1200$ non-gaming laptop...

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memories2002

Senior member
Apr 2, 2002
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my friend needs a new laptop, arnd 1200$ + taxes, for general usage..internet browsing and mp3s...no gaming. and a place to get it cheap and quick, in Philly. Online will take some time, esp. if customized.
I suggested a Dell Inspiron 600m, PM 1.4ghz. Is that a good choice,. or would it be better for her to save some cash and go with a lower-end p3m or celeron system at arnd $800-1000 ? Also, a PM is better than a P4 right, despite the ghz-difference myth ? She needs a thin light portable machine..
any help appreciated greatly.
thank you.
 
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Shivatron

Senior member
Apr 9, 2003
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Originally posted by: memories2002
I suggested a Dell Inspiron 600m, PM 1.4ghz.
Click to expand...

They're not bad machines, but you can't buy those at a B&M stores, can you? (You did say you wanted to stay away from online purchases.)

Also, a PM is better than a P4 right, despite the ghz-difference myth ? She needs a thin light portable machine..
any help appreciated greatly.
thank you.
Click to expand...

Well, "better" in the sense that a ~1.6GHz PM will perform on par with a ~2.4GHz P4 while being easier on the power.

Out of curiosity, have you looked at any of the Apple offerings? iBook, perhaps? It might fit the bill (small, light, durable)...
 
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memories2002

Senior member
Apr 2, 2002
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a readymade machine online should be fine...theres quite a few good deals online on dells atleast...but if customized they take more time to ship.
not an apple machine, shes not too smart with pc stuff, and shes used to windoze lets stick to that!
btw quick reply, thanks!
 
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stingygrrl

Golden Member
Jul 30, 2000
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I ordered an IBM T41 for $1500 on Sunday and it arrived today. If that's out of her range, she can get a less $ T40/41. The IBM R series is a good price point, and if you really need it faster than a week maybe you can order from a vendor like newegg or buy.com-=---- beware though that you can only exchange thru them. At IBM.com you can get a refund in 30 days.


 
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loup garou

Lifer
Feb 17, 2000
35,132
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Dell Small Business has an awesome deal on the Latitude C400 for ~$825 after a $100 MIR. Or you could add $200-300 to that to up the RAM and get her an external burner or something. Nice light machine. I've bought two of these this year, one for my mother and one for my sister. It is only a PIII-M, but it's plenty fast for mp3s and surfing.
 
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trungthiendo

Senior member
Mar 8, 2004
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the c400 is a good deal too

or you can look at dell's other offering the d505, you can get it close to 1200 out the door i think

or look at the inspiron line there might be something that fits the bill there
 
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Shivatron

Senior member
Apr 9, 2003
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Originally posted by: stingygrrl
I ordered an IBM T41 for $1500 on Sunday and it arrived today. If that's out of her range, she can get a less $ T40/41. The IBM R series is a good price point, and if you really need it faster than a week maybe you can order from a vendor like newegg or buy.com-=---- beware though that you can only exchange thru them. At IBM.com you can get a refund in 30 days.
Click to expand...

If you can swing the cash for a T4x, do it. I have the uber high end model (T40p, 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, et cetera) and I love it. (My girlfriend says she is jealous of it. :p) They're solid and reliable, and I think most agree that it's one of the best laptops money can buy.

I can understand your opinion on the Apple boxes, but if she doesn't know ANYTHING about computers (not trying to offend, just saying), than the learning curve for a Mac is essentially the same as the learning curve for a Windows box. Something to keep in mind if you see a good deal on a 'Book.

BTW, you're welcome for the quick response. My pleasure. :)
 
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Corporate Thug

Lifer
Apr 17, 2003
37,622
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i'm in the exact same situation as you, i think i'm gonna go with the C-400: $1100 - 100 MIR = $1000 with DVD drive, 30 gb HD upgrade
 
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memories2002

Senior member
Apr 2, 2002
448
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c400 isnt worth it, considering for 200$ more i get a pM 1.4, 512ddr, dvd-cdrw dell inspiron 600m...dont you think ?
 
