# Laptop Under $500



## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I am looking for a laptop that we can leave at our lake shack so that I don't have to haul mine back and forth. I also stop in there during the week occasionally when I am working that area and it would be nice to have access to a computer. Anyway... I don't want to spend very much. Under $400 would be mo better.

About the only requirement is at least a 15.6" screen, 4GB RAM and numeric keypad... with W7 or W8.

I found this Acer Aspire V3-551-8469 15.6-Inch Laptop (Midnight Black) at Amazon for $450 shipped (Prime). 

Anyone know of anything else out there? I am still looking, but I know sometimes others will know of good deals already.

Thanks!


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## Peter Loeser (Aug 11, 2012)

Have you checked slickdeals or techbargains?

http://slickdeals.net/deals/computers/

http://www.techbargains.com/catsearch.cfm/0_3_0

Dell, Samsung, and Toshiba have some decent machines under $500 as well.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Best Buy's weekly specials usually have some around that price point. However, sometimes they will only have one or two of a particular model per store and are sold out by the time you get there.

https://deals.bestbuy.com/#!/remarkable+technology+and+prices

Most will come with Win 8, but with a free Win 7 look-alike shell it is not that bad.


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## yoda13 (Feb 14, 2012)

Sonnie said:


> I am looking for a laptop that we can leave at our lake shack so that I don't have to haul mine back and forth. I also stop in there during the week occasionally when I am working that area and it would be nice to have access to a computer. Anyway... I don't want to spend very much. Under $400 would be mo better.
> 
> About the only requirement is at least a 15.6" screen, 4GB RAM and numeric keypad... with W7 or W8.
> 
> ...


I'm not going to say that ALL Acers laptop are bad, but I had 2 in a row, and both of them had to be shipped for warranty work for a failing motherboard. The first one was shipped twice for the same thing. Maybe they changed their motherboard supplier for 2013, not sure.

I really don't think that there are any manufacturer that stand head and shoulders above others with the big name manufacturer. I personally think it's WHERE you'll buy it. Costco is my favorite place, great c.s.

Above all else, if you buy it at a place which I won't mention the name, but its starts with "Best" and finishes with "Buy", don't let them install the software for you if you can help it.

cheers


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Check out Best Buy, they have lots in your price range. Here's an example at under $300:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+...85047&st=laptop with numeric keypad&cp=1&lp=4

The same laptop on Amazon is $379.


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## Harpmaker (Oct 28, 2007)

I like Newegg.com. Purchased two refurbished laptops over a year ago and both are still going strong.


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## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

What about something like a Mac Mini .. Not a laptop but you can connect it to your tv


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Hey Sonnie, why do you want a labtop as opposed to a PC. If you are leaving it at a specific place, it seems like a pc would give immensely more bang for the buck.

I'm supprised one of the computer guy's here isn't offering to build you one *HINT, HINT*.

It would seem to me you could build a really nice HTPC, and be able to write it off as well for less than $500. Just saying .


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

I'm with yoda; Acer can be real good or real bad, and it's hard to know which is which until you already own it. I've bought several laptops in the past year or so, and do you want to know which seemed like the best value? A Gateway. Yes, they're still in business (most people think they went under, but were bought out instead). The NE Series in their entry level, while the NV Series are the larger units. Their prices are good and the one I got for my youngest daughter is working like a charm, and if anyone can break something it's that kid.

I would strongly suggest you "downgrade" to Win7 though, regardless of what computer you end up getting. Win8 has been less then successful, and not just because the interface is a joke. A lot of software has to be re-written because the underlying OS has changed so drastically, that means what you want to use may not be available. Drivers have proven to be another issue; they generally lag behind a new OS anyway, but in this instance it seems to be much worse. And perhaps the biggest reason is we're on the "off version" cycle.

Every other version of an MS operating system has been junk. Win95 was good, ME wasn't. XP got them back on track, then Vista derailed them again. Win7 was great, Win8 not so much. Caveat emptor if you want to go with the "bleeding edge".


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Tonto said:


> Hey Sonnie, why do you want a labtop as opposed to a PC. If you are leaving it at a specific place, it seems like a pc would give immensely more bang for the buck.
> 
> I'm supprised on of the computer guy's here isn't offering to build you one *HINT, HINT*.
> 
> It would seem to me you could build a really nice HTPC, and be able to write it off as well for less than $500. Just saying .


+1. I picked up a nice new HP desktop with quad core AMD processor, 1TB drive and 6GB RAM at Best Buy for $399 a couple of weeks ago. Same model today is $469. I am sure you have an old monitor laying around somewhere.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Nah... no desktop. I built both of the ones we have at our office as well as our media server we have at the house, but my wife and I both prefer a laptop. 

