Yeah, another one of those threads.

I'm in the market for a new laptop. I haven't even thought about purchasing one for about 6 years now, so I have no idea what's good anymore. I'm coming from a Thinkpad R52 , which has had a really good run (never replaced anything or formatted in 6 years), but is on its last leg. My budget is capped at $500. Also open to netbooks. This will be used as a basic everyday surfing/schoolwork computer.

How do you guys feel about refurb Thinkpads? Something like http://outlet.lenovo.com/laptops/440lrzfrhv.html maybe?

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 6:12 PM. Reason : ]

1/25/2011 6:04:44 PM

http://www.staples.com/Toshiba-Satellite-C655D-S5120-15.6-Laptop/product_915581&cmArea=CIRCULAR

1/25/2011 6:46:03 PM

i just got a few refurbished thinkpads and they all looked like new. i'm using a refurbed T410 right now. the only problem is refurbished thinkpads only have a 1-year warranty and have limited warranty upgrade options, if that matters to you.

even refurbished thinkpads aren't too cheap, except when they have sales like they did in december. mine was about $850 with an SSD and discrete video RAM, but looking at the current outlet, it seems that the post-xmas pickins are slim and the machines are expensive.

the x100e is an awesome machine, by the way, with good build quality. if you get a dual-core in it, it's pretty quick, but it's definitely in the gap between netbook and normal laptop.

[Edited on January 25, 2011 at 8:08 PM. Reason : x100e]

1/25/2011 8:06:47 PM

Just watch slickdeals.net for a couple of weeks. There have been a dozen awesome 500 dollar laptops in the past month. You'll find something no problem.

1/25/2011 8:18:47 PM

Yeah I'm watching slickdeals. Is there anything anyone recommends looking out for in particular though? Or things to avoid? Do the AMD procs still suck? That Toshiba looks pretty nice, aside from the battery life.

1/25/2011 8:45:01 PM

?topic=591091

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 8:57 AM. Reason : .]

1/26/2011 8:57:42 AM

Do not get anything with the I5 U520.

My work laptop has it....

and my (older) macbook pro is 10x faster IN THE SAME OS. gets better battery life, is a slimmer computer that carries easier and the battery lasts just as long if not longer.

I think the U series processors SUCK!

1/26/2011 9:28:21 AM

Quote :

"How do you guys feel about refurb Thinkpads? Something like http://outlet.lenovo.com/laptops/440lrzfrhv.html maybe?"

In terms of "refurb" Lenovo outlet stuff, I've purchased over 10 of them for clients. Nothing wrong with them as of yet.


But, in terms of "L412" I would stay away. Nothing wrong with it in terms of functionality. It's even got the same keyboard. But, the "L" series is literally the cheapest ThinkPad you can buy. By cheap, I mean material and build quality. It's made from ABS plastic, not the magnesium alloy chassis that the regular ThinkPads have. It's LARGE. Almost twice as thick as a regular ThinkPad. The picture is deceiving. It's a machine that Lenovo designed purely to capture the small market of customers who want the ThinkPad name, but not the ThinkPad price, nor build quality.

1/26/2011 9:46:18 AM

^,^^ Thank you sirs.

1/26/2011 2:38:18 PM

http://www.officemax.com/technology/computers/laptop-computers-and-tablet-pcs/product-prod3320018#blank

Any thoughts?

[Edited on January 26, 2011 at 5:31 PM. Reason : can get it for $450]

1/26/2011 5:30:51 PM

^ It's cheaper at Tiger Direct
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6671714&sku=A180-15646&cm_re=Homepage-_-Spot%2004-_-CatId_17_A180-15646



How about an HP? http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6671666&CatId=4939

1/27/2011 12:00:17 PM

Those specs look pretty similar, any particular reason for the HP suggestion?

1/27/2011 5:10:52 PM

is there a good sub $600 laptop out there with higher than 1366x768 resolution? Dual core or better preferred.

1/28/2011 3:15:35 PM

^Do you have a size preference? There's plenty of 17" laptops with larger but I'm assuming you're looking for something smaller.

[Edited on January 28, 2011 at 7:53 PM. Reason : .]

1/28/2011 7:52:30 PM

^^ you might get lucky and find one with the 1440x900 resolution, but even that is going to be a stretch. The LCD panel is generally the first skimped part in budget laptops. Even in higher end models, the price difference between a 720p and 1080p screen is often several hundred bucks.

If you're looking for a 13.3", then the 720p screen is actually pretty good for the size. 14/15" is tolerable but noticeably lower quality, and a 17" 720p screen just looks horrendous and damn near any sub $1k 17" laptop will have it too.

1/28/2011 9:03:05 PM

probably looking in the 14" or 15" range. I really just want more vertical resolution so that i don't have to scroll so damn much.

1/28/2011 9:06:54 PM

^Good luck man. Just did a little searching, and it looks like Sony is the cheapest you can go with new, at $849 for a 15.6" with a 1080p screen.

The few others I found were all 900+, and most were high end workstation/gaming laptops.

You might be able to find something close to 600 on Dell or Lenovo's outlets though. Inspiron 14R, XPS15, Lenovo T and W series thinkpads all have/had options for higher res screens.

1/28/2011 10:02:51 PM

^which Sony are you talking about?

[Edited on January 28, 2011 at 11:34 PM. Reason : ^]

1/28/2011 11:14:35 PM

Sony VAIO EB Series (VPCEB490X) - configurable here

Minimum config with the 1080p option is $849:

Core i3-380M
320gb 5400rpm drive
4gb 1066-DDR3
15.5" full hd (1920x1080) premium display
ATI Mobility Radeon 5650 1GB

1/28/2011 11:40:49 PM

aside from the fact that I have never heard of the company... anyone see anything wrong with this? seems like a really good deal

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/46097/xotic-pc-sager-np5160-laptop-intel-core-i72630qm-cpu-15.6-1920x1080-led-lcd-4gb-ddr3-320gb-hd-nvidia-gt-540m-dvdrw-dl-6cell-battery-3yr-warranty?#comments

1/30/2011 12:53:12 AM

Well, that's a lot of hardware for a little coin - but it comes with no OS and you run the risk of driver issues should you decide to not go with Win7. Otherwise looks primo.

1/30/2011 9:02:24 PM

i had a coworker who moved from florida who had a sager computer

based on his description, sager reminded me of alienware when they first started

1/31/2011 8:17:19 AM

^with or without the proprietary driver issues?

Sold an alienware that couldn't upgrade to Win7 because it's hard drive controller (for onboard RAID) didn't have win7 drivers, and they were just purchased by dell - so no updates in sight

It was big/heavy/awesome though - a TRUE desktop replacement. Complete with about 60 minutes of battery.

1/31/2011 8:47:21 AM

i don't know, he seemed happy with it...i assumed it was a small(ish) florida company that had a couple of stores or something

i was surprised to see it on slickdeals

1/31/2011 9:37:40 AM

Sager is a massive whitebox oem laptop manufacturer. They have been around for years and have a pretty solid reputation. Almost everything they sell are unbranded versions of the same hardware sold by Dell, toshiba, gateway, compaq and HP. They basically buy direct from the ODMs and sell through distributors.

1/31/2011 12:45:26 PM