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addragyn

Golden Member
Sep 21, 2000
1,198
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"my friend needs a new laptop, arnd 1200$ + taxes, for general usage..internet browsing and mp3"
"shes not too smart with pc stuff"

These are exactly the people I recommend Macs to. No need for them to d!ck around w/ firewalls, antivirus & adaware. Give'em a machine w/ a great suite of simple easy apps for pics, dv editing, music making and listening, internet & email, that does wireless, has good battery life, is durable, and looks good. People like this have surprised me on Macs. Few months later and they're way beyond hotmail & ebay. Go to an Apple Store or to a Best Buy, CompUSA (which ironically is owned by a Mexican guy:) ) or Microcenter and have her checkout the iBook G4. If she likes it get an academic discount at the store if she can and they can. Otherwise order it from the Special Deals section on Apple's online store. With the leftover bucks grab an iPod mini.

If she doesn't dig the Apple or you can't bear it just go down to the store listed above and have her pick a machine she likes. Any machine being sold new is fast enough for what you describe. And if you, or somebody, keeps her from installing weatherbug, gator etc. and downloading a bunch of crap that autostarts it will stay that way. Let her go by looks, you make sure the battery life is there and hookup the RAM upgrade. I've just setup a clean hklm/.../run key on some peoples desktop that they can click on to clear out the autostart sutff.

Slashdot just had a decent discussion on setting up machines for basic users.
Protecting Our Parents PCs

It's not the hardware that's important.

Similar topic @ Ars.
Which brand of computer for grandma?
 
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loup garou

Lifer
Feb 17, 2000
35,132
1
81
Originally posted by: memories2002
c400 isnt worth it, considering for 200$ more i get a pM 1.4, 512ddr, dvd-cdrw dell inspiron 600m...dont you think ?
Click to expand...
Yeah, but it's almost a pound and a half heavier and the Inspiron line's build quality isn't as good as the Latitudes'. Do you really think somebody who uses it for surfing and mp3s will notice the difference between a PM1.4 and a PIII1.3? Although, I would advise maxing out the RAM if you went with the C400. :) I don't know, when it comes to laptops, I am more than willing to sacrifice performance for portability...
 
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tallman45

Golden Member
May 27, 2003
1,463
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0
A couple of days ago I ordered a Dell 5150 for $1405 delivered. Intel Pentium-M 3.06 w/HT, 512mb (pc2700 Ram), 60gb hdd, cd-wr/dvd combo drive, 802.11 b/g mini-pci card, 64mb Nvidia 5200

I did have a $150 coupon that heled out the cause. A pretty good deal compared to what I saw at B & M places.

I think the ready built configs go for a lot less and ship much faster
 
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Corporate Thug

Lifer
Apr 17, 2003
37,622
0
76
Originally posted by: memories2002
damn it i cant decide what to tell her to get!!!
im still leaning toward the dell 600m pM machine..
Click to expand...

yeah, i was customizing a c-400 and a added a DVD drive and 30 gb HDD and that took me to $1100 SHIPPED - 100 MIR = $1000, but i figure its gonna cost another $100 for a 512 stick of ram, so total cost for the c-400 will be $1100 AR vs $1200 600m w/ no rebates

600m pros:
larger screen
DVD and CDRW
512 standard ram
stronger CPU

c-400 pros:
cheaper
better build quality
ultra portable
3 year standard warrenty (very important to me)
 
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Corporate Thug

Lifer
Apr 17, 2003
37,622
0
76
i just saw a 600m in person (one of my classmates has it and he let me check it out)

like i expected, it seems a little bit more flimsy than the latitude series but overal construction is acceptable. i was very impressed with how light it was. i am fairly convinced that it is a better by than the c-400, but it is still a close call because of the addidtional two years of warrrenty on the c-400
 
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