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Computer geeks get in here...looking for laptop


2talltim

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Tis the season may daughter wants a laptop for Christmas and i don't want to wait till the last min to find the best deal. Looking to get the best for what i want to spend which is around $300(ish)dont want to spend a lot for her to beat the fuck out her first one, she is 13 yrs old and will using it for FB, netflix, youtube, email, homework research, basic screwing around. I'm OK with any brand any processor(except atom or celeron), new or referb, just want bang for the buck. Oh yea has to be a PC (no macs) and i want windows 7

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check out newegg.com. I built my first computer and got all the parts at newegg. Check out the small asus computers. I had the EEE PC for a while which was cheap and easy to carry around for school and whatnot. I believe it came with Linux but it's not hard to put a small version of windows on it. Or keep an eye out on woot.com. They've got some good deals on there as well as techbargains.com.

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i did see this one at wally.com, but i don't know much about that processor and it don't mention a optical drive....

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Asus-Matte-Deep-Blue-Square-14-X401U-EBL4-Laptop-PC-with-AMD-E1-1200-Processor-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-with-Windows-8-Pro-Upgrade-Option/21002709

Edited by 2talltim
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considering what she is using it for that is a decent processor and not a bad price. If she was playing hardcore computer games, you'd want a better processor but I doubt she is so that's a good one. keep an eye on techbargains.com and you may find it cheaper than that. also the monday after black friday is the big internet special and that's a good day to buy anything like that on the internet.

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I'm pretty happy with my little 10.1 acer netbook for that sort of stuff, $250 brand new, mine came with XP which I prefer, but my heather's came with 7 starter...

super light, super portable...

if i had to do it over again, I'd probably upgrade to a 14 or 15 inch as the 10 doesn't quite have enough screen space to do everything efficiently.

When i need more screen space, I hook it up to my 32" samsung and crank up the resolution... it works pretty well.

Edited by magley64
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I'm pretty happy with my little 10.1 acer netbook for that sort of stuff, $250 brand new, mine came with XP which I prefer, but my heather's came with 7 starter...

super light, super portable...

if i had to do it over again, I'd probably upgrade to a 14 or 15 inch as the 10 doesn't quite have enough screen space to do everything efficiently.

wife had one of those, I'm not a fan of the Atom processor, seems like it ran hot all the time

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A lot of laptops do have a tendency to run hot. You can usually get a fan to set it on which helps keep it cool. Also need to make sure to clean it here and there. They do have a tendency to get dusty inside. A lot of people are nervous about taking it apart and cleaning it because it is easy to fry something when you do that. If anyone ever needs help with that, I am more than glad to help. Computers is a bit of a hobby of mine.

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A lot of laptops do have a tendency to run hot. You can usually get a fan to set it on which helps keep it cool. Also need to make sure to clean it here and there. They do have a tendency to get dusty inside. A lot of people are nervous about taking it apart and cleaning it because it is easy to fry something when you do that. If anyone ever needs help with that, I am more than glad to help. Computers is a bit of a hobby of mine.

Ive had several laptops and do usually clean them but that acer would be fire hot just sitting on the counter idling, even when it as new. We sold it to my sister in-law and the last time i seen it the white plastic around where the processor is was discolored from the heat, but it still works fine

Edited by 2talltim
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Your mileage may vary, I've left mine on my bed before, transferring music and processing... it did get hot, but never overheated to the point where it stopped working.

but if you don't want atom, that's cool. you can get something pretty reasonable with an i3 for around your price range....

I'd stick to the big names though... just me.

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Your mileage may vary, I've left mine on my bed before, transferring music and processing... it did get hot, but never overheated to the point where it stopped working.

but if you don't want atom, that's cool. you can get something pretty reasonable with an i3 for around your price range....

I'd stick to the big names though... just me.

that one was a single core atom, maybe the dual core run cooler

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Just home use I'd recommend a 15" screen or larger. Although if it doesn't have to be mobile, I'd look into a desktop. Twice the power, half the cost.

Mobile use for school and note-taking, 12" and as light as possible.

Newegg and Tiger will have decent selection and pricing. Micro Center has been very competitive recently for me. My last three builds I've gotten parts from them because their m/b and CPU deals beat the net. Something to look into.

A 10" tablet with Bluetooth keyboard and mouse may even be more cost effective.

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Ive had several laptops and do usually clean them but that acer would be fire hot just sitting on the counter idling, even when it as new. We sold it to my sister in-law and the last time i seen it the white plastic around where the processor is was discolored from the heat, but it still works fine

The other thing that could help with that is the silver "goo" that sits between the processor and the heat sink. Most companies put a really cheap brand in there to begin with which doesnt help it to cool off enough. You could also put a more expensive better brand there instead.

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Asus is a good brand, Both the laptops may son have are Asus, and they have held up well. NewEgg is the best place to by, WorstBuy or Microcenter is OK if you need cash&carry. Stay away from the crap at Wally World or Target.

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about $50 more than id like to pay but thats about the sum of it, since i have lots of time im willing to wait on a better price

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Just home use I'd recommend a 15" screen or larger. Although if it doesn't have to be mobile, I'd look into a desktop. Twice the power, half the cost.

Mobile use for school and note-taking, 12" and as light as possible.

Newegg and Tiger will have decent selection and pricing. Micro Center has been very competitive recently for me. My last three builds I've gotten parts from them because their m/b and CPU deals beat the net. Something to look into.

I think 14 or 15 is a perfect balance if she's going to be using it for both.

It's big enough to be useful on it's own, but not so big and bulky that it's a pain to open and use and carry on a daily basis.

You can also buy a big monitor (or use a lcd/led/dlp like I do) in conjunction with a wireless keyboard and mouse set for use at home when you want a better interface than the little laptop keyboard, touchpad, and small screen.

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Just home use I'd recommend a 15" screen or larger. Although if it doesn't have to be mobile, I'd look into a desktop. Twice the power, half the cost.

Mobile use for school and note-taking, 12" and as light as possible.

Newegg and Tiger will have decent selection and pricing. Micro Center has been very competitive recently for me. My last three builds I've gotten parts from them because their m/b and CPU deals beat the net. Something to look into.

A 10" tablet with Bluetooth keyboard and mouse may even be more cost effective.

she has a desktop, its a older pentium 4 WinXP, but it still works good just too slow for video, plus id like for it to be mobie for her

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about $50 more than id like to pay but thats about the sum of it, since i have lots of time im willing to wait on a better price

By all means shop around, it's just easy to narrow down what you're looking for the way best buy has their website set up...

give me all intel, then narrow by screen size, then order by price... so on and so forth...

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I think 14 or 15 is a perfect balance if she's going to be using it for both.

It's big enough to be useful on it's own, but not so big and bulky that it's a pain to open and use and carry on a daily basis.

You can also buy a big monitor (or use a lcd/led/dlp like I do) in conjunction with a wireless keyboard and mouse set for use at home when you want a better interface than the little laptop keyboard, touchpad, and small screen.

my old GEN1 Dell XPS has a 14"(widescreen) i think it would be perfect size for her

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Not enough ram, Win7 will run like 80/90 oil in the middle of a blizard

I agree not nearly enough ram. I run 8gigs with Win7 on my desktop, slightly overboard I know but I love it. Although its not that hard to upgrade the ram just a bit more pricy.

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