Please help me choose between 2 laptops

[petesign]

The i380m is the previous generation i3 processor. It is a dual core. The 2310 is a current gen sandy-bridge processor with four cores. Much better. I just bought a Samsung with the Sandy Bridge i5 processor and its smokin fast. When you get a chance though, splurge and upgrade to 8gb of ram.

However... for just a little more.. you can get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146985http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246155

Dedicated video card, quad core i3 processor, pretty nice laptop.

 

[petesign]

This link will let you browse by $500 and up laptops there. Do a check mark on graphics type to dedicated card. I hate the integrated video cards they make you use on most laptops.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=100#

 

[signmeup]

Thanks Pete. The 380 is last years model eh? I'd better go for the 2310 then.

I'm on a budget and the laptop is for my kid. (gotta pay tuition etc.....) I seriously doubt she will ever come close to taxing the thing doing school work, but I still like to get as much bang for my buck as I can. I think the one from Future shop is the best option. It has the i3-2310 and a 750gig hard drive. They go on sale for $499 at midnight.

 

[ucmj22]

Sounds good. Where can I get a Mac laptop for $500?

Right here

 

[signmeup]

Right here

That's an ipad. How is she supposed to type out a paper on that thing? Does it even have a dvd burner?

 

[ucmj22]

I thought she was just typing and seeding emails. Typing with iWork and emailing with Mail

 

[signmeup]

I thought she was just typing and seeding emails. Typing with iWork and emailing with Mail

She might want to save something or burn a disc. Plus the screen is tiny... and no keyboard. Her old netbook's better than that thing.

 

[ucmj22]

She might want to save something or burn a disc. Plus the screen is tiny... and no keyboard. Her old netbook's better than that thing.

Better than an iPad? Then why does she need a new one

 

[signmeup]

Better than an iPad?

Yeah. It has a keyboard and a hard drive. It even has a clever built in cover.... you simply fold it in half and it protects the screen and keyboard when it's not in use.

 

[petesign]

The one at future shop is nice. I have been impressed with my Toshiba. Only thing I wish it had is a backlit keyboard. If she gets into digital photography, the media card reader will be a nice thing to have. As long as she doesnt want to play videogames, you are all set

5.25 pounds isnt too bad to lug around either. Good choice.

 

[signmeup]

The one at future shop is nice. I have been impressed with my Toshiba. Only thing I wish it had is a backlit keyboard. If she gets into digital photography, the media card reader will be a nice thing to have. As long as she doesnt want to play videogames, you are all set

5.25 pounds isnt too bad to lug around either. Good choice.

I got her a Sony SLR for Christmas so the 750 gig hard drive will be a help. She's not a gamer. She's a shopper.

 

[ucmj22]

Yeah. It has a keyboard and a hard drive. It even has a clever built in cover.... you simply fold it in half and it protects the screen and keyboard when it's not in use.

So by better you mean more like 1997. Fair enough, no more help from me.

 

[Mike Paul]

My first laptop purchase was a $1500 HP laptop and it crapped out 15 months after I purchased it. Spent a lot of money on an upgraded 17in. monitor, High end Nvidea graphics card, larger hard drive, etc. What a heavy piece of crap. Never again...

Next was a $800. Dell that works ok but loaded w/ Vista...

Santa gave my 11 year old daughter a Pink Acer netbook thats gets a D maybe a C-

My latest is a 64bit Window 7 Asus I bought from Best Buy for around $500.
Love it.

I suggest going with Asus. Not to be confused with Acer.

 

[choucove]

I have at least one person a week ask me for assistance in picking out a laptop, and after all the time of looking around at what is available for the price, I just have a very hard time anymore suggesting anything but a business-line notebook or something higher-end from ASUS.

The most common notebook that we order is the HP EliteBook or the HP ProBook. They are unbeatable quality, and especially unbeatable value as any comparable Dell or even ASUS notebook is going to be several hundred dollars more. I just ordered an HP ProBook 4530s for a customer for less than $500 and has the build quality you will not find in any consumer laptop under $1,000.

One thing that was mentioned incorrectly earlier is the Core i3-2310M is not a quad-core processor, it is only a dual-core processor, but it does come equipped with HyperThreading. This means that the computer sees twice the number of CPU cores as what there actually is, so it will be more powerful than a straight-up dual-core processor when handling heavy multitasking or heavily-threaded applications, but it's still not going to be near as powerful as a true quad-core processor. That being said, the Sandy Bridge processors are much more capable (and energy efficient) than the previous generation of Core processors at the same performance/price point. If at all possible, I'd recommend the newer Sandy Bridge based systems, as all the other ones are basically end-of-life and will be disappearing very quickly.

I'm quite impressed at what a business-class $500 laptop can give you today. This one we just received in works well in photoshop, handles quite a few open applications and explorer tabs, and even offers several hours of battery life while just browsing around the web or typing up papers. Plus, you're dealing with the business side of the manufacturer, which is always going to give you better service and warranty replacement/repair options than the terrible consumer side of a manufacturer.

For the money, I will always recommend a business-class laptop, even with a budget as low as $500, and I've especially been impressed with the HP ProBook and EliteBook business class laptops.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157822

 

[signmeup]

So by better you mean more like 1997. Fair enough, no more help from me.

No. By better I mean it'll hold more than 16 gigs of stuff, it has a key board and a real operating system. It has a bigger screen and usb ports. You know... better.

 

[GAC05]

Get the one that comes with a bilingual user's guide......

wayne k
guam usa

 

[ucmj22]

No. By better I mean it'll hold more than 16 gigs of stuff, it has a key board and a real operating system. It has a bigger screen and usb ports. You know... better.

Sorry, you asked for help, everyone was throwing ideas out there so I figured I would give you an option that you might not have thought of. Your smart anus remarks beget smart anus responses. Good luck with your search.

 

[signmeup]

Thanks choucove. New Egg doesn't have those available in Canada. I'll dig around and see if I can find them somewhere. I would really like to buy one from a store that I can go back to if it needs repairs. We don't have much available in my part of the country like that. We have Future shop, Staples, Best Buy and The Source(Radio Shack).

 

[signmeup]

Get the one that comes with a bilingual user's guide......

wayne k
guam usa

They all come that way up here. Most also come with French and English versions of Windows 7.

 

[signmeup]

Sorry, you asked for help, everyone was throwing ideas out there so I figured I would give you an option that you might not have thought of. Your smart anus remarks beget smart anus responses. Good luck with your search.

Well... I never! How rude.