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Official Black Friday LAPTOPS Discussion Thread

Brad

By Brad
in 2016

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starbeck96

starbeck96

Posted
Posted

I need a laptop for my daughter for school (home school).  Not something really fancy or expensive.  Saw one in an ad for $99.99.  I was pretty excited about that, but I didn't even think about the fact that it probably doesn't have a CD/DVD drive.  She doesn't really need the CD/DVD drive, but I may be looking elsewhere just the same just in case the need ever comes up

 

We homeschool as well and am looking for a laptop.  We do need a CD/DVD drive, but depending on what the prices are on other laptops with the CD/DVD drives, we may buy one without it and then buy an external one.  It isn't the ideal solution, but it will work.  We must have a laptop because we need the portability of one since two days a week we do some of our school away from home.

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tracy0504

tracy0504

Posted
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Can someone tell me if this is a good price for this? It won't be used for heavy gaming or anything. It will mostly be used for homeschool work and light internet use.

 

https://www.hsn.com/products/hp-156-touch-intel-quad-core-8gb-ram-1tb-hdd-laptop/8251325

I purchased this one yesterday and my 23 yo son and another guy from work both said it was a good deal for the laptop...specs were good and the price is great!!!!

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using GottaDeal mobile app

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tracy0504

tracy0504

Posted
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I'd be interested in opinions on this one as well ... :huh:

I bought this on flex pay yesterday...my son and another guy @ work both said it's a good deal...I needed to replace my old one and really only need it for internet use and I plan on heading back to school for ny MBA in Jan...this is all I need...

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using GottaDeal mobile app

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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
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Can someone tell me if this is a good price for this?  It won't be used for heavy gaming or anything.  It will mostly be used for homeschool work and light internet use.

 

https://www.hsn.com/products/hp-156-touch-intel-quad-core-8gb-ram-1tb-hdd-laptop/8251325

 

 

I purchased this one yesterday and my 23 yo son and another guy from work both said it was a good deal for the laptop...specs were good and the price is great!!!!

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using GottaDeal mobile app

 

 

I'd be interested in opinions on this one as well ... :huh:

 

 

I bought this on flex pay yesterday...my son and another guy @ work both said it's a good deal...I needed to replace my old one and really only need it for internet use and I plan on heading back to school for ny MBA in Jan...this is all I need...

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using GottaDeal mobile app

 

 

Well...

 - that's a really low end processor.  It's a Pentium, not a Core

 - the memory is about as slow as you can find

 - the screen resolution is about as low as you can find

 - the graphics are the lowest I've seen this season

 - I can't find specifics on the battery other than it's 3-cell

 

But it does apparently support wireless ac, has a read/write DVD tray and is reportedly touch screen.

 

But anytime I can't type in the product's model number on the manufacturer's website and go to a page that tells me more about it, I walk away.  And this is one of those times.

 

There is one in the BJ's ad that looks the same, but has a Core i3 processor and graphics a generation newer for $50 less, but no touch screen.

There is another in the Dell Home add with a Core i3, better graphics, 4-cell battery and still a touch screen for $50 less as well.

 

So no, I wouldn't really say this was a good deal.  Sorry.  This is probably good enough for browsing most of the web and doing email, but if you ever use any other more modern laptop or multitask very often, this one's slowness might drive you crazy.  

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len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted (edited)

We homeschool as well and am looking for a laptop.  We do need a CD/DVD drive, but depending on what the prices are on other laptops with the CD/DVD drives, we may buy one without it and then buy an external one.  It isn't the ideal solution, but it will work.  We must have a laptop because we need the portability of one since two days a week we do some of our school away from home.

 

I would not buy a pentium period.  It is a low end core i3 which is Intel's budget processor.  Same for celerons.  In fact, I would get an i5.  It's the best value in Intel processors each generation.

 

This laptop is $450.  Let's check out what you can get for less than $500...

