for a Lenovo based on what you want - they're currently on the lower end of the price spectrum but they're making a huge push for the #1 gaming rigs - so you'll get your best bang for buck with a Lenovo. I'm a Toshiba fan, their laptops are great and last a long time and I'm a heavy gamer - but they come in at around 1k for a solid setup. Again, if you want it for pleasure use, I'd look at Lenovo as you'll get a better graphic card and processor at a cheaper rate because its still an up and coming brand. For gaming on a budget of $800, your tier list is as follows - Lenovo > HP > Samsung > Toshiba > Everything Else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fateless Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 54 minutes ago, Erik Karlsson said: Okay thanks, so many different things to look at. I'm planning on keeping it for a few years so I don't wan't to cheap out, but obviously want to spend as least as possible. I don't think I want a touch screen, am I able to get atleast an i5 and 6 gb of ram for my price range? 900 is probably the most I'm willing to spend. And would that be enough to run things like Starcraft smoothly? That's pretty much the only game I play on computer, but not really a big deal if it doesn't since I mostly play my ps4. Planning on going to Best Buy today to get one. There's an HP Pavillion 15.6" i5, 16gb ram, windows 10 os, 1tb harddrive for 769.99 right now. http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/hewlett-packard-hp-pavilion-15-6-laptop-silver-intel-core-i5-5200u-1tb-hdd-16gb-ram-windows-10-15-ab258ca/10393552.aspx?path=b4237fd45796627358359347bcabed39en02 Would this be a good deal? I just searched laptops in my price range. That's a pretty meh processor and the video card will be obsolete in a year. The ram is good but you're missing out on the SSD and instead getting a 1TB HDD. That's pretty pricey for a laptop that will probably only be able to play current games for two years. After that you'll need to look for an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Karlsson Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Alright thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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