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>>> Official Black Friday 2009 LAPTOP & NETBOOK Discussion Thread <<<

Brad

By Brad
in 2009

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DaFees

DaFees

Posted
Posted

Alright everyone, this year I will be looking for a laptop that can play games like Call of Duty 4 and the Orange Box at 720p (read not 1080p) with max settings (read preferably max AA and AF but I could live with toned down AA and AF as long as everything else was maxed out).

 

The question is can I or rather would I be able to get such a laptop for around $400 to $500? Note I'd like a nice sized screen, I don't need a blu-ray drive, an HDMI out port would be excellent, and an e-sata port would be great (this one I could live without if absolutely necessary), and anything else I could think of would be standard. Oh and possibly some form of a express card slot.

 

A tall order, yes? I would think on BF though it's possible?

yuyi64

yuyi64

Posted
Posted

Alright everyone, this year I will be looking for a laptop that can play games like Call of Duty 4 and the Orange Box at 720p (read not 1080p) with max settings (read preferably max AA and AF but I could live with toned down AA and AF as long as everything else was maxed out).

 

The question is can I or rather would I be able to get such a laptop for around $400 to $500? Note I'd like a nice sized screen, I don't need a blu-ray drive, an HDMI out port would be excellent, and an e-sata port would be great (this one I could live without if absolutely necessary), and anything else I could think of would be standard. Oh and possibly some form of a express card slot.

 

A tall order, yes? I would think on BF though it's possible?

I doubt you could get one as described for $400, but $500-$600 may not be completely impossible this holiday season.
klitzkes

klitzkes

Posted
Posted

Sorry to hear about your problems with the power port, perhaps you just got a lemon. I have two Acers that are a little over a year old and I've had zero problems with them. I also bought my daughter one last year for Christmas and it has been problem-free as well.

 

Have an Acer that has been in twice in 1 1/2 years. First time wasn't too bad but the second time it took 6 weeks cycle time. I was without a computer while it was gone. Called them a couple of times during the fix and once they couldn't even find it. I think if prices and features were comparable to another brand I would not purchase another Acer. On the Dell subject my son purchased a Dell and it has been a lemon from day one. Getting service is very difficult. The thing is a piece of junk through and through. I would not buy a Dell no matter what the price.

CWorsham936

CWorsham936

Posted
Posted
Just had my THIRD Dell laptop have the hard drive go bad on me. When Dell sent their technician to fix my laptop (which was less than one year old), they replaced the hard drive with a USED one! WTF! I have always purchased a top of the line laptop thinking that would give me more security as far as operating system. Unfortunately, that was not to be. I do not misuse my laptops and I am generally the only one that uses it, short of my husband once in a while. I use them for internet, basic word processing and picture storage of my grandchildren. This last hard drive wiped out all of my pictures from the last year of my two grandchildren. I was sick, absolutely sick. I will NEVER buy another Dell laptop. I am in search of both a new laptop and desktop on BF this year - thinking I am going the HP way this time. I guess it's just me..I must have bad computer waahhh....
H_Hancock

H_Hancock

Posted
Posted

Just had my THIRD Dell laptop have the hard drive go bad on me.

 

I'm sorry, but blaming Dell for bad hard drives, which are manufactured by a completely different entity, is like blaming Honda for the Yokohama tires wearing out prematurely.

 

From the data on laptop reliability I've seen that spans 2005-2009, all the "manufacturers" are within just a very few percentage points of failures over that time....less than 5% difference between the least trouble prone and most trouble prone......Toshiba as least and Lenovo as worst with the rest in between. Dell, HP, Compaq, Apple, Gateway, Acer are all within 2 percentage points of one another....essentially the same.

tmkuroda

tmkuroda

Posted
Posted
The problem with notebooks are that they are VERY easy to break. I was going to buy one for my 30 year old son till I read that users have broken the monitors by shutting it with one hand rather than using 2 hands. So if you are looking for a cheap computer for a pre-teen/teen a notebook would NOT be the answer, go with a laptop.
Illinoismom

Illinoismom

Posted
Posted

My two cents, I own to HP lap tops one was the walmart one from 4 years ago, one is pavilion, I have had zero trouble with niether of them, we own 1 toshbia that was junk, one that my son loves and we have a dell. each one has their advantages and each have their disavantages. You have to decide what you want. I use an external hard drive to store all my photos and we have a lot.

