i need a new laptop...

[Colleen&Kail]

any rec's?

i dont want a mac, im not a computer person, i know nothing technical about them. all i know is that i need one that does everything, with lots of memory.

i use mine to store pics, run photoshop, email, internet, word etc...

and would LOVE to keep it under $500

TIA!

[meeg124]

Check out www.tigerdirect.com or www.buy.com or Dell. That is where Scott buys all the equipment for the City (and us). Scott says if you're going to be doing a lot of graphics processing (photoshop) you'll want to spend more than $500. To quote him "the cheaper the laptop, the more repairs that are necessary".

[Michelle28]

Why not MAC?

[lornabrown]

I have a mac book that I love. My dh has one of those mini pc laptops. The mouse pad drives me nuts but otherwise it has worked well for him. He only uses it for email & internet so no experience with standard programs on it.
It was definitely under $500. My mom got it for him as a gift from Radio Shack.

[Colleen&Kail]

Why not MAC?

i am totally a PC girl.

my sister has one, and i can barley get on my email. its so foreign to me i cant get used to it, plus arent they more $?

[Michelle28]

i am totally a PC girl.

my sister has one, and i can barley get on my email. its so foreign to me i cant get used to it, plus arent they more $?

I vowed to never buy a MAC Book, but last year my husband convinced me with all the graphics/video/phots options. I'm forever hooked. :) Just sayin' :)

We have a PC upstairs and the MAC Book floats around downstairs. Yes, they are more money, but I think in the long run you don't spend as much on repairs... That is just my observation...

We bought our PC at Circuit City - not much help since they went out of business... maybe Best Buy?

[Colleen&Kail]

thanx!

[khanson]

I've been happy with my Dell Vostro. I've had it for about 2 years and have not had any problems with it. I'm pretty sure it was about 500.

[juliansmom]

i would never get a dell again. All 3 of our company dells died within 3 years, it was ugly. To replace it, I got an HP which I like. They are geared more towards photo and video. Dh got a Sony Vaio which has nice video view quality.

[lovesthebaby]

I have a Dell and I don't like it, I don't think the quality is great. It's three years old and some of the keys on the keyboard stick, the memory card reader is broken and the keyboard was replaced after about 6 months because the mouse stopped working. I know you said you don't want a Mac, but that would be my recommendation. I had one for work when I taught and fell in love! It never crashed, died or broke and it was easy to get used to after a little while.

[meeg124]

Just a message from my resident computer geek... he says to plan on replacing your computer about every 3 years.

[juliansmom]

Just a message from my resident computer geek... he says to plan on replacing your computer about every 3 years.

well okay, voluntarily because of obsolescence but not because it died an ugly crash and burn death:tongue My HP is going on 5 years now and just starting to show its age problems.

[KaisaG]

I had a Dell and it was a POS - gave me nothing but problems. I switched to a Mac after I found out that they have a longer life than PCs. Yes, there is a learning curve, but they offer better security and have an average life of 8yr compared to 5 for a PC. Plus, for me to upgrade my memory is $50 - cheap! When you think about it like that, Mac's are probably cheaper in the long run. The one downfall is replacing all your software.

[Colleen&Kail]

i have a dell laptop now, its going on its 5th year and its about dead. i have a virus that i cant get off of it so it crashes, and its not worth paying someone to fix it.

[becky]

I have used only DELL computers for the last 9 years and I love them. I agree with Scott that for the most part plan on replacing your computer every 3 years. Technology just changes so much that its usually time for an upgrade.

I have a $5,000 plus machine and when I got it I was very hesitant to spend that much money on a PC so I opted to get the Dell Gold package. When something went out, which like with all technology nothing lasts forever, the gold package not only replaced any parts free of charge but they also sent a guy over to do it for me. Right before Shelsea was born (the computer was 3 years old by then) my stupid raid went out. Technology had changed quite a bit by then so they had trouble fixing the problem but after sending someone out 3 times Dell just gave me a whole new computer. The one I have now is 3 years old and still runs like a dream with no problems. I have only had to reformat once because I got a virus.

I can totally see how people would hate Dell or PC but I love mine. If it wouldn't cost me $3,000 to buy all new software on top of a new machine I would consider going to MAC but for now I'm all PC :)

[becky]

Oh I should also add that my folks have a DELL going on 5 years now and they don't have any problems with their computer at all.

[kholden]

My husband takes care of buying all the electronics, but I know he likes a site called NewEgg.com. They have great deals and lots of reviews.

[MamaLaura]

Mine crashed in December, just before Christmas. I had had it several years. I needed something, but figured it would be a while as I didn't have the money for one. My mom got me a Toshiba for Christmas, as a surprise. I know it wasn't very expensive, but it does the job and I really do like it. Part of why I like it so much, though, I think is that it has Windows 7 which I'm loving.

[Leigh]

well okay, voluntarily because of obsolescence but not because it died an ugly crash and burn death:tongue My HP is going on 5 years now and just starting to show its age problems.

I have a 5 year old Toshiba and it is just starting to show age problems too. "only" 2 GB of memory with no more room to upgrade.

Colleen, I agree with the others to avoid Dell at this point in time. Consider a Toshiba or Acer!

.

[lornabrown]

FYI - If you are even thinking about a Mac - you can make an appointment at the store in the mall and someone will give you the complete rundown.

I only switched to a mac at home after I got sick of all the viruses

[MamaLaura]

Marni just got a Mac and she takes these like one-on-one class things at the Mac store, teaching her the ins and outs of the computer and its software. She's loving it.

I've been told by multiple people, though I'm not sure if it's true, that the main reason Macs aren't plagued by viruses like PCs is just that they aren't as popular, numbers wise, and so people don't write viruses for them as often as they do for PCs. Malicious people want to hit as many people as possible with those things, so they target PCs because most people have those versus Macs. Not sure how true it is, but I've been told by several people :dunno

As far as PCs, I think HP is going to be the highest quality/most expensive? Pricing will be very similar to Mac's for a comparable product.

[MamaLaura]

This article was on Yahoo this morning http://shopping.yahoo.com/articles/yshoppingarticles/406/best-laptops-under-500/