Help with choosing laptop

[acompdude]

My cousin is wanting to get a new laptop and I dont know where to start looking right now. I dont know what brands and models are good anymore. It will bo mostly for college work, papers etc..., wireless is necessary, messaging and all that kinda stuff, surfing, you know all that kinda basic stuff. Budget is somewhere around $1000 or less. Preferably less if possible since she needs some of her money left over for a new desktop. I was actually looking at the Vostro by dell since I have a business then I could get it for her. What other brands and models are good though?

Any and all help is appreciated!!!

[acompdude]

Bump. Still need some help here.

[Scott9027]

Since you have pretty basic requirements, I think a Dell with a coupon would be a good option. However, if you want reliability, I would recommend a Lenovo instead. They're really high quality laptops.

[emceepecks]

Since you have pretty basic requirements, I think a Dell with a coupon would be a good option. However, if you want reliability, I would recommend a Lenovo instead. They're really high quality laptops.

:thup:

[BenF]

I have a lenonvo t61. It is a very well built laptop (built quality is much better than my friends dell). I'm very happy with my laptop but it is over your budget by quite a lot. Maybe check out some of cheaper lenovos. Since she is a college student she might care about the looks. I know that my girlfriend thinks that my laptop is very ugly and would never use it because of that. If good looks are important maybe check out a macbook. The basic one will come in around $1000 (a bit more iirc). It will do all that she needs it to do and is quite stylish.

If build quality/reliablity is her #1 priority get a lenovo. If a cheap computer is her priority, get a basic dell. If a stylish (but functional) computer is her priority get the apple.


p.s. I know that styling doesn't make a computer good but it might be important for some people.

[tech9]

The Vostro's are pretty rugged, not as rugged as the Lenovo's, but still defiantly worth the money.

[Scott9027]

I bought my laptop before the Vostros came out. Do you know how they compare in build quality to the Inspirons and the Latitudes? I've seen lots of Inspirons that were not impressive in the quality department, but my Latitude has been rock solid.

[Charr]

I bought my laptop before the Vostros came out. Do you know how they compare in build quality to the Inspirons and the Latitudes? I've seen lots of Inspirons that were not impressive in the quality department, but my Latitude has been rock solid.
The Vostros probably have a lesser build quality to them, as you can get them cheaper. I got one for my dad's upcoming birthday, and the total was $620, but I am adding my own RAM and HDD in it.

As for a laptop, right now you have to watch out for parts shortages in laptops. Brands like HP, Dell and Lenovo are experiencing shortages in parts from keyboards to motherboards, because of the big ODMs not holding a lot of stock of these parts, and a surge in demand. Your best bet is to skip build to order laptops, and buy something you find on a shelf, as that is guaranteed to be "in stock" versus BTOs, which may take several months to get.

[acompdude]

Wow. I didnt think that I would get that many responses overnight. Thanks for the help so far guys. I actually have a mac so I may see if she likes mine and if she like it enough maybe she can stretch her budget. But she will be using windows a lot so she would have to spend the extra money on a copy of windows to run on it. I will also ask her about the lenovo's next time I see her. I am not sure how she will like the looks of them though. I havent heard much about hp's. How do the hp's compare in build quality?

I might just see if she will ride to Tallahassee with me and we can just go to Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA and see what deals they have on the shelf.

[Scott9027]

Well, I'm afraid if she doesn't like the look of a Lenovo, then she's probably not going to "like" the looks of anything except an Apple. If she's willing to pay more for that, then more power to her, but if she's running Windows anyway it seems like a bit of a waste.

[BenF]

Maybe check out hp. I haven't really ever liked them but I've heard that the new HPs are actually quite good. I have a friend who got one and it seems to have a pretty good build quality. Much better than the previous HPs I have used, the ones that made me dislike hp. It also has a cool, for a girl, spiral pattern on it, black notebook with a grayish pattern on it. I desided not to be lazy and look up the laptop she has. She picked it up at a best buy for around $1100 after tax. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8404167&type=product&id=1180743304435.

Like someone mentioned before; if she needs the laptop anytime soon (within a couple months) you really should pick up a pre-built one at a store. Like I said before she might be interested in the macbook which is prebuilt. Does she need to have windows even? If she is just writing papers and messaging she can probably get away with using a mac. My university supports windows, os:x, and a few linux distros. I believe that most universities would be similar (maybe not linux support though).

[acompdude]

We are going to a smaller community college and they dont like anything other than windows xp at this place. They do have linux classes but all the tech guys are big windows fanatics. Its really annoying considering that I have a macbook. Anyway I am going to get her to look at some prebuilts when I get a chance and maybe she can just be happy with one of those. Thanks for all the help and I am still taking suggestions/ideas.