Want to get a laptop, Need advice

[luciusad2004]

Hey guys. I've been wanting to get a laptop for a while now and i need a bit of advice.
I know what i want. A macbook, it would run be about 1300-1500 depending on what i get. But the problem is, I cant afford that. So i was wondering what options i have in terms of getting a decent laptop, relatively cheap. I definitely want something more modern than my old iBook.

Here is sort of what im looking for.


13-15 inches, preferably widescreen
built-in wifi
Reasonable Power (Enough for web browsing, school work, light programming.)
Fair amount of space, It will hold: Music, School Work, and maybe some pictures


What do you guys think would be my best bet.

Buy a cheap off the shelf computer (dell, HP, etc..)
Buy a refurbished machine.
Buy used (ebay?)
Suck it up and spend a year saving for the computer i REALLY want.
Buy one of those new "netbook" deals.


IDK, i'm just not sure what i should do. I could really use a new laptop. I never use mine because it's simply not that useful.

[Omega]

Well, I got a four year old dell laptop with no working audio and 80gb(?, i don't remember) of HD space for $400 from a TBCS member off of eBay last year, so I'd say eBay is a good bet. For school stuff (which is what mine's for) it works just fine. Make sure to get one with audio, though. haha.

[crenn]

A $500 new laptop should handle browsing, programming etc fine. Just may not be able to game much...

[Airbozo]

I voted cheap off the shelf. Better warranty. Better support. AND you can still save for the notebook you really want. for next year.

[luciusad2004]

A $500 new laptop should handle browsing, programming etc fine. Just may not be able to game much...

I don't really care about gaming. I'm probably gonna throw Ubuntu on it anyway. Maybe i should not make any plans until i see how much money im gonna be making now that i had to drop my hours down to 20 a week. My original plan was to save up over Christmas break and by my Macbook, ...

The more i think about it, It will probably be christmas break by the time I can afford anything anyway, at that point i might as well just save for a computer ill be happy with, since during break i'll probably be working 32-36 hours per week. Man, this decision is so hard.

[TheGreatSatan]

Really what needs to be discussed is what do you want to spend? My laptop was on a huge sale for just over $500 (retailed for $1024), but I recently bought a IBM thinkpad for my kids to watch DVD's in the car for $200 off ebay.

[luciusad2004]

Really what needs to be discussed is what do you want to spend? My laptop was on a huge sale for just over $500 (retailed for $1024), but I recently bought a IBM thinkpad for my kids to watch DVD's in the car for $200 off ebay.

Well i guess that really depends on how long i want to wait. If i were to decide i need one now i would probably save 7-800 possibly settling for some in the 6-700 range if it walked by and peeked my interest. If i decide to wait, ill be in the 1-1.5k range. The reason I'm not sure is because, if i wait, I could very well be waiting a long time. But if i don't, I could very well regret not saving the extra 700 to get the nicer machine.

I was making roughly 500 every 2 weeks b4 school started. Now i will probably make about half of that. (Average) I won't be able to put away as much money as was possible during the summer. Maybe 50 per paycheck or 100 per month. That gives me 300 by December, if everything goes by plan (it never does).

Now when Christmas break rolls around I will be making 500ish per paycheck again and i can save much more quickly. At that point I can start saving 250-300 out of every pay check (Living on half my paycheck sucks but its very doable.) That tops out at around 600 in that month. This may be a bit conservative, i based it on a 1 month break but IIRC last year i had a month and a half or so. But i figure if i star saving now i can have 8-900 by the end of December.

I think i get a Christmas bonus, but ill probably spend that on presents for family and friends.

So, if I'm lucky, by the end of the year i can have 8-900. At this point the laptop i want is roughly 4-500 away. Very close if i may say so myself. However, this is also were work slows down for school again and that 4-500 becomes a long tedious wait.

I hope that sums up the scenario quite well and brings some light on to my budgetary concerns.

Thanks for the help guys.

Edit: I guess another consideration is, I'm not really sure what i NEED if i do go cheap.

As i think i mentioned, i would run Linux (probably Ubuntu) and pretty much use it for basic stuff and lite programming (class work so nothing complicated). I do want wifi, that is a must, but beyond that I'm not positive I'm looking at my needs realistically

[Drum Thumper]

Keep an eye on Newegg. I picked up my Acer laptop (http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/acer-aspire-5720-4126/4505-3121_7-32891584.html) from there for roughly $500.

[Eclecticos]

Check out the refurbished laptop selection at TigerDirect. Here (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=3444) <=-

I used to buy refurbished hardware, from EggHead.
Never had the first problem with any of it.

I think refurbished, or recertified is the way to go
if you want a decent system on a budget.

[TheGreatSatan]

Every 3 months retail locations get all new laptops. You can get a great one for cheap at the end of Sept and then again in Dec. Like I said, mine retailed for $1024, and I bought a display model. After instant and mail-in rebates I got it for just over $500.

[XcOM]

if your going to shove ubuntu on it anyway get a dell that come preloaded with ubuntu, the upside is you get all the drivers done ready, also its covered by your warrinie, Plus with the money you save on Windows you can get a slightly better version for you money.

edit:





SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black
PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T2370 (1.73GHz/533Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Ubuntu 8.04 with DVD Playback
DISPLAY Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)
VIDEO CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
MEMORY 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz
HARD DRIVE 120GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Mini-card
INTEGRATED WEBCAM No Webcam Option
BATTERY OPTIONS 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0


WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty and Mail In Service
ENVIRONMENTAL OPTIONS Free Recycling Kit

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Network Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Labels Intel Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
Datasafe No DataSafe

total price: $549

[TheGreatSatan]

Is that Vista with just 1GB? Dell is such a Rip off!

Go to Office Depot. Item #850-145

Gateway M6881
Intel Core 2 T5750
3GB DDR2
250GB Hard Drive
Intel Graphics
DVD writer with LabelFlash
1.3 MP Webcam
Vista Home Premium w/SP1
15.4 inch LCD

In store price is $604.99. There's a $125 mail-in rebate

Price after rebate: $479

Sale ends Saturday

[XcOM]

no that was linux ubuntu,