Looking for a new laptop

[tb1223]

I'm technologically inept, so I'm looking for some recommendations.

Price range: ~1000, possibly willing to go a bit higher.

Only major technical requirement is that it be optimal for watching movies. Picture quality should be stunning. Blu-ray drive preferred. Should be able to stream HD from Netflix and other sites with no problems. Large screen a must.

Speaker quality isn't that important, I use headphones most of the time.

I'm not a gamer, so massive processing power is not necessary.

Weight/portability not a major concern.

I've been a PC guy up until now, but would be open to trying a Mac.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[KKreme15]

Look at some HPs, I have one and it's pretty quality.

[A Blind Guy]

xoticpc.com

[Crystazul]

I have a Mac and I am very happy with it. I'm not one of those "anti-Mcrosoft or Macs or the highway" type of people but my mom had one she enjoyed at the time I was shopping so I went with it.

I'll start out with the cons:

Assuming you don't plan to play games and such, Microsoft office applications will really be the only thing that will give you trouble. None of my programs ever crash or freeze up, except the Microsoft Office suite which does quite often. The cases when it freezes up are predictable however so as long as you don't "make it angry" then you will be fine.

Battery wise Macs tend to have better life than most PC's although in my third year with my Mac the battery life has deteriorated to 2.5 hours or 3 hours max under extreme conditions, so don't expect the batteries to be invincible. When I first bought mine it was definitely capable of at least 6 hours.

What I like:

With start-up and general use it is just as fast as the day I bought it. Most PC's in my experience has a progressive slow down to the point where two years later it takes you 10 minutes to turn it on and open up Firefox...

Time Machine. This really is a life saver and probably the best overall feature. Plug a hard drive into your laptop whenever you are home and it will automatically sync with your Mac. It then keeps a chronological history if everything you had one your mac at any point in time you have synced so if you need to you can completely reset your Mac to that point in time. This is helpful if you have the Apple care plan and you do anything to damage your Mac. Simply take it in and they will repair it, plug in Time Machine and it will load everything exactly how it was.

Apple Support. Best customer support out there. First and foremost when you call apply you are getting an American on the other end of the phone who can clearly and effectively communicate to you. Furthermore, they know their sh*t. You will not be getting someone over in India names "John" (really...?) who can't understand you let alone you can't understand them. (nothing against Indians but companies who farm out their customer service like that are irresponsible).

If you think you might be interested I wouldn't buy one now however. Rumor has it Apple will be pushing out a revamped Mac Book Pro soon. It will resemble the Mac Book Air with no optical drive but it will still have a normal HDD. This means increased battery power so subsequently increased processing and graphics.

Baseline Mac is $1199 though so I understand if that is pricy. Good luck in your search!

[A Blind Guy]

I got my PC two summers ago and it's still as fast as ever.

I frequently clean it up though.

For my next PC I'm definitely getting ubuntu and dual running windows for everything else I need.

[UWO]

I would check out Asus, Toshiba, and Lenovo. I have had an Asus for about 2 years and have had no problems whatsoever.

[The Hammer]

Buying a PC because of brand alone is silly. For what you say you want there's no reason you should need to spend a grand. Just look for a 17 inch laptop with the niceSt panel you can find.

[Milesofsmiles15]

Do you need a laptop? Why not build a desktop?

[tb1223]

Thanks for the info everyone. MoS, I actually was thinking I might go for a desktop instead, that way I can get a bigger monitor. Thinking about making a trip to Best Buy this afternoon.

[Milesofsmiles15]

Thanks for the info everyone. MoS, I actually was thinking I might go for a desktop instead, that way I can get a bigger monitor. Thinking about making a trip to Best Buy this afternoon.

If you end up with a desktop for sure build it.

Incredibly easy to put it together, just takes a little research to pick out parts.

[The Hammer]

Some what related to this thread, I just upgraded my laptop's RAM from 4 to 8GB and put in an SSD. This is awesome:D

[NZer]

Cool, I so want that.

[phantomtofu]

If you're still considering a laptop,
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7171667&CatId=4938

This one has the best screen you're going to get without spending double on the 17" macbook pro. It also comes with a 1-year accidental damage warranty (along with the standard 2-year warranty). The graphics card will allow you to play any game out there if you're into that, though top-end games like BF3 only on medium settings. Also, it has a backlit keyboard. Those are nice to have.

If you do go desktop, building one is actually pretty simple as MOS said. I (and others) could help you find compatible parts, then it's just a few screws and plugs.

[TeamOrange]

If you're still considering a laptop,
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7171667&CatId=4938

This one has the best screen you're going to get without spending double on the 17" macbook pro. It also comes with a 1-year accidental damage warranty (along with the standard 2-year warranty). The graphics card will allow you to play any game out there if you're into that, though top-end games like BF3 only on medium settings. Also, it has a backlit keyboard. Those are nice to have.

