Which brand has the best laptops?

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Which is the best laptop brand?

Lenovo (Thinkpad/ideapad/yoga - specify in comment)

[ 4 ]

Dell (Inspiron)

27%

[ 13 ]

HP (Pavilion)

19%

[ 9 ]

HP (Envy)

[ 0 ]

Toshiba (satellite)

10%

[ 5 ]

Other

34%

[ 16 ]

Total Votes : 47

seeker

Thu, Nov 26 2015, 11:39 pm

OK so I am running low on time and energy for research but thinking of trying to get a black friday deal on a laptop in the under-500 price range. I know enough to look for at least 6gb of ram (preferably 8), not to worry about storage space because I am a cloud convert (after an unfortunate occurrence), and to probably give up on something really lightweight in that price range but definitely the lighter the better. I would like a touchscreen but if the best computer for the best value is not a touchscreen I can live with that. I'd like 13-14" screen but it seems the vast majority of deals in my price range are for 15.6" screen so even though I think that's overkill for me I might end up with one due to lack of choices. I found a bunch of lists online with leads to deals and am trying to sift through and figure this out. But here's a question for those of you who have done this before and have more experience: What brand has best quality and performance? The main ones I'm seeing on deals I'm putting in a poll, but here they are again:

Dell (Inspiron)
HP - Envy series
HP - Pavilion series
Lenovo
Toshiba

I think I know that Lenovo are supposed to be workhorses but I'm considering others because first of all there are hardly any worthy lenovo deals, and secondly the ones in my price range don't look light and don't have touch screens or probably any other bells or whistles. In fact I think this is the only Lenovo I'm seeing in my price range: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo.....=true

Advice appreciated!

Rutabaga

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 12:54 am

I recently got a Dell Inspiron, which I am happy with so far.

I've had terrible experiences with HP customer service, so I now stay far away from any HP products.

I recommend checking out www.dealnews.com for the best prices out there. I got a really good deal on my laptop that saved me a couple of hundred dollars.

tweety1

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 1:31 am

I feel it has a lot to do with getting used to a company. We used to have a dell for years which was stolen. Dh knew it in and out he liked it and was happy. Before buying a new one we did TONS of research. Google and consumer reports and what not cuz he was thinking let's try something else. We ended up with a toshiba. I can see why it was rated top of the line. It's a great piece, but now after 3 yrs my hub is just abt getting used to it. It's a great machine but it took quite a while figuring it out and really getting to know the laptop. Good luck in making your decision.

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 2:01 am

Just for the record, I am currently using a Lenovo Ideapad that is about 6 years old. I have not been impressed. It came with a lot of bloatware that I still haven't completely eradicated. Startup is sluggish. Everything is sluggish but the everything may be due to the processor being older than the programs I'm using and a possible virus as well. It's heavy. My hands always feel kind of cramped on the keyboard even though my hands are not big and the keyboard is not small, so I'm not sure why that is. There just isn't anything I especially love about it. But it's 6 years old so they could have updated the line by now.

Then for some time I used a Sony Vaio. I have to say I got really spoiled with that. It was soooo thin and light and the display was nice and a touchscreen.I did not like the sharp pointy corners. The mouse/touchpad was a little cranky and the touchscreen calibration was sometimes off (even with recalibrating.) But in any case that one got abused, we had an accidental damage warranty that was supposed to cover everything but they said they did not have an exact replacement so they gave us money instead. Only the money was not the replacement value for the computer, it was what they deemed the remaining value of the warranty. Which IMO is really sleazy because the warranty was supposed to ensure that we would still have that computer or an equivalent even right up to the expiration date, so what does that mean "remaining value?" Needless to say it is not nearly enough to replace such a snazzy ultralight fast touch computer. I am super bummed.

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 2:03 am

I wonder whether this is any good
http://www.hhgregg.com/hp-touc.....37NR#

Or this, considerably more expensive but looks pretty sleek and specs look good to me
http://flash.newegg.com/Produc.....15167

Both are 15.6" which is bigger than I need and likely heavier, but I'm not seeing anything in 13-14" with decent specs and decent price Sad

rgr

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 8:45 am

Look at the processor. Best one is i3, i5, or i7
For i3 you're looking at the $300 range for i5 you're looking at a $500 range and i7 could be $700 to over $1000.
Don't get lenovo, they load it worh bloatware
Try
http://click.linksynergy.com/f.....52015

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 10:12 am

i3 is considered a good processor? I had been skipping over anything that said i3 because I thought it was the low end.

