Looking for a laptop

[dart68]

There seems to be so many choices that I'm not sure what to choose, sooooo...

What recomendations for a laptop would you suggest? Looking for under $1000. Would even consider a good used one but not sure what troubles I would be getting.

 

[Andrew Green]

Under $1000 shouldn't be a problem, laptops don't cost what they used to.

Look for quality parts and a good warranty is really the best advice I think you need. Sometimes you'll see a system that has better specification, but the parts are poor quality, your better off with the good stuff even if the numbers are a little lower.

Find one you like, and right down the model number. Punvh that into google and see what comes up. If the model has had problems pick another

Also decide exactly what you need it to do and make sure the one you pick does it. If you want games, then you need a decent video card. If you want to be able to connect it to a tv, you might want to look for a s-video or hdmi port. If you are going to want a docking station look at the options for that model beforehand, even if you aren't getting the dock right away, etc.

 

[AceHBK]

Although Best Buy is severly overpriced on 90% of their items, check them out. Anything that is clearance or floor model you can get an additional 10% off of.

You could get away with a great laptop if you check out a store or 2 in your area.

 

[Kreth]

There seems to be so many choices that I'm not sure what to choose, sooooo...

What recomendations for a laptop would you suggest? Looking for under $1000. Would even consider a good used one but not sure what troubles I would be getting.

What do you need to do? Word processing, e-mail, web browsing? Do you need to be able to plug a camera or camcorder into it? Sync up with a PDA or smartphone? Do you need a big hard drive to store pics and music? Do you game? There's a lot of variables. With answers to some of these questions you can get suggestions to narrow down your options.
Forget the big box stores. Many members here have probably forgotten more about PCs than any retail drone learned in his/her minimal training (yes, even the managers :lol. You can get much better deals online from reputable companies.

 

[dart68]

Thanks for the replies. Are there any brands that you would recommend or to stay away from?

 

[Kreth]

Thanks for the replies. Are there any brands that you would recommend or to stay away from?

Gateway has gone downhill in the last several years. Dell, Toshiba, and HP are all pretty solid brands. I really like the IBM (now Lenovo) Thinkpads, but they're generally a bit pricier.
Another thing to consider is your mouse interface. I'm not a big fan of touchpads, so I tend to stay away from models that only have those as an option. Give me a Trackpoint/pointing stick any day.