Official Black Friday LAPTOP Discussion Thread

[Brad]

As always, we have several dedicated threads for the hotter items each Black Friday. Please try to keep all discussion related to these items in their official threads. Other threads posted will likely be merged into this main thread.

[Scott]

I'm really thinking of getting a Chromebook this year if the prices are right for a decent model.

[len_mullen]

Still don't get the appeal of a Chromebook.  Or an RT tab for that matter.  Are we doing football helmet Avatars this year?  Or are you guys covering up for a tumultuous BF season?

[Pepper_Mint_Tea]

:hert:Looking forward to getting me a good ol' new laptop on BF 1ST item on my list !!

[racerfan]

If I see a really GOOD deal on a laptop, that may be what we get Hubby.  His is several years old and it is slow as molasses.  He does not use it very much because he has a tablet and an iPhone (will be getting the new one today).  So it is not a necessity for him.

 

Now my Son wants me to get him a Macbook pro with the hard drive does not want the flash drive Air.  He is in Navy Bootcamp and left me money to purchase it for him.  I don't know if I will find a better deal now with back to school form Apple or whether to wait to see what Black Friday offers.

[sgoofi]

Looking forward to getting a good deal on a 2-n-1 laptop this year.

[momlori]

DS needs a new laptop for school but I dont want to spend a lot on him as I have to make it "fair" between all kids.  He will need Microsoft Office so any help is appreciated

[jabsther]

If you don't mind refurbished, I just ordered yesterday:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221363761464

Few of the other laptops around that price, the RAM is not upgradable. This will take upto 16GB.

[momlori]

If you don't mind refurbished, I just ordered yesterday:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221363761464

Few of the other laptops around that price, the RAM is not upgradable. This will take upto 16GB.

Not bad but we really need a student version of office that does not cost extra

[Pnambic]

Instead of Micro$oft Office, maybe you could save a few bucks and use OpenOffice (free) or LibreOffice (also free).

I've used all three and while I'm more familiar with Microsoft's Office suite, I was able to easily do everything I needed in the Open and Libre Office suites (word processing and spreadsheets) in very short order.

And the free suites were able to open Microsoft Office documents, make edits and save back to the same format without issue.

[shopping4my3son]

Instead of Micro$oft Office, maybe you could save a few bucks and use OpenOffice (free) or LibreOffice (also free).

I've used all three and while I'm more familiar with Microsoft's Office suite, I was able to easily do everything I needed in the Open and Libre Office suites (word processing and spreadsheets) in very short order.

And the free suites were able to open Microsoft Office documents, make edits and save back to the same format without issue.

I agree with open office. That's what we use here.

[julz0420]

I'm looking for something for our daughter. She'll be 10.5 at Christmas and has had a laptop before (dell). My husband is looking atnthe one where the keyboard removes and makes it like an iPad?

 

I have no idea.

 

I'm after something she can use to play games (minecraft, webkinz, animal jam), she can upload pics to from her camera, listen to music with and she draws. She seems to have it in her head there is a program where you can write out a story and add pics (hand drawn or not.. Who knows).

 

Where do I start?? My husband is great with computer stuff but I'd love to be able to research myself and show him options also lol

[nat77]

I need 1 for sure for my 17 year old maybe another 1 for my cousin not sure yet about the 2nd one .

[cab0ad]

My teen wants an Alienware laptop...any chance those go on any type of reasonable deal? Any advice on what store would have them?

[Kanyon71]

Unless they have changed Alienware is usually only sold online. They are very high end and usually you order to your specs. I'm not sure about great sales but I have seen sales on their web pages just don't remember the time of year.

[Pnambic]

Alienware used to be all about the best components for the best performance, no matter the cost.

But Since Dell bought them, they've basically become Dell's top end "gaming" division.

Still nice computers, using good components, but they're more restricted to Dell parts bins now than using whatever was the best option on the market as they used to.

[TTFN10000]

I will be looking into one for my dd, she is in the 10th grade and would like her own but it's between that and Xbox one for her.

 

My 6 yr old ds I would like to get one for as well and my father.

[amberj365]

Add me to the list of those looking for a laptop on Black Friday.

