CrazyCatLady
New Member
So the last laptop I bought was a Dell. I figured, my mom has a Dell for work and she's a computer programmer, and that thing is built like a tank, so it'd probably be good for me. I did some research. As it turns out, my research sucked. I replaced the hard drive and the keyboard within the first year (fortunately covered by warranty), then later had to replace the hard drive again and lost EVERYTHING and it started overheating every time I tried to play a game, even internet-based games. Now I'm pretty sure it has a nasty virus and I'm just sick of not being able to play games. I'm a nanny, I need something to do during nap time.
So here is what I'm looking for... any advice is appreciated... because I literally have no idea what to get and I would like to get a new laptop ASAP.
1. Budget is $500-600. I'd go to the higher end for something really perfect but that's literally my whole paycheck and I'd have to immediately sell the piece of junk I'm on now to recoup some funds (hey, at least it has a fairly new hard drive...)
2. Will be used for internet (and I tend to have like 46 billion tabs open), word processing, instant messaging, some amateur photo/video editing (like moviemaker and paint and maybe even photoshop elements) as well as my ONE game habit - The Sims 3. That is the sticker right now, this computer shuts down within ten minutes of me trying to play Sims because it overheats... and even before that it was slow and sticky and drove me insane. Occasional use for playing videos/TV shows/etc from the internet, but I'm not a huge snob about quality on those, I just hate when they won't load forever.
3. I like Windows OS. I'm a bit picky about my keyboard, I kind of like it all laid out and straight... certain unconventional configurations drive me crazy. And I can't stand the 'mouse pad' to be bumpy, sensory thing, drives me crazy.
ETA - I'd also like it to last, or be easily fixable if something goes wrong, or have a good extended warranty available. I don't want to be buying a new one in a few months unless I'm going to be able to sell the one I buy now for very very close to what I paid for it.
There might be things I'm forgetting. But I think those are the big ones. Suggestions?
So here is what I'm looking for... any advice is appreciated... because I literally have no idea what to get and I would like to get a new laptop ASAP.
1. Budget is $500-600. I'd go to the higher end for something really perfect but that's literally my whole paycheck and I'd have to immediately sell the piece of junk I'm on now to recoup some funds (hey, at least it has a fairly new hard drive...)
2. Will be used for internet (and I tend to have like 46 billion tabs open), word processing, instant messaging, some amateur photo/video editing (like moviemaker and paint and maybe even photoshop elements) as well as my ONE game habit - The Sims 3. That is the sticker right now, this computer shuts down within ten minutes of me trying to play Sims because it overheats... and even before that it was slow and sticky and drove me insane. Occasional use for playing videos/TV shows/etc from the internet, but I'm not a huge snob about quality on those, I just hate when they won't load forever.
3. I like Windows OS. I'm a bit picky about my keyboard, I kind of like it all laid out and straight... certain unconventional configurations drive me crazy. And I can't stand the 'mouse pad' to be bumpy, sensory thing, drives me crazy.
ETA - I'd also like it to last, or be easily fixable if something goes wrong, or have a good extended warranty available. I don't want to be buying a new one in a few months unless I'm going to be able to sell the one I buy now for very very close to what I paid for it.
There might be things I'm forgetting. But I think those are the big ones. Suggestions?