<p>I was in Best Buy today with my friend looking at computers and I talked to a couple of my coworkers who work in computers and narrowed it down to 3. After that, I talked to some other coworkers, and it basically boiled down to one. The HP dv4-1435dx.</p>
<p>So, now that I’m pretty sure of what I want, I want to know what people think of this computer. It’s not bad in terms of price ($650) and has a dual core processor, 4GB memory, 320GB hard drive, webcam and mic, DVD player…all the basics.</p>
<p>I don’t need anything really special in terms of computers. I’m going to be a nursing major, so basically, I’ll be writing lots of papers and making presentations along with doing my music (Napster/iTunes), surfing the net and watching movies, so this seems great.</p>
<p>however, hp isn’t the highest quality manufacturer. they also aren’t the worst by any means. while its unlikely you’ll need it, an extended warranty is recommended.</p>
<p>I love HPs. That’s what my family has for a desktop, and my parents have had HP laptops before. They last really well. I mean, anything my family has will be abused a lot, and we’ve never had any problems with HP. Also, what about the model I asked about?</p>
<p>I’m a consumer, a college student, not anyone part of a business. As I said before, I really only need a basic computer. I’m also absolutely not willing to spend a lot of money on a computer because of this.</p>
<p>Business laptops aren’t narrowed specifically toward businesses, a good number of college students use these brands. Also some Colleges have educational agreements with lenovo, so you should look into that.</p>
<p>But if anything above $700-$800 doesn’t fit your budget, that HP laptop would do fine, but don’t be surprised if you start experiencing some hardware issues.</p>
That’s not really the point, though. Business laptops are simply more reliable and sturdy; “business” is just a categorical name in this context. Either way, you get what you pay for.</p>
<p>I bought an HP Pavilion dv9700t on sale for my freshman year thinking I got a great deal, but it started having hardware problems almost immediately. Now I have a Lenovo ThinkPad T400 and haven’t had any problems since.</p>
<p>My parents won’t pay any over $700. Money is tight, and we’ve had great experiences with $400-500 HP and Toshiba laptops. If I were going to a cheaper school, maybe my parents would be willing to pay more, but they’re not exactly thrilled about the price of this laptop. </p>
<p>Also, I just want to know if you guys think this is a good computer. But then again, I was told by 3 people who know computers that it is, so…</p>
<p>I will most likely be getting an HP as well. Our home desktop is HP and so far (<em>knock on wood</em>) we haven’t had any problems. I’m not looking for anything fancy, just a good laptop that will fit my needs. I’ve heard both good and bad things about all brands so some times I think it just comes down to luck. Oh and money is also an issue</p>
<p>I was told by a guy who fixes computers for a living that HP desktops are good, but stay away from their laptops. However, thats only one persons opinion. But I was also in Best Buy recently looking at computers. I keep hearing how Sonys are a premium brand but theyr always so expensive. However, when I was there a few weeks ago I’m pretty sure I saw one or two around $700. One a 14 in and the other a 15 inch. Maybe they would be interesting to look into?</p>
<p>MysteryTime - That’s interesting. As I said before, we’ve had great experiences with HPs both laptop and desktop. I originally thought I wanted a Sony, like a Vaio, but they have a crappy battery life and are more expensive for basically all the same thing, plus, I’ve heard awful reviews of them from so many people. I also thought about a Toshiba, but they tend to overheat.</p>
<p>If it comes loaded with Office at that price, it sounds like a good choice to me. I’ve always had Dells and been happy with them. I was in Bestbuy also today replacing my stolen laptop and the guy who helped me recommended Dell, HP and Toshibas. I got a Sony Vaio with 4GB ram and a 320GB hard drive, etc. and I hope it’s as nice as all the other Sony equipment I own. I paid $799 because I wanted Office onboard without hassling with loading it myself, since I’m out of town on college visits/vacation. I paid an extra $70 for system optimization that including removing all the trash programs all the companies seem to load (which I really resent!), and restore CDs (because, I was told, companies no longer include them–which I also resent!) so that with tax it was $940. It does include an upgrade to Windows 7, which I’m contemplating, and an HDMI output hookup which I guess I can use to play HD DVDs on my laptop. Not necessary, but nice extras I guess.</p>
<p>I’ve been doing alot of research and actually thought I found a winner with the Vaio NW series for $799…has 4 gb ram, 320 hard drive, webcam and a blue ray player. Only recently have I seen negative reviews about it, including the fact that the battery doesn’t last as long as advertised. It’s really hard to find the “perfect” laptop. I was looking at a 16 in. Toshiba that seemed pretty good, but was over 7 lbs at $649. I think it’s to big though.</p>
<p>I thought about a netbook, but I’m always gonig to be on it, and will be watching movies, etc. so I want something that can last.</p>
<p>Azn_Boy - You call that a tight budget? Wow! And a netbook? Absolutely not. I need more space than that, plus, a DVD player which netbooks don’t have.</p>
<p>You can buy a decent Netbook; Acer Aspire ONE, that’s around $300. An external Harddrive 250 GB for $60, and an external dvd burner for $50. Total will end being around $460ish.</p>
<p>Anyways, you should have a USB Flashdrive to back up your data on the go anyways.</p>
<p>Granted a netbook isn’t all that powerful, it’ll get the job done at a relatively low price.</p>