Bier Meister Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 we are looking to get a new laptop for the family. just basic needs: - fast browsing - good for media (want to play blue ray dvd's on it, store pics, etc) - basic word processing - screen can be around 13-15 in want to keep it affordable. suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 intel 2nd generation core i3 processor or amd a6 processor would do what you want effortlessly check slickdeals.net and search "laptop" and see wha deals are out there. the intel 3nd generation i series (i3 i5 i7) are better processing chips than the amd a series chips. Without any onboard graphics cards (rare for a laptop), the amd chips perform better for playing games, but you do not list that on your list therefore I would get the intel core i3. If you want to do what you listed faster, I would get an SSD hard drive. You will shat your pants on performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennykravitz2004 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 As I type this, I realized I only buy from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 intel 2nd generation core i3 processor or amd a6 processor would do what you want effortlessly check slickdeals.net and search "laptop" and see wha deals are out there. the intel 3nd generation i series (i3 i5 i7) are better processing chips than the amd a series chips. Without any onboard graphics cards (rare for a laptop), the amd chips perform better for playing games, but you do not list that on your list therefore I would get the intel core i3. If you want to do what you listed faster, I would get an SSD hard drive. You will shat your pants on performance. will want some gaming for daughter, but she is 5 so looking more at learning games right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tosberg34 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 will want some gaming for daughter, but she is 5 so looking more at learning games right now I would at least go with an I5 instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 I'd check woot fairly frequently. they come out with a good deal on a laptop once a week or so. otherwise, I've had great luck just going to dell.com, spec-ing out what you want, and ordering. they are very competitive on price, you get exactly what you want/need, and I've had good luck with their machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 will want some gaming for daughter, but she is 5 so looking more at learning games right now Get the AMD A6. It is a balance of speed and some light gaming. The intel's aren't that good gaming wise but will process stuff faster. http://slickdeals.net/f/3837442-Lenovo-Ide...0-Free-Shipping On sale right now Lenovo is one of my favs too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh 0ne Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Lenovo is one of my favs too +1. Last two have been Lenovo's, love 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Get the AMD A6. It is a balance of speed and some light gaming. The intel's aren't that good gaming wise but will process stuff faster. http://slickdeals.net/f/3837442-Lenovo-Ide...0-Free-Shipping On sale right now Lenovo is one of my favs too no bluray on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Why do you need Blu-ray? On a screen that small, it won't make much of a difference. If you're already buying Blu-ray to watch on a bigger screen, most of them come with regular DVDs or digital copies so you can watch on a laptop or portable player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 H8 usually has a pretty good handle on laptop deals. Just send him a PM. Oh yeah...that's right... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bier Meister Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Why do you need Blu-ray? On a screen that small, it won't make much of a difference. If you're already buying Blu-ray to watch on a bigger screen, most of them come with regular DVDs or digital copies so you can watch on a laptop or portable player. Travel..... also want decent quailty for netflix..... so what- hd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Travel..... also want decent quailty for netflix..... so what- hd? Maybe others will correct me, but I don't think you need a Blu-ray player on a screen that small. If you already buy Blu-ray discs because you have a Blu-ray player for your living room, then the discs should come with a regular DVD or digital copy that you can save to your PC and watch it while traveling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Maybe others will correct me, but I don't think you need a Blu-ray player on a screen that small. If you already buy Blu-ray discs because you have a Blu-ray player for your living room, then the discs should come with a regular DVD or digital copy that you can save to your PC and watch it while traveling. Most hotel TVs are HD sets now and have connections to hook up your laptop to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Maybe others will correct me, but I don't think you need a Blu-ray player on a screen that small. If you already buy Blu-ray discs because you have a Blu-ray player for your living room, then the discs should come with a regular DVD or digital copy that you can save to your PC and watch it while traveling. what percentage of BD's come with a DVD copy? I've seen them, but in my limited experience they're not that common, certainly not common enough that you can assume there will always be one. and if it's a digital copy you can download, who the hell wants to wait for that or try and do it on a hotel connection? If you have movies on BD you want to watch, it seems to me like it's worth the fairly modest price break to go ahead and add that functionality for convenience, not for the increased picture quality on a 14" screen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 no bluray on that. True. If you're computer savvy, you can rip your blu-rays to a computer with a blu-ray drive and then copy the file over to your laptop when you travel. That is whay I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moneymakers Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Put movies on flash drive . Save space and battery power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 what percentage of BD's come with a DVD copy? I've seen them, but in my limited experience they're not that common, certainly not common enough that you can assume there will always be one. and if it's a digital copy you can download, who the hell wants to wait for that or try and do it on a hotel connection? If you have movies on BD you want to watch, it seems to me like it's worth the fairly modest price break to go ahead and add that functionality for convenience, not for the increased picture quality on a 14" screen. We have about 10 Blu-rays, all kid's movies. All but one ("Zookeeper," which probably should be limited to as few viewings as possible anyway) come with a DVD copy. The ones we have say across the top, "Blu-ray + DVD copy." I don't pay enough attention to Blu-ray to know if non-kids movies come with DVD copies, but I don't see why that shouldn't be the case. As for the digital copies, in my experience, they aren't downloads. They're lower-quality versions made for phones or an iPad, and they're included on the disc. You unlock them with a code included in the packaging. I don't know what kind of premium you pay for a Blu-ray player on a laptop. Just pointing out that if bier was looking to keep his costs down as much as possible, I don't think he necessarily needs a Blu-ray player. If it's not much more to get one, then yeah, I don't see why he wouldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Not sure what you consider affordable, but BD drives have come so far down in price, it isn't a burden to get one IMO. No need to over think that feature IMO - just get it. Newegg.com has a wide selection under 1K some even with i7 chips... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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