looking for a good laptop, need help computer guru's

ok so im looking to buy my sister a laptop for an early graduation present. she's always downloading songs, on aim, on the internet, listening to itunes all at once so i assume she needs a big processor and nice sized hard drive and memory correct? ive been looking at the following two laptops, they are pretty much the same but havent heard much about the asus. what do you guys think or are there any other laptops you would suggest or specific processors to avoid or aim for?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Laptop-...776869*1218125775615&catId=pcmcat138500050001

 

I would go with the HP. I just bought an upper end HP laptop. While both are pretty similar, the HP has an HDMI port, so you could hook it up to a TV to show photos or videos. You can also stream video from the internet with the HDMI port.

She will be very happy with either. What a good Bro!!

 

Mac would probably be the best laptop wise but they are $$$$$$ so I would probably go with Hp out of those two.

 

Go with HP they have a very good rep for quality.

 

Mac!

 

Personally, I'd definitely go with the Asus for a couple of reasons. It's thinner, yet has a bigger screen. It has 1GB more RAM, and the same hard drive. More USB ports. And Asus is a good company with good CS.

 

Definitely!!!!
I bought a Mac for my daughter when she went to college. She loves it and it is a great OS. BUT the cost was TWICE what you would pay for a Windows machine. Windows 7 has many of the features Mac has now anyway.

 

We get a lot of HPs in at work, and I have a much better opinion of them now, simply put they are well made laptops. Macs are good too if that is what your used to using.

Someone else mentioned Toshiba, my experience has not been good with Toshiba, but that's just me. I don't think they are built nearly as well as the HP units.

 

I have a couple of Toshiba's, but my work horse is the IBM ThinkPad. I do have experience with the HP's as well. For the media type apps she is running, the HP will be great, and well priced, as are the Toshiba's.

Whichever you choose, BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY! You will thank yourself after the first hard drive or screen goes bad.

James

 

I love my Macbook Pro. this thing is amazing

 

I buy a new computer about every 2 or so years - I can still remember paying 7k for a dell laptop years ago. I have had nothing but GREAT luck with the latest HPs (I used to have one when they were total POS!). I have purchased 6 of these from Office Depot - they always have a great sale. Of these 6 I own 2, my gf 1 and other family and friends the others. Don't buy any extended warranty unless you play toss with it on a regular basis. The only reason they sell em is to enhance their bottom line.

 

Mac, without a doubt. Its allot $$$$ but it pays for itself when you don't have it crashing and losing all of your stuff. It honestly pays for itself in the end and the OS is awesome!

 

Be sure to get at least 4GB of Ram. Windows likes to be a Ram hog. There is very little difference between the two systems hardware wise. So go with the Asus since it has more Ram for the same price.

 

I had my macbook in Iraq for this past year without it crashing or any deficiencies. Mac for life!

 

thanks for all your help guys. i gotta admit, ive used a mac before but them things are way to expensive. i've always like the HP, but the asus is built exactly like the HP just with 1gb more memory and a little lighter and bigger screen. but i may go with the HP just because of their rep! if you guys have anymore suggestions shoot em' my way!

 

First off, the difference in RAM is negligible as a 32bit OS can't utilize more than 3.5GB including Graphics RAM. Barely anything uses more than 3 Gb anyways.

I'd go for the Asus personally as they are a very reputable name in computer hardware. they are new to building complete systems but I have only heard good things so far. HP tends to include a lot of extra "bloatware" which is software that will probably never be used and only serves to slow down a computer. I usually uninstall all this stuff anyways but it's nice to have it fast from the start.

 

My vote is definitely for ASUS products, they have a reputation for DIY performance motherboards - to see them entering into motherboards is quite exciting.

Comparing the two, your main differences are that the HP has an HDMI, the ASUS has 45min more battery (provided the numbers are correct) and weighs less. To me, I believe the battery would be fairly important to your sister.

 

Having an HDMI port has been very convenient. If you have a plasma/lcd type tv with HDMI ports, it's been great to easily plug and play whatever is on the computer onto the tv.

 

My TV has VGA input which seems to compensate well enough. I'm also saying that I don't think the HDMI port is going to be important for the OP's sister.