highwoodfisher Posted August 23, 2011 Posted August 23, 2011 Hey guys, I am looking for a laptop just to get me through one last year of school (fingers crossed). All I really need it for is checking email, surfing the web, and excell spreadsheets. Itunes would be nice to be able to run, as well as download random crap. I was contemplating buying a nice computer to run autocad and solidworks etc... but I figure I will just use the school comp's for that stuff. Anything I should look out for in particular? I was told to stay away from AMD processors (no idea why). in summary, I need a peice of crap thats around $300-$500. oh, one of the things that I really hate is scrolling sideways to read a document or page, so I need a screen that won't be that small (not sure what the min. would be. 14"?) thanks Quote
Sean84 Posted August 23, 2011 Posted August 23, 2011 There's lots to choose from, cant really go wrong. I dont really know why someone told you to steer away from AMD, I have built all my computers and always use AMD athlon or phenom processors, mainly cause I feel there just as good if not better then intel and cost less. Quote
cheeler Posted August 24, 2011 Posted August 24, 2011 15" is the typical size for a budget laptop nowadays - and the screen specs don't vary much. AMD has a nicer processor out for the smaller laptops that does video and graphics well, but you will get more bang for your buck with an Intel processor if you're doing work in Excel. You can usually find a laptop on sale for $500 that has an Intel Core i3 processor in it. At that price level there isn't much internal difference between manufacturers. Quote
SanJuanWorm Posted August 24, 2011 Posted August 24, 2011 You're not going to run solidworks on anything around 500 bucks. Quote
Dxh Posted August 24, 2011 Posted August 24, 2011 Anything you buy for 3-500 will be bogged down with so much crap.. HP, ASUS..whatever you get will have software installed that you really dont need and will slow it down A LOT. My suggestion is to buy a 500$ laptop, reformat it and install only the vital drivers. I have done this for many clients and they run like a top. PM me if you need help. Quote
midgetwaiter Posted August 24, 2011 Posted August 24, 2011 Think about getting a quality used laptop rather than a new POS. I used to sell computers and I'd cringe every time somebody bought one of those $500 Acers http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX31448(ME).aspx I have a Thinkpad similar to this I still use quite a bit, works great for the use you are talking about. Quote
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