Needs and Intel Core 2 Duo, Vista Home Premium, 1024 RAM, 128 MB graphics
Out of the choices... Toshiba. I'm not too big on tecnical terms, but I looked at spec sheets and it seemed like they were pretty neck and neck for a while, then Toshiba took the lead. <_<
Needs and Intel Core 2 Duo, Vista Home Premium, 1024 RAM, 128 MB graphics
Difficult but not impossible for that price range. Best chance? Memorial Day.
You showed off some celeron laptops, which, while not as bad as the old ones, do not hold a candle to the dual core processors. I think a Core 2 Duo will be out of the range, but a dual core 2080 shouldn't be.
First things first... what do you want to use it for, and how much portability do you need?
15.4" Screens will be the most economical and easiest to find, but you can go down to a 14.1" for smaller, lighter laptops that may only be a small amount more expensive (or lacking some features) but they will be harder to find a good deal on (but certainly not impossible). Give me the answer to those two questions and I'll be of more help. Again, do not buy the laptops you showed us. They are bottom of the barrel and you can find a significantly better budget laptop for the same price, with some effort.
Its mainly just going to stay on my desk, but I might take it on the coach or bed sometimes. I doubt I will be taking it like in the car, around town or anything, so it doesn't have to be too portable. And just for internet browsing, storing, music, pics, videos, etc. I don't really need anything for gaming though, not too much of a fan of PC gaming
If that's what you need, then excellent, you can find a good notebook for that price range. The ones you linked to will do what you need it to, but only one of those things at a time
Give it some time and I will find you one that will do those things better and faster for a similar price.
Alright thanks, and it would also be nice if it was prebuilt also lol. I was at newegg and it seemed like you had to design everything, and I didn't know anything
GOT IT! (Thank you slickdeals)
$599
Specs:
- Intel Pentium dual-core T2080(1MB Cache/1.73GHz/533MHz FSB
- Genuine Windows XP Home or Windows Vista Basic
- 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display (with or without TrueLife for the same price)
- 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
- 160GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
- 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
- 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache*
- Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
- 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
- 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support
Good upgrades to consider:
- 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™(glossy) [Free!]
- Intel Core DUO T2350 (1.86GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB) [add $40]
- 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery [add $49]
Alternatively, if you would rather have 2GB of memory, and a T2350 CPU, with an 80GB hard drive for $81 more there are 2 other configurations available, with all else identical to the above:
These are beasts compared to the ones you linked to. Seriously, these would destroy those lappys and these could even do some light gaming if you wanted to. The 9 cell battery for $50 is worth it on any config you pick. Depending on how large of a harddrive you need, the $680+$50 (battery upgrade) is the best deal (because it has the T2350 included and an extra GB of RAM). I know these are at the high end of your range, or even over it, but these are really killer notebooks. Also, this is from Dell Small Business. Use your name as your business name, and your SS# as the EIN. Also, I would go with Vista over XP just to keep up with the times, and upgrade to Vista Premium later, which is really easy to do from the computer.
Before you ask:
T2080 vs T2350: the latter is a true Core DUO, while ths first is just dual-core (both are leaps better than celerons). The T2350 has a faster clock speed and twice the cache, meaning it will be significantly faster for $40 more.
80GB vs 160GB HDD. This is your "Filing Cabinent". The larger it is, the more things you can store on it. Doesn't really affect performance (unless you completely fill them up, considering they are the same speed)
1GB vs 2GB RAM: This is your "Desk". The larger the desk is, the more stuff you can pull out of your filing cabinent at a time without putting something else back up (which takes time). This is a big performance difference. Either way, they are 2 DIMM (DIMM=sticks, each having half of the total RAM) Dual Channel at 533mhz. The downside to this is that if you get the 1GB and choose to upgrade it to 2GB later, you'll have to toss the 2x512kb that it comes with (cause you'll need the space for the 2x1GB). The three you posted all have 512kb (1/2 of 1GB) and will NEED more if you plan to do anything on Vista (which they come with)
TrueLife vs Non-TrueLife. Truelife has a glossy screen, and most people prefer it. On any of these deals, it is a free upgrade, so unless you just hate glossy screens, get it.
9-cell vs 6-cell. This one is simple. The 9-cell lets you stay unplugged longer. easily worth the $50 extra.
The real dealmaker is that this is a well loaded laptop in the $600 range (free 3-5 day shipping). It has a Dual Layer DVD Burner, a dual-core processor with any config you pick, and a 256mb 7300 video card (which keeps you Vista Aero ready, and even some gaming abilities [ie new games at low res] if you want later), minimum 1GB of RAM (hard to find in this $ range), integrated wireless card, and at least 80GB of HDD. Any of these configs, even the base models with no upgrades, meet and beat the three you posted in every category, for a minium amount of extra money. You WILL see the performance difference and increase their longevity for a small amount of extra money. Celerons + 512kb RAM + Vista = slow slow slow budget notebook.
