Advice on Purchasing a Laptop

[surfcast]

Guys,i am planning to buy a laptop as a bday present for somebody but the problem is,I am not IT savvy.So i would like to get your advices and reccomendations.The end user is a student and need the laptop to do project/assignments and stuffs.

 

I have browse thru some websites on laptops but there are too many different specs,etc..I am hoping to get a laptop that is not too heavy or bulky.My budget is aroud $1400.

 

What should i look out for?

Which shop offer the best package/offer?

 

I thank u all in advance for taking time to reply.

[Demon]

Guys,i am planning to buy a laptop as a bday present for somebody but the problem is,I am not IT savvy.So i would like to get your advices and reccomendations.The end user is a student and need the laptop to do project/assignments and stuffs.

 

I have browse thru some websites on laptops but there are too many different specs,etc..I am hoping to get a laptop that is not too heavy or bulky.My budget is aroud $1400.

 

What should i look out for?

Which shop offer the best package/offer?

 

I thank u all in advance for taking time to reply.

 

For your budget, I would recommend Dell.

http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/notebooks_better?c=sg&cs=sgdhs1&l=en&s=dhs#connect

 

Maybe the user want a Mac, so you better check first

[surfcast]

thank u for the reply dude.wats the diffrence between a mac and dell?asked some ppl on dell laptops but many told me that its not a gd brand.i didn't ask more..

[Demon]

thank u for the reply dude.wats the diffrence between a mac and dell?

 

You mean a Mac, and a PC ?

 

They are both computers. The difference is in the system architecture, and operating systems. To many, it's more hip and cool to be seen with a Mac, especially now with all the great inter-operateable Apple devices such as Ipod, Iphone.

 

asked some ppl on dell laptops but many told me that its not a gd brand.i didn't ask more..

 

Dell is the 25th-largest company in the Fortune 500 list, and the biggest seller of PC, and servers in the world ,and it's not a good brand ?

 

Of course, for $5k you can get a swanky feather-light Fujitsu notebook with a screen that can turn in every imagineable directions.

[surfcast]

ok thanks..any other advices?

[Crazy]

Yes dell or maybe acer.

[PaLmEr]

My number one choice will be LENOVO

[ranzl]

for a budget of 1.4k. i would recommand Dell. cheap n gd. student promo is even better, w additional warrenty and softwares i tink.

 

u can also pay by installment interest free. some models u can upgrade on ur own, so it is cheaper to do ur own upgrade den buying from Dell. (wun void warrenty)

 

frm wat i hav heard, mostly gd cust service reviews.

 

btw, i use apple. nt biased, but unless ur fren is a design student, den its another case.

[ranzl]

well...

u can read abt other ppl's review here if u want.

 

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/forumdisplay.php?f=77

[redbeacon]

thank u for the reply dude.wats the diffrence between a mac and dell?

 

Now that the "mac" topic has come up, I'll add my comments on it.

 

Adding on to Demon's comments, a PC (or a computer running what most people call "Windows") is what you would normally see everyday on any computer you look at, and is what most users around the world grew accustomed with. You may have heard of the terms "Windows 98", "Windows XP", etc...all of these are made by Microsoft corporation

 

This is "Windows Vista", Microsoft's latest flagship operating system, with the familiar, age-old "Start" button on the left side of the screen, carried on since the days of Windows 95.

 

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/6858/vista5270087hq9.jpg

 

A Macintosh (or a "mac" for short) is a different system altogether when compared to Windows. Made by an incorporated company called "Apple", it competes with Microsoft on their operating system. It's seen as an operating system (and they make their own computers/laptops to work with it as well, see pictures below) that revolutionizes the way people use their computer.

 

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/1242/exceldefault20071014103zx2.jpg http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/8814/macoptions2wi2.jpg

 

Looking at the pictures, you may already have figured out that they operate differently. Things are arranged differently. Applications run different as well.

 

Because they are two distinct brands, it's up to the user on whether he wants something that is most commonly used worldwide in most homes and definitely offices, versus something that makes nice looking computers and, like what Demon has said, something that is "hip and cool"

 

You'd wanna hint to that person whether he has ever used a "Mac" before, before you go out and buy it. Most people may prefer Windows over Mac, some people have used the Mac before and are "adventurous" to try out the Mac as something that's new to them....

 

asked some ppl on dell laptops but many told me that its not a gd brand.i didn't ask more..

 

Lots of American customers say Dell has the worst after-sales support staff. Maybe that's how Dell got its above reputation.

Machine-wise, I haven't heard of Dell computers being unreliable yet, I guess they're like any other brands...

[tanchunxun]

i believe if u are looking for cheap and good spec laptop, i will recommend acer to u. As for the life span of the laptop, acer might not be very lasting.. It is better to get more warranty from acer if u are buying.. =)

[surfcast]

Sincerely thanking all u guys for ur kind advices..hoping to read more post from u guys here before deciding on what brand and model to buy.Maybe u guys can reccomend any exact brand n model or give reviews on laptop u people are currently using.Thanks again everybody!!!

[WildCard]

i believe if u are looking for cheap and good spec laptop, i will recommend acer to u. As for the life span of the laptop, acer might not be very lasting.. It is better to get more warranty from acer if u are buying.. =)

 

Acer's quite ok.

I had one that lasted me 5 years before it finally burnt out (installed Linux which did not work with the ACPI power / cooling subsytem correctly and thus overheated easily.

 

Dell is a good value-for-$$$ option. Cheap, pretty reliable and onsite service.

I love the physical damage coverage on their warranty (1 per year of warranty).

 

At present, I got a simple Acer Extensa 4620. Good enough for normal use, reasonably weighed and value for $$$. Packed with enough features for me to do my Net surfing, schoolwork and some light gaming. My wife can even run her CAD/CAM apps on it.

14" means portability. The rule is, if you are going to carry it around, 14" is the biggest size you should get. But if its a home desktop-replacement, 15" and above is better.

 

If you can get a higher budget, do look into IBM range. Recently NEC had some nice models and nice sub-$1800 prices during the COMEX with 3GB RAM and spare battery thrown in free.

Toshiba's another one. But expect to pay more.

[Frenz87]

I'm recommending ASUS...

 

serve me well for the past one yr..

and it has a motherboard manufacturing background..

[samurai8410]

save more bucks buy toshiba x300 hehe

[edition]

for laptop i choose brand and specification of the laptop .. 3 brand i will buy from. IBM, ASUS and acer. base on this 3 brand den i compare their specification. I dun like Dell. Dell is ver popular in USA but not in asia. after comparing brand, specification next will be warranty.. chk out on wat they cover and for how long. diff parts like the screen for asus i believe they warrant for 30days. so chk up with them to learn more n save more ..

[ethanleeqh]

Mac, once you get your hands on a mac, you dont feel like going back to windows