Need a $500 max computer....for my wifey... GEEK squad help!

doggie750

She wanted an Apple Air coz some gremlins said it's good.... WTH, will cost me arm and a leg!

Looking into:
Intel core i5 or up,
2.5ghz +/-
4gb+/- memory
500gb to 1TB hdd
Touchscreen (optional).

Any reliable brands out there? Top of my list is Dell but kinda pricey. Please advise. THANKS.

cnh

That's a Laptop, right?

I have a Lenovo that fits that description for over a year now. No problems except for some minor quirks with the track pad sensitivity, but these days almost all track pads are TOO sensitive. Had to dial it back.

Mine has 8 Gigs of memory, 2.5G i5 core processor and 750 Gig HD. More than enough power for the average user.

Also had good experiences with Lenovo in the year I spent in China, all Institute gear was Lenovo.

cnh

thsmith

I just bought a MIcrocenter PowerSPec tower. It's what Microcenter builds. Came loaded with Windows 7 and Windows eight in the box.

They do not load any bloat ware which is what I like.

A little over your budget ($579) but they have others, this is just the one I bought.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/423411/B648_Desktop_Computer

Intel Core i5-4570 Processor 3.2GHz
• Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)
• 8GB DDR3-1600 RAM
• 2TB 7,200RPM Hard Drive
• Intel HD Graphics 4600
• SuperMulti DVDRW Drive
• 10/100/1000 Network
• 802.11b/g/n Wireless

4xoddic

Apple Refurbished 11.6-inch MacBook Air 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 $849.00

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD711LL/A/refurbished-116-inch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

Here are 5 models of USED Macbooks from Other World Computing. $359-819

http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/SearchPromo.cfm?Ntk=Primary&Ns=P_ID%7c1&Ne=5000&N=100385&N2=100385&Ntt=OWCUsedMac

I would check on the "used" price of any other brand you're considering; & see IF it holds it's resale value as well as a Mac. The $349 you might save on a newer PC laptop over a refurbed MacBook Air from Apple is likely to be lost in resale value within ???

My background IS NOT building PCs; but using computers within the DoD, 1981-2000. DoD was forcing DA, USN, AF, USMC, DIA to go with the "Modern System" on PCs near the end. Wonder of Wonders = NASA was adapting a version of the "Modern System," but its scientists insisted it run on Macs.

zingo

Laptop only?

gimpod

To the OP you'll probably need to bump money a bit to get what you want. Lenovo (Use to be IBM's laptop division) makes a good product as does Acer, Asus, HP, Dell etc.. I think there all basically the same. Check out Newegg. BTW: If your trying to save some money don't bypass the AMD's A series.

4xoddic wrote: »

I would check on the "used" price of any other brand you're considering; & see IF it holds it's resale value as well as a Mac. The $349 you might save on a newer PC laptop over a refurbed MacBook Air from Apple is likely to be lost in resale value within ???

When it comes to computers this kind of statement always makes me laugh, Were talking computers here not a house or car. Anybody who knows anything about computers knows at the rate of advancement in just hardware that if you buy a top of the line bleeding edge system today that in 6 to 18 months (Max) it will be out of date and nowhere worth what you paid for it. Google Moore's Law.

As far as Apple's resale value go's it over valued just like a new one. The only reason Apple stuff cost so much compared to a similarly configured Wintel system is because Apple over the years has carefully crafted a mystic and cult like following that allows them to over charge for there stuff. Basically Apple & Wintel are running the same hardware (with some minor tweaks by Apple to try and keep there system closed). The only real difference is software, Apples os is more stable only because it isn't a major player (market share wise, under 8% with windows at 90+%) and Apple try's to limit the different kinds of hardware you can use. but the PC has a bigger selection of both software and hardware. Jobs really blew it when he didn't take Gates advice and license the Mac OS to everyone, if he had we'd all be running OS X now.

All you Apple fanatics can start flaming me now.:cheesygrin:

Jimbo18

What will she be using it for? If it's mainly just the internet and some word docs or spreadsheets, why overpay for more than she needs? I got my wife a $300 Asus and it works great. Not too heavy, fast, HDMI out and feels solid. I am not saying that's the answer for you, just that if it's mostly for the internet, you don't need anywhere near TotL.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/ASUS-Black-14.0-Satellite-X401A-BCL0705Y-Laptop-PC-with-Intel-Celeron-1000M-Processor-4GB-Memory-320GB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-8-64-bit/29464448

gimpod

Jimbo18 wrote: »

What will she be using it for?

That's the real question.

doggie750

Thanks for all the inputs. Got her a Dell laptop from Staples. On sale for $500 from $700. http://m.staples.com/touch/product.html?catname=Laptops&catid=CL167289#575439

LoL on the Apple...Ditto on the over rated Apple.