I just got a Sony from best buy and am thinking about returning it. I paid 800 for the laptop. What should I exchange it for? I need to get a PC because it’s for work.

I would go with a Dell; reliable, fast, and great customer service when needed.

Keep in mind they have a restocking fee of 15% on undamaged merchandise including computers. Even if you exchange it. So you will have to pay them 120.00 to take it back. I just googled this and confirmed it.

800 is cheap for a laptop. You haven’t said why you want to return it. Reasons? Someone make fun of you? Gotta give us a hint.

Is it a hardware or software problem? They load so much shit on new computers I find them unusable. I normally slap a copy of XP from Microsoft without all the crap and are good to go.

Nuke and pave is the first thing I do with any computer. Except Macs.

@johnpowell Easy for you, you are very computer savvy.

@chyna :: True, I wouldn’t want my mom to do it. Why computers are so cheap is that companies install a ton of shit that nags you to pay. Dell gets paid tons to install that shit.

$800 is not cheap for a laptop.

What are you looking for in a computer? What will its primary functions be?

@ivan if you cant spend $800 on a laptop you should only expect it to surf the internet. Cause otherwise you get what you pay for.

Acer makes the best laptops around.

If you want a gaming rig, then maybe $800 isn’t enough. For just about everything else, $800 will get a more than satisfactory laptop.

@ivan the problem is the average consumer is going to want the performance of a $1600 latop in a $800 one. They sound good on paper but people never seem to be satisfied.

Why are you returning it?

Laptops really don’t vary much from company to company, just the logo and the terminology for their technology.

@Ivan it’s not cheap, but it’s fairly low. Laptops these days are generally around $650 (assuming we’re talking USD here) and gaming grade laptops could go up into $1600 (Never understood the desire for a gaming laptop, but nevertheless…)
For work, I’d expect somebody to buy about an $800 laptop.

I feel way out of the loop here. Im planning on spending $2000 on my next notebook.

You’re planning on wasting $1000.

You can get a loaded laptop for $600 if you look hard enough.

@ivan find me a notebook with the same or better specs of a 15” macbook pro and i’ll buy that instead.

Im buying it as a desktop replacement not a internet surfer.

@willbrawn what do you need in a laptop that’d cost you $2000? Gaming quality? Video editing, 3d rendering?

Im a photographer and I need the processing speed.

Here and here. Took me five minutes to find those.

.
Browse these sites:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/
http://www.newegg.com/

@J0E those are the same, the macbook pro has a dedicated graphics card. Those do not I am sorry. Good effort though.

For the same kind of specs on a PC I am looking around the same price range.

@willbrawn Like I said, those were quick front page finds, I’m not going to do all the work for you.

EDIT: but apparently Ivan will

Assuming you mean this one, I’ve done a search at New Egg for some comparable machines.

Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4

At this point, I’m tired of copying and pasting links, so here’s the search.

Refurb MacBook at Apple online.

You gave examples of similar hardware. MacBook pros are an elite system. OSX and a big battery life help. Great examples though. Still not going to buy a pc, to much trouble for me.

“find me a notebook with the same or better specs of a 15” macbook pro and i’ll buy that instead.”

Install OSX on a PC if you so desire (or Linux…). You will still get decent battery life. The extra hour or two that you get with the Mac is not worth 1200 dollars.