Laptops

[Sean O'Gorman]

So the parental units told me last night that as a graduation present they want to buy me a laptop computer, thus ending nearly four years of shame directed towards me because of my poor grades in high school. ;)

Dad prefers it to be a Dell since he gets a discount on it through DTAG, but he said anything under $700.

It has been three years since I went computer shopping, and even then it was limited to Gateway since I won a $750 Gateway certificate. So I don't know what to look for.

Any suggestions?

[Spicoli]

750?

500 wardrobe and 250 bar tab. you've managed to get innernet access without it, but unable to get a date, right?

just trying to help buddy. :up:

[Methanolandbrats]

Any suggestions? :D

[nrc]

Dad prefers it to be a Dell since he gets a discount on it through DTAG, but he said anything under $700.

For you, I'd suggest something with a sturdy keyboard.

Dell has deals from time to time, but an Inspiron 1000 is about all you'll get for under $700. Twist his arm to pop for a bigger screen, bigger drive and more memory and it comes to $750 after rebates.

You really want at least 512Mb of memory. You can live with 40Gb of disk, but 80Gb is better.

[Brickman]

Dell (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs)

I'd go for the 600 or 700m and spring for the extras. What you can't tell from the cheaper models is the crappy keyboards, as with most things you sacrifice with lower prices. Buying online is blind, but they do have some stores (http://www1.us.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/kiosk?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs).

Great sale that ends Wednesday.

[SteveH]

check www.ecost.com
has HP refurbs from time to time - usually very good price

$750 laptop will last maybe 3 years. Maybe.

[chop456]

For $700, I suggest this:

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005YWOD.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[rocket]

:rofl: :rofl:

[Ankf00]

$700's not buying you jack, and dell laptops are as well built as a yugo; which is what you get when you treat your employees like they do, but that's another story for an "Office Space" thread... get the 4 year full warranty on the dell if you go that route. my HP hasn't had any problems yet, had it about 9 months, it doesn't seem too sturdy though, it's flown around the country with me but I've taken pretty good care of it b/c of all the fragile plastic. I ended up with the 64 bit AMD, the 15" widescreen, 80 GB, and 512 single chip so I could get another 512 for the second ram slot. My cousin bought a gateway about 6 months ago, 15" widescreen model, seems pretty solid so far, and I've known a few others with really good gateway laptop experiences. Everyone on OC was recommending an IBM when I was looking for my new laptop, but they're costly. Try to get your dad to up it to around $1000, or throw in some extra cash yourself instead of investing in the new 12" folgers can for the MR2 :gomer:

www.ubid.com is another place to get refurb laptops from, an old roommate got an HP from there, working out nicely for him the past 2.5 years...

[Ed_Severson]

I bought a notebook from Dell a couple of months ago, and it's been great (just like every other Dell I've owned). The model I purchased was roughly $2000 but I got a huge discount through my university. I'd say you'll have a tough time finding much for $700 or less.

To echo what's already been said here, I would not settle for anything less than 512 MB of RAM, preferrably as one DIMM. If you're going to skimp on anything, make it the hard drive. You can fit a lot of porn into 40 GB. :D

[Jervis Tetch 1]

$700 wouldn't even buy you a great IBM clone back in 1996!

Actually Dell and Sony VAIO are pretty good ones (I have both). I paid about $1200 average for both, but have been happy as a clam :) .

[Ankf00]

what model dell did both of you get?

[Don Quixote]

fwiw I have a Dell Latitude c640. I use it as my desktop, and have had some problems with it. I am on the third motherboard, but I went with the three year warranty, so it hasn't cost me anything. Now that its 3 years + old, I am waiting for the big meltdown.

[Joelski]

I have a VAIO PCG FXA-53; it's a tank. I use it for presentations 2-3 days a week for the past two and a half years, and it's been nothing but great. I also use it every day for surfing, race chat, etc.... Many hours of service and nary a flicker.

