So I have no idea what I'm doing. Help a bro out.

[Loren Littlejohn]

Need to get a laptop for my mom with a budget of $400 and it FUCKING SUCKS.

At least this is only going to be for internet, pictures and typing out shit so it doesn't have to be to crazy.

But anyhow any of these a good idea?

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E1-731-4656-17-3-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00F9VPFE6/ref=sr_1_25?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1385745536&sr=1-25[/ame]

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Gateway-NE71B11u-17-3-Inch-Laptop-Satin/dp/B00AYT8KCC/ref=sr_1_26?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1385745536&sr=1-26[/ame]

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-VivoBook-X202E-DH31T-PK-11-6-Inch-Touchscreen/dp/B00B7JQQQA/ref=psdc1_t2_B00F0RDY2O_B00B7JQQQA[/ame]

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-IdeaPad-59385555-14-Inch-Touchscreen/dp/B00F32ZANC/ref=sr_1_19?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1385745480&sr=1-19[/ame]


Seriously my father is so much easier to shop for. I fucking hate laptops.

 

[He's Dead, Jim]

http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/#foreveryone-promo-family

 

[StayTrue]

I had to do this for my mom a few years ago, and I talked her into an iPad. You could go that route and buy a keyboard dock if she types a lot.

 

[Keregioz]

For the kind of use it's intended I don't think you can go wrong with any of these.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Oddly enough she has a nexus 7. I don't think she wants an ipad.

 

[cobhc]

Stick with Asus, Toshiba, MSI, Lenovo and Sony. I wouldn't trust Acer, and I don't think Gateway is up there like they were like 20 years ago. I'd just go with the best specs you can find for the budget, but still be a good brand. Ignore touchscreens and discrete GPU's, unless you think she might want something touchscreen.

 

[HeadCrusher]

If you go Acer I'd look out for a TravelMate, not an Aspire. The Asus looks solid in general but the screen is way to small imo. I wouldn't get anything below 13" for regular use. The resolution on these things is so low you won't be able to few most websites properly.

Never heard of Gateway.

 

[cfh11]

i have had good luck with hp and toshiba... wouldnt recommend a gateway unless you want to be back in the same situation this time next year

 

[Flow Of Time]

FUCK ACER! Seriously - Me and my friends were getting 3 different acer laptops around the same time and they all died due to heating problems shortly after the warranty expired. Can't rant enough about that shitty company!

 

[Ashgarth]

Acer is pure bullshit, don't know in the states, but in Spain their support service is one of the worst I've ever seen.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Doesn't seem to really matter anymore with computers. You either get tech support that barely speaks english, or you pay a premium for it.

 

[Flow Of Time]

True. But trust me, acer sucks dick beyond imagination...

 

[HeadCrusher]

To be fair I should mention that my Acer TravelMate 660 from late 2003 still runs strong. Had to change the harddrive twice though (did it myself) and never moved it much. Just stationary use. And I observed that the build quality on the newer ones is worse.

People ask me about which Laptop to buy for ~400 every once in a while as well and I never know what to say. Either get a premium Laptop for at least around 1,000 or a Macbook. There's really no alternative. For home use I'd recommend a custom PC (that could actually be done for 400) but I recon people want their laptops these days...

 

[P-E]

http://notebookcheck.net will have you covered. It's EASILY the best laptop review site.

IIRC, in that price range, Lenovo laptops should have pretty good value.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

So is this a good idea then?

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/essential/g-series/g500/?sb=:000001C9:0000EC9A:

 

[Erik Monsonis]

Fuck Acer and HP. The Asus laptop I had worked great until it got stolen

 

[Flow Of Time]

The leonovo you posted looks fine. Never had any experience with the company, but they seem to have a good reputation.

Just to bring in an alternative: Here's a toshiba, with pretty much the same specs http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00G1NC0Y4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1386279806&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

My sister got a similar one to this modell and I was impressed by it's "ergonomic design" (goddamnit I sound like a commercial). The keyboard is pretty good aswell

 

[nezvers]

HP in Latvia dies in less than one year. I bought Acer Aspire in 2008 (pretty good specs back then) and it's still a runner, I gave it to my father that just needed something to browse internet if needed.
Now I have Macbook pro 13" (bought 2011 december) and it still run like new, but because of design it could get hot when run games or heavy stuff for long.
For my fiance we bought Asus Ivy bridge something last year december. It has some flaw with cooling system but otherwise still run grate.

 

[MatrixClaw]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo-...lack/2452185.p?id=1219072957875&skuId=2452185

$400 with a Core i5, 4GB of RAM and a 1TB drive