 

 

My very first computer was an acer and from that experiance I tend to shy away from acers.

yuyi64

yuyi64

Posted
Posted
Yes! The one on sale now for $349 has an Intel Celeron processor and I'm quite sure at least one store (probably more) will have one with an Intel dual core processor for that price or less on BF.
len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted

I'm also looking for a new laptop and don't know a whole lot but how much better is a dual core to a single?

Evaluating a laptop is a lot more complex than evaluating a desktop, John. With a desktop, all you really have to decide is how much are you willing to pay for -- how much cpu, how much video card, and how much disk space.

 

With a laptop, you are really deciding how little you can live with. The more laptop you buy, the more power you use, and the more battery you need. There are netbooks, desktop replacements, and everything in between. You can't watch a movie or edit documents easily on a netbook and a desktop replacement is no fun on a bus on in the park.

 

So, best first step is to make a list of the things you will do with the laptop. Identify apps that will accomplish those tasks and see what they require for hardware. Think through use cases -- whether you will have power, if you need to put the computer on your lap, how good a keyboard you need, and how small a screen you can live with. I rank these as 1-2-3 (requirement-desire-other).

 

I, for instance, need to edit and encode video on my laptop (1). I maintain my web site on the laptop and that means image editing (1). I do some document editing on my laptop and would like to use openoffice.org -- because that is what I use on my desktop (2). I'd like to be able to watch videos saved on my disk or from a DVD (2). It would be nice if I could rip/edit/burn DVDs and capture from a video source(3). Blu-ray playback would be nice (3). Right away, netbooks are not for me. BUT, nothing here requires a desktop replacement.

 

Portability is a key consideration. Weight is a small factor here -- it's been a long time since I picked up a laptop and thought it was heavy. Portability is the appropriateness of the platform to various environments. A Desktop Replacement is not very portable because 1) you cannot easily use one without a table and power. They are too big for the lap and go through a charge too quickly. Netbooks are not very portable either if you desire an optical media drive, a full size keyboard, or a big screen. My Acer 5516 is a little light on portability because the speakers are soft and the glossy screen is tough in direct sunlight. I want to be able to take the laptop camping (lost two Dell D610s to moisture) (2). I'd like to use it to take notes at meetings (three hour battery life) (2). I'd like to be able to work on it in bed or on my couch (not too fragile since I'll probably fall asleep) (1). It'd be nice to have connectivity cell network connectivity (3).

 

Price matters. $200 - $300 seems to be a very good price for a laptop. Assuming it meets one's needs, the investment will likely be recouped on the next upgrade (present cost of the desired laptop - future cost > $280).

 

So far BF2K9 rumors include...

 

Acer Aspire One 10.1" Netbook for $149.99

Toshiba L505-S5998 T4300 for $399.99

 

I'd be tempted to grab a couple of the netbooks for portable internet toys, but the satellite is too expensive for me.

 

What do you want to do with your new laptop?

johnap

johnap

Posted
Posted

len, thanks for your informative reply. For me my main use for a laptop will be e-mail and internet use. I am really not a PC gamer, I have consoles for that nor do I have to use it for work. I may do some work with Word but that's about it.

 

Basically repalcing my desktop with something that I am not tied to my desk to use. I have seen the toshiba and Acer for $349 at BB but have read both good and bad for each.

 

The new notebooks are to small for me. I just don't like them. I think a 15 inch screen is about right. Don't need the Blu Ray but the ability to burn to disks would be something I would use.

 

I don't need one yesterday and can probably wait till BF if there are good sales on laptops. I can probably get away with one of the $350 laptops since I don't really need tons of processing power. After to talking to a few people I think for the limited amount of things I would do I can probably use a single core instead of a dual.

 

Thanks again for your reply to my question.

len_mullen

len_mullen

Posted
Posted

You're welcome. You will read good and bad about all brands and most models. Your use sounds like mine, and I have been happily computing on an Acer 5516 all summer and fall. I take care of it, but it seems rugged enough. The 15.6" screen is beautiful but is reflective in strong sun, and running Windows 7 with no crapware, is very snappy. I run OpenOffice on it. OO is pretty demanding so I think MS Office versions would run fine. At $240, I could afford to take a chance. So far, so good.

