Solved! Help Selecting General Use Laptop ($500 to $600)

[Guest]

My sister is selling her old laptop and selecting a new one and I told her I would help her find the right one within her budget and needs.

1_What is your budget?

$500 to $600

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

13" to 16"

3_What screen resolution do you want?

No clue? Educate me on what the difference is. I mean if I want to play HD Movies, is there a minimum resolution I need or may want?

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

No?

5_How much battery life do you need?

Battery life is a big deal for her. She is unsatisfied with her Sony Vaio which lasts 2-3 hours. So about 5+ hours is required.

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Nope, no games, and if ever, low would be more than fine.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)

Multi-tasking with web surfing, watching HD movies, streaming hulu.com type of websites full screen without lag.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?

100GB to 250GB will suffice, mostly just pictures, music, documents, and of course basic applications will be on this hard drive.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

I prefer newegg or tigerdirect, but am open to anything (even ebay).

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?

This laptop should stand on its own for at least 3 years. Durability is important.

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

A DVD ROM drive is important for portable movies.

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

I have heard a lot of good things about Acer.. other brands I hear a lot of mixed opinions. Any insight is welcome.

13_What country do you live in?

United States

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

We plan on selling her Sony Vaio laptop on ebay before purchasing this laptop. I may post the specs later to get an idea of how much money it is worth.

 

[Maziar]

Dell Studio 14 would be a good choice
http/configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dncwps1&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&kc=laptop-studio-1450
Make sure you configure it with a 9cell battery life though.

 

[IsabellaWinTeam]

My sister is selling her old laptop and selecting a new one and I told her I would help her find the right one within her budget and needs.

1_What is your budget?

$500 to $600

2_What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

13" to 16"

3_What screen resolution do you want?

No clue? Educate me on what the difference is. I mean if I want to play HD Movies, is there a minimum resolution I need or may want?

4_Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

No?

5_How much battery life do you need?

Battery life is a big deal for her. She is unsatisfied with her Sony Vaio which lasts 2-3 hours. So about 5+ hours is required.

6_Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Nope, no games, and if ever, low would be more than fine.

7_What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)

Multi-tasking with web surfing, watching HD movies, streaming hulu.com type of websites full screen without lag.

8_How much storage (H.D.D Capacity) do you need?

100GB to 250GB will suffice, mostly just pictures, music, documents, and of course basic applications will be on this hard drive.

9_If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

I prefer newegg or tigerdirect, but am open to anything (even ebay).

10_How long do you want to keep your laptop?

This laptop should stand on its own for at least 3 years. Durability is important.

11_What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

A DVD ROM drive is important for portable movies.

12_Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

I have heard a lot of good things about Acer.. other brands I hear a lot of mixed opinions. Any insight is welcome.

13_What country do you live in?

United States

14_Please tell us any additional information if needed.

We plan on selling her Sony Vaio laptop on ebay before purchasing this laptop. I may post the specs later to get an idea of how much money it is worth.

Hi there,

Not many laptops will have more than 5 hours of battery life unless you upgrade to a bigger battery. Keep in mind that a bigger battery will add a significant amount of weight to the laptop. That being said, you may want to check out the Dell Studio 15. It is slightly out of your price range at $649 but it is great for watching movies on and it has a fast processor, 500 GB hard drive space, and 4 GB RAM. You can upgrade to a 9 cell battery if you are looking for it to last longer.

Cheers,
Isabella
MSFT Windows Outreach Team

 

[steadfast1984]

5-600 dollars is gonna get you a base line computer at the bottom of the quality list. unless you score one used.