- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
I would personally save up for a Macbook for you.
I have had my Mac since 2007 and it's still running strong.
You may pay a little more up-front for it than you would for an HP, but it's so worth it because they don't get viruses as easily like HPs do. Plus everyone at the Apple Store is awesome if you ever need assistance with something that may be wrong with your laptop.
If you go with the mac, get applecare, they replaced my HD fo freeeeee!
I have a Macbook pro laptop, and have generally been using their computer products for the last ten years. I have no real complaints , and I have never gottena virus, where as with the non -Apple prodcuts, i have gotten viruses and had to pay money and time to install software that is incredibly annoying.
If you can do it, save up. Its totally worth it, because so much private and important stuff is on our computers these days!
I have an emachine from last years black fridays sale. For $200 it works great for watching instant netflix and talking to you all. If I have real work to do I use a Dell that I got from my computer guy when he upgraded. It is fully loaded but looking at my receipt now I only paid $225 for it and was only a year old. It was the better deal.
Another vote for MacBook Pro. I had a Dell that barely limped through 3 years of college. I bought this laptop about 2.5 yrs ago and love it. They replaced my drive when it died because of a defect no questions asked, no issues, quick and easy. It still runs perfecty. The battery life is still amazing (about 6 hrs).
I have an HP G60 and haven't had ANY issues with it. I've had it 5 years and have even dropped it... well more like threw it to the ground accidentally... and still love it!
DH has an HP (not sure what kind exactly as well) and hasn't had any issues either.
My Best friend has a Dell and she's had TONS of problems with it, even sent it off and continues having problems =/
My mom has a Toshiba and has ALL the problems that you described your laptop having.
I do totally agree with @brideatbeach though... next thing we want to get is DEFINITELY a Mac. DH has worked with them in media for the Student Ministry at our church and I officially fell in love!..... Plus Apple is AMAZING!!!! For us it's just too bad that for what he wants we're looking at about 7k after software =/
@brideatbeach: yeah I love apple customer service, I have an iPod that died right after I got it and they were so great about it. I would definitely love one, but I do worry that saving $1500 will take me awhile (I'm not working, just going to school, so we live off my hubby's income) and my PC might die before then!!
@amnystik: yeah, my sister has a toshiba and didn't like it either.
I bought a Dell XPS 13, and I freaking adore it. It runs PC games really well (better than DH's desktop that he bought just for gaming) and can handle several of the Creative Suite programs running at once. By the time I upgraded it, it was $1,200, but it's been about two years and it's running as well as it did when I first got it.
Sadly, they no longer sell it. They stopped like a month after I bought mine. I would definitely still recommend their XPS line, though!
I love my Dell! I just got a new computer over the summer, and while I considered a Macbook and wanted to get a Dell Latitude, both were too expensive. I ended up getting a Dell Vostro 3350, which is a midrange line in their Small Business section. I LOVE it - I think it is my favorite computer I've ever had. The battery is almost as good as a mac, it's small and lightweight, performance is great, and I've had no issues. The best part is I got it for less than half the price of a comparable macbook - I did a quick google search before I checked out and found a coupon code for an additional $150 off, in addition the sale on their website. Came to around $650, way less than the original $900 price - yeah!! And while you may not be able to find those deals, they often have good sales on their website.
Depending on what you decide on the Mac vs. PC issue, if you want a machine that will hold up, I recommend looking into business laptops (for PCs) or Macbook Pros.
Well, I will be the dissenting voice and say that I will never own a Mac. Ever. I don't really feel like explaining why, but I just don't think the price is justified. The only one I MIGHT consider is the MacBook Air and only because it's cool because it has no moving parts.
DH and I both own Toshiba Satellites. He owns a small one and I have a 17' L775. I find that they are reliable and quick. I am extremely happy with mine and I know DH feels the same. He's had his longer and this is the 3rd one he has owned. Mine is only about 2 months old. I'm a gamer and it has been able to handle every program I have thrown at it. I can surf the internet, play a game and talk to my mom on Skype at the same time with no problems.
As for desktops, we both built "custom" ones from HP. Mine is getting up there in years. I got it my sophomore year of college so it's... 4-5 years old now. I've never even had a virus on it. I did upgrade it from Vista to Windows 7 and reformatted it when I did. It's still going strong. DH built his about a year ago and his is a BEAST.