 

FYI, Acer also makes Gateway and eMachines. Together these brands constitute the second most popular computers on the planet -- mostly based on laptop sales, and largely without benefit of big business contracts.

 

I'll speculate that there will be $300 laptops BF, but I think you will find deals throughout the season. Spend a little time in the stores assessing keyboards and screens. For Vista and 7 machines, right click my computer and select properties from the popup menu to see the Windows Experience Index. Take note values that feel sluggish or snappy to you. I have found that scores >3 are good for most use, >4 are good for good for light gaming, and >5 is good for more serious gaming. Most $300 laptops are going to be in the 2-3 range.

dissident

dissident

Posted
Posted

have a lenovo laptop that works great, had a toshiba that I gave to my mother that still works well... the lenovo is built like a tank and can take abuse, it's my powerhouse laptop... metal case, etc. Got it nearly 2 years ago when fatwallet was offering good ******* on them and combined with some other deal it ended up only costing about $700. Dual core, 2 gigs ram, decent enough video card... the last of the lenovos that was somewhat engineered by the old IBM brand.

 

If I can find a netbook for $150 I'll buy one. They're cute.

8truths

8truths

Posted
Posted

Wow. No one has yet posted about the $120 netbook from K-Mart this year?

 

That's a very positive sign. Considering the tendency of Walmart and Best Buy to get into a shooting war over the big electronics items, a $120 netbook at K-Mart (a lightweight in the electronics fight) all but guarantees both Wally and BB will have a $99. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked to see Wally go $89 on a doorbuster.

josetann

josetann

Posted
Posted

Wow. No one has yet posted about the $120 netbook from K-Mart this year?

 

That's a very positive sign. Considering the tendency of Walmart and Best Buy to get into a shooting war over the big electronics items, a $120 netbook at K-Mart (a lightweight in the electronics fight) all but guarantees both Wally and BB will have a $99. In fact, I wouldn't be shocked to see Wally go $89 on a doorbuster.

Either people missed it, or initially got excited until they found out what it was. The OS is Windows CE (not XP, Vista, or 7). Some quick research revealed it probably has a mere 2GB SSD drive, and 128MB RAM. Not much of a deal.

dmmiller

dmmiller

Posted
Posted

Either people missed it, or initially got excited until they found out what it was. The OS is Windows CE (not XP, Vista, or 7). Some quick research revealed it probably has a mere 2GB SSD drive, and 128MB RAM. Not much of a deal.

But would this notebook be okay for kids to go online with, and play online games?

NeepNeep

NeepNeep

Posted
Posted

Either people missed it, or initially got excited until they found out what it was. The OS is Windows CE (not XP, Vista, or 7). Some quick research revealed it probably has a mere 2GB SSD drive, and 128MB RAM. Not much of a deal.

Plus the screen size is only 7". I agree, not much of a deal at all... :yuck:

josetann

josetann

Posted
Posted

But would this notebook be okay for kids to go online with, and play online games?

It'd be ok for very basic sites, but don't expect it to work well for sites reliant on java, flash, or anything like that.

 

Windows CE is the same OS that many PDAs used to use (such as the Dell Axim). If you ever had one, then you pretty much know what this netbook can do.

NeepNeep

NeepNeep

Posted
Posted

But would this notebook be okay for kids to go online with, and play online games?

IMO, this netbook isn't something I'd buy for my kids. The CPU speed is only 400MHz, so it's going to be *very* slow by todays standards. It might be ok for email, but it's not going to handle web browsing & online games very well, if at all.

 

There should be much better netbooks to come...

dmmiller

dmmiller

Posted
Posted

It'd be ok for very basic sites, but don't expect it to work well for sites reliant on java, flash, or anything like that.

 

Windows CE is the same OS that many PDAs used to use (such as the Dell Axim). If you ever had one, then you pretty much know what this netbook can do.

IMO, this netbook isn't something I'd buy for my kids. The CPU speed is only 400MHz, so it's going to be *very* slow by todays standards. It might be ok for email, but it's not going to handle web browsing & online games very well, if at all.

 

There should be much better netbooks to come...

thank you both for your responses.. the search continues. :)

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