Places to check for computer deals?

[Liesje]

I'm in the market for a new laptop. I know there are lots of Black Friday and Christmas deals, but so far everything I've found is not the quality I'm looking for. I "built" what I need on Dell and HP and my builds came within $5 of each other. It was an HP Envy and a Dell XPS and they were both around $1300 (including warranty). I'm not really sure where else to look online. My current laptop I got from a place that is now out of business. If anyone else is bored and wants to dig around, I'm looking for...

• PC (OS doesn't matter, I install my own)
• 14-14.5" display
• preferably a tray-loading optical drive but a slot-load is not a deal breaker
• 6GB RAM
• 7200RPM SATA drive (don't care how big, I backup externally)
• Intel i3 or i5 processor (or AMD equivalent)
• Nice graphics card like ATI Radeon or nVidia w/ 1GB, not the basic Intel ones the base models come with
• backlit keyboard
• nice case/form factor
• 3 year warranty (doesn't have to be in-home or anything like that, just replacing bad parts)

I don't care about high end wireless, Bluetooth, TV tuners, enhanced audio, or better battery.

 

[Fernando-]

I might be buying an XPS at the end of the month. Have you decided yet which one you're going for?

 

[Liesje]

Yes, I got an HP Envy 14 through an educational discount (I work for an accredited college/university). I waited several weeks for a deal/sale, even found some nice coupon codes, but none applied to the Envy, only the lower end models people are buying as Christmas presents. The one I'm getting is the 14", it's 1" thick and 5lbs, aluminum case, HD radiance screen (I'm told it's brighter than a MacBook), 1GB ATI switchable graphics, 500GB 7200rpm hard drive, i7-740QM quad core processor, super drive, backlight, HDMI. I got 4GB RAM in one DIMM so I will instantly double that myself (I can get it cheaper than upgrading it while the computer is built). I also got an extra power cord and will be getting the 10 hour slice battery as soon as it's available again. It comes with a 2 year warranty and some software I was looking into buying. I would have liked USB 3.0 but cannot wait for the models that have this available to be available again (current computer is broken, and I've already sold it and promised it to the new owner by Christmas). I actually do most of my backing up online/over ethernet so the lack of USB 3.0 was not enough to be a deal breaker.

I also got a good discount on XPS systems and liked some of the specs better but didn't like the overall look/feel of the computer. The one thing I liked about the XPS' is the tray-load drive (not a fan of slot-load).

 

[Fernando-]

So the main reason you went for the HP was for the discount? I like the XPS quite a lot and I don't find it expensive (in the US) either. Does your HP screen is 1080p?

 

[Liesje]

No, actually the XPS discount is better for me. I went with the HP because I like the overall size, look, and form factor better. The XPS to me is ugly and kind of clunky. Also like I said, the Envy has the slice battery option and comes with some software I wanted to buy anyway.

The 14" is 900p. The 15 and 17" models are 1080p but honestly at 14" the human eye would not be able to detect the difference. Maybe on a 42"+ TV it would matter but a 14" laptop?

 

[Liesje]

Huzzah! My computer has shipped (I placed my custom order five days ago and already have the second power adapter I ordered with it).

 

[Fernando-]

^ Congrats.

I like the XPS, I think I'm going to go for that one, although they're not selling them with the 1080p screen anymore, so I hope they go back to that by the time I order mine. And I'll have to order it from the US, 'cause of the backlit keyboard which is a very nice feature. Plus, it's cheaper.

 

[Liesje]

Let me know when you're ready to order, I might be able to get you an EPP (educational) link with a discount up to 15%, though not sure if it will work on an order outside of the US but you could try.

I've never had a backlight keyboard before but my new one will have that too (comes standard).

 

[Fernando-]

Let me know when you're ready to order, I might be able to get you an EPP (educational) link with a discount up to 15%, though not sure if it will work on an order outside of the US but you could try.

I've never had a backlight keyboard before but my new one will have that too (comes standard).

Thanks so much Liesje, I'll let you know. But first I have to check that I can use someone's address for the shipping and I guess I'm going to wait a few days to check if they went back to the 1080p screen.

And yeah, the backlit keyboard is pretty cool, one of the reasons why I'll be ordering to the US. Cool that it comes standard with the HP, they charge an extra 25 USD for that feature at dell.com