radomirthegreat
asked on
laptop suggestions
I'd like the cheapest laptop with XP Pro that has the following hardware:
•Pentium M CPU
or
Athlon XP
•40GB hard drive
•256MB ram
•CD burner/DVD player combo drive
That should be something like $700 or less. Is that possible? I don't care about video, seek times, and whatnot. Could the screen size be around 14"?
I'll award points to people who can cite risks, potential problems, and reasons why that's impossible. If it is possible, I'll award points to people who give me links. I'm considering buying from www.abspc.com www.ibuypower.com and other such sites.
If you're left with no options and you're stuck with Celeron and Duron laptops, I'll accept that. That would fit the criteria of risks, problems, and impossibility.
Thank you very much,
Radomir Jordanovic
•Pentium M CPU
or
Athlon XP
•40GB hard drive
•256MB ram
•CD burner/DVD player combo drive
That should be something like $700 or less. Is that possible? I don't care about video, seek times, and whatnot. Could the screen size be around 14"?
I'll award points to people who can cite risks, potential problems, and reasons why that's impossible. If it is possible, I'll award points to people who give me links. I'm considering buying from www.abspc.com www.ibuypower.com and other such sites.
If you're left with no options and you're stuck with Celeron and Duron laptops, I'll accept that. That would fit the criteria of risks, problems, and impossibility.
Thank you very much,
Radomir Jordanovic
SOLUTION
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OK, now that that's off my chest ....
Buy Pentium-M are you referring to Centrino technology being something you want? Generally people buy Pentium-M for it's reduced power consumption/heat dissipation, so they don't really compare to an AthlonXP cpu in notebooks... they're very different.
And if you're looking for centrino technology, you'll most likely not find it for $700, ESPECIALLY with XP Pro. XP Pro is considerably more expensive than home and not put on most low-end notebook computers.
Buy Pentium-M are you referring to Centrino technology being something you want? Generally people buy Pentium-M for it's reduced power consumption/heat dissipation, so they don't really compare to an AthlonXP cpu in notebooks... they're very different.
And if you're looking for centrino technology, you'll most likely not find it for $700, ESPECIALLY with XP Pro. XP Pro is considerably more expensive than home and not put on most low-end notebook computers.
ASKER
HP, Compaq (redundant...), Toshiba, perhaps?
Personally I believe if you're looking around $700 for XP Pro and all the specs you mentioned, it's impossible unless it's 'hot'... if you get my drift...
ASKER
How hilarious! What can I get for $700, laptop-wise?
Gateway M305S maybe?
Not much on pricewatch.com in that range, but you can check it out and see what you canfind.
Not much on pricewatch.com in that range, but you can check it out and see what you canfind.
ASKER
Am I scraping the bottom?
Radomir,
There is a high possibility that with this configuration
Athlon XP
•40GB hard drive
•256MB ram
You can get say around $700..
But like Albertabeef has said not possible with Pentium-m..
For pentium-m to come to that price range you need to wait for a long time .. Looks like Intel is going to come with pentium 64 bit processor in few months . So there could be a price reduction in 32-bit processors. But even then pentium-m may not be cheap but there could be some price reduction.
Sunray
There is a high possibility that with this configuration
Athlon XP
•40GB hard drive
•256MB ram
You can get say around $700..
But like Albertabeef has said not possible with Pentium-m..
For pentium-m to come to that price range you need to wait for a long time .. Looks like Intel is going to come with pentium 64 bit processor in few months . So there could be a price reduction in 32-bit processors. But even then pentium-m may not be cheap but there could be some price reduction.
Sunray
Also check for dell deals .. They come with laptops under $1000 or some what near your price range
Sunray
Sunray
ASKER
I've looked at Dell, and the laptops may interest me as a last resort. What about www.tigerdirect.com ? I like their P3 refurbished laptops. That brings me to another point I forgot to mention. CPU speed isn't too important. If everything comes down to the CPU being too fast to price the laptop under $800, I'll settle with something slower. I'm planning to surf the net, do Word applications, and play Warcraft 3, which requires a PII450, 128MBs of ram, and 700MBs of hard drive space.
