Advice for buying a new laptop

avidreader

New Member
Hi everybody!

I currently have a Dell Inspiron series 1500, which is just now giving out after 6 years. I need a new laptop in time for school, so I am looking to buy one as soon as possible. I use my laptop for school and work so I need it to multitask, and the biggest applications I use are Photoshop, Spotify, and some video editing softwares. I would really prefer a new Dell laptop as I love the Dell brand and it has worked well for me over the past 6 years. I'd say my budget is no more than $750. My second choice brand option would be HP. I would also prefer the screen to be 15" inches or bigger. If anyone also knows of a laptop that still has a DVD-Writer that would be even better! I noticed the newer laptops don't feature them regularly like they used to. A backlit keyboard would also be a major plus to me because I do a lot of writing at night. But even without those two features I am still open to suggestions.

If anyone has any options, I would greatly appreciate it! I am techy to a degree but really need advice when it comes to buying new computers.
Thanks!
 
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gillmanjr

Member
I've actually started looking around for my father who is also looking for a new laptop mostly for photo editing purposes and internet. He really only needs an i3 or i5 machine, which is also what you should look at for that budget and use case. My father wants a 17" screen, so I'm probably getting him the Inspiron 17 3000 with the 10th gen i5 and 512GB NVMe drive for $685...


They also have this same model with an i3 and 1TB HDD for $520, but that will be noticeably slower with an HDD rather than the SSD. If you want the extra speed, go with the one above for $685. From what I've seen on Newegg, I don't think you will be able to find another machine with equal or better hardware for a better price - not new anyway. Dell seems to be the way to go and, like you said, they are reliable. At least thats been my experience too.
 
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avidreader

New Member
I've actually started looking around for my father who is also looking for a new laptop mostly for photo editing purposes and internet. He really only needs an i3 or i5 machine, which is also what you should look at for that budget and use case. My father wants a 17" screen, so I'm probably getting him the Inspiron 17 3000 with the 10th gen i5 and 512GB NVMe drive for $685...


They also have this same model with an i3 and 1TB HDD for $520, but that will be noticeably slower with an HDD rather than the SSD. If you want the extra speed, go with the one above for $685. From what I've seen on Newegg, I don't think you will be able to find another machine with equal or better hardware for a better price - not new anyway. Dell seems to be the way to go and, like you said, they are reliable. At least thats been my experience too.
Thank you so much for replying. I really appreciate it!
I will look into that model you suggested. I have also since found an HP brand laptop that has all the features I wanted.
It's an i5 but has a 1TB HDD instead of an SSD. Though I won't use it for gaming, reviews have said it runs great for it and those are pretty big applications. It's not a Dell, but I read both brands are two of the best ones out there. Do you have any advice on this option?

Thanks and take care!
 

gillmanjr

Member
I would go with the Dell, hands down. Those two CPUs are basically the same, performance wise. But with the Dell you get the NVMe SSD drive instead of the HDD, that is going to be a huge performance gain. The HP has 12GB of RAM vs 8GB with the Dell, but for what you are doing with it, that won't make any difference. I don't think there is any doubt that the Dell I spec'd is going to be a faster computer overall and its cheaper. The only thing you get with the HP is the extra storage space of the HDD, but you can always buy a USB 3.2 external drive for storage, you don't really need it. I think the Dell is the better laptop and the better value. Maybe someone else can weigh in....
 
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