Vista vs XP. Both are the "low end" versions of those OS's, and while it's true that Vista will require more resources, with any config, you'll have plenty to run Vista and do what you want to do, with a "better" OS than XP. It's more advanced, and more user friendly, and more pretty for sure. You can also upgrade to Vista Premium (alot more features) at a later date for a reduced price. People just hate it because it's new and it's a resource hog for older or cheaper computers. In two years, everyone will be using Vista, as newer, better computers will have no troubles running Vista, just like what happened from 98/2000 to XP.
NOTE: These Dell deals do not last long (sometimes less than a day), and this is one of the hottest ones in a while. I can already assure you that since it's been available (yesterday), 1000s have been sold already (at the least). If you are going to get a laptop, this is the best deal you'll find at this very moment, but do not wait if you need one now. If you do miss it, don't worry, we'll find another one, but it might be a few weeks.
Woo lots of info. Thanks a TON. Except now I have a problem, I only have the money in cash, so how should I go about ordering it? (I dont have a checking account either, getting one soon though). And are you sure it won't break? Because I have heard and had first hand experience with dells and they aren't as good as most would like them to be
Woo lots of info. Thanks a TON. Except now I have a problem, I only have the money in cash, so how should I go about ordering it? (I dont have a checking account either, getting one soon though). And are you sure it won't break? Because I have heard and had first hand experience with dells and they aren't as good as most would like them to be
I'm still using my PIII Dell Notebook I can't imagine it's less than 6 years old. It's true, they could be better quality, but that doesn't mean they are bad quality. They are on par or better than the ones you linked to. You won't find a "high-quality" laptop for this price range. This is the best config you'll find for this price range, and even if the quality was terrible, it'd probably still be worth it. It does come with a 1 year warranty and one year support, which I don't think the other ones come with (for that long, if at all). As long as you don't drop it or sit on it, if it breaks, you're covered (and you can purchase accidental "insurance" from Dell if you feel like you might break it).
As for how to order it... go find someone with a card, and get them to order it, and give them the cash. That's the only way you'll get it in time to catch this deal. You could apply for buyer credit from Dell, but if you don't have a bank account, I'm assuming you have no credit history and you're under 18, so don't bother applying for credit or trying to manage credit lines until you've had some *good* advising!
The next time you get $100, OPEN A FREE BANKING ACCOUNT. The fact that you have one and the length of time you've had it will be very important later in life. In fact, every time you find extra money laying around, go open another (free) banking account somewhere else. This helps build good relationships with banks that you might need to borrow money from one day.
BTW, unless you need a notebook, you can get a better PC for cheaper, and it's more upgradable. Figure out if you will ever take it with you or not first, because if it will never leave your desk, you will be much happier with a PC.
IF YOU MISS THIS ONE:
Best Buy will have a T2080 with 1GB of RAM and Vista Premium for $599 on Sunday. It's not as great of a deal, but you can pay cash for it! This is the best brick and mortar deal you'll see until the next holiday. I don't know the rest of the specs, but I've attached the clip from the (leaked) sunday best buy ad. You *may* have to line up HOURS before they open to get this deal, as people jump on stuff like this.
I know who I'm consulting for my next PC.... ^__^
GOT IT! (Thank you slickdeals)
$599
Specs:
- Intel Pentium dual-core T2080(1MB Cache/1.73GHz/533MHz FSB
- Genuine Windows XP Home or Windows Vista Basic
- 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display (with or without TrueLife for the same price)
- 1GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 Dimm
- 160GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive
- 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability
- 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7300 TurboCache*
- Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini Card (54Mbps)
- 53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
- 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Mail-in Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support
Good upgrades to consider:
- 15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA Display with TrueLife™(glossy) [Free!]
- Intel Core DUO T2350 (1.86GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 533MHz FSB) [add $40]
- 85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery [add $49]
That is a seriously good PC. Aldo Dells are generally cheaper because they don't have shop tax/display tax
I wish I had been here when I got my laptop. I already get screwed on the price since here everything is normally double the price because of
import taxes and what not. I've had my laptop about a year now and the specs are as follows:
HP Pavilion dv5000
Genuine Intel® CPU
T2300 @ 1.66GHz
1.25 GB of Ram (DVD)
GeForce Go 7400 512MB
CD R/RW /DVD Combo
Altec Lansing Speakers
15.4" Screen
All that costs me $1,500 (U.S.)
I'm so jealous of all the good deals that you guys get. Why couldn't I have been in the U.S. when I got mine... Next time I'll make my friend there get it for me and convince him to come for a visit so I can escape the taxes!
thanks again for the help guys, but I think im going to wait 2 weeks until all the money I am 'hoping' to get comes in, so really as long as I have 300 to spend on a Wii, Ill just spend the rest on a laptop. So maybe even around 800 bucks to spend, hopefully (so if you happen to come across one for under 800, go ahead and post it)
Also one with a core 2 duo processor would be nice
and a quick question about vista, does the Home Premium version come with the aero theme? or is that just Ultimate
Home Premium comes with Aero, and will do most everything you need. Ultimate is not necessary for most users. Home Basic does not come with Aero.
Is it also true that you need to have at least a 1920x1200 screen resolution to run Aero? or did I misread something. Because most of the notebooks im finding are only 1280x800