It is so much more comfy sitting in a recliner with a computer in your lap than sitting at a table with a desktop, which we don't have room for at the lake shack anyway.










If the ole eyes get lazy on me it is so easy to snatch a little nap. :bigsmile:


That one for $299 at BB looked nice, but then I realized it did not have an optical drive.

I also have a solid state hard drive that is not being used that will probably stick in there ... as well as a copy of W7 Pro 64-bit that is not used.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

This looks like a pretty good one... and it is 17.3".

https://deals.bestbuy.com/computers...+173quot+laptop++4gb+memory++500gb+hard+drive


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Probably would be a good idea to buy it online and have it delivered to avoid "we just sold the last one."


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I can't remember the last time I actually went into a store to buy anything other than groceries and Alabama Crimson Tide National Championship items... which both are frequent. :whistling:

I wish HP would go ahead and introduce their new ENVY for 2013. My wife and I purchased one each back in early 2012, just a little over a year ago, and these have been the best we have ever owned. I usually get new one about every 12-18 months, but I don't want to update it to a 2012 model, and there wasn't much of a difference from 2011 to 2012.


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## JQueen (Jan 11, 2012)

Sonnie said:


> Alabama Crimson Tide National Championship items... which both are frequent. :whistling:.


FSU will be there soon


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Who?


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

don't buy anything with AMD in it... complete junk. go for a core i5.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I think it may be hard to find anything with an i5 for the price range I want to stay in. It will probably be an i3, which I have no issues with. I am not opposed to AMD either and have had good success with them in the past, and know others who have as well. I certainly would not consider AMD processors as "complete junk".


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

Sonnie said:


> I think it may be hard to find anything with an i5 for the price range I want to stay in. It will probably be an i3, which I have no issues with. I am not opposed to AMD either and have had good success with them in the past, and know others who have as well. I certainly would not consider AMD processors as "complete junk".


agree i3 is probably the best choice for the budget... I have tried AMD processors in the past. they always ran hot, ran at higher voltages using more battery life, they cost less but these days the intel performance is in a sweet spot. I wish AMD would put out something to compete with Intel because Intel prices are definitely a premium. they know they have superior product and they charge for it. I think they compete better in the graphics card dept. but its the same thing I had a couple ATI cards that I tested and they ran hotter and pulled lots of watts.


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

check it out 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834312468


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Not a bad deal. The only thing I keep thinking about on those 15.6" screens is the resolution. We are use to the 17.3" screens at 1920 x 1080. These are also both i5 2.4GHz machines.

The Toshiba I linked to is an i3 2.5GHz, but it is at least a 17.3" screen at 1600 x 900. 

I know I said 15.6" in my first post, but when I posted that I did not realize they would all be the lower resolutions, but I suppose trying to stay at a lower budget that is what you get with the 15.6" screens.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I guess I am learning more and more as I search. Apparently some folks are having a lot of issues getting W8 off the system and the Bios has it locked to the system. I might also be safer finding one that had W7 on it.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

I just bought an Asus N56D with Widows 8. It does take some getting used to.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

What have you found to be the biggest difference in W7 a W8? Do you find yourself wishing you had W7?


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

There's no Start button with a list of Programs in Windows 8. Programs are either Tiles you click on or pinned to the Task Bar. I'm fine with it. I'm not sure if it's the operating system, the laptop I have or a combination of both, everything is blistering fast and I'm liking it!


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I am pretty use to fast using these solid state hard drives we have with lots of memory. I read where W8 was more of a resource hog than W7, so I am guessing it it probably your computer.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Sonnie said:


> Do you find yourself wishing you had W7?


Most definitely. Win 8 believes that you want your desktop to behave like a tablet. Doesn't work for me. But get one of the free Win 7 like shells and it will be less painful.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

My wife & kids have HP's & love them. I personaly prefer a desktop. Would you be satisfied hooking the PC directly to the TV & use a wireless keyboard & mouse from your recliner. The preformance of a desktop/price is way beyond laptops. And use the PC to play movies off the net.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

It would be hard to do at the lake shack. At night there ain't much to do other than watch TV or play on the computer, so we are both doing one or the other. If she has the laptop, I am watching TV, vice-verse. 

In this case we don't need much, since it will be used on average only a few hours per week.


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

check out Woot .com today... a little over budget but that laptop is probably close to 1K.