We are both gamers and need our computers to have plenty of processing and video power.
I currently have a Dell D630 FI got me in July from the dell auctions page. It's nice, but has a known issue with overheating frying the graphics card, so it is perma-tethered to my cooling pad.
My previous two laptops were HPs, a zv6000 series and a ze5000 series. the zv still works, but I've had it since 2006 and it had gotten a bit sluggish, which is why FI got me the Dell. The ze I got in 2002, and it lasted until 2005 when Best Buy lost/broke it, marked it as "scrap", and tried to stick my hard drive in a similarly styled laptop thinking I wouldn't notice. It was working when I gave it to them, but the PC card slot had died, so I wanted it fixed even though I didn't really use it. I now abhor Best Buy with the depths of my soul.
Prior to those (1999-2002), I had three Toshibas, the longest of which lasted 16 months, the shortest a week. I swore off Toshiba after I returned the third one 9 months in. Thankfully they were easy to deal with processing that return.
I'd been eyeballing and saving for an HP dv6tse (maybe even qe) before FI got me my Dell. I like that HP posts service manuals, and their ADP repairs aren't bad either.
Love my Dell laptop!!! Bought it from the Dell website Thanksgiving week of 2009. The battery doesn't hold it's charge as long anymore, but other than that I've had NO ISSUES.
I only do apple, but if I were to get something for someone else and didn't want to drop a grand then I would go sony or hp, both make solid products. I would aviod Dell at all cost, I have had friends with Dell laptops and those machines tend to be POS that evoked intense feeling of rage and angish in thier owners, but that is just my experience...
For desktops, I always build my own from scratch. (Literally. Not "customize your computer by choosing features on the manufacture's website"... I buy the motherboard, video cards, RAM, etc., all seperately and assemble it myself.)
For laptops, Dell all the way!
Excellent customer service! When my motherboard went out, they had DHL drop off a shipping box at my door the same day I called them, I packed and sent the laptop, had it back in 3 days, and that was over a weekend! (Sent it Thursday, had it back on Monday!) DH & I are geeks (both computer programmers), we've had other laptops, and always go back to Dell.
I had a Mac and LOVED it, but unfortunately I spilled a glass of water on it and yeah... not gonna spend $800 to replace it when I could buy a new one! Now I have an Asus and haven't had any problems!
I always call my mom and ask what her "good and bad" list is for computers before I get one because she has worked with computers for 20 years and her only 'bad' was HP. DH said that was his only bad experience as well. I've only had my Asus for 6 months but no problems so far!!
I'm on my second dell laptop.My 1st lasted me 4 years in college, and I used it to death. The second that I have now is about 3 years old, and it is pretty good. I personally like dell, always had them.
I have a Dell Inspiron that I bought a few years back. It's never really given me any problems performance-wise, and the customer service is great. The only problem is it doesn't hold a charge for more than an hour or two, but for me, that's not a problem since I almost always only use it at home, and can keep it plugged in.
I can't really say anything about Macs, because I've never owned one. Personally they're more than I'm willing to spend. I did use one in high school...we had them in our yearbook room because the software we used for the yearbooks worked better on a Mac. Or so we were told, I don't use those programs now, so I have no comparison.
I was very happy with my Sony VAIO laptop. It made it through four years.
Macbooks are great, but MUCH more expensive. Some may say the extra cost is worth it, and for some, it is. But if you're just needing a nice, well-performing computer, a Mac isn't necessary.
I have a Mac at work because I do a lot with design, but my home computer is an HP.
I got a great deal on my macbook, the apple store does price match guarantee so we saw an advertisement for the macbook at another store for $800 versus the $999 they sell it for at the apple store and just took in the ad and they gave it to us for $800. So I would look out for deals like that, especially around the holiday time.
I love my macbook btw, the battery life is definitely why I got it. I used to have a fujitsu laptop and it would get HOT, but I have not had this same issue with my macbook.
In college I had a dell laptop, along with many of my friends, we all had major issues with them. But we all bought ours within a couple months of each other (college freshman) and I guess there were some issues in computers released then. So I've never gone back to dell and I've loved Compaq ever since! I'm at work right now, and i don't remember my specific kind, but it was from Best Buy.
