What Are Your Thoughts on the Best Laptop for Under $750?

[Willis666]

I'm looking for a laptop that costs around $600-$700, highest being like $750.
I currently have an '09 Toshiba Satellite, and hate it. Not going to go with Toshiba, the charger is crap, the speakers are crap, the touchpad is crap, everything is a piece of crap. I got some spare cash over Christmas, and am looking into buying me a new laptop. What should I get? I don't care much about graphics. I'm looking at like 15" screens, what my current one has.

What are you guys' thoughts.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Go with ASUS. I bought this model a few months ago and love it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230233

 

[turbo]

Go with ASUS. I bought this model a few months ago and love it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230233

That looks like a very nice machine. How is the battery life?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

That looks like a very nice machine. How is the battery life?

I almost completely use it plugged in. The iphone has really decreased my need for laptop mobility.

 

[turbo]

I almost completely use it plugged in. The iphone has really decreased my need for laptop mobility.

Thanks. "Plugged in" is often not an option out here in the woods, though, when we often lose power for many hours at a time. I'll have to do some on-line research.

 

[turbo]

I see quite a few battery issues, but some people attribute that to firmware that reports low charge when there is sufficient charge. I have a decent UPS, and I can continue to run a wireless hub even when I have to shut the desktop down, so battery life is a big factor.

 

[clairienz]

One general advice is not to go for the best laptop that has the best processor and the most memory.Even the best processor it not much better than the 2nd best processor out there. It's only so much more expensive because it's "best"... by alittle. So just buy a processor that's above average. Oh and yes, do buy a Intel processor.
I recommend dell laptops. They are very reliable and economical.

Don't go for hp. Hp laptops have major heating problems.

http://www.techyv.com/article/top-10-best-laptop-brands

 

[Willis666]

I'm going with the ASUS, I've heard good things about them.

 

[turbo]

I get antsy when the power goes out and my desktop is not usable. My wife wants me to buy a laptop when her yearly bonus check comes in (not that the money is an issue - she just wants me to do it). I have researched ASUS some more, and find that they are claiming over 10 hours of battery life on some models, especially if you disable some apps and make the laptop shut down when you close it, and reduce the brightness of the display. I may lean toward them now.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I get antsy when the power goes out and my desktop is not usable. My wife wants me to buy a laptop when her yearly bonus check comes in (not that the money is an issue - she just wants me to do it). I have researched ASUS some more, and find that they are claiming over 10 hours of battery life on some models, especially if you disable some apps and make the laptop shut down when you close it, and reduce the brightness of the display. I may lean toward them now.

What about buying an APC?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Z80ICM/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[Astronuc]

Go with ASUS. I bought this model a few months ago and love it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230233

Many folks I know from industry recommend ASUS.

From the link - ASUS A53E-ES71 Notebook Intel Core i7 2670QM(2.20GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW Intel HD Graphics

One can get faster processors:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/core/core-i7-processor.html

http://ark.intel.com/products/52214/Intel-Core-i7-2600K-Processor-(8M-Cache-3_40-GHz)


If one does scientific computing, e.g., multiphysics simulation then one may want to look at quad core, or octocore, or more processors, as well as something like 8+ GB RAM. Similarly for cad programs like SolidWorks or Pro/E need losts of RAM.

Dual boot (Win7/Linux) is a possibility.

Of course, one could get a MacBook Pro (dual boot not necessary - one can run the linux environment under MacOS).
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_pro

 

[Topher925]

I'm going with the ASUS, I've heard good things about them.

Can't really go wrong with Asus. I'm personally a fan of Samsung's higher end machines but for value Asus is hard to beat.

 

[Cosmo Novice]

Hello,

I am in the trade (as an engineer not a salesperson) and can strongly recommend ASUS as generally being a good quality build, Dell laptops are also well made. I would steer away from Toshiba and Fujitsu Siemens though.

If you need any more technically specific info then feel free to repost. (I usually hang around the cosmology forums as this is more a hobby but should you need some tehnical expertise I would be happy to help!

Cosmo

 

[Willis666]

Thanks everyone. I usually dual boot windows and linux, mostly use linux though.
I've had bad experiences with every computer I've ever owned, and the only major brand I haven't owned is Apple and ASUS, and I don't like apple.

 

[Pattonias]

If you aren't worried about graphics you could probably save a lot of that 750 dollars.

Finding a high-rated laptop with a dual core i5 processor/integrated graphics, 4gb of ram and 500 gb hard drive should run around 450 - 500 dollars. Look for power saving options while shopping. You should look for ratings of 8 plus hours. Realistically, you could get 4 to five hours with regular use e.g. three-quarter screen brightness, wireless on, web-surfing(no video). Any laptop more expensive than this all you are paying for is the processor, more ram, better graphics card.

 

[Rajput9572]

In my opinion you should try Fujitsu's laptop,Personally I have one and very happy with its services.

 

[Hobin]

In my opinion you should try Fujitsu's laptop,Personally I have one and very happy with its services.

You might be a little late to this thread. Personally, I hope Willis has been able to make up his mind after more than two months.

 

[turbo]

As an update, the i7 Asus is fast and capable. I'm not doing heavy (research-level) number-crunching on it, so it is really not being taxed. Still I am quite happy with it and would recommend it to others. It is very slim and compact, and the display is nice. If I were a student concerned about the load in my backpack, I'd have to "weigh" that, because the Asus is pretty massive, given its slim profile. Echoing another thread, I think it's okay that this laptop is massive and "solid"-feeling. I have had larger and lighter laptops, and have experienced problems with long-term reliability.

I tried to buy into Dell laptops when they first came out, only to find that Dell hadn't properly researched their power-supply/battery options before charging into production. The company was OK about overnight-shipping replacements with cloning software and cables, but after the 3rd or 4th laptop replacement in a couple of months, that was not much of an option. I wasn't beating on those laptops - the charging system failed over and over, so you had to work plugged-in or not at all. That was not always a handy option in industrial settings.