 

Dell Business Dell Inspiron 15 5000 15.6" Core i5 Laptop w/ 8GB, 1TB $499.00

Staples HP 14" Core i5 Laptop w/ 12GB, 1TB $389.99

Staples HP 15.6" Pavillon Core i5 Laptop w/ 8GB, 1TB $479.99

 

Amazingly, there are a couple i7's in that range...

 

Sam's Club HP 15.6" Core i7 7th Gen Laptop w/ 16GB, 1TB $499.00

 

 

Whatever you're passionate about, get ready to take it to the next level with the all-new HP Pavilion Notebook. It's packed with the features you need to spark your creativity.

Up to 9 hours and 15 minutes of battery life keeps you powered all day with charge to spare for your well earned free time. With a thin, lightweight frame and bold, playful design, this notebook perfectly complements your style. Dual HP speakers, HP Audio Boost, and tuning by B&O PLAY, delivers a rich, authentic audio experience.

Windows 10 Home operating system

6th generation Intel Core i7-6500U Processor

15.6-inch diagonal screen, (1920X1080 resolution)

12 GB RAM

1 TB SATA Hard Drive

Intel HD Graphics 520

B&O PLAY with dual speakers

Up to 9 hours and 15 minutes of battery life

SuperMulti DVD burner

4.27 lbs

Full-size island-style backlit keyboard with numeric keypad

802.11b/g/n WLAN and Bluetooth

2 SuperSpeed USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, 1 RJ-45, 1 Headphone-out/microphone-in combo jack

0.89 in (H) x 15.06 in (W) x 9.56 in (D)

1-Year Limited Hardware warranty. Additional information available at www.support.hp.com

 

If you can spend a little more, I really like this...

 

Dell Home Dell Inspiron 17 5000 17.3" Core i5 Laptop w/ 8GB, 1TB $549.99

 

I'm looking at this.  A 17" screen is great for two pages side by side which makes it easy to have google or a pdf open on one side while your student is composing his own work on the other.  It will save you the hassle and expense of a second monitor.  It's going to be a little bigger to carry about and battery life will not be as good for so big a screen, but it is an admirable 'portable desktop'.

 

Here is your portable optical disc...

 

Staples Verbatim External Slimline CD/DVD Writer $29.99

Edited by len_mullen
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tracy0504

tracy0504

Posted
Posted

I'm quite sure there are "better" laptops other than the one I purchased, however, I did ask several men who know more about computers than me and they said that is all I need for what I wanted to do...I am also on a tighter budget this year having lost a good paying job last year and taking one that pays far less so that I could continue to pay my bills...so having the option to pay it off over 6 months along w/ the price is a great deal for me...unfortunately, I won't have the option of spending $400-$500 on myself upfront this Christmas...since I only need mine for school, typing papers and the occasional internet browsing, this is all I need...just my opinion...

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LainieB

LainieB

Posted
Posted

 

 

 

 

Well, here are my first thoughts:

 

  • "average" size laptops are 15.6"
  • speaking of screen size, I wouldn't get anything smaller than 1600 x 900, and I would probably try to hold out for 1920 x 1080.  The biggest gripe I have with my current laptop is that there's just not enough room on the screen for many of the application interfaces I use (Alice, Netbeans, SQL Developer, etc.).
  • if you see something like Intel HD Graphics, that indicates the laptop has what's called "integrated" graphics where it shares system resources with the rest of the system.  If you see something like "Radeon" or "NVIDIA", then that means the laptop has what's called "discrete" graphics and that means the graphics card has dedicated resources that it doesn't share and is pretty much always better than integrated.  Discrete costs more, and in my opinion is a must have for anything even pretending to be a gaming machine, but if he's not going to be gaming on it, it might not be necessary.  I would be surprised if a laptop with discrete graphics came in under $500, but this is Black Friday - anything can happen, right?
  • Unless he's downloading pirated movies left and right, 500GB of HDD is probably sufficient.  And if he is downloading pirated movies, he should probably keep them on an external hard drive anyway.  If he is interested in dual booting the machine and maybe running Linux on a separate partition, 1TB would be the way to go probably.  Or if he's a gamer.
  • wireless 802.11 AC is pretty awesome, but only works if your home router is also wireless AC.  Otherwise, you just go at the N or G speed that your home router is (or whatever router you're connected to).  USB wireless AC network adapters can be bought separately down the line if you don't have the infrastructure to take advantage of it now.
  • 8GB seems to be a sweet spot for Windows 10.
  • personally, I'd go with an Intel i3, i5 or i7 processor.  AMD's not terrible, Intel just has the better rep right now.
  • Do you think having a DVD drive is important to him?
 

