Need help choosing the right laptop

[kathos]

Hey guys,

My girlfriend is shopping around for a laptop, we are debating between two models.

The laptop will be used mostly for school work (research, writting papers, and a little bit of social networking [facebook, msn, etc]).

First model:

ASUS K50i

Second model:

HP DV7

Here's the deal, they are both at $599, but the HP is a "special" deal, if you know what I mean.

The ASUS is a 15" and the HP is a 17", but the HP does deliver more (512MB graphics, whoa wish I had that on my laptop). But remember, she will never load a game or a heavy app, it's all light work. She does prefer a smaller laptop for easy carry, but the HP does deliver more...

So based on your experiences, do you have any feedback on either ASUS or HP in general, or on these specific models. Warranty, customer service, reliability, etc....


Thanks

[Bam]

Get an ipad for $500

[AAA]

Hey bud if u wana play games on it u might want to double your budget and go for a quality Dell XPS. Don't waist your money on crap.

[Efess]

ASUS > HP for sure...

Sony > ASUS, but they're more expensive.

I love my VAIO

[Solecord]

For work, get a Thinkpad I love my Thinkpad! Going on two years now and not one problem.

[UnO]

HP's customer service sucks balls. So if something happens to it, you'll be screwed up. I would suggest Dell for such purposes you have. I have 3 different laptops in my house: HP (17", slow as shit because of Athlon), Acer (nice one, 15") and Dell Inspiron 10" (just for college). Have never had problems with Dell, and their support rocks!

[AAA]

I agree with UNO, AMD processors are slow. Get one with an Intel i7 extreme processor you wont regret spending the extra money.

I have 2 laptops one with AMD Turion 64 the other is AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core. AMD is crap.

Intel i7 Extreme money well spent.

[foq]

this thread is full of fail

[MasterSplinter]

this thread is full of fail

Agreed'd.

[ninjamonkeyz]

for just school work only? get the one with the bigger screen

[Disco]

yes there is terriblness spreading in this thread and it starts with you AAA.

You keep posting for him to buy expensive sh1t that his girlfriend doesnt need and obviously they dont want to spend that amount either.



Kath,

You are going to get many different answers on what brand is better etc. Which support is better, etc... Im just going to answer your question between those 2 laptops you posted.

1) What are the exact specs for both laptops. That way we can compare.

2) Im my experience, even with females, they might want a small laptop at first but the old hunching over with face 5 inches from the screen does get old. If she is planning on doing a lot of reading and typing which it sounds like, she will probably be better off with the larger screen. Hopefully its only a 1-2 pound difference?


Anyways, post back some specs, and good luck.

[kathos]

ASUS
15,6 screen
T4400 INTEL 2.2GHz
3GB of RAM
320GB of HD
Windows7

HP DV7
17" Screen
CPU: 2.53-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400
RAM/Expandable to: 3GB/4GB
Hard Drive/Speed: Dual 200GB/7,200 rpm
Optical Drive: 8X BD-ROM/DVD�RW D

-----------

Like I said, this is for my GIRLFRIEND, she does not game, she doesn't do much with computers to be completely honest, it is mostly for browsing and writing papers. If the laptop was for me, I would go for the HP as it has a nice 17" and 512MB video card for gaming. Basically, she is going for the ASUS because it is smaller and good enough for her needs, I basically wanted to know from you guys if ASUS is a good brand, or if it would be better to go for the HP.

So far, ASUS is the one.

[tical]

kath, save some money, just by a netbook. they do the job

[MH]

I'd get the HP. I had one for 4 years and it worked like a champ, never any problems. The larger screen will definitely be of use for the type of work she's doing, and the specs are perfectly adequate. In fact manufacturers like Dell or HP frequently offer the same models with a choice of Intel graphics, so if you can track down one of those you might get it for less.

The next thing I'd advise is that you blow away the factory installed OS and reinstall it yourself. Make certain that you have the OS disk before doing this, of course! Even HP load a lot of annoying crap onto machines these days, and I'm willing to bet that she just wants to be able to do her stuff without being distracted by Bouncing Bunnies.

Support/etc doesn't matter too much. To be honest, if a machine is going to fail it will most likely fail within the first month of purchase (or be DOA). That should be covered by your standard sales warranty and your consumer rights.

[Solecord]

The next thing I'd advise is that you blow away the factory installed OS and reinstall it yourself. Make certain that you have the OS disk before doing this, of course! Even HP load a lot of annoying crap onto machines these days, and I'm willing to bet that she just wants to be able to do her stuff without being distracted by Bouncing Bunnies.

Yes do this. My sister has an HP and it comes with tons of crap that is not needed.