I don't know if this question can be raised here. If OK, let me ask. i would like to buy a laptop for my hubbing as well other online writing works. Please suggest a decent machine.I am ready to spend upto $ 500.
Acer has some really good laptops, most of them for less than $500 at WalMart. I would not get the ChromeBook (any brand), I have heard too many people have problems with it. I signed up for the WalMart newsletter to stay in touch with their specials. Some orders have free shipping. I also will make sure my new laptop will have Windows 8 or 8.1. And as much as I love Windows XP, that is going out and will no longer be supported after April of this year. Good luck on finding the right laptop for you.
I had one of the original beta Chromebooks that Google gave to people for free (CR48) and I loved it! They have refined the OS over the life of the devices and they are more useful now as a result.
If you want Windows or OS X software, then a Chromebook is certainly a bad choice.
If you use web applications, sites, email, and Chrome apps (Gdrive apps, etc.) , then you are fine. You are very unlikely to get a virus and they boot very quickly.
There really isn't much I need to do on a laptop that a Chromebook can't do.
There are several models now by multiple manufacturers and they start at $279. http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/
You can buy an external hard drive, some nice headphones, or an external display for about what you have left over from your $500.
Well, I had a Dell, Sony Vaio, and three Toshibas in the last five years. What does that tell you? You get what you pay for! I do a lot of work online, especially photo editing, so I am pretty hard on a basic laptop. I just invested in a MacBook... lets hope it will last longer than the one I'm using now.
Great idea to ask the question here. I would look for a laptop that had good customer satisfaction or high buyers ratings or top sellers. That way you can use the experience of large amounts of people or users.
edit: some consumer websites will even allow you to refine the search parameters for highest rated or most stars etc. Good luck.
I'm really happy with Dell. I currently have a 500-series (forgot the exact model) i5 with windows 7, and it was less than $500. Eight months in and no complaint. Previously, I had a Toshiba, and an HP before that -- I would not recommend either.
I've had Toshiba laptops and never had a bad experience with them. I think both Dell and Toshiba are pretty solid brands, at least for a casual user.
The most important thing is the specs. Look for at least 4 to 6 GB of RAM, and a 1.8 GHz or better processor. If it's for casual, home use, you don't need an Intel i5 CPU. An i3 would do, or even an AMD.
As for the operating system, if you already feel comfortable with Windows 8.1, then go ahead. But if you haven't made the jump yet, maybe it would be better for it to have Windows 7.
I'm pretty sure you can find a good laptop with those specs for less than $500.
I would second Acer, I heard they are quite dependable. Also, I wasn't comfortable or happy with windows 8, which is why I opted for windows 7, but many people say that it is more integrated and has smart-phone organizational appeal.
I have Toshiba, was told that they are the best. I also would second Acers and Dells. My first desktop, an Acer lasted about 10 years before the motherboard died. I replaced with a Dell which is great. I was told while shopping around for laptops that HPs (Hewlett Packards) are the worse because they don't manufacture all of their parts. They buy them from different dealers and put them together which is why they breakdown.
I find Toshiba gives better specs for you dollar but the tend to be large, heavy (hell to travel with) and not "sexy" looking. They are however very hardy. The satellite series has good specs.
I have had trouble with HPs breaking because I travel a lot with my laptop including out onto farms and such--bits started falling off in the first week. Dells are okay and also reasonably priced.
It depends on whether you want to carry it around or not, whether you need it to be durable and light or not -- but you can get some quite decent laptops for $500 now, I've been looking around out of curiosity at netbooks under the $100-150 dollar range and the specs on those machines are surprisingly good. Although of course I know they'll likely break within three months.
I would also recommend a Toshiba Satellite -- we have the Pro L850 version which is extremely good, it did cost $850 (AU dollars when we were basically at parity with US) plus another 120 to boost its ram to 16gbs but this was a year ago so hopefully its price will have fallen. Admittedly we don't carry it around much but it certainly looks nice and durable
My Dell is over three years old. A couple of keys have stopped working but they aren't important ones. Overall I love my laptop.
As a translator, I use my lap top intensively for many hours each day. After a horrendous experience with a Sony Vaio, I moved to Dell . However, their mains adapters used to break after a couple of months and their help line is AWFUL. Two laptops ago, I moved to Lenovo and am extremely happy with them. I recently also bought a cheap Toshiba as a back-up because although I have next day on-site service cover, I really cannot afford any unplanned downtime due to laptop failure. The Toshiba is OK, but I much prefer the sturdy feel and nice clicky keyboard on my Thinkpad.
I have only heard good about the Lenovo Thinkpad laptops, and believe they are available for under $500.00.
Sony Vaio would be my first suggestion if it's made in Japan and you can afford a really expensive one. The cheap ones tend to be worse. HP are junk. Lenovo seem great if you are on a budget. Toshiba are junk and the hard drives are known to fail.
I sold laptops for many years and had 3 failed HP's, 1 good sony, a decent cheap acer and a good cheap lenovo.
I paid over £1000 (UK sterling) for the Vaio. The DVD/CD player failed after six months and most of the keys fell off the keyboard after just over a year of use.
I buy at the higher end of the Lenovo Thinkpad range, because my laptop is so important to me. The last Thinkpad cost me about £1200 with the on-site service cover. However, you can get cheaper Thinkpads. There is also an even cheaper Lenovo range, although I've heard the keyboard is not as good on them.
This month's Computer Shopper magazine puts the Acer Aspire V3-772G at the top for overall performance. Little bit more than $500 but you get what you pay for.
This is the one I want, Isabel. I have a friend who has one and he highly recommends it.
I am happy on the enthusiastic response to my query. I thank you all for your sudden and detailed reply. After analyzing all these replies, I think Dell will be a fine choice for me. I also wish to restrict my budget between 400 & 500 $. Await some more response to my earlier query and also to this one. A final decision I hope can be taken within 2 days. Once again thank you all for the positive feedback you gave me.
Get an Apple Macintosh for professionalism, efficiency, accuracy, virus and pop-ups-free and also, speediness… May cost more than 500 but very well worth it. You can get one for under 1,000.
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