Buying an entry-level laptop -- recommendations?

[blank]

I need to buy an entry-level cheap laptop for my parents.

My mom uses a PC at work and I've suggested that she get a MacBook, but there might be some compatibility issues that I've read about and she's not very tech savvy, so it might not work best for her (i.e. Publisher, fonts, any other issues).

She would like a light PC with something like a 13" screen, not super chunky, but also it doesn't have to be super powerful. I'm of the mind that most of these things are the same at this price point, but if there is a recommendation I'd love to hear about it.

The computer only needs to do the basics, surf the internet, check email, run Office, etc.

Thanks!

 

[dtmt]

http://www.gotapex.com/ I've had two Dell laptops so far and had good luck with them. Coupon codes are readily available, so you can easily get one for 1/2 the price of a similarly equipped Mac. Not that I have anything against Macs, it's just that I refuse to pay $2500 for a Mac with the same specs I can get for $1300 in a Dell.

 

[WN2]

With cheap laptops there is only one rule: get the cheapest one from a large reputable manufacturer (Fujitsu, Dell, HP, whatever). They are pretty much all the same but you'll want the warranty.

 

[ghulkhan]

buy a mac for 1000 dollars. The MacBook with a gig of ram will cost you about 1100 I think. For the same amount you can buy a Dell with slighlty better specs but its going to break down on you and the Mac will last you a while.

Plus do you really need an higher end video card or insaenly high processor speeds. Not really. I think the MacBook with 1gb ram is fine for most things. Get the gig though..it helps out when you have a lot of stuff open and its not that much to upgrade to a gig or it migh already come wiht a gig baseline

 

[ghulkhan]

as for compatability,
What is she going to be doing?
Mac has Microsoft Office, its got much better publishing and graphics software then PC. Adobe just seems better on mac then on pc...

 

[Brian278]

I have a Dell laptop, and I've been really pleased for the money I spent on it. That being said, if I had to do it over again I'd spring for the Mac. After getting used to a friend's I was really impressed with the overall quality and the compatibility issues have become almost moot at this point for most people.

If your parents aren't tech savvy, I would probably stick with one of the basic PC laptops already suggested. A lot of middle-aged people took a while to figure out Windows in the first place and might not want to spend the time acclimating to a whole new operating system.

 

[Go Surface]

Originally Posted by ghulkhan

buy a mac for 1000 dollars. The MacBook with a gig of ram will cost you about 1100 I think. For the same amount you can buy a Dell with slighlty better specs but its going to break down on you and the Mac will last you a while.

Plus do you really need an higher end video card or insaenly high processor speeds. Not really. I think the MacBook with 1gb ram is fine for most things. Get the gig though..it helps out when you have a lot of stuff open and its not that much to upgrade to a gig or it migh already come wiht a gig baseline

What he said.

 

[DunderMifflin]

If your looking for a good entry level, I don't think you want to spend more than 700 or 800 bucks. I know HP makes quality laptops. I think Toshibas are pretty good too.

 

[Bradford]

I have an Averatec laptop for my schoolwork. They are readily available new on Ebay, relatively cheap and seems to be of quite good quality - at least it's worked for the last year with no problems

 

[DNW]

This seems to be a pretty good deal: Toshiba Satellite® A135-S2386 15.4" Widescreen Notebook Computer With Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T2080. It's $480 after $150 rebate. Upgrade the ram to 2GB for about $80-100 and you have a pretty solid laptop. I've had a Toshiba A135 series computer before and it was pretty well built.

 

[FLMountainMan]

Originally Posted by DarkNWorn

This seems to be a pretty good deal: Toshiba Satellite A135-S2386 15.4" Widescreen Notebook Computer With Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor T2080. It's $480 after $150 rebate. Upgrade the ram to 2GB for about $80-100 and you have a pretty solid laptop. I've had a Toshiba A135 series computer before and it was pretty well built.

Toshibas are really good laptops, high quality, I'm on my third one. The customer service, however, is absolutely atrocious. The first and only time I have cursed out a customer service rep was with a Toshiba person.

 

[blank]

I think I'm going to get her a Dell Latitude. That's what she has now and it has worked great, so I see no need to mess with what works. Available <$1000 as well.

 

[Journeyman]

My wife and I have both used Toshiba laptops for years - primarily Japan-sourced Dynabook-series models.

We've had no problems with them whatsoever, and from what I've heard from others, this is entirely normal, as Toshiba has a very sound reputation as a reliable manufacturer of laptops.

You do sometimes have to pay a premium for them, however.
In the Japanese market, at least, they are often a fair bit more expensive than models by Sharp or other Japanese brands.

I only have experience with Dell through work, and whilst they generally perform satisfactorily, they do seem to have a higher failure rate than I would have hoped.
Our other work computers are Acer, and the Dells seem to conk out about twice as often as the Acers.

 

[oscarthewild]

This may get some flack but I bought a used IBM from IBM
http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2576396
for someone starting college. Not the most powerful and newest, but nicely built. Have heard that some of the T40 had motherboard problems though.

 

[DNW]

Originally Posted by oscarthewild

This may get some flack but I bought a used IBM from IBM
http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/st...goryId=2576396
for someone starting college. Not the most powerful and newest, but nicely built. Have heard that some of the T40 had motherboard problems though.

The IBM Thinkpad series are some of the most durable and well built laptops made. When it comes to a business laptop, I wouldn't hesitate picking up a T-series over any other laptop on the market. BTW, the service is top notch too.