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So my kid wants a 14" Dell Inspiration 5000 Series to take to OSU.
http://www.american-school-search.co...university.gif
Her father (AKA Me) is cheap.
So how does one know if they are getting the best deal on a Dell seems as if when you order on Dell's website the prices seem to fluctuate.
Or if you know of a better option in a 14" touch screen Windows 8 portable computer post it up please!
TIA
Might want to check the Dell refurbished site. Good deals if something will work for you.
MicroCenter is another good place but I don't know if they have a location near you.
EDIT: Nevermind... it's gone... they are doing some "new deal every hour" thing today...
I know it's not a Dell... but it still pretty cheap... $350
Today's Woot deal is a 15" HP laptop....
http://www.woot.com
If she can get by without a laptop, I have an Apple that would fit your TCB budget.
http://www.vectronicsappleworld.com/...num/snap42.jpg
She needs something more portable.
I know how cheap POS is. He refuses to go to a restaurant unless the menu is on the wall.
This should be in his budget.
http://www.pc-freak.net/images/dec_c...i-computer.jpg
14" is the best size for a college student. My daughter at Texas A&M has an ASUS 14" touchscreen laptop that we bought at Best Buy. I think it cost $600. She likes it and it does what she needs it to do. She has access to computers all over campus and doesnt take the laptop with her most of the time. You will most likely need to buy her another one in a few years since laptops dont last more than that.
Make her a part-time employee of your company. Then you can write it off as a business expense!
If you can afford it... buy a macbook air 13".
You'll have FAR less headaches support wise, the battery lasts forever, and it's really light to travel with.
If you're going to get a Dell, I second the recommendation for the outlet. Follow them on twitter (https://twitter.com/delloutlet) to get the coupons as they come out.
Or get her a Surface Pro 2. Since the 3 is out, the 2's are dropping in price.
Some schools have a great deal through their IT dept. It's not so much that it's cheap up front, but that it's insured through them for loss or damage and comes with full IT support. At my daughter's school, if your PC is lost, stolen, or damaged, you can get a replacement on campus immediately, loaded with a school-approved software bundle. It's not THE cheapest option, but all things considered, a good one for some students, especially if they're far from home or might need a 24-hr local help desk.
just say no to Dell. I second the macbook air 13.
While im usually against macbooks, the airs are perfect for college.http://dealnews.com/Refurb-Apple-Mac...h/1099054.html
Or
A chromebook would be fone for surfing and school work.
I surf dealnews.com spoofee.com and newegg.com for their daily deals/"shellshocker" deals. Sometimes theres some crazy good deals. Frys.com for their ads. Most suck during the week but fridays aren't too bad.
Buy what can afford. Unless you always lucky, you get what you pay for! Macbook Air is the way to go and my cost less in the long run.
Wow, that Macbook Air is pricey! It costs twice as much as the Asus i5 with touchscreen. She probably knew I would not buy it.
So why do you want a touch screen? I have both (well actually I have a lot of hardware here for work) and for getting stuff done you don't use the touch screen.
The MacBook air will be a little over a grand refurb through apple and it will last 3-4 years easily. A 3-400 PC will struggle to last that long. For work we buy latitude 7440 or 7240 with a 3 year warranty (fully loaded with ssd, 1080p res and 16gb ram) from the outlet with a coupon for 12-1400. Don't have too many issues with them.
If you are use to touching your phone, tablet or the electronic menu at Chilli's the touch screen is nice to have.
Not sure why all the Dell hate for a laptop.....
I could understand for a desktop, but I think their laptops are decent.
I replaced my much loved collegiate Toshiba Satellite with a Dell Inspiron 3521 January of 2013, and it works just great for me. I opted for the non touch screen. I use it for work-- mainly online catalogues, spreadsheets, databases, and internet. Similar use to a student I would imagine. I get about 3 hours to a charge with the screen at full bright. I got it New from Dell for $359.38 with Windows 8 loaded.
Also, I disagree with a pc not lasting 3-4 years.
If you are using it for school/ work like I do, OS support and Battery life are the keys. My Toshiba is still in use by my mom, and I purchased it in 2001. Now that said, it is on it's 4th battery, 2nd power cord, and replaced the main board in 2011. But I used the hell out of it for school and work for 10 years without major issue. In fact, when folding was a big thing, that laptop would run 24 hours a day..... for months...... not typical laptop abuse. When I replaced the mainboard in 2011, I managed to find an ex office lease computer that was near new for $60. Used that, and still have an extra screen and other parts somewhere.....
