MagisterCultuum
Great Sage
The HP Pavillion dv6-2088dx that I have been using since December 2009 recently died. (Luckily, I backed up every file I care about on an external hard drive the night before it crashed.) Apparently the integrated video card overheated enough to melt the solder holding it to the motherboard and caused enough damage to require replacing the motherboard as a whole. (The guy as the shop where I took it for a free diagnostic said that the model had a design flaw where the solder melted at an unusually low temperature.) At it would cost at least $245+tax to fix it, I figure I'm better off getting a new one. It might be a different story if
Currently I am typing on my previous laptop, the Toshiba Satelite P106 that I got back in 2006 before starting college. I got the HP because the screen on this machine was slowly failing. I thought it would be dead by now, but actually has not changed much in the past 2 years. Still, its screen is rather dim and has an inch on the right that is pure black, 2 inches next to that that display things pale a blurry, and about 125 vertical lines of random colors that are rather distracting. It handled Civ IV fine when it was new (despite saying it was below recommendations), but these days struggles on even the smallest maps.
I would like to purchase a new machine soon, but am on a tight budget. My last two laptops were Graduation or Christmas presents, but this one I will have to pay for myself. My current savings total almost exactly $400. I also have a $20 gift card to Best Buy, and have convinced mom to chip in $50 as an Easter present. As I am currently living at home I have no other expenses, but as I am still looking for work I also have no source of income.
I graduated from Georgia Tech at in December of 2010 with a degree in civil engineering, and am still looking primarily for work in that field. It would be nice to have a home laptop that could handle programs like AutoCAD once I get a job, even though I'm sure most of that kind of work would be done on a different machine at work. For the time being, the most processor and graphics intensive program I would be using is Civ IV. I am not the most hard core gamer, but I definitely want a machine that is good enough for playtesting my modmod of the Fall from Heaven 2 mod for Civ IV. It would also be used for viewing a fair amount of streaming video, and of course basic email and forum browsing.
I definitely like having a number pad, and while I was fine with the 16" widescreen of my dead computer I was happier with the 17" screen of this one when it worked properly. I don't need anything super portable, just enough to take with me to different rooms of my house.
What kind of laptops would you recommend?
When I asked the guy at the repair shop for any recommendations about laptops under $400, his first recommendation was not to buy one. He said that entry level starts at $450 and most things below that are poorly made. When I mentioned a few I had been looking at on the BestBuy website, he said he would steer clear of the $379.99 Toshibas (claiming their low end merchandise is unreliable) but might consider the $349.99 Asus a good deal. It turns out that BestBuy sold out of that model everywhere near me and they are not available for shipping, but NewEgg.com offers the same thing with 50% more ram for $379.99. (That was brought to my attention by someone in my modmod's thread.) This model is in my budget and seems to have overwhelmingly positive reviews. I particularly like that its USB3 port would allow me to use my USB3 external hard drive much faster. I am not sure that its processor of graphics are good enough thou
When I stopped by BestBuy a salesman convinced me that this Toshiba is best suited for my needs. After bit of research online though, I found that he seemed to have lied about a couple things. He claimed that it had a dedicated graphics card which could not ruin my motherboard if it failed. My research shows that the AMD Radeon HD 6520G is integrated rather than discrete and could not be replaced separately like he claimed. It does however seem to be universally agreed that the AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon HD 6520G graphics is superior to the Intel Pentium B960 2.2GHz with Intel HD 3000 graphics. The reviews for this model seem mixed. One half say it is a great deal and functions well, while the other half complain of poor quality control and customer service once it breaks.
He may have misrepresented their offer of 18 month 0 interest financing too, or maybe I just misunderstood. It sounded like there would be no payments for 18 months rather than no interest so long as monthly payments are made. He also claimed I could get it on that $400 model even though it actually only applies on purchases of $429+ (about $1.02 more than the laptop would cost including tax). I might still be eligible if I purchase a cooling pad (which I am planning on getting anyway) from them at the same time too though.
The guy at the repair shop also said that I should look into refurbished computers, claiming that quality control only tests 1 in 10 new computers but every single refurbished machine. I haven't actually come across many good deals on refurbished models though. I am considering this one, even though it is not within my current budget, because of the 0 interest 18 month financing. Even if I have terrible luck in the job market, I could get enough money for Christmas and my Birthday to pay it off before I completely deplete my savings.
Also, what cooling pads would you recommend? I strongly prefer being able to use my laptop on my lap when sitting and on my stomach when lying in bed watching streaming tv, so I don't want anything with exposed blades on the bottom. So far the only ones that would seem to work for me are the Targus Lap Chill Mat and the Logitech N200 Laptop Cooling Pad. I have actually been keeping my laptops on top of that Targus model for years, even though its cord broke as soon as its 1 year warranty expired. I am comfortable with getting the same thing again, although the longer warranty, dual speed fans, and off switch of the Logitech sound nice. (The repairman recommended a Logitech Lapdesk with dual fans, and off switch, and spare USB ports for about that same price, but it does not appear that such a model exists. I do not have the money to spend on their lapdesk that includes speakers, and prefer to use headphones anyway.)
