Laptop for mom?

[de8212]

The only place I've really searched is the Dell Outlet but nothing has jumped out at me yet.

Mom needs a new laptop. This will only be used for email/internet, no games. Well, I think she plays some cheesy online flash type games but nothing intensive.

The only must have is a 15" screen. She's in her low 60's and her eyesight won't be able to deal with something like a netbook. Other than that she will need wireless but I think most every laptop made nowadays has it. The one thing I'm stuck on is processor. I'm like the C2D. I see some Dual Cores at Dell outlet but those are not C2D's. With her intentions, will she even notice a difference in C2D vs Dual core?

Any specific models, links?

Budget is $450 and pretty firm.

[DaveSimmons]

Dual-core is a good idea, but being stuck on C2D is silly for a momputer. Dual-core Pentium, Athlon or Turion are all fine for moms.

Look in the Sunday ads, Newegg deals, and Hot Deals forum. You should be able to get a dual-core, 2-3 GB RAM, 160+ GB HD and Vista for under $450 new with warranty.

Windows 7 will be out in late October so it might make sense to wait until then, or until companies start advertising free upgrade coupons in another month or two.

[de8212]

Thanks. Not really worried about Win7 because her old one still has XP and she's never even seen Vista. It's so bad it takes about 5 minutes to start up and almost 10 to shut down. It's ooooooooooooooollld. So, she really needs something soon.

[DaveSimmons]

If she has the recovery disk it could be worth getting an external HD, backing up files (a good idea anyway!) then reformatting / reinstalling. Just make sure it's a full XP disk not just drivers & utilities.

XP should be reasonably snappy on old computers if it isn't loaded up with junk.

[de8212]

It's already a hand me down 1GHZ pentium with 512MB RAM. I formatted it a while back and it was still a pig. Screen is even washed out. It needs to be replaced.

[DaveSimmons]

If you don't find any better sales, the Dell Vostro A860 is $419 +ship & tax for a 1.6 GHz C2D, 2GB, 160 GB, 15.4" in Dell Small Business (anyone can buy from them, no business license needed).

[Rottie]

Give your mom a new netbook for her basic needs.

[de8212]

Originally posted by: Rottie
Give your mom a new netbook for her basic needs.

She doesn't want something with a small screen. She'll never use it. She runs a pretty low resolution so it needs to be a larger screen.

still looking but thanks for the ideas.

[de8212]

Found an Inspiron 1545
Intel Pentium Dual Core - 2160
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
15.6" Screen
160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
3 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD


It also says under the specs "Inspiron 15 (1545) Laptop: Intel Pentium Dual Core T3400 (2.16GHz/667Mhz FSB/1MB cache)"

Not sure why it also says "Intel Pentium Dual Core - 2160".

Wonder what the actual processor is?

It's $419 refurb. Worth it?

[Rottie]

only if it comes with warranty and extended warranty then it is damn worth it for good price.