I don't do a lot of graphics-heavy programs but I do have a tendency to open 40 tabs on the internet at a time and switch back and forth a lot. I want something that will be fast about that.

I also want the option to theoretically dabble in graphics programs even though I'm not at the moment a serious graphics user. But that's a much lower priority right now than cost, good processor, good quality, good ram... preferably touch, preferably thin/light, and LAST comes maybe option to load adobe sometime in the future.

rgr

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 10:28 am

I just mentioned i3 bec they are decent pricessors, at the very least get i3. But if you are willing to do $500 range this i7 looks awesome
http://click.linksynergy.com/f.....253D1

300 off instantly plus save another $10 with code: EMRY9599
-AMEX business cardholders get another 5% cash back (op top of points) thanks to Open Savings, dropping the effective price to $493.99.

iriska_meller

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 10:33 am

Mac. Way more expensive but worth every penny. I have had fell and HP but finally bit the bullet and got Mac. So so happy.

bigsis144

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 10:41 am

Stay away from Lenovo. They're pre-installing not just bloatware but practically malware.

http://thehackernews.com/2015/......html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/th.....know/

I've got a Toshiba that I'm happy with: http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ.....9_s00

I don't need to do any heavy lifting (graphics or video editing, playing video games), so this was perfect for my needs. Also, it came with Windows 10 instead of Windows 8. It was inexpensive enough to add a 3-year warranty and purchase Microsoft Office and still come in under budget.

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 11:06 am

Thanks, but I'm not a mac person at this time and also don't have a mac budget. That's why I didn't put it on the list. Should have specified PC in title.

Thanks for the leads. I'm looking to stay under $500, the farther under the better, but depends what it's worth.

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 11:22 am

delete, hit submit too soon

Last edited by seeker on Fri, Nov 27 2015, 11:24 am; edited 1 time in total

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 11:23 am

How about Acer?
I'm seeing this which is right inside my price range and seems to have decent specs.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/.....92300

And this which is really pushing the envelope on price (I set 500 as the limit but really was wishing more like 400 or less) but has even better specs - SSD drive and lighter, better screen resolution.
http://www.microsoftstore.com/.....81700

I think the main thing I would want in terms of graphics capability is good sharp screen with accurate color rendering. Very very beyond annoying when you are even just touching up basic snapshots for prints and then it looks off when you get the prints.

SorGold

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 1:57 pm

This one looks good. It is available now but has been in and out of stock.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/.....duid=(afb29e256d39815287a6ac70a01fd589)(256380)(2459594)(kBFWjXykVgU-rx0X41lU2xQUy0Q7n7YdxQ)()

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 3:13 pm

So I have this habit of thinking about purchases and then they go out of stock while I'm deliberating. I have overcome this with smaller purchases and now just impulse buy and cancel/return if I decide against it embarrassed

but am not going to do that with a $500+ laptop. Sigh. I was ready to just plop $500 on the acer because the specs were better than anything else in the price range. I wonder if it'll come back in stock. It was light, had an SSD, and an up-to-date processor. Siiiigh.

ra_mom

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 3:19 pm

Apple. Hands down.

ra_mom

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 3:21 pm

From your list, I'd choose Lenovo.
(dh in tech line).

Last edited by ra_mom on Fri, Nov 27 2015, 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 3:21 pm

ra_mom wrote:

Apple. Hands down.

find me a worthy one under $500 and we're on.
Not happening.
Anyway I'm currently satisfied with PC.

ra_mom

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 3:22 pm

Lenovo then.
Dh said you'll do fine with any of the ones you mentioned, they're all brand names and in this price range mostly the same, very competitive.
But personally he'd go with Lenovo from your list.

seeker

Fri, Nov 27 2015, 3:28 pm

What of all the replies here saying they are full of bloatware and spam? I am on a lenovo now (though old and from their lower-end ideapad line) and have found it sluggish due to that

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