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Suggestion for a good laptop for a 13 year old ?

Y

you2

Diamond Member
i'm looking for a good laptop for a 13 year old. There are no formal requirements but my thought had been along the following:

less than $500; 15 inch screen. The models I've looked at have included:
Acer Aspire AS 5552-5898 (this one seems really good; but only has 1 speaker and short battery ilfe)
Dell Inspiron 15R (words with ads come with it; they have a student copy at 2x the price this person can purchase with k-12 discount)
HP Dvr6-2550us (it is a little more than what I want to spend; but has wonderful reviews; unfortunately it is now discontinued 'cept refurbs)
HP 4525S (didn't look that great when I looked at it)
Lenro G560 0679 ALV (no clue really)
Toshiba L655-S5150 (looked ok)
-
Oh well suggestions or comments on the above or different models welcomed. I have about a 6 weeks so my plan was to pick a model then wait 2 or 3 weeks and see if it comes on sale.
 
I have and like the Dell 15r. If you dont mind the hassle the Outlet has good deals, particularly when there's a coupon deal going on. Check deal sites for info about coupon.
 
How bad is MS words with "ads". On the surface I thought "ads" would be in appropriate for a 13 years old...

Tom said:
I have and like the Dell 15r. If you dont mind the hassle the Outlet has good deals, particularly when there's a coupon deal going on. Check deal sites for info about coupon.
Click to expand...
 
i can speak up here since i did the same.

HP 2740w(2730w) - uplifted with ADR/DMR/COMPUTRACE PROF.

the unit survived several years of backpack - school. every corner/edge is destroyed but i can get HP to ADR the unit. Computrace logged every day the gps location/etc.

the $402 panasonic CF-W8 is not bad for homework but buy the kid a gaming platform (xbox360/home pc) for serious gaming. CF-W8 is about as tough as the tablet.

I chose the tablet because of the wacom digitizer and the anime stuff liked to draw. i've never seen such a tore-up from the floor-up laptop (2730w) continue to work. It has 4G and the flip up Antenna for wifi was destroyed but still worked heh
 
She's not a gamer; so the focus is more on multi-media. It looks like the 27xx is long discontinued.
 
not really 2740w is still to purchase.

I found the investment to be an awesome purchase and it was used daily and still is (computrace ftw) - remember it's gotta hold up. HP elitebooks are mofo hardcore tough. You can spend $300 X times or just do it right the first time. The digitizer is compatible with photoshop/corel painter.

Plus at 13 if she can't take care of herself - maybe just buy her some meth.
 
The Dell 14R and 15R (both with i3) are $400 right now (use coupon $JGTDQR?V19BDS on 15R). They come with color covers that I'm sure a 13yr old would like.
 
Yea. She is responsible but still a kid. Also with how electronics are changing I think 3 years life span would be nice but that's about it.

Is the dell a good machine with regards to usability? I.e, decent screen/keyboard/mouse track/speakers ? I was fairly happy with the dvr6-2550us that we gave as a gift last year but it has already been discontinued.

Also how bad are the ads with the software?

GodisanAtheist said:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0355168

$300 dollar dell computer from Microcenter.

The more money you spend on electronics for a 13 year old girl, the more money you're flushing down the toilet (speaking from experience with my younger sister, electronics die horrible deaths around her).
Click to expand...
 
at that price doesn't really matter, but check out costco for their 2nd year warranty being in the price.

if you buy it straight don't expect and support if it breaks
 
you2 said:
Yea. She is responsible but still a kid. Also with how electronics are changing I think 3 years life span would be nice but that's about it.

Is the dell a good machine with regards to usability? I.e, decent screen/keyboard/mouse track/speakers ? I was fairly happy with the dvr6-2550us that we gave as a gift last year but it has already been discontinued.

Also how bad are the ads with the software?
Click to expand...

-Yeah, its far from a top notch machine but for media/homework/internet purposes its more than adequate. Keyboard/touchpad are nothing to write home about but they're functional and get the job done. Speakers produce relatively tiny sound, but they're as good as anything you're going to get for a couple hundred dollars more. Same for the screen, you're looking at $600 dollars before you get a meaningfully better screen.

The computer is also not burried underneath crap-ware. Naturally you're going to want to clean it up a bit before its ready for action but its not like it comes with a 100 processes running, feels smooth to use and does anything she'd use it for briskly.

Honestly its a fine computer for the Junior High/Early High School bracket. Also sets you up for a great Sweet 16 present with a more capable laptop.
 
As far as the ads with MS Word, what I've read is so far they are ads for Microsoft products and services.

I doubt MS will ever allow inappropriate ads, I wouldn't worry about that.
 
Ok thanks. It sounds like the dell for about 475 with tax. One (more question) they only have black; but the outlet has colours. Has anyone ordered from the outlet before? I.e, will it be like new or will it be scratched up with finger prints and stuff like that. The outlet version is about $20 cheaper; but is blue instead of black and has 4GB vs 3GB so relatively minor difference 'cept for colour. Colour is a minor thing I guess but kids tend to get more excited 'bout such things...
 
I'm 54 and I was excited to get a blue 15r from the outlet. 😉

They have 2 levels of refurbs. Regular refurbs and "scratch and dents". In my experience the regular refurbs look pretty much like new, and the scratch and dents may have very minor nicks. The last scratch and dent I got is an Alienware m11x and it had 2 almost invisible "scratches", that actually were just dirt. So it looks new now.

I've bought 5 15r's, all look like new to me. It's interesting to me that the outlet sells models you can't order new. I think it's because they have different options in different places. My blue Dell 15r came from the Brazil market, I'm pretty sure.

btw, my grandaughter really liked my Dell Studio 14z. In fact she's mad I sold it because she like the "hidden" power button. If you don't care about no internal dvd, you might check the outlet for that model too. It's very light and looks cool and is pretty cheap.
 
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