Kid had several different Macbooks in high school that were paid for by me but property of the school.
She is the one requesting the Windows Touch Screen Laptop.
So while a $1,200.00 Macbooks sounds super sexy it isn't what she wants. ;-)
What is she majoring in?
She is undecided at this time she either wants to be a Ballerina or a Firefighter. ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by motorollow
She is just a freshman. I don't for a minute think anything I'm going to get her this year will be what she needs in 2-3 years. For all we know we could have some quantum leap in technology that will obsolete all we know as leading edge today...
Check out those new surface tablet pros.
They got good reviews and extremely portable.
Thats why I would have issues paying $1200 for a Mac.
The hate stems from Dells use of non-industry standard parts and the preinstallation of bloatware. While not alone in those practices today, they are the largest, most well known, and have been doing it the longest.Quote:
Originally Posted by sxk122
That aside, my eight year old Dell Latitude finally had enough hardware issues I retired it for a new Alienware (Dell) machine that can handle the sort of complex CAD work I'm doing today. It was expensive, but it's also a monster. I had XoticPC build it with some custom parts and do the software install with no bloatware at all. The only non-MS Win7pro software that came on it were some hardware drivers and the Alienware software to control their silly lightshow in the case.
I've had three Dell laptops before this one. Mostly engineering level machines. They came with an enormous amount of crap software that was always running in the background. Recently bought a $200 ASUS to run as a media server. Though the display is cheap, it seems to be a decent machine for surfing and writing.
we've been satisfied with the dell studio 15 purchase for my stepson back in 2008 off the dell outlet. A college computer will get the crap kicked out of it for the most part, although your daughter sounds a little more conscientious though. we have pretty much replaced everything on it ourselves, from the surround and screen after a drop, speakers after years of abuse, to just replacing the motherboard with a better video section and upgrading the processor this year. thankfully between amazon and ebay, nothing has been too expensive. after each home service session, i am still impressed with the screen and the unit itself. the 14" would be the way to go, and i wouldn't hesitate to do it again, though i would go with the more 'office' like latitude over the ones aimed at the teen-college market. just spray paint, vinyl wrap the case or something to make it age appropriate.
LOL! Stance it, too!Quote:
Originally Posted by patf
Dell Dropped the price on the computer KK likes to $666
Isn't that a bad sign??
Depends...will you bow to the force? ::EvilBana
Only for your checkbook. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by POS Racing
Wait till a little closer to back to school. You may see more or even better deals. It is a buyer market!
Personally...I would head down to Microcenter and get the least expensive laptop that fits her needs regardless of brand. Should be less than $400. Kids are tough on laptops both physically and from an OS perspective. Dell does offer a warranty that covers accidental damage but you could likely get a second laptop for the cost if you go the Dell w/Warranty route. To protect the OS, set up her profile without admin rights and make sure there is virus protection installed and set to auto update. The vast majority of the hate Windows and Dell (or any other brand) get is due to users that expect to browse the dark depths of the internet and never have a problem. (college female dark depths = gossip sites...notorious for being infected) I personally hate Apple laptops with all my soul...but I had to support them in a Enterprise environment that was built to support Windows.. My moto.."Apple, Optimized for Starbux." ;)
I like the way you think! ::Good::Quote:
Originally Posted by gabkwong
Although we drop her of at the Greyhound Terminal on the 11th so time is getting short..... :(
What? You let her ride the Greyhound by herself! When was the last time you did? Single young female and Greyhound should not be in the same sentence! I know b/o in my younger days I rode it for a month went around the country. I saw a lot plus things I wish I had not!
Its a 4 hr ride. She'll be fine.
Probably 6+ hours after they stop in every podunk town between here and Stillwater. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by OZMDD
After dropping off 2 kids at college dorms, I saw many a mom shedding tears over leaving their babies. I would imagine mom and dad POS Racing will be taking MANY trips to Stillwater the next few years.
Stillwater IS a podunk town :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by motorollow
I seem to remember that dell does some back to school promotion every year. Probably around the tax holiday thing.
Although, I don't think you want to wait around for that.
My last laptop purchase was a Dell that was over $2k, the one before it was $2.5k IIRC. I will never do that again.
My current thinking is to buy a inexpensive decent laptop, and if it breaks, replace it with the same for the current time frame advancement of tech.
Forget future proofing and warranties.
Got KK a Dell Inspiron 14R off of Amazon for less than $600.00 she is happy so all is good in the world!