I know this is weird coming from the youngest guy on the forum but I need a new laptop for general use/Netflix watching/torrent downloading/porn watching/minimal gaming/forum viewing.

 

Any recommendations in the sub $1000 range?

 

I'd like atleast a 500gb hd, 4gb ram, and hdmi outputs. I really don't know what's up with knew processor and video card technology.

 

Thanks guys

 

I have the opportunity to buy a dell latitude 6430u with a 256ssd 8gb ram i5 processor priced at $1500 brand new for $700. Should I jump on it?

 

 

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That dell isn't that bad. I assume it runs Windows 8 which sucks IMO, but you could use Classic Shell to bring back the Windows 7 look. I personally like Lenovos. Lenovos are bit higher priced. Won't find those specs of the Dell in a Lenovo for under a grand. I think you should grab that Dell.

buying that Dell would be perfect for everything but torrent downloading.  With the 256ssd you wont have all that much room to save things on the computer but you could easily get an external drive that could hold everything.

 

It is a bit overkill for your needs but for half price its hard to pass up

With what you want to do with it a $500 price range would suit you fine. A solid state drive will improve your battery life but it does jack up the price. Personally I'm a fan of HP's but dell is a reliable manufacturer.

Why is it weird coming from the youngest guy on the forum? Most younger people don't know squat about computers except video games and social networking. It seems like they don't even require computer competence in college anymore. I hired a kid that had Bachelors and Masters degrees in Engineering from Stevens that could barely use a spreadsheet. And I've yet to hire a recent grad that knows what "delimited" means or how to do anything with a data file.

 

I know how these threads go, they are worse than Glock vs. 1911. So I'll just say get something that is NSA Approved and leave it at that

Lmao @ watching porn. At least your honest.

Why is it weird coming from the youngest guy on the forum? Most younger people don't know squat about computers except video games and social networking. It seems like they don't even require computer competence in college anymore. I hired a kid that had Bachelors and Masters degrees in Engineering from Stevens that could barely use a spreadsheet. And I've yet to hire a recent grad that knows what "delimited" means or how to do anything with a data file.

 

I know how these threads go, they are worse than Glock vs. 1911. So I'll just say get something that is NSA Approved and leave it at that

 

They teach basic microsoft office skills for use in business at my University but thats all.  If you want more computer classes you have to be a CS or IT major.  Then you'll obviously learn all about computers.  I'm dual major CS and IT and the biggest thing to learn is Excel, nothing better to handle all types of files no matter the size.  That being said, huge CSV files will be the death of me.

 

But you are right.  For the most part my generation (21) knows next to nothing about computers.  Basic internet browsing skills and word documents, I've even seen finance majors not know Excel had functions.

Are you planning on taking the computer out a lot (that is, do you need good battery life?). Or do you just want something generally portable?

 

The minimal gaming bit in your original desired use is why I'm asking. Most processors nowadays are acceptable for basic gaming. Graphics card is usually the limiting factor.

 

For under $1000, you're not going to find a gaming machine grade graphics card, but AMD's APUs generally have decent (or at least, better than Intel) integrated graphics. The downside is they're generally slower (not noticeable day to day), hotter, and more power hungry (less battery life).

I'm proficient at using computers I can use excel and I took 4 Years of graphic design so I'm pretty good with ps illustrator and the other design programs I just don't know much about that's hip these days from a technical standpoint.

 

 

Ed how did you screenshot my browser history?

 

 

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Are you planning on taking the computer out a lot (that is, do you need good battery life?). Or do you just want something generally portable?

 

The minimal gaming bit in your original desired use is why I'm asking. Most processors nowadays are acceptable for basic gaming. Graphics card is usually the limiting factor.

 

For under $1000, you're not going to find a gaming machine grade graphics card, but AMD's APUs generally have decent (or at least, better than Intel) integrated graphics. The downside is they're generally slower (not noticeable day to day), hotter, and more power hungry (less battery life).

Battery life isn't a main selling factor but I'd like to be able to take it on trips and not have to constantly find and outlet

 

 

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buying that Dell would be perfect for everything but torrent downloading.  With the 256ssd you wont have all that much room to save things on the computer but you could easily get an external drive that could hold everything.

 

It is a bit overkill for your needs but for half price its hard to pass up

 

 

The OP could use an external hard drive for his torrents. But you did bring up a good point for him to consider

Have you ruled out tablets? After rocking the Lenovo Tablet 2 and the MS Surface for a while, I don't think I'll ever go back to laptops for home use. Even my work laptop stays at work. If I need to do any work, I use a tablet to VPN in and remote to my laptop or other servers. My desktops have been stashed away in storage for 5+ years now. All I use for storage now are NAS drives and cloud based services like iCloud, Skydrive...

