Need advice about getting a new laptop

[SmileYaDead]

So my girlfriend's laptop's motheboard short circuited and the new motherboard would cost at least $250. Thinking that isn't really worth to invest in a two-year-old laptop, we're considering getting her a new one.

So my questions are:

1) Would it be safe to buy one from ebay?
2) What brand would you recommend (besides IBM, because those are too expensive)?
3) Around a budget of $450 MAX, what would your best recommendations be from the listings on ebay?

I'll +rep anyone who cares to help me out :)

[Cath]

I have bought one from ebay a while back and never got any problem. Of course, make sure to read the description as sometimes the picture doesn't correspond to what they are gonna sell you. :P & Feel free to ask as many details as possible with the seller as well, reguarding if the one they are selling correspond to your needs.

I'm not sure what the prices are nowadays, but Dell labtops have always been working amazingly with me, and I never experienced any problem with the last one I had!


Is your girlfriend looking for a plain labtop to do daily stuff on it, or is she going to play games with it?

[Mod]

1) Only if authorized reseller or power seller. Like trading Neo on cK, check for seller history/reputation and use your own judgment.

Buying new important to you? Check if warranty is covered; may be void if used or non-authorized reseller - unless you don't care about protection.

2) $450 USD? At that price, you don't have much room for brand picking, just something new, with coverage, and decent specs. But in case you do find something nice, good mainstream brands are:

Asus
MSI
Toshiba
Lenovo (IBM)

Brands to avoid are:

Acer
HP

*Dell is on the fence here; their high end laptops are fairly good, mid and low-end are bad.

3) Don't know, too lazy to check (presumably eBay UK?). Better if you link the ones or search pages that catch your eye.

[SmileYaDead]

I have bought one from ebay a while back and never got any problem. Of course, make sure to read the description as sometimes the picture doesn't correspond to what they are gonna sell you. :P & Feel free to ask as many details as possible with the seller as well, reguarding if the one they are selling correspond to your needs.

I'm not sure what the prices are nowadays, but Dell labtops have always been working amazingly with me, and I never experienced any problem with the last one I had!


Is your girlfriend looking for a plain labtop to do daily stuff on it, or is she going to play games with it?

She doesn't play games, so just a basic one for daily school stuff.

1) Only if authorized reseller or power seller. Like trading Neo on cK, check for seller history/reputation and use your own judgment.

Buying new important to you? Check if warranty is covered; may be void if used or non-authorized reseller - unless you don't care about protection.

2) $450 USD? At that price, you don't have much room for brand picking, just something new, with coverage, and decent specs. But in case you do find something nice, good mainstream brands are:

Asus
MSI
Toshiba
Lenovo (IBM)

Brands to avoid are:

Acer
HP

*Dell is on the fence here; their high end laptops are fairly good, mid and low-end are bad.

3) Don't know, too lazy to check (presumably eBay UK?). Better if you link the ones or search pages that catch your eye.

I have a Dell myself, works great, almost 3 years now. The battery died about a year ago and same for the charger. Got both replaced (need to pick up the battery yet) for like $35 in total from ebay. It cost like $650-$700 then, I think.

---------- Post added at 02:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:59 PM ----------

GF found this one for $420 from a local seller. [Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Attack]

You must know what she needs on a laptop. If she just use it to go to fb, the brand / HD / etc doesn't matter at all. But if she uses it for work / save a lot of photos, archives, whatever, then a good laptop is the right choice.

[SmileYaDead]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Found that one with 4gb RAM for $420, discounted from $600 from a local seller. Mod

[Attack]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

Found that one with 4gb RAM for $420, discounted from $600 from a local seller. Mod

It says 2gb '='

[Reese]

Mod
I've had just a few issues with my HP desktop, and my mother had an HP laptop a while back--I think it was a little over priced, but it worked well :) (and then she bought a lower end Dell because it looked sleeker :rolleyes:)

Because all she wants is to use it for university and word processing, Lenovo has a few good cheap laptops :)

[SmileYaDead]

It says 2gb '='

That's why I said 4gb from a local seller.

[Mod]

[Only registered and activated users can see links]

-Since you say she doesn't play any games, that Lenovo is pretty decent (it's gonna fail hard if she plays new FPS, :P).
-Unless she's a porn hoarder, 320GB HD is also more than enough, it'll likely break or she'll get a new one before you max it.

-Be sure to check with your local seller that it is indeed warranty-covered (for 1 year, as in the 2GB version in your link).

And since that's your budget, that's a good buy from your local seller.

---

-As your the Asus you posted, it's more of an ultrabook (ultra thin for mobility), if you wanted that.
-Normally I'd stay away from *refurbished* models, but often refurbs are fixed and checked higher than *new* models.
-The thing that kills me on this is the 90-day warranty, and lack of a DVD drive.

Between the 2, I'd say go with the Lenovo.

[Attack]

Agree with Mod

besides that, the battery lasts 6 hours, which is great :)