Advice on cheap laptop for Colombian friend

05/22/2013 11:46:05 AM · #1

We hosted an intern from Colombia this year and he would like to buy a laptop before he goes home. I think it's going to be used for typical things; internet, skype, youtube, word processing, email, etc. I always worry a bit about the video processors in inexpensive laptops and wondered if someone could look things over for me. $700 is pushing it for price. I'm open to other suggestions as well.

Thanks for your feedback. I can always rely on DPC expertise.

Toshiba laptop

05/22/2013 11:48:54 AM · #2

One day. Might sell out before the day's even up.

//tech.woot.com/offers/hp-17-3-dual-core-laptop-10

17", dual core HP. 8GB RAM, etc.

It might be a little big, if anything, but at $399, you're not beating this deal, no way.

Message edited by author 2013-05-22 11:49:04.

05/22/2013 11:55:20 AM · #3

FYI - Here's a video of the gameplay on that video card.

Certainly not a powerhouse of a video card, but more than 'enough'.

FYI - Language warning. Wow, games these days huh?

Message edited by author 2013-05-22 11:55:41.

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

05/22/2013 12:10:56 PM · #4

What do you think about the risk/benefits of buying refurbished when you are taking it in three weeks to Bogota, Colombia? The price definitely looks right, but part of me is a bit leery of recommending that and then it craps out in a month.

Bear_Music

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra

05/22/2013 01:07:25 PM · #5

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Refurb is more likely to be BETTER than worse. They go over them pretty carefully, and whatever issues they had (if any) are already fixed. And some "refurb" is just open box returns anyway...

05/22/2013 01:09:28 PM · #6

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Refurbished has been inspected by hand, and verified to work correctly, new units are lot tested, but most are shipped untested.

Now tell me, which do you expect to have a higher failure rate?

I don't have enough data for good stats, but I can tell you that I personally buy quite a bit of refurb stuff, and I have yet to have any serious problems with any of it.

The latest was this Wacom Bamboo tablet I just bought for $50 refurb on Woot - it's awesome.

ETA: Robert beat me to the punch. Nice to see we agree. ;)

Message edited by author 2013-05-22 13:09:56.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

05/22/2013 01:18:32 PM · #7

I do want to warn you that this is a Woot deal.

The unit can sell out while you deliberate, so be careful, as believing that you have 12 hours left would be potentially erroneous.

Spork99

OM System OM-1

05/22/2013 01:19:05 PM · #8

I bought two refurb ASUS laptops from Tiger for my sons ages 10 and 12. They aren't the latest and the greatest, but they are really nice for what they do.

05/22/2013 01:19:35 PM · #9

Originally posted by Cory:

I do want to warn you that this is a Woot deal.

The unit can sell out while you deliberate, so be careful, as believing that you have 12 hours left would be potentially erroneous.

Right. On the other hand, I don't want to buy it without talking to Ivan who is in school right now so we are at the mercy of his decision.

05/22/2013 01:20:42 PM · #10

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by Cory:
I do want to warn you that this is a Woot deal.

The unit can sell out while you deliberate, so be careful, as believing that you have 12 hours left would be potentially erroneous.

Right. On the other hand, I don't want to buy it without talking to Ivan who is in school right now so we are at the mercy of his decision.

Also a good call. Just be sure to move on it once he's around, I'd hate for this to evaporate on ya, as it really is a very good deal.

The red color is probably the biggest potential issue, and after that, be sure to remind him that a 17" laptop is great and all, but they are fricken heavy.

Message edited by author 2013-05-22 13:21:23.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

05/22/2013 01:31:51 PM · #11

OK, here is Ivan's verbatim response on Facebook to me. Don't mind the imperfect English. Thoughts on the processor versus that Toshiba?

thank JAS for this u are doing for me i appreciate so much. this pc has an AMD processor dual core. technology has changed from that processor this way, after that ,it appeared intel core i2 then intel core i3 then intel core i5 and the current one is intel core i7 that is way these pcs are on "sale" because their running processor is really slow.

Let's also say he gets stubborn. Thoughts about the Toshiba in specific? Even if it isn't as good a deal is it a decent laptop?

Message edited by author 2013-05-22 13:35:24.

Spork99

OM System OM-1

05/22/2013 02:03:01 PM · #12

My experiences with Toshiba laptops date back several years, so they may have improved dramatically, but I was issued one for work and I was frequently ready to upgrade it...with a sledgehammer.

Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX Aspherical DG HSM for Nikon

05/22/2013 02:29:36 PM · #13

He's right about the processor. Of course, we're in a generation of "good enough" hardware, but if he's not going to be happy with it, better to go another direction.

ETA: i7 will cost ya though. No way you're gonna get a smoking deal on one of those.

Message edited by author 2013-05-22 14:30:05.

bohemka

Nikon D700

05/22/2013 02:48:45 PM · #14

For what it's worth, here's a Dell i7 8GB 17" right at your price limit.

05/22/2013 03:08:17 PM · #15

Originally posted by bohemka:

For what it's worth, here's a Dell i7 8GB 17" right at your price limit.

Would this be comparable?

NewEgg refurbished Dell