If you do go desktop, building one is actually pretty simple as MOS said. I (and others) could help you find compatible parts, then it's just a few screws and plugs.

Looks like a lot of unnecessary stuff that drives up the price. You don't need 8 gigs of ram to run streams/movies. You also don't need 1 TB of hard-drive, ~250-300 should be fine and if you run out of space, just get an external hard drive if you run out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834157822

This is what I have, says it is out of stock on newegg but plenty of places have them. I use it for the same things you do: movies, stream, downloading stuff, etc. And you should be fine with anything that is 15+ inches. I would also invest in a HDMI cable (don't spend more than 10 bucks) and a TV that has an HDMI connection. You can hook up your laptop to you TV and call it a day.

[FastLane]

I need a laptop for college. Ill probably need a mac. Any suggestions on the top Macs? I know nothing about computers

[phantomtofu]

I need a laptop for college. Ill probably need a mac. Any suggestions on the top Macs? I know nothing about computers

The 4th sentence pretty much explains why you think the 2nd sentence. If you really want a Mac, go to your nearest apple store or Best Buy and see what you like best.

However, I'd recommend something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127578
if you're looking for small, sleek, fast, and long battery life. Or even better, check slickdeals.net periodically and if you see one you like, check the reviews before buying and save a few hundred bucks for food.

[FastLane]

The 4th sentence pretty much explains why you think the 2nd sentence. If you really want a Mac, go to your nearest apple store or Best Buy and see what you like best.

However, I'd recommend something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834127578
if you're looking for small, sleek, fast, and long battery life. Or even better, check slickdeals.net periodically and if you see one you like, check the reviews before buying and save a few hundred bucks for food.

I mean I think my college very strongly recommends we get a Mac. Are Macs known to be worse than others?
Thanks for the help though!

[RunFreer]

I need a laptop for college. Ill probably need a mac. Any suggestions on the top Macs? I know nothing about computers

1) You don't need a mac, if you actually use a computer at school you will probably need a Windows laptop.

2) I would honestly get a Macbook Air, seeing as you will only need it for typing up papers--mobility trumps everything. Plus it boots up in 10 seconds and programs take no time to start.

[phantomtofu]

I mean I think my college very strongly recommends we get a Mac. Are Macs known to be worse than others?
Thanks for the help though!

If you get a macbook pro, you may want to wait til near the end of the summer.
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/05/report-new-thin.php

Yes, I spend about 4 hours a day browsing around tech sites while watching tv (top gear right now) in the other window.

[The Hammer]

If you get a macbook pro, you may want to wait til near the end of the summer.
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/05/report-new-thin.php

Yes, I spend about 4 hours a day browsing around tech sites while watching tv (top gear right now) in the other window.

Me too:) ESPN.

[RunFreer]

Me too:) ESPN.

The Macbook Pro line is going to refresh sometime this summer. They will be thinner, faster, and stronger. More powerful than ever before. Like Solinsky.

[Crystazul]

The Macbook Pro line is going to refresh sometime this summer. They will be thinner, faster, and stronger. More powerful than ever before. Like Solinsky.

So after a year or so of working successfully it will become damaged and irrelevant?

[RunFreer]

So after a year or so of working successfully it will become damaged and irrelevant?

Exactly. Maybe their more like Kenyan XC runners. They last about 2-3 years before someone else is faster and better than they.

[geds]

from a virus permanently damaging the hard drive. I could invest ~$250 to get a used hard drive and continue on, but decided to invest in a Toshiba Ultrabook instead. My daughter bought one a couple of months ago and I was impressed with the speed (boot up and operating) and the incredibly light weight!

Just now getting everything reloaded and back up drive situated. So far, the only complaint is the space bar seems to miss - I just haven't gotten used to hitting the keys harder.

[phantomtofu]

from a virus permanently damaging the hard drive. I could invest ~$250 to get a used hard drive and continue on, but decided to invest in a Toshiba Ultrabook instead. My daughter bought one a couple of months ago and I was impressed with the speed (boot up and operating) and the incredibly light weight!

Just now getting everything reloaded and back up drive situated. So far, the only complaint is the space bar seems to miss - I just haven't gotten used to hitting the keys harder.

Man, I want an ultrabook... But between my phone and my desktop, I've got my needs covered too well to justify the purchase.

On another note,

Don't throw away that Sony (unless it's at least 3-4 years old). A new hard drive is closer to $100 dollars. You could probably at least sell the laptop in your local classifieds for $100 or so.

[themanontherun]

If you get a macbook pro, you may want to wait til near the end of the summer.
http://dvice.com/archives/2012/05/report-new-thin.php

Yes, I spend about 4 hours a day browsing around tech sites while watching tv (top gear right now) in the other window.

Is this ^^^ this VVV ?

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/features/13-and-15-inch/

[SGT. RAPTOR]

hope this helps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njos57IJf-0&

[phantomtofu]

Is this ^^^ this VVV ?

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/features/13-and-15-inch/

Yes.