So I can admit when I'm out of my league.

[Junior_357]

We HAD asus ultrabooks when I started at my new job...I could not get rid of them fast enough. J.U.N.K. If you have to get new, get dell. Just get the DELL warranty. You can get next business day on site repair on them so your kids aren't stuck without them for long. Lenovo has a couple upper end models that are really nice...but pricey. The X1 series is ~$1600

My experience with Dell has been similar to yours with ASUS. I won't even look at Dell for any new laptop purchase. Too much of their base hardware is tied up in proprietary cards that can't easily be changed. My personal laptop is the near-high-end N-series ASUS...complete with an NVIDIA GeoForce GT graphics card right from the factory. Running 3D BIM software makes me really picky about the hardware, especially graphics cards. But I digress...

I also have a Toshiba that belongs to my daughter...I've had no trouble with it whatsoever either. I gave less that $400 for it, and it does everything my 15YO daughter needs and then some.

 

[dougiemac]

I always buy from Apple.com refurbished area. Usually 15-20% off.

 

[Dynamis]

Mac.

 

[jwhited]

Not the cheapest computers, but if you're already comfortable with Macs, you can get a solid deal on a refurb here: http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

 

[Shrek926]

Yeah, I love Mac but they are priced WAY out of our budget.

 

[GreenPanther]

Yeah, I love Mac but they are priced WAY out of our budget.

I thought that too, until I looked at the average life of a PC was only a couple years. The average life of a Mac laptop was 5-7 years.
I can't remember where that info came from, but I bought the Mac. I also don't have to deal with all that anti virus stuff. I just log on and go, low maintenance. Mine is a couple years old now, I figured buy once and be done with it for a while.

I also bought one that was brand new in box, but had been returned to Best Buy. It still had the same warranty, but was around $250 cheaper if I remember.

 

[Shrek926]

I thought that too, until I looked at the average life of a PC was only a couple years. The average life of a Mac laptop was 5-7 years.
I can't remember where that info came from, but I bought the Mac. I also don't have to deal with all that anti virus stuff. I just log on and go, low maintenance. Mine is a couple years old now, I figured buy once and be done with it for a while.

I also bought one that was brand new in box, but had been returned to Best Buy. It still had the same warranty, but was around $250 cheaper if I remember.

Thanks, that's a good point. I'm double checking the compatibility of the kids school with mac iOS. Micro center has a refurb MacBook.

 

[GreenPanther]

Thanks, that's a good point. I'm double checking the compatibility of the kids school with mac iOS. Micro center has a refurb MacBook.

Compatibility is something to check on for sure. There are certain programs I have to use that are not compatible on occasion, so I have to travel to the library or borrow a pc computer from a friend. Although, that is pretty rare.

 

[Junior_357]

I thought that too, until I looked at the average life of a PC was only a couple years. The average life of a Mac laptop was 5-7 years.
I can't remember where that info came from, but I bought the Mac. I also don't have to deal with all that anti virus stuff. I just log on and go, low maintenance. Mine is a couple years old now, I figured buy once and be done with it for a while.

I also bought one that was brand new in box, but had been returned to Best Buy. It still had the same warranty, but was around $250 cheaper if I remember.

The virus part is true...had a PC laptop destroyed by a trojan. Killed $12K worth of software. Not cool at all. Bought Kaspersky when the computer was rebuilt...never had another problem.

Don't believe that hype...my wife's PC laptop lasted 6 years...my PC laptop lasted 8 years before the motherboard crapped out on me. I still have the hard drive out of that beast, and it still works now. My wife's laptop still runs...it's just a slow dinosaur.

Not saying Mac's aren't a good computer...just saying they don't work for what I need a computer to do. For that matter...PC's have to be configured right with the right hardware and support software in order to do what I need it to do.

 

[HarmsWay]

We HAD asus ultrabooks when I started at my new job...I could not get rid of them fast enough. J.U.N.K. If you have to get new, get dell. Just get the DELL warranty. You can get next business day on site repair on them so your kids aren't stuck without them for long. Lenovo has a couple upper end models that are really nice...but pricey. The X1 series is ~$1600

You must be thinking of acer because asus is a excellent brand. I have had my dell for 5 years and its still blazing fast and reliable.

- - - Updated - - -

The virus part is true...had a PC laptop destroyed by a trojan. Killed $12K worth of software. Not cool at all. Bought Kaspersky when the computer was rebuilt...never had another problem.

Don't believe that hype...my wife's PC laptop lasted 6 years...my PC laptop lasted 8 years before the motherboard crapped out on me. I still have the hard drive out of that beast, and it still works now. My wife's laptop still runs...it's just a slow dinosaur.

Not saying Mac's aren't a good computer...just saying they don't work for what I need a computer to do. For that matter...PC's have to be configured right with the right hardware and support software in order to do what I need it to do.

Virus problems are user error. I dont even run virus protection and have not for years.