Getting a new laptop sometime this summer

[kcthomas]

Right now im looking at the Acer TM3002WTCI. It seems like this one is VERY cheap for what you get:

1.73 Pentium M 740 (2mb l2 cache, 533mhz FSB)
915GM chipset
60GB
DDR2 mem @ 533
12.1 screen WXGA
3.1 - 3.6 pounds (comes with 2 battery packs, a 3 cell and 6 cell)
firewire optical drive ( CD-RW/DVD ROM )

bout $1300

Now i cant figure out why this is so cheap. I cant find any laptop that is this light and this powerful for anywhere near that price.

Is anyone releasing anything this summer (for back to school or something) that is significantly better than this for < $2000? Or should i just go for it? (im getting anxious)

 

[alexf2000]

I have almost same question: I need to buy a laptop for under $2000. Which brands and features should I look at?

 

[kitkat22]

I am looking for a laptop as well, but I have been looking into the research half of it and here are some of the things I'm looking for.

Name makes a difference. I hear good things about ibm, dell, hp, acer, toshiba and others. I'm personally thinking about an Acer. Maybe this one, or one similiar, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115309.
IBM and Sony are outragiously expensive, so I'm steering clear of them.
Dell and HP seem to be about in the same boat, with Dell being slightly cheaper than HP.
I don't know much about toshiba so I can't comment, but I understand they are a good name as well.

Intel really shines on laptops and I would highly suggest getting the Pentium M's for long batter life and good solid speed. Look for HD's at least in the 5400rpm range. Most low end laptops come with 4200rpm and is just not sufficient for anything computer intensive. Sometimes when you look at RAM they give the option of 2 sticks of 256MB or 1 stick of 512MB; this might be something to consider if you are planning on upgrading. Sometimes it is cheaper to get 256MB and upgrade to 768MB. The drive is also important; look for DVD burners or DVD/CD-RW drives. The battery comes in different flavors depending on the number of cells present. Look for batteries with higher cell counts; 6-cell is about average and 12-cell is high-stuff. However, you pay for the difference and the weight.

OP-Where did you find this steal? I would look at the dealer's reputation just to make sure. Otherwise go for it.

 

[kcthomas]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834115192
review - http://netscape.com.com/Acer_TravelMate_TM3002WTCi/4505-3121_7-31343005-2.html

the hard drive is only 4200 RPM. Would that really stop you from buying this? I think it also has one of those sweet transreflective wide screen LCDs (acer calls it CrystalBrite technology)