New Computer

[jlp86]

So I need to buy a new laptop computer and I thought I would ask for everyone's recommendations. I need a computer for everyday use, I do not do anything special on it. I want a PC. I want a screen size of 14". I do not want to spend more than $600.

I would like to have a financing option with whatever computer I go with as well as some sort of warranty.

What do we suggest?

As of right now I am looking at the HP Pavilion dv4t. Anyone have this?

 

[zoebartlett]

My husband and I have Sony Vaios and we really like them. http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&identifier=S_Notebooks

He built his online and I got mine from Best Buy. We really only need the basics but he wanted a more professional style, so his has more bells and whistles than mine. I use mine for basic word processing and the Internet and it's been great.

The only thing about my laptop I don't love is that it gets hot after long periods of use. (I say that only because my mom has a MacBook and hers never heats up. She LOVES her laptop, by the way. I know you prefer PCs, but you'll probably get lots of recommendations for Macs here.)

ETA: I can't remember what Vaios are selling for now, so I'm not sure if it fits in your budget.

 

[Lotus99]

DH and I both have HP Pavilions, and we're both on our second one. The first ones lasted around four or five years, which is pretty good, IMO. Neither died completely, they were just outdated. Ours are the 17" models, but we've both been happy with them.

 

[jlp86]

My husband and I have Sony Vaios and we really like them. http://store.sony.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&identifier=S_Notebooks

He built his online and I got mine from Best Buy. We really only need the basics but he wanted a more professional style, so his has more bells and whistles than mine. I use mine for basic word processing and the Internet and it's been great.

The only thing about my laptop I don't love is that it gets hot after long periods of use. (I say that only because my mom has a MacBook and hers never heats up. She LOVES her laptop, by the way. I know you prefer PCs, but you'll probably get lots of recommendations for Macs here.)

ETA: I can't remember what Vaios are selling for now, so I'm not sure if it fits in your budget.

I never even thought to look at Sony! They have some in my price range! I am going to look more into them and see if there are financing options. I pretty much use my computer for internet and word processing as well, so nothing too major. Thanks so much for the recommendation!

 

[jlp86]

DH and I both have HP Pavilions, and we're both on our second one. The first ones lasted around four or five years, which is pretty good, IMO. Neither died completely, they were just outdated. Ours are the 17" models, but we've both been happy with them.

Thanks! I am so glad to hear that. There were some negative reviews and it scared me. I have a Dell right now thats on its 5th or 6th year, so 4-5years seems good to me!

 

[justginger]

I did quite a bit of research when I bought my laptop and the only thing I remember from it were the statistics regarding number of warranty claims for each manufacturer. The highest number of claims and subsequent complete replacements was for HP. The lowest, and the computer I chose to get, was Asus. I'm thankful that I spent a bit of time looking around because the most 'recognizable' names for me, and the ones I would have chosen to buy without thinking, were consistently at the top of warranty claims. I appreciate that things go wrong with electronics from time to time, but there's no excuse for 20% of your goods to be returned for repair or replacement in the first year of ownership!

 

[jlp86]

Zoe - how long have you had your Sony?

Justginger - I'll look into the Asus. How long have you had yours?