What are your primary uses on your computer? Because if it is just streaming and internetting, almost any basic computer will do.
I have a Toshiba laptop that I got in a hurry when a power surge fried the motherboard on my previous one. It's not super light, so if you want to take it with you everywhere you'd get really tired of it, but it's totally reliable and pretty quick, has never done anything screwy. Mine has over 200 GB of storage and 2 GB of memory and a 15.6 inch screen, but Toshiba always seems to be upgrading their systems and lowering prices, so it looks like you can get one from Best Buy that has 500 GB of storage and 4 GB of memory for about $400. Not as sexy as a Mac, but a lot cheaper!
@zippylef: I will join you! :) I too will never own a Mac. OP, they are beautiful machines but there are many workhorse laptops that are much less expensive and get the job done very well. They just don't have that Apple "style."
I am in the market, too. Currently I am looking at the HP dm1z. It's a small, ultraportable laptop, retails around $400. Lots of raves from the press on that one.
MacBook Pro all the way. I would never go back to a PC. Worth every penny, IMO. My husband's a tech guy and he finally convinced me to go Mac and I'm so glad I did. We have an entire Mac household pretty much -- IPods, Apple TV, two Macs, IPad, etc. etc.
ETA: I feel like Apple has better support than most other companies. Also, I rarely have problems with my Mac that I've had with PCs (freezing, slowness, etc. etc.)
We’re strictly a Mac household (DH is a Mac developer). I have a Macbook (that’s currently out of commission) and an iPad that I use on a regular basis. I also have a Mac Mini that’s used for stuff that requires more power, like photoshop. DH has a Macbook pro and a brand spanking new iMac as well as an iPad.
If you can’t see where I’m going with this, I would highly suggest a Mac, lol. My macbook is 6 years old and up until a few months ago, it was working like a champ. With the wedding and HM, we didn’t have the extra funds to fix it so it’s currently in pieces in our office. Eventually we’ll get around to it. While sort of expensive, Macs really are the best computers, imo. If you check out apples website, they have a refurbished section that you could look into. The computers work flawlessly but they’re sold at a discount because Apple had to fix them for one reason or another.
i'm a Mac... a desktop iMac... i do have a Dell Laptop though and it just doesnt compare to the macbooks. they are WELL worth the money. :)
apple store has a refurbished section as well. pretty much brand new fixed by Apple and resold for way lower. i got my iMac for like $400 off and its brand new!
Another vote for Macs here. Ever since I switched on my way into college, I've been hooked. They're so easy to use, they're solid and dependable, and they last forever.
When I was a student I had to buy one on the fly because my cat knocked a large coke into my last one and they had a great financing plan for students only - no interest for a year. Even on my baby salary working through school I pulled it off in 12 months, so that might be an option for you if you can still do it!
I have always gone with Acer, never had a single problem. HP's are terrible!
@Magdalena: Glad someone agrees with me. I don't know what the hell people do to their computers that they have so many issues. I never have any problems with any of ours. :\ I can see them as being good for some stuff, like video and photo editing and graphic design and such... but for an everyday computer... nope. Not worth it.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| rivierabridal | 3 |
| Potatoes | 1 |
| Ree723 | 1 |
| Regina Phalange | 1 |
| KatNYC2011 | 1 |
| BMORE SEXI | 1 |
| RobotBabooshka | 1 |
| chastenet | 1 |
| fresitachulita | 1 |
| Costa Rica Bride | 1 |
Sorry, there are no users yet.
What do you like/dislike about it?
I am wanting to get a new laptop sometime soon, I've had my HP Paviliion DV4 for two years now and it's had it's fair share of problems, I often wonder when it will "die" because of all the wacky stuff it does. The cooling system on it sucks, I ended up getting a fan lap bench thing from belkin for $30 to keep it cool, it's helped, but my PC is so loud!
It has awful battery life, and poor memory/storage (which is actually OKAY because it makes me consistently back up all my stuff onto my external hard-drive), and can be a little slow at times.
I got it two years ago on Black Friday for $500. Since I had the money, I should have just gone with the Dell that I really wanted. Now I don't really have $800-$1000 to spend on a laptop, so it will take some saving :)