[Rico Suave]

Apologize if this is in the wrong section. I am in need of a new laptop & figured a few of you guys can assist me in the right direction. I'm looking for one that has a:

Hdmi connectors so I can connect it to a television.
Nice screen to watch movies on.
DVD/CD burner.
Fast processor so I'm not waiting on it.


Extras:
A good, huge external hard drive. I have heard these are better than internal. I will store movies on it.
A plastic cover/protector for the laptop. I work around dust, dirt, sand and need protection from the elements while I'm on it.


It will be used for just regular internet, webcam with friends and "borrowing" movies/music. I would rather not spend more than $500.

Rico

[game_ethic]

This thread might be of use to you.

[DJ-Matt]

Try the Lenovo outlet:
http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/

I bought an x230 Tablet with an i3 for less than $400, no HDMI but it has DisplayPort and WiDi support. Also came with free Photoshop, Acrobat Pro and Premiere.

Here is what I see now for under $500

RERESH OFTEN!

   

[tarquin]

If you get Lenovo, get the extended warranty. I've purchased three in a row and had to send all three back for repairs for various reasons. The first one overheated and the videocard melted. The second one also had a fan problem that needed to be replaced twice. The third one had a hard drive which physically broke and needed to be replaced. The last one happened two months after purchase.

Why do I continue buying lenovo if I've had problems? I get a pretty sick discount through a family member.

[Rico Suave]

Thank you Game Ethic but your budget is a bit higher than mine. Does anyone have any info on hard drives?

Rico

[Tresdus]

Macbook Air. Nothing better out there. Will last you easily 7 years.

[Rico Suave]

Tresdus do they match up with my check list? Thanks!

Rico

[DJ-Matt]

(07-19-2014 08:57 PM)Tresdus Wrote:  

Macbook Air. Nothing better out there. Will last you easily 7 years.

Unless you want software updates...

[Coldfire]

What about for PC games

[DJ-Matt]

Back in the day you used to have to buy a specific kind of laptop for playing games (alienware et al.), but these days the standard integrated graphics on most notebooks will get you decent FPS. However you can always pay a little more to get the Core i7 with the NVidia or ATI card inside for better performance.

[Parlay44]

I'm happy with my Asus s500. 15.6" touch screen. Windows 8.1.
I bumped the ram to 8gig and threw in a solid state drive.

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks...ok_S500CA/

[signoria]

I'm happy with my samsung ativ book 9 lite. It's a macbook air clone. If I was you, I'd squeeze out a bit more money and get it.

http://www.samsung.com/global/ativ/ativbook9plus.html

[Sidney Crosby]

If I was you I would save a little bit more, for $700-800 you can get a barely used Macbook air.

I just got a Macbook pro and it is by far the best computer I've ever owned and I plan to keep it 3-5 years. My dad has a Macbook that is probably 6 years old and it runs flawlessly. I used to be a Mac hater and think they were overpriced but they are worth the extra money.

[Rico Suave]

Can someone tell me more about Macs? I grew up using Windows so I am not familiar. Can I do everything I want to do with a Macbook Air? Thanks.

Rico

[MY DETROIT PLAYAS]

Macbook seems unanimous

Worth the extra dough, less aggravation

Semi-related

Avoid any Dell products at all costs

Just went 15 rounds with them trying to upgrade an old laptop for my son

Worst customer service I've ever encountered

[YossariansRight]

I also vote for Apple. They are just better, period. And if you look to sell it down the road, you'll get a much higher price for it than a typical Windows machine. You do get what you pay for.

If you have a Microcenter near you, you can score very good buys on Apple products there. Also, you can get a 10% "educator" discount from Apple (I've heard they'll give it to students as well, but YMMV on that).

Also, right now AMEX has a $25 off a $250+ purchase at Best Buy. AMEX also doubles the manufacturer warranty on Apple products. So you save by not buying Apple Care when you use an AMEX card. I buy all of my electronics with an AMEX card just for this reason.