Need Advice - Laptop

[Pokey]

So I've decided to get a laptop. Need to set it up for wireless. It will be used for surfing (no d/l) and simple excel/word stuff. No heavy games, no heavy photoshop etc.

Spending 500-550 (plus tax, delivery, PDI, etc j/k)

I know that pretty much anything on the market will do the trick, but is there any brands out there to stay away from? What's a good store to get one - I'm thinking Canacomputers - or would a best buy have better deals?

I also need a wireless N router. Again, what would be a good brand to get? Any brands to run from? Router spend is approx $100.

What else (besides a mouse) will I need?

Thanks for the input :)

[hastiej]

i have three Laptops. a gateway that is the main system in my house, can game as well. a Toshiba Tablet running Ubuntu, and an HP workstation for work.

All three brands run well. ACER makes some decent cheap systems, but have no expereince with them. I'm somewhat of an HP fan boy, as my company gets everything from HP

I'd check out tigerdirect, they sometimes have some sweet deals.

[SilentJay]

A lot of it depends on what the person's experience is with each brand... Personally, I would steer far FAR far away from HP/Compaq. Cheaply-made, poorly-built, supported by numbskulls.

- Acer/Gateway is the same company, which is "meh"
- Dell is half-decent
- Lenovo are nice machines, but pricey
- Sony are pretty computers, but heaven have mercy on your soul if you need repairs/replacement parts
- Toshiba, my personal pick of the pack, offers a good range of options from basic to ultra-mega-super-desktop-replacement


Edit: Not wanting to poke holes in what hastiej has stated, I would warn against purchasing from Tiger Direct, from what i've experienced/heard first hand.

[MPS]

im selling my HP HDX16 if u want its mint just got it this summer

[stillmatic]

I would recommend looking into Asus. My family has bought 3 laptops from this brand and they never had any problems.

[mcordy]

I would recommend looking into Asus. My family has bought 3 laptops from this brand and they never had any problems.

+1

If you buy Asus from an authorized reseller you get a 2 year warrantee The first year is accidental (meaning water damage, drops etc are all covered.) I repair laptops for a living (www.npinc.ca) and let me tell you Asus and Fujitsu are by far the most reliable systems on the market.

[stevenma188]

I would stay away from Acer/E-Machine/Gateway, as I've personally had very very bad experiences with the 3.

[Pokey]

im selling my HP HDX16 if u want its mint just got it this summer

Thanks, but this one's coming from 'santa' so it's gotta be new :)

[Pokey]

I would recommend looking into Asus. My family has bought 3 laptops from this brand and they never had any problems.

Thanks, haven't considered them yet. So far saw a samsung that looked nice (futureshop)... going to Costco this weekend to look around.

Keep the ideas coming.

[rob3]

personally, i would skip a laptop and just get the samsung tablet. It's on the android OS, you can browse surf, watch video, make calls over 3g or wifi, take pictures or video and it has flash, you can also make changes to word documents, excel, and pdfs. It also supports a variety of other things. But i like it, or i would go with a netbook and use google chrome os. Cloud is awesome

[Pokey]

^^ a 9 year old will be a key user on this. I need something that sits on a desk but looks nice and clean. That's why we'll also be getting a cordless mouse.

re: asus - expensive from what I've seen so far!

[mcordy]

^^ a 9 year old will be a key user on this. I need something that sits on a desk but looks nice and clean. That's why we'll also be getting a cordless mouse.

re: asus - expensive from what I've seen so far!

With any electronics you really get what you pay for..

[Jackal]

As for location, try Canada computers. I feel they have very knowledgeable staff. Dell and Toshiba are OK imho.

[crazyfast82]

I second the statement that you get what you pay for. Having said that - Toshiba makes some a good value product. They are not the lightest laptops out there, but are made very well for what you pay for them. I'd stay away from Future Shop when buying a laptop.... I made the mistake of buying a desktop from them about 10 years ago, it didn't last a year and spent the better part of a month fighting with them to get it replaced.

[bluemazda3]

A lot of it depends on what the person's experience is with each brand... Personally, I would steer far FAR far away from HP/Compaq. Cheaply-made, poorly-built, supported by numbskulls.

- Acer/Gateway is the same company, which is "meh"
- Dell is half-decent
- Lenovo are nice machines, but pricey
- Sony are pretty computers, but heaven have mercy on your soul if you need repairs/replacement parts
- Toshiba, my personal pick of the pack, offers a good range of options from basic to ultra-mega-super-desktop-replacement


Edit: Not wanting to poke holes in what hastiej has stated, I would warn against purchasing from Tiger Direct, from what i've experienced/heard first hand.

I bought my Lenovo from Tigerdirect... it was on sale for a pretty good price..

[Pokey]

As for location, try Canada computers. I feel they have very knowledgeable staff. Dell and Toshiba are OK imho.

Thanks, we'll give them a shot tomorrow :)

[Pokey]

I second the statement that you get what you pay for. Having said that - Toshiba makes some a good value product. They are not the lightest laptops out there, but are made very well for what you pay for them.

Toshiba seems reasonably priced (in the 5-600 range) and I don't care about the weight since it's not being used for travel and such, so an extra 1 lb sitting on the desk doesn't hurt.



I'd stay away from Future Shop when buying a laptop.... I made the mistake of buying a desktop from them about 10 years ago, it didn't last a year and spent the better part of a month fighting with them to get it replaced.

Yeah, that's where we bought our first vcr... lasted 13 months (12moth warranty).

Sounds like canadacomputers here I come!

[XTOTHEL]

I would say get a laptop from a Costco, if anything goes wrong with it or if you don't like it, you can always take advantage of their return policy. I have a toshiba laptop and it's been strong for at least 4-5 years. It's been taken apart numerous times.

[SilentJay]

Costco also doubles warranty on electronics!

[Pokey]

Costco also doubles warranty on electronics!

Just went today :( disappointed with the selection. I'll have to check online as maybe there's more there....

[Snotrocket]

i got wireless routers all over the place... all pretty much new.. get you one cheap......

[XTOTHEL]

i got wireless routers all over the place... all pretty much new.. get you one cheap......
anything good?

[zoso]

Honestly i'v saving up to get a Lenovo T series (T410) laptop, been using a t400 for the past 2 years at work, and these things get abused at my work and they don't fail (well rarely) but the performance and battery life is the best part they last forever

[bluemazda3]

Im impressed with my Lenovo so far.. sturdy and reliable..

[Snotrocket]

anything good?

They all work great.

[Pokey]

i got wireless routers all over the place... all pretty much new.. get you one cheap......

Thanks - this is the cheapest part - the N300 routers are now $49.99 (can't remember brand name) so driving to GTA is iffy. (Hamilton during the day - bit of a drive especially with traffic) :(