[racer2c]

I'm not into laptops but I've aquired a few IBM Thinkpads from work over the years. Talk about tanks!

My wife uses a new Compaq which is their J.U.N.K. model. Yuck.

[Ed_Severson]

Mine's an Inspiron 8600, Ank.

[racer2c]

Acer has notebooks in that price range. I'm not famileir with them though so I can't recommend it, but I saw a bunch listed on pricewatch. They seem to be the least expensive.

Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com/m/mn.aspx?i=25&f=1)

There are some Toshiba's in the $700-$800 range also.

[rabbit]

Laptops Damn, I thought this was another thread about Salma Hayek.

[cart7]

Damn, I thought this was another thread about Salma Hayek.

Well, you don't have to twist my arm...
http://www.salma.com/images/salma-hayek-0070.jpg

[RichK]

The Micron laptops at my work tend to burn themselves up after about 2 years. Mine just did it yesterday. :(

[Sean O'Gorman]

I figured $700 would probably get me something like this:

http://www.lazylaces.com/pics/center_lappy_486.jpg


Dell has deals from time to time, but an Inspiron 1000 is about all you'll get for under $700. Twist his arm to pop for a bigger screen, bigger drive and more memory and it comes to $750 after rebates.

You really want at least 512Mb of memory. You can live with 40Gb of disk, but 80Gb is better.

Specs aren't really as much a concern for what I do as durability is. The computer I've been using for the past three years is relatively adequate, but the 128 MB DDR SDRAM isn't near enough. 40 GB is more than enough, I have a 20 GB HD right now and there is still 3.2 GB of space.

[Brickman]

I would recommend 3 out of the 4...


Dell 300 M http://www.bedfordmicro.com/images/photos/dell_inspiron_300m.jpg
:thumbup:

Inspiron 2500 http://www.mobilenews.ne.jp/news/2001/04/18/ins2500.jpg :thumdown: (Keyboard)

Inspiron 4150 http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~ran27/4150.jpg :thumbup:

Salma Hayekhttp://i.amica.msn.de/ami/pics/upload/tfmedia1/gen/M/D/HBMDAx8aOrX_Pxgen_r_285xA.jpg :thumbup:

[dando]

Good timing, SOG. I just spied a deal on a Dell mid-level machine on techbargains.com last night:


Inspiron 6000 Notebook $649 shipped free, Feb 28

Instant $400 off makes this a good deal for a basic configuration.
Dell Small Business Inspiron 6000 main stream Notebook 6.6lb using the new Intel Sonoma chipset (Support DDR2, 533Mhz bus processors, etc), Celeron M 350 1.3Ghz Free 512MB DDR2/30GB, DVD, 15.4" Wide XGA Screen, 56k Modem, Ethernet, 6 months ISP, 1yr warranty, MS Works Suite/Money, XP Home, Free Dell 720 Printer $649 shipped free. Tax is charged. Exp 3/2 or sooner

Start here - Customize it under 6000. Customize it on leftmost config. Select Free 512MB, Free 720 Printer. CDRW/DVD Combo Drive +$29, Dell 802.11g wireless +$15.

If you want a faster config, see the Dell Home deals using $500 off coupon.

Good thru tomorrow (tho, they sometimes pull deals/coupons once they reach their quota. linky (http://techbargains.com/u.cfm?id=41012&u=3)

I'd upgrade the display to XGA+, CDRW/DVD, and XP Pro. You can pick up the difference for $150 + tax.

EDIT: in comparison, the 1150 (their low-end model) is the same price, but comes with a 14" display, and doesn't have a firewire port (to make it somewhat future proof). The 8600, which is being phased out, is $899 for a similiar config ($500 off $1399 coupon), and the 9200 (top-end w/17" display) is $1100. I'm personally kicking myself for not getting an 8600 when they had a $750 off $1500 coupon last November for a limited time. This is the best deal I've seen since.

-Kevin