Given your requirements, I'd probably aim for a 15" laptop with 8GB or RAM, Windows 10, 1920 x 1080 screen and an Intel i5 processor.

Thanks for all the info. I'm looking to replace my old desktop computer with a new laptop this Black Friday and I didn't even know where to start looking. Your posts have been very helpful.
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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
Posted

You KNOW I love you, Pnambic, but a laptop is the best choice for academics.  Today, the premium is not great.  The student can move the machine from the kitchen table to their bedroom to a meeting place.

 

Well, at least I feel loved.   :hearthrob  :gdkisses:

 

From a parent of 4 sons, at least in so far as homework is concerned, mobility is not a desirable trait for a workstation.  A dedicated workspace with a largish monitor (or two) and room for a notebook/reference book, not in view of any TV, is far better.  We repurposed our formal dining room as a schoolwork room with two computer desks and the dining room table pushed up against the wall.  Three separate workstations in there.  Formal dinners were never high on our priority list anyway.

 

However, I do recognize that many homeschool programs have weekly gatherings with other homeschooled kids where a laptop might prove beneficial depending on the material.  But I still wouldn't make my kid use the cramped workspace of a laptop interface for ALL of their work.  Smaller is better for some situations, but not all if them.

 

Now, as a college student?  Laptops rock.  In the workplace?  I would die without my laptop.  But I like to at least pretend that I'm more mature than my teenage and pre-teen sons and can effectively use the laptop without suffering from too many....squirrel!

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Pnambic

Pnambic

Posted
Posted

Any one see a reasonably priced gaming laptop in the ads?

 

 

You have to define reasonably priced and gaming laptop for us.

 

yep

 

Best deal I've seen so far on a real gaming laptop is the Alienware one from Dell Home for 1299.99.  It has a legit 6GB NVIDIA discrete video card, an i7, comes with 8GB high speed ram, but is upgradeable to 32GB and a larger than average battery to boot to keep all those electrons flowing.  About the only other things I'd look for would be a secondary SSD drive

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deelite

deelite

Posted
Posted

UGGGGGHHHHHH! I was looking for a laptop for my job that has top be at least 2.4 ghz processing speed. I kept wondering why the ones from BestBuy had not sold out so I JUST decided to check the specs of the ones I was looking at from BestBuy. Low and behold they are ALL under the 2.4 ghz required. Well....I looked at the one from Walmart ( https://www.walmart.com/ip/53853529) and the one from Sams ( http://www.samsclub.com/sams/hp-15-ay117cl-notebk-ci5-7200u/prod20591351.ip?xid=plp15990825-shop:product:1:79 ) that was only available for today and passed over them thinking surely the one at BestBuy will be fine and plus I will get to use my reward zone certs. Now the other two that I could have gotten are both sold out and I cant find any more in my price range of $400 or under that meets the min requirements. Sooooooo if anyone has ANY suggestions I am open to them. 

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racerfan

racerfan

Posted
Posted

I am back again LOL

 

How difficult is it to transfer documents from Google Docs to Word?  My Daughter has to use Word for her assignments and into the dropbox for teachers.