 

I  need one good for gaming with a CD-Rom Drive. (*gasp*) I'm old school and all my games are on CD's. I do not have the extra money to replace them too... 

 

I won't wait till Black Friday, if I can find a good enough deal before then. Everything I see online does not have a CD-Rom Drive... so I may be in trouble there.. 

[Pnambic]

Add me to the list of those looking for a laptop on Black Friday.

 

I  need one good for gaming with a CD-Rom Drive. (*gasp*) I'm old school and all my games are on CD's. I do not have the extra money to replace them too... 

 

I won't wait till Black Friday, if I can find a good enough deal before then. Everything I see online does not have a CD-Rom Drive... so I may be in trouble there.. 

 

All DVD drives read CD's (so far as I know).

You'll want to look at the suggested system requirements of the games you like to play in order to be sure to get a laptop with enough video capability to play those games.  Pretty much any gaming these days, whether on a desktop or a laptop, requires a dedicated video card, so that it uses its own processor and own memory instead of sharing resources with the system proper.  This is sometimes referred to as a "discrete" video card on laptops.

 

And as a general rule, a "good" gaming laptop will cost several hundred dollars more than a "good" gaming desktop.  An "awesome" gaming laptop will likely cost more than $1000 more than a comparable gaming desktop.

[Scott]

I agree with open office. That's what we use here.

 

Instead of Micro$oft Office, maybe you could save a few bucks and use OpenOffice (free) or LibreOffice (also free).

I've used all three and while I'm more familiar with Microsoft's Office suite, I was able to easily do everything I needed in the Open and Libre Office suites (word processing and spreadsheets) in very short order.

And the free suites were able to open Microsoft Office documents, make edits and save back to the same format without issue.

 

 

I agree with open office. That's what we use here.

 

I recommend LibreOffice.

 

The development is more active than OpenOffice that it was split from.

[amberj365]

All DVD drives read CD's (so far as I know).

You'll want to look at the suggested system requirements of the games you like to play in order to be sure to get a laptop with enough video capability to play those games.  Pretty much any gaming these days, whether on a desktop or a laptop, requires a dedicated video card, so that it uses its own processor and own memory instead of sharing resources with the system proper.  This is sometimes referred to as a "discrete" video card on laptops.

 

And as a general rule, a "good" gaming laptop will cost several hundred dollars more than a "good" gaming desktop.  An "awesome" gaming laptop will likely cost more than $1000 more than a comparable gaming desktop.

 

 

That's what I was afraid of... expensive! I know my current one has not held up to my games.. even though the sales person said otherwise. Ha... This thing has been a piece of crap from almost the beginning. (Never had a laptop where the hinges started breaking 10 months in. Ugh..)

 

Several of the ones I've looked at online (Amazon) don't list a DVD drive. I thought maybe they were becoming obsolete. (I haven't paid any attention to laptops since I bought this one.) 

 

Wonder if I can find a good laptop black Friday... we'll see. I have no space for desktop, if I did, I'd probably go that route since I have a laptop provided by my job to use there. 

 

Thanks for the advice!

Edited October 19, 2014 by amberj365

[princess01]

Chromebooks - worth waiting until BF to purchase?

 

I have been shopping around for chromebooks recently because that's what DS wants this year.  I have found some around the $200-250 price range currently. He doesn't need any of the fancy $400 models, so my question is:  Should I just pick one up now or do you think some of the stores will have them for less than $200 on BF?  If they will, how easy will it be to get one? I won't camp out or anything like that, and with the stores opening so early now, we normally are just getting started around 8-9PM and just don't worry too much about any of the BIG ticket items that sell out quickly.

 

The last 2 years I picked up the cheap (under $100) 24" tv at Walmart by walking in after the sales started and they still had tons of them, so there was no need to wait an hour before the sale to grab one...just not sure what to expect with chromebooks.

 

TIA for any insight! 

[hack2222]

Fry's has got a Acer on sale for $187 if anyone just wants a cheap laptop, http://www.frys.com/product/8298646?site=sa:adpages%20page:P44_SUN%20date:102614  If anyone near one.

 

You can use microsoft office online thru the msn.com webpage, so if you have to transfer to a microsoft office program that works for free. Just doesn't give you the ability to use it offline.

