Buying a new laptop- need recommendations

[Chris Carlson]

Dells aren't that bad. I have one and have been using it without issue for over 2 years. For that price range, Dell might be among the best choices.

I'm becoming an HP fan. I have yet to own an HP laptop but those I have seen look great. For the most part, most laptops share very similar hardware. The only real hardware difference between one laptop and another is the motherboard and how well it's designed for cooling.

HP has several in the sub-$700 range. I'd say HP.

How about this? http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...category=notebooks&series_name=dv2000t_series

Intel Core 2 Duo, 120GB HD, Vista... a good machine.

 

[Mark Farnik]

Ah, yes Chris. I looked at this machine and fell in love with it. But when I checked the necessary option boxes for a few small things like a faster processor, better video card, brightscreen and two year warranty, the price jumped to over $1k. I simply can't swing that right now.

Hmm, I found a machine on Tiger Direct that I really like:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2283294&CatId=1896

It's a Gateway MX6631 with a 1.6 GHZ Intel Centrino M processor, 512k of memory expandable to 2GB, 80 GB of memory on the hard drive and a 15.4-inch Widescreen Ultrabright WXGA TFT screen. They've got it rock bottom priced at $600. The two year extended warranty runs for $180. Adding in a nice $56 carrying case and a $21 cordless optical mouse would bring the grand total to $857. Which is almost $200 over my budget, but I really need this machine, so I can swing it.
I'm taking a long, hard look at this notebook. It's got most everything I need for an excellent price. The only thing I don't like is the 512k memory, but that's expandable up to 2 GB so I could always do that later on.

Does anyone here have experience with Gateways?

 

[David Schuttler]

Check the refurbished list at Dell.

 

[J Kinkaid]

Check sites like slickdeals.net and Notebookforums.com if you are in the market for a Dell .

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

Ah, yes Chris. I looked at this machine and fell in love with it. But when I checked the necessary option boxes for a few small things like a faster processor, better video card, brightscreen and two year warranty, the price jumped to over $1k. I simply can't swing that right now.

Hmm, I found a machine on Tiger Direct that I really like:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2283294&CatId=1896

It's a Gateway MX6631 with a 1.6 GHZ Intel Centrino M processor, 512k of memory expandable to 2GB, 80 GB of memory on the hard drive and a 15.4-inch Widescreen Ultrabright WXGA TFT screen. They've got it rock bottom priced at $600. The two year extended warranty runs for $180. Adding in a nice $56 carrying case and a $21 cordless optical mouse would bring the grand total to $857. Which is almost $200 over my budget, but I really need this machine, so I can swing it.
I'm taking a long, hard look at this notebook. It's got most everything I need for an excellent price. The only thing I don't like is the 512k memory, but that's expandable up to 2 GB so I could always do that later on.

Does anyone here have experience with Gateways?

If you only have 512mb of RAM, don't get Vista. Only use XP or Linux. It doesn't matter how fast everything else is, 1GB of RAM is the bare minimum for Vista. Though, looking at the laptop you linked to, it runs XP Home, so you should be home free.

I second the "check Dell refurbished". I just got a refurbished Dell 1705 1.73ghz Core 2 Duo with 2GB of ram, a 120GB hard drive, ATI Mobility Radeon, a DVDRW, and a 17 inch widescreen with 1900x1200 resolution for $1000 shipped. It pays to Google around for online Dell coupons!