 

She has a regular size laptop but it is big and heavy to walk around college.  We are looking for something under $200 small that she can take daily to school.  Has anyone seen anything similar to this with Windows?  It is just to take to school when she needs to bring in a laptop and to use when she has breaks at school.  The one at home is pretty new and works great it is just too heavy and big.  I think it is either 17" or 15.6.

 

I saw this on another thread, but it is a Chromebook.  Right price but wanted Windows.  Possible even touch screen.  Has anyone see anything in the Ads??

 

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Chromebook-Touchscreen-Dual-Core-Bluetooth/dp/B01H5EFSJQ/ref=gbps_tit_s-3_bb19_cde2864a?smid=A1KWJVS57NX03I&pf_rd_p=41fd713f-6bfe-4299-a021-d2b94872bb19&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=Q7M89KB84DRX0AJZ0E45

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len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted

I'm trying to decide on laptops. I'm looking at the hp for $199 at walmart or the one for $169 at best buy. It's only going to be used for browsing the Internet and maybe school work.

 

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/AMD-E2-7110-vs-AMD-A6-7310

 

I don't think you would notice, but the A6 is a faster CPU.  Otherwise pretty comparable.  Get the cheaper one.

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len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
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I am back again LOL

 

How difficult is it to transfer documents from Google Docs to Word?  My Daughter has to use Word for her assignments and into the dropbox for teachers.

 

She has a regular size laptop but it is big and heavy to walk around college.  We are looking for something under $200 small that she can take daily to school.  Has anyone seen anything similar to this with Windows?  It is just to take to school when she needs to bring in a laptop and to use when she has breaks at school.  The one at home is pretty new and works great it is just too heavy and big.  I think it is either 17" or 15.6.

 

I saw this on another thread, but it is a Chromebook.  Right price but wanted Windows.  Possible even touch screen.  Has anyone see anything in the Ads??

 

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Chromebook-Touchscreen-Dual-Core-Bluetooth/dp/B01H5EFSJQ/ref=gbps_tit_s-3_bb19_cde2864a?smid=A1KWJVS57NX03I&pf_rd_p=41fd713f-6bfe-4299-a021-d2b94872bb19&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=Q7M89KB84DRX0AJZ0E45

 

No problem going back and forth via Google Docs.  My youngest does it all the time.

 

I am going to suggest you look into the $99 RCA tablet at Walmart...

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/52619638?u1=&oid=223073.1&wmlspartner=RjWYtCqO0*M&sourceid=27364068732705465174&affillinktype=10&veh=aff

 

A couple years ago, I was shopping for a full license for Office.  I got an Asus Transformer with similar specs for $15 more than the Office license would have cost.  I LOVE it!  Good battery life (this one has six hours), lightweight, easy to type on (vs touch screen), and real Windows so I can run anything.  Sync Chrome across the two computers and share files with a micro usb thumb drive.  Something to think about.  Worth a visit to the store for a little hands on. 

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racerfan

racerfan

Posted
Posted

No problem going back and forth via Google Docs.  My youngest does it all the time.

 

I am going to suggest you look into the $99 RCA tablet at Walmart...

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/52619638?u1=&oid=223073.1&wmlspartner=RjWYtCqO0*M&sourceid=27364068732705465174&affillinktype=10&veh=aff

 

A couple years ago, I was shopping for a full license for Office.  I got an Asus Transformer with similar specs for $15 more than the Office license would have cost.  I LOVE it!  Good battery life (this one has six hours), lightweight, easy to type on (vs touch screen), and real Windows so I can run anything.  Sync Chrome across the two computers and share files with a micro usb thumb drive.  Something to think about.  Worth a visit to the store for a little hands on. 

 

 

Since it is not for me, I really do not know what to do.  I was thinking of the 2 in 1 and a touch screen so she can use as a tablet also.  She took my 5 year old Asus Transformer (with keyboard) to school but said it was really slow.  At first thought it was the wifi, but realized after it was the tablet. It is getting on in years.  I do love Asus though for the tablets. We have 2 of them.

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