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

I have win8 and as suggested just go straight to the desktop from the metro UI and it looks and feels like win 7 with the exception of the start button. if youhover mouse in bottom left you can go back to the UI. If you bring mouse over to righ hand side you can find some Chiclets that appear for setting, start, search etc. the search function is cool. just type ex and excel will show up... type wo and word will show up. the new MS office 2013 is very slick as well.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

That HP ENVY 17 on Woot is the real deal there. 

When it comes to MS Office... I still run 2003. I despised 7 and 10 that did away with the typical menus. I tried it for several months, but I could never figure out where things were, so I reverted. I may have to give 2013 a spin.

I am kind of holding out to see if there will be anything to the new Samsung Series 7 Chronos 17. That looks like it could be a pretty sharp machine... and I may just take the one I have now to the lake if I get something like that. I say that because I think I know what is gonna happen when I get to the lake and start using one that doesn't have everything I need on it. I may say right now I don't need much, but the more I think about it, the more I fear I will regret not having everything I need.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Whoa... that Office 365 looks promising, especially with the ability to put it on 5 PC's and all documents being sync'd. Not sure about the $99 per year, but that does keep you up to snuff on the latest version of Office... and gets you 20GB of cloud space and 60 minutes of Skype usage, which I use from time to time due to our poor cell coverage here at home.

I was just thinking that I would have to get another copy of Office 2003, so this would solve that issue... and the idea of having everything in sync on all of my computers is nice.


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

But do you REALLY want all your stuff on "da cloud"? Big Brother and all that stuff.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I have nothing to hide and hope some folks do find some of what I write and read it. :huh:


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

I was joking. There should come a time, however, when we should worry about all the stuff about ourselves that is stored on servers. Not paranoid, but just saying...


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## fschris (Oct 31, 2009)

Sonnie said:


> Whoa... that Office 365 looks promising, especially with the ability to put it on 5 PC's and all documents being sync'd. Not sure about the $99 per year, but that does keep you up to snuff on the latest version of Office... and gets you 20GB of cloud space and 60 minutes of Skype usage, which I use from time to time due to our poor cell coverage here at home.
> 
> I was just thinking that I would have to get another copy of Office 2003, so this would solve that issue... and the idea of having everything in sync on all of my computers is nice.


yes, i had been on an older version of office. the new office is super fast and smooth i really like it. it will take a little to get used to but the document syncing is awesome. you can practically work on documents while the program is even loading during install. tons of new features in excel and I use excel a lot at work.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

hjones4841 said:


> I was joking. There should come a time, however, when we should worry about all the stuff about ourselves that is stored on servers. Not paranoid, but just saying...


It's not paranoid to be wise. 'cloud' storage is all the rage yet it's only as secure as the people protecting it, and that's not much beyond average for most of them I'm sad to say. You need to have experts at all disciplines -- networking, security, servers, etc -- in order to safeguard the information. You also have to assume they're properly trained and are principled, highly responsible people. Less of them have all of those qualities then perhaps you realize. Being in IT for about 30 years means I see it from a side very few do, the inside, and I surely have no intentions of using cloud storage.

If a surgeon tells you an operation is risky and he wouldn't have it done you should probably think long and hard about what you decide... onder:


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

I am "previewing" it now, Office 365 Small Business. I am not sure how much it cost yet, while I know Home Premium cost $99 annually. The 2013 version is definitely much better than the 2007 version. I can't remember if I tried 2010 or now. I want to say I did and it was not much different from 2007, but I ain't looking at it right now, so can't say for sure.

You would think if Mozilla can get syncing to work well with programs like Firefox and Thunderbird (IMAP) that Microsoft could do it right too.


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## Sonnie (Apr 11, 2006)

Yeah, if you have protected or private information, I am not sure I would use cloud storage for that. Most people are using cloud storage for media and non critical information. 

We should realize though that things have changed drastically in 30 years and if someone wants to find out info about you... they will find it.


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## josph (3 mo ago)

The *best laptops under *$500 won't leave you unsettled because you didn't pay a premium price. The best overall laptop under $500 you can buy Acer Aspire 5. There are value-priced notebooks that include full-HD displays, solid performance and long battery life, plus all the ports you need. The Acer Aspire 5 earns its place at the top spot of the best laptops under $500 page due to its strong 8th Gen Core i3 performance, bright 1080p display and long battery life, all for an affordable price. Although the Aspire 5 is much thinner than its sibling, the Aspire E 15, the Aspire 5 boasts enough room for a battery that lasts nearly 9 hours on a charge. 
+Strong performance
+Long battery life
+Bright, 1080p display


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