Laptop Computer Advice

jjb · ‎05-19-2012

My laptop is 9 years old and I need to upgrade and wanted input on which brand is the best? I have had a Dell and HP in the past and was looking at the computers on QVC but it's been so long since I have purchased one that I'm not sure what to go with. Any help would be greatly appreciated..thanks!!

ChynnaBlue · ‎05-22-2012

Looking for which brand is the best is not the right way to choose a laptop. instead, I recommend identifying what you need to use the laptop for and then figure out what will best meet your needs. Depending on what you need to do with your machine, it's possible you don't need a laptop and can get away with a Chromebook and save yourself a lot of money. The brand on the outside of the machine matters much less than what's inside the machine.

Or maybe you need a really powerful system with a lot of processing speed, in which case you probably don't want to buy a computer from QVC, because they offer older hardware that, despite all their claims, is absolutely not 'future proof'.

Other things to consider are your own computer knowledge and what level of PC support you will want. That's really where brand and point of purchase can make a difference.

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Jordan2 · ‎03-16-2010

@jjb wrote:
My laptop is 9 years old and I need to upgrade and wanted input on which brand is the best? I have had a Dell and HP in the past and was looking at the computers on QVC but it's been so long since I have purchased one that I'm not sure what to go with. Any help would be greatly appreciated..thanks!!

@jjb I am also in the market for a computer and like you I don't know what I want and have been dragging my feet! I had an HP laptop I was happy with. I presently have a 6 year old Toshiba laptop that has given me trouble from the get go, I would never buy one again. I am considering getting an HP or if I want to spend the money a MacBook Pro or Air. Good luck with whatever you choose!

henderson · ‎03-18-2010

We have 3 Dell computers (home use). My husband has been in the IT business for over 30 years. He purchases them online thru Dell and we gotten some good deals. You can research their website or talk to customer service for help in which computer will work for you.

Nuttmeg · ‎03-09-2010

@henderson wrote:
We have 3 Dell computers (home use). My husband has been in the IT business for over 30 years. He purchases them online thru Dell and we gotten some good deals. You can research their website or talk to customer service for help in which computer will work for you.

I suggested this model # to someone in another thread. I like this model Dell Inspiron 15 7559. You can find this on Dell's site ask the company to assist you with a purchase. I would upgrade the warranty to a premium one year contract.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-Inspiron-15-7559-Notebook-Review.154635.0.html

Mustang Shar · ‎03-24-2010

I was in same situation earlier this year. While I have several iPads, I still wanted a laptop for my genealogy, photos ect.

After dealing with PC's, running all the scans to prevent virus and malware ( ran 6 programs every Sunday ) , I got very tired of it. PC was aging, so I went with MacBook.

BriggsiePeawiggle · ‎03-09-2010

I have had Dell....died after 2 years, then I had an Asus, still working but pretty junky and broken parts, then an Acer, and I replaced the keyboard 3 times......and finally a Toshiba which needed a new hard drive after a year and the part that allows you to go online (forget the name of it...sorry on pain meds for hip replacement). I took good care of all of these laptops and never mistreated them. The final straw was the Toshiba falling apart after a year. The repair woman told me that these days most laptops are considered "Friday night specials" because they are thrown together in China or wherever overeas. I gave up. I moved over to a Macbook and haven't been happier....best laptop I have ever had. I'm coming up on 2 years. There were some funny little spots on the screen after a bit...took it into the Apple store. They fixed it on the spot -- no charge. Best computer I ever had.

chickenbutt · ‎03-09-2010

Briggsie - Sorry you had such bad luck with PC laptops! Oddly, I had the worst with desktops (also PC, as I've never had an Apple brand computer - yet). No matter the brand, I think the longest I had one last was 2.5 years.

Now I have all laptops and they have been lasting me many years. Toshiba has been a favorite brand of mine, but it looks like they are going out of the laptop business. Sony is another one I like and I guess they are out of the VAIO laptop business, too. I have a Lenovo that I've had now for about 6 years and it's still going strong, so I might go with Lenovo next time. But so far I have 2 Toshibas that are going strong, and my Sony VAIO.

I guess there is some 'luck of the draw' to it all. I haven't seen fit to pay $2,500 or more for a laptop yet but I haven't completely written off trying Apple one day. BTW, they also come from China, as have all of my computers for the last 10 years in a variety of brands.

I always wonder if one is used to a PC, there is a huge learning curve with Apple computers. I do have a couple of iPods. I don't like the Safari browser, though, but I have read that one can install others, so that's good.

BTW, one thing that is majorly important with laptops is keeping them cool. I use laptop stands for all of mine - not the ones that you plug in with a fan because I live in a dust bowl and I don't see the advantage to not only further heating it up by having another thing plugged in, but blowing air into the bottom and vents.

I use steel mesh laptop stands for the most part but anything that will allow really good air circulation for the bottom and sides, especially the side with the vents.

glb613 · ‎03-09-2010

@chickenbutt wrote:
Briggsie - Sorry you had such bad luck with PC laptops! Oddly, I had the worst with desktops (also PC, as I've never had an Apple brand computer - yet). No matter the brand, I think the longest I had one last was 2.5 years.

Now I have all laptops and they have been lasting me many years. Toshiba has been a favorite brand of mine, but it looks like they are going out of the laptop business. Sony is another one I like and I guess they are out of the VAIO laptop business, too. I have a Lenovo that I've had now for about 6 years and it's still going strong, so I might go with Lenovo next time. But so far I have 2 Toshibas that are going strong, and my Sony VAIO.

I guess there is some 'luck of the draw' to it all. I haven't seen fit to pay $2,500 or more for a laptop yet but I haven't completely written off trying Apple one day. BTW, they also come from China, as have all of my computers for the last 10 years in a variety of brands.

I always wonder if one is used to a PC, there is a huge learning curve with Apple computers. I do have a couple of iPods. I don't like the Safari browser, though, but I have read that one can install others, so that's good.

BTW, one thing that is majorly important with laptops is keeping them cool. I use laptop stands for all of mine - not the ones that you plug in with a fan because I live in a dust bowl and I don't see the advantage to not only further heating it up by having another thing plugged in, but blowing air into the bottom and vents.

I use steel mesh laptop stands for the most part but anything that will allow really good air circulation for the bottom and sides, especially the side with the vents.

I think one of the main reasons people have early laptop/notebook computers failures is too much heat. When I shopped for notebook computers, the first thing I checked was the vent placement. If the vent was on the bottom, I refused to buy it. As chickenbutt posted, use a laptop stand or a cooling pad. BTW, you don't have to plug in the cooling pad if you don't want. I also vacuum the vents of my computers (while turned off) on a regular basis.

I like to play computer games (Big Fish is my favorite company) and found they heated up my MacBook too much. So, I play the most graphic intensive games on my desktop. Any activity that creates a lot of heat has the potential to shorten the life of your notebook computer.