Edit: I just remembered that I get 5% cash back this month at Amazon.com on one of my credit cards, so good deals there would be especially appreciated.
Currently I am typing on my previous laptop, the Toshiba Satelite P106 that I got back in 2006 before starting college. I got the HP because the screen on this machine was slowly failing. I thought it would be dead by now, but actually has not changed much in the past 2 years. Still, its screen is rather dim and has an inch on the right that is pure black, 2 inches next to that that display things pale a blurry, and about 125 vertical lines of random colors that are rather distracting. It handled Civ IV fine when it was new (despite saying it was below recommendations), but these days struggles on even the smallest maps.
I would like to purchase a new machine soon, but am on a tight budget. My last two laptops were Graduation or Christmas presents, but this one I will have to pay for myself. My current savings total almost exactly $400. I also have a $20 gift card to Best Buy, and have convinced mom to chip in $50 as an Easter present. As I am currently living at home I have no other expenses, but as I am still looking for work I also have no source of income.
I graduated from Georgia Tech at in December of 2010 with a degree in civil engineering, and am still looking primarily for work in that field. It would be nice to have a home laptop that could handle programs like AutoCAD once I get a job, even though I'm sure most of that kind of work would be done on a different machine at work. For the time being, the most processor and graphics intensive program I would be using is Civ IV. I am not the most hard core gamer, but I definitely want a machine that is good enough for playtesting my modmod of the Fall from Heaven 2 mod for Civ IV. It would also be used for viewing a fair amount of streaming video, and of course basic email and forum browsing.
I definitely like having a number pad, and while I was fine with the 16" widescreen of my dead computer I was happier with the 17" screen of this one when it worked properly. I don't need anything super portable, just enough to take with me to different rooms of my house.
What kind of laptops would you recommend?
When I asked the guy at the repair shop for any recommendations about laptops under $400, his first recommendation was not to buy one. He said that entry level starts at $450 and most things below that are poorly made. When I mentioned a few I had been looking at on the BestBuy website, he said he would steer clear of the $379.99 Toshibas (claiming their low end merchandise is unreliable) but might consider the $349.99 Asus a good deal. It turns out that BestBuy sold out of that model everywhere near me and they are not available for shipping, but NewEgg.com offers the same thing with 50% more ram for $379.99. (That was brought to my attention by someone in my modmod's thread.) This model is in my budget and seems to have overwhelmingly positive reviews. I particularly like that its USB3 port would allow me to use my USB3 external hard drive much faster. I am not sure that its processor of graphics are good enough thou
When I stopped by BestBuy a salesman convinced me that this Toshiba is best suited for my needs. After bit of research online though, I found that he seemed to have lied about a couple things. He claimed that it had a dedicated graphics card which could not ruin my motherboard if it failed. My research shows that the AMD Radeon HD 6520G is integrated rather than discrete and could not be replaced separately like he claimed. It does however seem to be universally agreed that the AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M Accelerated Processor with AMD Radeon HD 6520G graphics is superior to the Intel Pentium B960 2.2GHz with Intel HD 3000 graphics. The reviews for this model seem mixed. One half say it is a great deal and functions well, while the other half complain of poor quality control and customer service once it breaks.
He may have misrepresented their offer of 18 month 0 interest financing too, or maybe I just misunderstood. It sounded like there would be no payments for 18 months rather than no interest so long as monthly payments are made. He also claimed I could get it on that $400 model even though it actually only applies on purchases of $429+ (about $1.02 more than the laptop would cost including tax). I might still be eligible if I purchase a cooling pad (which I am planning on getting anyway) from them at the same time too though.
The guy at the repair shop also said that I should look into refurbished computers, claiming that quality control only tests 1 in 10 new computers but every single refurbished machine. I haven't actually come across many good deals on refurbished models though. I am considering this one, even though it is not within my current budget, because of the 0 interest 18 month financing. Even if I have terrible luck in the job market, I could get enough money for Christmas and my Birthday to pay it off before I completely deplete my savings.
Also, what cooling pads would you recommend? I strongly prefer being able to use my laptop on my lap when sitting and on my stomach when lying in bed watching streaming tv, so I don't want anything with exposed blades on the bottom. So far the only ones that would seem to work for me are the Targus Lap Chill Mat and the Logitech N200 Laptop Cooling Pad. I have actually been keeping my laptops on top of that Targus model for years, even though its cord broke as soon as its 1 year warranty expired. I am comfortable with getting the same thing again, although the longer warranty, dual speed fans, and off switch of the Logitech sound nice. (The repairman recommended a Logitech Lapdesk with dual fans, and off switch, and spare USB ports for about that same price, but it does not appear that such a model exists. I do not have the money to spend on their lapdesk that includes speakers, and prefer to use headphones anyway.)
Edit: I just remembered that I get 5% cash back this month at Amazon.com on one of my credit cards, so good deals there would be especially appreciated.
