discussion Need general recommendations for Lappy

[sswilson]

My daughter's S754 Sempron 3100+ finally gave up the ghost so I'm on the hunt for a laptop for her and would like a few recommendations from you folks on general specs I should be looking for.

She doesn't game at all (console only), so GFX aren't that big of a deal.

So far I'm set on a minimum C2D (t5550), 2 Gig memory, and at least a 15" screen.

Looking mainly for lightweight, and must be able to play larger media files without stuttering.

I'm going to check out the $600 - $800 laptops at FShop in the AM.

Anything I should beware of, or look for?

 

[3.0charlie]

You're going to hate me... try Dell. I did and I'm really satisfied with their product. Support is also excellent.

15.4" screen? Yes.
2 Gb Ram? Definitely.
T5550? Could be overkill. My Inspiron 6400 has a T2300 which runs great.

 

[sswilson]

You're going to hate me... try Dell. I did and I'm really satisfied with their product. Support is also excellent.

15.4" screen? Yes.
2 Gb Ram? Definitely.
T5550? Could be overkill. My Inspiron 6400 has a T2300 which runs great.

That's a dual core as opposed to a C2D isn't it? I'd pick up a turion rather than a dual core pentium.

I'm certainly not going to hate you for suggesting Dell, I've got a flyer here that I've already looked through and I'll have a look at their site once I see what kind of pricing is available locally.

 

[3.0charlie]

Yes, it's a Yonah - Core Duo CPU socket 479. All I meant was a Core Duo runs any apps great. Any CPU above-and-beyond the T2300 will be gravy for your daughter's lappy.

 

[sswilson]

What's the on-board graphics on that, and have you tried watching a movie on it?

 

[3.0charlie]

Intel's 945 chipset Display Adaptor; nothing fancy but you have to know that this lappy was bought back in November '06. So basically the lowest model of all graphic cards.

My kids have watched multiple movies on it while traveling and they never complained about the movie quality.

 

[Guest]

The wife has a acer aspire 5220, tk-55, 1g ram(picked up a 1x2g sodimm for $25 @ ncix)15.4", 120ghdd and a 7000m
paid $478 plus the $25 for the ram upgrade.
Movies play fine.
It isnt fancy but does exactly what its suppost to do in spades.

 

[stoanee]

Just watch for the power plug problem. I have had two Toshibas expire because they came loose on the motherboard.

 

[Thund3rball]

You're going to hate me... try Dell. I did and I'm really satisfied with their product. Support is also excellent.

15.4" screen? Yes.
2 Gb Ram? Definitely.
T5550? Could be overkill. My Inspiron 6400 has a T2300 which runs great.

Yup I agree. Even after my screen battle with Dell for that price range it's hard to beat a Dell Vostro 1500 for $700. Has everything you need and if you call Dell you can probably swing a slightly better deal. Get them to downgrade your ram and buy some from ncix instead. Here's one with the default config.

The Dell Online Store: Build Your System

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB), English
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2, English
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Display
No Webcam Option
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 Dimm
250GB 5400RPM SA160 Hard Drive
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/o Roxio Creator
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
High Definition Audio 2.0
Essentials
No Microsoft Office, English
No Anti-Virus/ Security Software
1 Year Return to Depot Service and Technical Support
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
10GB for 1 Year Online Data Backup by Dell DataSafe
DELL NETWORK ASSISTANT 1.7
1 Year Dell Automated PC Tuneup
Accessories
Also Includes
Integrated 10/100 Network Card and Modem
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.08

 

[sswilson]

Pulled the pin and picked up this one from futureshop......

Future Shop: Computers: Laptops: Toshiba Satellite Intel Core 2 Duo T5450 1.66GHz Laptop (A200-FE2) - Future Shop Exclusive

Everything I wanted including the X3100 (that's intel's newer vid isn't it???), 200G HD, 2Gig mem, and a t5450.

Advertised at $699, but they had an open box for $659 so we ended up getting an HP multifunction printer to bring the total to $722 (before taxes) after paying the laptop and printer "environmental" fee.