The OP could use an external hard drive for his torrents. But you did bring up a good point for him to consider

I have a terabyte external so storage isn't that big a factor I guess I just don't want it to be a bare bones hard drive

 

 

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Have you ruled out tablets? After rocking the Lenovo Tablet 2 and the MS Surface for a while, I don't think I'll ever go back to laptops for home use. Even my work laptop stays at work. If I need to do any work, I use a tablet to VPN in and remote to my laptop or other servers. My desktops have been stashed away in storage for 5+ years now. All I use for storage now are NAS drives and cloud based services like iCloud, Skydrive...

My gf has the surface and I'm strongly considering the pro version. I'm not opposed to tablets

 

 

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Have you ruled out tablets? After rocking the Lenovo Tablet 2 and the MS Surface for a while, I don't think I'll ever go back to laptops for home use. Even my work laptop stays at work. If I need to do any work, I use a tablet to VPN in and remote to my laptop or other servers. My desktops have been stashed away in storage for 5+ years now. All I use for storage now are NAS drives and cloud based services like iCloud, Skydrive...

He could get both. I use 3 laptops, a tablet, and a desktop. I use my ThinkPad tablet for ultra mobile situations. Taking notes in class, browsing the web on the go, etc. Even with the keyboard case, I don't feel at home typing essays or anything like that.

 

Each laptop I have has a different purpose. My HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation definitely gets the most use. It's my mobile desktop replacement, and I feel comfortable doing most of anything on it that I can do on my desktop. I have a ChromeBook Cr-48 for light browsing and typing. And my Apple PowerBook G4 is a decoy to distract those attempting to steal my laptop away from the more expensive one.

 

I would personally get the ThinkPad Edge E535 and a Google/Asus Nexus 7. You can get the fastest processor for the laptop, and a 1TB HDD, and still be under $1000 with the tablet. That way, you get a decent sized machine for getting work done, with enough power and space, and a nice light, small tablet for whenever portability and battery life reign supreme. ThinkPads, even the small business oriented Edge series, are better built than 90% of the junk out there.

My gf has the surface and I'm strongly considering the pro version. I'm not opposed to tablets

 

 

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The surface is awesome.  My gf has one as well and I love playing around on it.  Haven't actually tried any actual work on it though

 

 

I have a terabyte external so storage isn't that big a factor I guess I just don't want it to be a bare bones hard drive

 

 

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A 256 ssd isnt bare bones unless your planning on having lots of music/movies.  I built my desktop last December and I have a 128ssd in it, mostly just the OS and Office.  I then have 2, 3 terabyte drives that store my movies and music, about 4 of that is used.

 

Have you ruled out tablets? After rocking the Lenovo Tablet 2 and the MS Surface for a while, I don't think I'll ever go back to laptops for home use. Even my work laptop stays at work. If I need to do any work, I use a tablet to VPN in and remote to my laptop or other servers. My desktops have been stashed away in storage for 5+ years now. All I use for storage now are NAS drives and cloud based services like iCloud, Skydrive...

 

I've been looking into getting the surface since I now only use a desktop and would like some portability.  But I find it hard to justify the price seeing as I can just use my phone to remote into my desktop or ftp in for any files.

 

He could get both. I use 3 laptops, a tablet, and a desktop. I use my ThinkPad tablet for ultra mobile situations. Taking notes in class, browsing the web on the go, etc. Even with the keyboard case, I don't feel at home typing essays or anything like that.

 

Each laptop I have has a different purpose. My HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation definitely gets the most use. It's my mobile desktop replacement, and I feel comfortable doing most of anything on it that I can do on my desktop. I have a ChromeBook Cr-48 for light browsing and typing. And my Apple PowerBook G4 is a decoy to distract those attempting to steal my laptop away from the more expensive one.

 

I would personally get the ThinkPad Edge E535 and a Google/Asus Nexus 7. You can get the fastest processor for the laptop, and a 1TB HDD, and still be under $1000 with the tablet. That way, you get a decent sized machine for getting work done, with enough power and space, and a nice light, small tablet for whenever portability and battery life reign supreme. ThinkPads, even the small business oriented Edge series, are better built than 90% of the junk out there.

 

I have looked at the chrome books and like them but it would outside of simple browsing and document use I didnt really feel the need for it.  For OPs purpose I think both would be a bit of a stretch with his price range, you can get a tablet or a laptop that does everything really well or you could split the money and have two average or below average pieces of hardware to keep track of.  And for the non-tech savy it may be a pain to keep track of all the data.

http://www.dealzon.com/deals/lenovo-ideapad-y500-gaming-laptop-coupon#y510p-59370005

 

Boom.

I have looked at the chrome books and like them but it would outside of simple browsing and document use I didnt really feel the need for it. 

I only have it because I got it free from Google

I only have it because I got it free from Google

 

The best product is a free product

http://www.dealzon.com/deals/lenovo-ideapad-y500-gaming-laptop-coupon#y510p-59370005

 

Boom.

Their it is.. I was looking for it and could not find it this morning, purchased one of these for my kid a while back been a great laptop..

Check newegg.com that's where I buy I all my computers, and printers.