Edited October 27, 2014 by hack2222

[MrMiser]

Hack - that thing at Fry's doesn't have the RAM to handle gaming.

 

Amberj365 - Keep an eye on Staples.  I ended up buying two laptops from there over different years because they had a decent brand, specs I wanted and have these discount coupons in the Sunday adds.

 

If you want gaming you'll probably need to make a list of what is important to you - ask friends what they run on, how much memory they have, etc.  As mentioned earlier, the dedicated video is a big deal for gaming.

[shoplifter]

Does anyone know if Dell usually has before Thanksgiving day sales? I have a Dell gift card that expires, drum roll please, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I want the cheapest laptop (presently $230) for less than $200. I don't care if it's a $350 laptop marked down to $200. I just want a cheap, but excellent value laptop. And it must be at Dell.com.  Not a dell laptop from Staples or OM.

 

Thanks

[myboysnme]

I have needed laptops the past few years with a couple kids in college.  I missed some of the best deals from Walmart and Best Buy but still grabbed a goo deal on a Toshiba from Office Max, and last year grabbed a great deal from Dell.

 

I will be looking for a laptop deal this year also since I never know when someone's will crash.

[kc4braves]

My 15 year old needs a laptop that will get her through HS and maybe the first year of college.  It would be nice if it converted to a tablet either by detaching or folding over but it doesn't have to.  My son just purchased the Lenovo pro2 and loves it for college but we can't spend that much on her and hers does not have to be that portable.  She will mostly use at home.  She also reads a lot and had wanted a reader but I'm thinking maybe that money could be applied to the laptop if it becomes a tablet.  We do not want another Toshiba.  I have loved all 3 Toshiba laptops but all have had problems so....no more Toshibas for us.  We would consider most other brands.  Need to for sure stay under $500 but the better the price the more other presents she might get.

 

 

[NTBoard]

I'm looking at all the ads trying to figure out which laptops to consider for my boys. They are only 8 & 10 so I don't want to pay too much but I do want them to be able to play Minecraft on them in addition to being able to do basic things for school. I did some reading & saw that I should look for a dedicated graphics card. It appears that adding that card, though adds on dollars. Can I get away with something that doesn't have the graphics cards but would still work for the game or would the performance be so poor that I would have wasted my money? I was really hoping to stay under $250 each since I need to pick up a new laptop for myself as well... Thoughts? Thank you!

[bnb0627]

I'm looking at all the ads trying to figure out which laptops to consider for my boys. They are only 8 & 10 so I don't want to pay too much but I do want them to be able to play Minecraft on them in addition to being able to do basic things for school. I did some reading & saw that I should look for a dedicated graphics card. It appears that adding that card, though adds on dollars. Can I get away with something that doesn't have the graphics cards but would still work for the game or would the performance be so poor that I would have wasted my money? I was really hoping to stay under $250 each since I need to pick up a new laptop for myself as well... Thoughts? Thank you!

I am wondering the same thing! I have girls 9 and 11 who love Minecraft and Roblox. That's all they really want them for, and YouTube and maybe to watch movies. I was at Best Buy yesterday and a guy kept showing me the ones with the graphics card in the $800-$1300 range. I said under $300? He said with games like Minecraft it will work fine for a while but once they start building larger worlds it will get slower and slower and may eventually stop working. I told him I didn't want to spend $800 for a 9 year old who may drop the thing! He recommended a desktop as you get more for the money. But of course the kids want to be able to take them everywhere. So I'm feeling stuck:(

[Pnambic]

Generally speaking, discrete graphics for a laptop (dedicated video card) will add several hundred dollars to the laptop all by itself.

 

With project work, the saying is, "You can have cheap, fast or good....pick two."

Well, with computers, it's now, "You can have cheap, fast(ish) or portable...pick two."

 

There simply are no cheap laptops with dedicated graphics cards.  That's the unicorn of the gaming world.

Your suggestion from the BestBuy guy is pretty much right on point.  If your kids are new to Minecraft, then a generic laptop with integrated graphics will get them started, but once they get sucked in (it'll take about 5 minutes...trust me), and they start joining these Pokemon worlds and Hunger Games worlds and all manner of other multi-player worlds, that integrated card is just not going to cut it.