Laptop under $400

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by will2597, Apr 26, 2012.

  1. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

    I am looking to purchase a the best laptop for the money from newegg.com for $400 or less if possible. My wife just graduated from community college and going to a university to work on getting her master degree (so it needs to last a min of 4 years from purchase date) I have asked plenty of ppl hear and they all say go mac but I don't have enough Benjamins for one. Keep in mind, I am the only one that works full time (during the morning) so my wife can go to school full time (in the afternoon) after I get off of work so I will be able to watch our son since daycare is high and my wife school is 120miles round trip and we own pac-man for a vehicle.
     
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2012
  2. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

    Im going to be bold and call out GMan863 and Rikky since they are the ones that helped me out on my last issue and I can't thank them enough!!!!BTW R2D2 is build and the gameplay is very nice :-D thank yawl very mych.
     
  3. brownizs

    brownizs MajorGeek

    If she does not need a DVD drive in the device, go with a Netbook, then spend the money to put a SSD and up the RAM in it. I have Acer a532h Aspire running Ubuntu 12.04LTS and has 2gig RAM, and runs great. Had Windows 7 Pro and still ran great with it, along with having Office 2k10 Full.

    You want a decent laptop that weighs a ton, get it. You want something small enough that she can put it in her purse get a tablet, or go for a Netbook like I did. I have only pulled out the DVD drive that I have that hooks up via USB three times. Once to load Windows 7 Pro, then Load Office 2k10, then wipe out all traces of Microsoft and load Ubuntu and never look back.

    Plus if you are smart, you have the wife do everything up in the cloud either through Google Doc's or Microsoft Office Doc's live, and do not have to worry about her hunting for the USB keychain drive, or loosing everything because the hard drive decided to go dead. I also keep everything up on box.com in a 50gb space, so I can access everywhere.

    Just some thoughts.
     
  4. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

    We already have one and is what I use most of the time but she don't really like it due to the size and the speed of it and I also have a external dvd drive as well... It is kinda on the low end (netbook) but I did buy it a cpl years ago when they first came out.

    I just mainly wanted to get her something she wanted but the best for my money. It might be cheap for most ppl but to my wife and I atm it is a lot of money and I know a laptop is the last thing she is expecting.
     
  5. gman863

    gman863 MajorGeek

    Do you have a MicroCenter store in your area (or have a friend/relative who lives near one)? This is an in-store only deal:

    http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382829

    $379 for an i3 CPU -- Newegg is $449 on a seemingly identical model. I bought one for a client -- it seems decent and it has HDMI out.

    Whatever you go with, I'd stick with Intel. I've seen several of the newer AMD notebooks that seem to get quite toasty, sometimes to the point of having overheating issues that cook the motherboard.

    Hope this helps. :)

    PS: The model below this doesn't have HDMI and has an Intel P6200 CPU. It's $399 @ Newegg, $349 @ MicroCenter.
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2012
  6. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

    Thank you Gman!! No I don't. I been thinking and I can prob add 200 buck max towards a laptop.
    The main thing i get confused about is when it comes to the CPU. I have spent 2 days reading the reviews on laptops under 600 on newegg but it seems like each one has the same pros and con. If someone doesn't mind picking out a cpl laptops under 600 that would be the best over all laptop for a student in college then to cross over and be able to use in the teacher teaching world would be great.
     
  7. gman863

    gman863 MajorGeek

  8. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

  9. gman863

    gman863 MajorGeek

    No problem. With all the stuff I have to buy for my shop and clients, I've learned to price search in the blink of an eye. ;)

    I have nothing against Newegg other then their price is a lot higher on this model. I also shop at the local Fry's retail store and have ordered items not stocked in the store online from them without any issues.
     
  10. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

    I was going to have to charge it with my account there. That was the only reason.
     
  11. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

    Just checking before I buy it but in yawls opinion is it the best one for my money limit of 400? I've just never heard of acer, reason for my concerns..
     
  12. gman863

    gman863 MajorGeek

    In my opinion, Acer is the best of the "budget" brands in notebooks (they also make Gateway and eMachines - same product, different nameplate) .

    I am not a fan of HP or Compaq. The amount of crapware they pre-install is off the charts, and their overall quality is marginal.

    Sony is overpriced. I purchased a Sony two years ago and have not been impressed with it. Had cooling fan issues, and the overall build quality isn't any better than the Acer.

    If you want to spend a few more bucks, look at Toshiba or Samsung. They won't perform any better than the Acer; however their look and feel is (in my opinion) slightly nicer.

    ASUS, MSI and Dell have had some quality control issues recently with certain notebook models. Given there are better choices, I'd pass on these bands.

    Lastly, if you want to buy from Newegg and aren't in a hurry, go to their site and set up a "price alert" on the model(s) you're interested in. There's always a chance (but not a guarantee) they'll eventually put it on sale.
     
  13. will2597

    will2597 Private E-2

    Thank you for all your help gman and I am going to get the one you posted from frys.com.
     

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