Because speed is good, I'd like to have some with this new laptop. Any ideas?
Thanks again,
Radomir Jordanovic
Because speed is good, I'd like to have some with this new laptop. Any ideas?
Thanks again,
Radomir Jordanovic
SOLUTION
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an off lease would be the thing, especially if you can get 90 days or better warranty
Factory refurb might be OK too, again, as long as a warranty is with it.
I doubt off-lease or factory-refurb. will get you a DVD/CDRW combo drive though, they only started coming on laptops standard in the past 6 months or so, it would seem.
I doubt off-lease or factory-refurb. will get you a DVD/CDRW combo drive though, they only started coming on laptops standard in the past 6 months or so, it would seem.
radomirthegreat
I think I saw that in another question that you are still in college. If so does that college get any deals from companies such as dell and HP?
and dell does charge an arm and a leg for shipping in the states.
I think I saw that in another question that you are still in college. If so does that college get any deals from companies such as dell and HP?
and dell does charge an arm and a leg for shipping in the states.
SOLUTION
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These guys have a few refurbs as well: http://www.hoct.com/notebook-special.html
dell inspiron 1100 2.3GHz processor Intel® Celeron® Processor , 24X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive, 256MB memory and a 30GB Harddrive. $799 After $150 Mail-In Rebate
sys good enough, if you want a new one.. that is, if you have office cds already, you can have the sw taken off and you can have the price lowered down further
sys good enough, if you want a new one.. that is, if you have office cds already, you can have the sw taken off and you can have the price lowered down further
ASKER
What about this one:?
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-8026&qp=0&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=82225
My parents and I have agreed to split the price. With the $50 extra, I'll have enough money to upgrade the ram later on. Do you think that 64MBs will be too little? Should I decrease the amount of shared ram for video?
I picked this laptop because it's in a local store with a nice warranty. Whatever happens will happen within a year or it will be settled here.
Thank you very much,
Radomir Jordanovic
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c=1&b=g&catoid=-8026&qp=0&bookmark=bookmark_0&oid=82225
My parents and I have agreed to split the price. With the $50 extra, I'll have enough money to upgrade the ram later on. Do you think that 64MBs will be too little? Should I decrease the amount of shared ram for video?
I picked this laptop because it's in a local store with a nice warranty. Whatever happens will happen within a year or it will be settled here.
Thank you very much,
Radomir Jordanovic
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
Windows takes 128MBs to run, so I figured 256MB - 64MB video - 128MB Windows = 64MBs system.
On my PC, I have 131MBs taken up by all of the running programs.
I don't think this laptop has many issues. The only problem I see is the 7.25 pound weight! That's insane!
It seems no one mentioned a store-bought laptop. It doesn't seem likely, however, so I'm not surprised. I've tried filtering out any suggestions that fit the criteria of the laptop I've just bought, and it seems most of the comments were just recommendations. Therefore, let's have a nice chat about my laptop's potential and see what happens. Any ideas? I'm so anxious to throw around these 125 points that it's insane! At least I have my laptop!
Thank you,
Radomir Jordanovic
On my PC, I have 131MBs taken up by all of the running programs.
I don't think this laptop has many issues. The only problem I see is the 7.25 pound weight! That's insane!
It seems no one mentioned a store-bought laptop. It doesn't seem likely, however, so I'm not surprised. I've tried filtering out any suggestions that fit the criteria of the laptop I've just bought, and it seems most of the comments were just recommendations. Therefore, let's have a nice chat about my laptop's potential and see what happens. Any ideas? I'm so anxious to throw around these 125 points that it's insane! At least I have my laptop!
Thank you,
Radomir Jordanovic
SOLUTION
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ASKER
Thanks. I'll post the benchmarks from 3DMark 2001 SE. This is because 2003 would benchmark the DX9 capabilities, and I don't see that happening.
Let's discuss the points!
Let's discuss the points!
ASKER