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How do you buy a good laptop these days?

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My laptop last night, decided to fry the graphics chip (while displaying a Mint screensavor no less, sad)

So I find myself in need of a new laptop.

I’m told the box stores are a bad place to look.

So where do you look for a laptop with a decent amount of power.
I basically need a desktop replacement laptop, so CPU power, graphics power, at least a decent sound (Though speakers are not as important as it will often be hooked up to a external sound system). Good amount of RAM because I multitask the crap out of my computers.
I would preferably like about 3 hours of battery life under meek usage (like watching a movie).
Preferably a 17 inch screen and full keyboard as I often use the system for development. I like sitting out on the balcony or while in a car and developing programs.
I do not care if it is a gloss or matte display.
HDD size is not a big issue, my last machine had 100 gigs and that was enough.

It needs to be at least a 5 year laptop, my last laptop, I bought refurbished, and it lasted 5 years, I expect a new laptop to do even better.

It also needs to work for windows and Linux. (Can’t lose my Mint system now…)

And lastly, I don’t have a lot to spend, 1000 to 1500 + taxes.

So where do I buy something like this?

I live in Manitoba, Canada.

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Clarifications

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

Clarifications

Personally

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

I go to the Dell Outlet Store, where they have refurbed, open-box, return, scratch and dent, etc.

But……

It looks like Dell does not offer the regular outlet store to Canada, but they do have their off-lease stuff:
http://dfsdirect.ca/

My last two Dell desktops were from the outlet store, and the last two laptops as well.

The Dell XPS or Studio machines sound kinda like what you need.

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Personally

I found one studio open box, it sounds not bad, but it has ATI graphics, so it would be Linux hostile, and a SS Drive, which is expensive and unnecessary for me.

Try on here…

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Try on here…

Wow, how about this one

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=637440&CatId=4938

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Try on here…

Ok, other than hard drive size, whats the difference between my last posting and this one?
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX34213(ME).aspx
This one is 100 dollars cheaper but has more HDD space.

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Try on here…

Oh, another good one, little less power, a lot less cost.
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7124324&csid=ITD&body=MAIN

I don’t know where these are sold in Canada

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

And they are only 15 Inch not 17 but they are the most powerful NB I’ve ever used and a great little unit.

I put them into Earthmover’s places who are as rough as guts on NB and these things just take a kicking and keep on ticking.

http://ca.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3793#sp

Col

Reponse To Answer

In reply to I don’t know where these are sold in Canada

This one looks good, but no price on it? Or I just don’t see it.

Reponse To Answer

In reply to I don’t know where these are sold in Canada

Here you would have to contact the Canadian Wholesaler for price and availability.

As to price it depends on the configuration as these NB???s will accept a 13/7 CPU and several other things.

But if this helps with a i7 CPU 8 GIG or RAM and several hundred Gig???s of HDD Space they sell here for about $900.00 AU.

Try the link that I provided as they will be able to help you with the price and availability in Canada. 😉

Col

Get a Toshiba Satellite Pro (Business grade) 17" widescreen

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

I got this pc 2 yrs ago using AirMiles — retail was about $1200 — http://www.amazon.ca/Toshiba-Satellite-Widescreen-Notebook-17-1-WXGA/dp/B001TGX54C

3MB Ram and I multitask a huge amount. Business grade heavy duty! Not too much crapware. Win came with option to load Vista Business Edn OR XP.

REALLY PLEASED!! Uptime is phenom… It has been at least 3 months since I have had to reboot!!!

I’d buy a newer version of the same brand… prices should still be under $1500 … or if used, a whole lot less. BTW, Win VistaBUSINESS EDN will be supported for 10 years!!!!

Reponse To Answer

In reply to Get a Toshiba Satellite Pro (Business grade) 17" widescreen

What kind of graphics power does it have?

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In reply to Get a Toshiba Satellite Pro (Business grade) 17" widescreen

Sadly, its ATI Mobility Radeon HD3470 — and as you said above, ATI and Linux don’t gel. Good Luck.

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In reply to Get a Toshiba Satellite Pro (Business grade) 17" widescreen

Thanks anyways 🙂

Lease turn-ins

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

Many companies lease equipment for a few years, then turn it in and lease something new. This is particularly true with leading-edge technology. They lease so they’re not tied in.

That’s good news if you’re looking for a new machine: High-end leased units are turned in after 3 years or so, and sold through many outlets. Bleeding-edge tech that’s 3 years old is usually a solid high-performance machine, and since they’re used/reconditioned, they’re available at substantial savings.

Buy from a reputable dealer or from the manufacturer, and look for a reasonable warranty.

I like NewEgg

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

They seem to have good prices but the best part is the detailed search. It is easy to find exactly what you are looking for. Good reviews too.

http://www.newegg.ca/

Just bought the following for my wife

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

HP ProBook 4520s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157673

She is a librarian (catalog/DB) and needed a business class machine with full keyboard/numpad and domain joinable (came with Win7pro.) Unfortunately Newegg has now deactivated this item. Graphics are OK but not a gaming PC. I paid under $600 including an 8Gig memory upgrade. She really likes it, and in three months of use hasn’t had any mechanical/electrical problems.

I really like the Lenovo Thinkpads. DELL business class machines are top-notch. I’ve had good experience with their older latitude -> inspiron crossovers, but some of their more recent offerings (XPS/Studio) seem a little wobbly.

Anyway I like Newegg esp the review section.

At your Price Point, I advise the following

In reply to How do you buy a good laptop these days?

If your multitasking is of the sort that taxes your processor, I would get the Intel i7 Chip, with no less than 8GB, but preferably more like 16GB.

You can also get into a nice i5 with similar ram, 17.3, and plenty of storage for 1K.

The box stores arent bad, but they do make a profit.

I just picked up an HP DV7, and run lots of software and no issues.

You can get a nice i7 processor, and 8GB of ram, nice 17.3 and 1/2 TB if disk, all on the 64bit version of Windows7, and it will be a dream.

Find it here at 1K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740%20600004346&IsNodeId=1&name=17%22%20-%2017.3%22

Reponse To Answer

In reply to At your Price Point, I advise the following

Thanks, I’ll have a look.

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