Low Budget Laptop Advice

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TheEnglishJob

Weaksauce
Joined
Feb 21, 2009
Messages
110
I've been looking around for a good all purpose low budget laptop....$500 or less (unless an extra $50 or so would give me a huge jump in improvement).

So far the options I have been considering are configuring one direct through dell or HP which have yielded reasonable but not great results.

However, I found this Gateway at BestBuy and I can't find anything even close to it in a comparable price range. Here is the link: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9370441&type=product&id=1218093004316

The general specs are:
# AMD Athlon™ X2 QL-64* dual-core processor
# 4GB DDR2 SDRAM
# Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
# 15.6" WXGA high-definition LED-backlit display
# 320GB SATA hard drive
# ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics
# Built-in high-definition webcam with microphone
# Multiformat digital media card reader
# 4 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
# Built-in wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n)
# Built-in Gigabit Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector and V.92 high-speed data/fax modem
# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition operating system

If people can find anything wrong with this or know of any problems, please let me know.

Also, if anyone knows of a better deal, I'm open to other options. All input is appreciated, thank you!

P.S.

Here is a deal Dell is giving for $500.

Software & Services
Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T4200 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1 64 Bit
Classic Protection: 1yr Ltd Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis
Also Includes
No Microsoft Office
Glossy, widescreen 15.6 inch display (1366x768)
3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz
320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
8X CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)
6-cell battery
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11 Wireless-N Mini Card
No Webcam Option
Soundblaster X-Fi Hi Def Audio - Software Enabled
Jet Black
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
Windows Vista™ Premium
Thank you for choosing Dell
No ISP requested
 
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I've seen that deal as well. However, my thought process was that the gateway graphics card was a step up for the same price. I wouldn't really use the free bag. Do you think the Toshiba is better though?
 
TheEnglishJob said:
I've seen that deal as well. However, my thought process was that the gateway graphics card was a step up for the same price. I wouldn't really use the free bag. Do you think the Toshiba is better though?
Click to expand...

The Toshiba laptop is better due to the faster CPU and significantly longer battery life. You might want to read this article considering that the two laptops mentioned in the article have similar specs to the Gateway AMD and Toshiba Intel laptop:
http://anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3617

So it's really down to what you want more: Slightly better gaming with the AMD or faster overall speed in general tasks like internet browsing etc and longer battery life with the Toshiba
 
I like the faster processor speed of the Toshiba...but I'm a little concerned because every review I've read points to the fact that the speaker quality is the worst of any laptop they have seen (and heard). Also, some people complained of a little flex in the keyboard. The webcam is also supposedly very bad...but that's not really a deciding factor.

In all the reviews I've read of for the Gateway I didn't hear any of these problems...really none at all except for the few people who got lemons.

Do you guys think its worth it for the increase in processor speed? Also, have people had good luck with Toshiba and Gateway, over say Dell or HP? Thanks for everyones help!
 
My experience with Toshiba, Gateway and Dell laptops have been pretty much the same: I've had a Toshiba, Gateway and Dell laptop die on me or have multiple issues, defects or failures. Haven't had the chance of buying an HP laptop. With that said, my luck with Toshiba has been slightly better than the Gateways and Dell laptops.

I think it's worth it for the increase in CPU power AND battery life. An extra hour battery is not something to ignore. Those two are well worth the small chance of a keyboard flex and crappy speaker quality, which BTW is common to many laptops out there, regardless of the cost.
 
Ok, well I'm going to go to BestBuy toady and play around with the two and see how I like them in person.
 
I like the dell 15. great price and it comes in black...but has dell quality improved?
The negative on the dell15 is the f-keys now need a Fn first.

I like the new sonys. The $1000 one has a instant-internet button which is cool, but it's pretty steep for your budget.

Gateways and toshibas are within your price range. Look for HP too because they are around the $500-$700Cdn range now.
 
I'll admit I'm kinda' new to the World of laptop/notebooks/netbooks and I use my lappy for mediorcre things like emailing, DVD playin', surfing the Net to keep from interupting either one of my 2x WC'ed Q6600 G0's from their 24/7 DCing jobs. I'll also admit I went as cheaply and reliable as I could :D

Check out the joint below. I don't really know the reliability of Dell machines or really anything about them, but I do know I got a D610 PM 1.73 Ghz from them for USD $250 something with shipping. I do know it's a very clean machine (no scratches, good bat, wireless works great, and everything else ) The price range runs pretty inexpensive and they seem to have many different CPU combos,the PM, AMD duals like the Turion X2's, the Athlon X2's, Core Duo, C2D, etc They also have a great selection of screen sizes (12" to 17") ;)

http://www.dfsdirectsales.com/dell/laptops/ctl641/cp11869/cl1
 
icthus13 said:
250 GB HDD, Vista Premium w/Windows 7 upgrade. Hard to beat that for $399.
Click to expand...
Definitely can't complain about the price, but maybe you can about the "surprise" shutdowns. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=TOSHIBA+Satellite+L305+turns+off&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Sorry, but this has been going on with Toshiba laptops for around a decade and it's only fair to warn potential buyers. There are other Toshiba laptops that don't turn off all of a sudden (those are recommended if you want a Toshiba), but the L305 has many reports of the problem. Hilariously one is right on one of Toshiba's product pages. See the first link in the google search.

I'm not just bashing it. I had to suffer with a flaky Toshiba with the same problem it was frustrating. Toshiba wouldn't acknowledge (or fix) the problem and even when sued over it did everything possible to narrow the scope to prevent repairing many other models with the exact same problem. It was not just dusty fans or other easily fixed problems. Their dumb thermal shutdown would just kick in at inappropriate times.
 
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