Hi, my Dad is getting a laptop gifted to him for being at his job for 25 years. The budget is $1000 and it must have windows 7 (not 8). He mostly does work related stuff which is non intensive and also he watches HD movies. So play back needs to be smooth. For this budget I'm sure that won't be a problem by far. So does anyone have any recommendations. I would really appreciate it. Feel free to link me your selections. Thanks!
I would look into both Dell and HP - you can check out both of their sites and you will easily find a model under $1000. You may even be able to get him a tablet to go along with it too. $1000 is usually reserved for an Apple product these days, as PC laptops have gone way down in price, especially if your Dad isn't going to be doing anything too heavy.
Thanks very much for the suggestions, yeah I suggested he get a tablet along with the laptop but he wasn't interested. He already has a pretty nice smartphone so he didn't see the point in the tablet... Anyway we have set our sights on this really good business oriented Lenovo laptop. I have heard good things about Lenovo, along the lines of them being only surpassed in quality by Apple products. It was just under $1000 so I hope it's worth it...
I'm pretty sure that any laptot you get at that price will be more than enough for your father's needs. Laptops aren't as expensive as they used to be, and with $1000 you can even get a decent gaming laptop nowadays. The hardest part would be to find a brand new laptop with Windows 7, since most of the stores now offer build-in Windows 8 for every laptop. Lenovo is a very good brand, by the way, known for their long-lasting products and as you said, their quality can even be compared with Apple's Macbooks.
If you are going to spend 1000, on it, and the budget allows you to go to a retailer, would you say that your Dad is like mine; i.e., and doesn't want to have to mess with the thing a lot to get it to run and stay virus free? I'm saying that you might want to at least check the deal you get at best buy they price match everywhere anyway (inlcuding amazon!), because there they will give the you "PICK THREE", for about that price. You can a get a Perfect laptop for only 699 or much less really or so, I recommend 100% getting an Asus, they are the top brand name gaming computer, they make most of the parts that are in other computers, HP is getting out of the consumer market very shortly. He doesn't need bigger than an I5. Windows 7 is not retailing anymore, (as the person mentioned above). You will get a very good customer service assistance there, and IF YOU DONT< get a manager, this place is cracking down big time on customer service, because it is NON COMMISSION! You will maybe want to get the Geek Squad service plan, People say no way, that place is a joke, and they will maybe rip my head off here. But, the truth is, Windows 8 is annoying, and all computers that are retailed now, are not made very well. ALL OF them, except for the exception of the Asus. So I would strongly recommend best buy because the subscription form of antivirus protection which is what you want, is FREE for a year with a 'PICK 2" package and you can choose between Norton, and the other three, they don't make you get Norton if you want Kapersky, which is the decent one. Then, you can the software coverage and the parts labor and replacement damage plan and then after that, you will never pay for one thing on that computer for two to three years, and then you don't even have to think about whats coming after windows 8. They also remove all the ad ware that is sold with all the computers now, and set it up for him. Obviously these services are not the thing for the computer generation who can handle most of this stuff.
If you google compare laptop prices you will find sites that have all the laptops you can think of and you can compare them it will have details about the laptop the price the operations things you can do and more. Good luck hope you find one for your Dad and congrats to him for making 25 years that's awsome!
If it were me, I'd pick a Lenovo. It's very durable and comes at a cheaper price than most, not to mention they don't resort to using cheap plastic like HP (I had a bad experience with their expensive cheap plastic laptop). My only complaint with a Lenovo is that their product designs aren't very appealing, but by no means are they ugly. If your dad isn't one to care too much about the appearance of the laptop, then Lenovo would be my top choice.
There are Lenovo laptops in the Thinkpad series that are sub-$1000 and have the specs that would clearly please your dad. Lenovo Thinkpads are made to weather a lot of abuse and are designed for business environments. They are also hardy enough to last years, making them a great investment. Here's one laptop in the series that you might want to look at: Log In It's a T430 Lenovo Thinkpad on Windows 7 -- thin, light, and has the specs great for the occasional HD movie. You're dad will probably love this.
Thanks everyone for the help and rivenux we are getting him a thinkpad T530 so it's a little better than the one you were mentioning. To sophia thanks for the advice but because I am pretty tech savvy I'll be able to fix his computer if he has any troubles. I would get him an Asus but I've heard Asus is slightly below Lenovo (and not by much) when it comes to quality. Asus laptops do tend to look more sleek and such but he doesn't care much about that. Also, I told his company to get it from Newegg and Newegg sells computers with windows 7 still. And everyone else I didn't mention thanks for the input I felt confident in my choice after reading all these comments.
This may be a bit too late, but I would get an Asus. Asus is starting to develop more, and their newer laptops have really good build quality. An Asus Vivobook or Zenbook really blows the Lenovo out of the water, while still being within the budget. Personally I'd go for the any of the laptops listed above, as they are both made out of aluminum, and look nice while having being fairly decent in terms of speed. HD playback does not require much power or speed, and the Thinkpad looks severely outdated in terms of design, and would be heavier. I know that you have said that you don't really care for sleekness and design(?), but I think that the Asus has multiple advantages over the Thinkpad, because the Zenbook for example, is an Ultrabook, and thus comes with a SSD. Work and minor video watching can be easily handled by the integrated video card. I don't understand why Windows 8 is out of the option though, would you care to clarify?
@Inconsitency I checked out the Zenbook and Vivobook. One of the things my Dad said he wanted was at least a 15.6 inch screen if not bigger. Also, I asked him about touch screens and Windows 8 and he didn't really seem interested in having to get used to Windows 8 or using a touchscreen. So I let him decide since I think Windows 7 is still a viable option. Although the Thinkpads may be somewhat ugly they do look sort of business like and I think he'll like that. I'd get a Zenbook but all the ones with the screen size I would be interested in are over $1000. Having that SSD would be nice though, technically I could still call his work and see if they have actually ordered it yet but I haven't found an Asus Zenbook that meets what we need within the budget. (Looked on Newegg)
You can always change the operating system later, even if the laptop doesn't have a CD drive. I'd recommend you look into ultrabooks, they're like laptops but really thin and lightweight. Should definitely be able to pick one up with decent specs for under $1000.
