Laptops

I have a Macbook Pro 13inch. I love having a Mac, it runs so much better than any Windows computer that I have had. Yes, Macs tend to be more expensive, but you get a more durable product IMHO. I have friends who have had the same MAC for 7-8 years. It's cheaper than having to replace your laptop every couple of years.

Needs and budget really are essential for good recommendations.

Gaming and with a decent budget: Razer Blade, 14". We bought this for my son, and it's awesome. I almost kept it for myself. It's thin and light like an ultrabook but with actual gaming power. It's also beautiful and feels well-made, not cheap. It is, however, pricey. Slightly less expensive but still pricey - the Alienware 14" gaming laptop. We bought this one for my daughter. It's not as thin and light as the Razer, but it's not the massive animal my Dell XPS 17" laptop was -- that was just a desktop replacement. The Alienware is light enough to port around and has awesome gaming power.

Gaming with a lower/moderate budget: Probably Dell. You can get some good deals and still have enough to do what you need to do on it. And really, the type of gaming matters too -- different games have different requirements, and it depends on whether or not you feel the need to run everything at max settings or can make do on lower ones.

General needs (social media, web browsing, etc): Dell again is good. My other son has a Toshiba that we got for about $300 on a black Friday deal 2 years ago, and it works just fine for his needs. He does Minecraft and a couple other lower end Steam games on it with no issues. My other daughter has a Dell we bought a few years ago as well - she just uses it for youtube videos and general internet browsing.

SO much of this is personal preference - what matters most. I travel, so I like it light. If I gamed on the road (WoW, Rift, TSW), I would buy another Razer as it has the gaming power I want in a light, thin footprint I need. Since I don't, I have a Surface Pro. It is fantastic for my needs - light for travel, has a removable keyboard so I can use it like a tablet, has the power of a laptop. I VPN and do work, I download videos from amazon and watch them via amazon unbox with no issues (streaming in hotel rooms tends to be annoying. It can stream like nobody's business and works great if you're doing that, s/a Netflix or Amazon Prime, but hotel internet connection doesn't lend itself well to streaming I've noticed).

When we got the Alienware laptop, I took advantage of the Dell tablet deal and snagged one for my husband, to bring him into the world of portable media a bit more...he loves it. He hadn't realized the joys of sitting on the couch and sending emails from a smaller device until then. Heh.

Also, if your needs are truly more tablet-oriented rather than laptop, a Kindle Fire HDX can work perfectly fine, especially if you're already in the amazon walled garden

#1 What are your needs?
#2 What is your budget?

#1 Very basic needs. It's just a secondary home computer.
#2 I'm a single mom. Cheaper is always better.

Short reply: Wait for post holiday sales; Toshiba, Asus, Dell, Surface Tablet; don't waste money on something because it is simply 'cheaper'

Cheap product = cheap hardware = unreliable software = you will be upset!



Long reply: I would check sales at a few different places after holidays for price reduction on over stock. If you need something now, there are some good deals on Toshiba and Asus laptops - both reliable brands in my experience for everything from basic browsing to heavy video game usage.

I like Dell because they have great customer support, however over the years the quality of their products has gone down.

The new surface tablet/laptop is very nice, a little expensive, not much storage in comparison to a traditional laptop; but it sounds like it would fit your needs while keeping you up to date with technology for a while.

People are moving away from laptops as the convenient portable computer, and pushing more towards tablets. With tons of free storage online via google and other companies, it's almost archaic to bother purchasing a lot of storage now a days.

Also, I like both Apple and Android tablets, they all serve their purpose. However, you will find better pricing on Android tablets because you aren't paying for the brand name like you do with mac.

Don't invest money on something ultra cheap and off brand. Have never used a Lenovo, I have not read any decent reliable reviews on them either in relation to anything aside from their Thinkpads.

i got an acer...this is my 2nd one only reason i got my first acer was cuz it was on sale lol but i went with acer for the 2nd time cuz i actually like it alot

#1 What are your needs?
#2 What is your budget?

#1 Very basic needs. It's just a secondary home computer.
#2 I'm a single mom. Cheaper is always better.

If you just need a little computer and use google apps like gmail, get a chromebook. They're super inexpensive, very light and great for email, browsing the web and that kind of stuff. Plus you can do all your word processing stuff online with google docs and google drive.

If you need more of a laptop because you use special software [more than just email, webbrowsing and word processing], go with ASUS, they have really quality stuff at a good price. Avoid Acer, HP and toshiba. Apple is way too expensive for what you get, but if you buy a refurbished one that can be worth it. Check their online store for the outlet and refurbished mac section

I use a Lenovo ThinkPad daily at work and was happy enough with them to order an IdeaPad for home and gaming use.

ASUS makes their own motherboards and has the heat issue worked out well. I stick with them for laptops usually (I prefer to buy a cheap $400 laptop every year instead of spending $8-1200 for a "great" one every few years... I get always newer technology and since the old ones dont usually die I have multiple ones to rely on! or swap parts if one does die).

It's so funny and interesting to me that Asus is known for both affordable and super expensive laptops! When people (outside of the gaming world, that is) find out I use an Asus for gaming they're shocked because they think I'm using a "$400 laptop" not a near $2,000 one (that I got on sale for $750 :P )