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The $250-$400 laptop spread

CuriousMike

CuriousMike

Diamond Member
My daughter is studying abroad the first of August, and I shopping for an inexpensive laptop for her. The primary reason for "inexpensive" is that it'll really only be used for the year she's gone ( she has an Apple iMac as her desktop.) Secondarily, she'll be abroad and I'm concerned about theft (and not losing lots of money).

I've settled on the $250-$400 price range, and it seems like all laptops from all manufacturers seem to use the same chasis and just plug in different CPU's.

I'm looking for any feedback or deals you know about.

Four things I'd like to consider in order of desireability
1. Ability to put an SSD in it ( hdd upgradeable )
2. Reliability / durability ( if it's possible )
3. Webcam built in (i've seen some refurb corporate level machines w/o webcam)
4. 13-14" (everything is 15.6 - i'm ok with that but i'd prefer 13-14. 11.6 too small)
 
I browsed Best Buy and Frys looking at the range.

Interestingly enough ( to me ) was that 80% of the laptops in this price range don't give you easy access to replace HDD. ( I'd say 33% didn't allow upgrading RAM either.)

There was a Dell i3 based machine at Best Buy that was "close enough" at $379, but OOS.
The Microsoft store has the same machine but "signature edition" (no crap installed) for $327 so I ordered that, and picked up a $92 Crucial 250gb SSD to put in it.
 
1. Yoga 14 pre-owned from cowboom? IPS/pentile (not the best of them, but still), SSHD, I5, 8GB RAM, slim, good battery for $430 (there is some coupon)

2. I got a new Dell E5450 for $430 off ebay with 1080p IPS, 120GB SSD, I5, 4GB RAM. Sometimes there are even better deals for Dell models - mainly refurbished (which is great in my opinion)
I would go that route to get a good laptop
 
Have you considered the Dell Inspiron 15 5000 Series i5545-2500sLV?

1. Has a 1TB HDD but can put in SSD easily. Also has 8GB RAM
2. Looks solid and shouldn't have any issues. Has a brushed aluminum design that looks quite nice.
3. Has a built-in HD webcam.
4. Unfortunately, it is a 15.6" but I think you will struggle to find any that are 13-14" at this price.

Costs $399 over at Amazon which just about makes it in your budget. Voted one of the best laptops under $400 here.
 
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