Help for a notebook noob

[gorcorps]

Alright, I found one here that I'm gonna get. Here's part of the PM:

"I just saw your post. Would you be interested in a Toshiba 1800-S254? Specs:

Pentium III - 1Ghz
20 GB hard drive
384 MB memory
DVD-ROM
I think it has a 14.1" screen and no dead pixels as far as I can tell
It has a Linksys wireless PCMCIA card. Not sure if it's 802.11b or g.

It's barely used since I have another laptop that I use for work and battery life is
excellent. I may have another battery that I'll include if I can find it.

It also has Windows XP Pro installed.

Let me know if you're interested. Not sure how much it's worth nowadays but
i'll start at $400 shipped/obo. "

 

[fbrdphreak]

That sounds like a great deal! Be careful of course though. Ask for many detailed pictures and be sure to check Heat references. Also insist that he ship it via Fedex or UPS with full insurance on the item. I wouldn't trust USPS with a $400 item, not to mention they don't have tracking; only delivery confirmation.
With some extra memory, that laptop will rock!!

 

[gorcorps]

He has good ebay refs, even though there aren't many. He's sold there and nobody has left a negative. I'm not too worried about how little transactions he's had, what he's done was all great. He's probably like me, doesn't have a lot to sell or buy, but does good the few times it happens. I'm asking for pics of course to see if the screen has any dead pixels or something isn't right. He was pretty cool with me not having the $$ right away. Says he's not in a hurry to get rid of it and that it's still mine whenever I get the extra cash.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Its great that's he's casual about the when you get him the money. Here's a few tips on what I would do:

*Find out if he has Heatware references. eBay references REALLY don't mean anything, Heat is more reliable.
*Get a full name, mailing address (NOT P.O. BOX), home phone number; and follow up on it! Do a reverse lookup at AnyWho.com and see if its accurate. Call the phone number, ask for the guy.
*Since you are both unestablished traders, I would try to arrange some kind of deal where you pay 1/2 now, he ships, you pay 1/2 upon inspection. You also might try to set the deal up through an intermediary, somebody who will hold your money & inspect the laptop himself. If all is well, he sends the money and laptop to the other parties and everybody goes home happy.
*Keep a record of all of your conversations.
*Assuming this transaction goes well, open a Heat account and give eachother feedback!

Read the FS/FT Rules/Guidance Thread

It also wouldn't be a bad idea to post an OT (Off Topic) thread in FS/FT and ask for suggestions to protect yourself.
It is very easy to get burned in this world and a relatively unestablished trader with only eBay refs just screams for you to watch your back.
Regardless, good luck!!

 

[friedrice]

I wasn't aware you could buy a decent notebook under $1,000. Something to keep in mind on the prices is that you will still have to pay tax on it, and there could be shipping charges. You can trim off some cash by getting the cheapest hard drive that'll come with your laptop and then buy a new one that is 7200 RPM off newegg. Make sure it has 512MB of ram of course. And the P-M aren't that great for gaming, despite what others will tell you.

 

[gorcorps]

Ya, I found that out. I'd like to get a nice notebook for gaming but don't have the money. I'm just going to get a cheap notebook for homework and stuff and keep my desktop for gaming. Thanks for the info friedrice.

 

[JmE13]

Gorcorps,

I wouldn't give up on getting a good new or slightly used/near new deal.

I just purchased a DV1010US from a retail store last week for $500 w/ a $50 HP MIR. So it will cost me $450 + tax after the rebate. I talked with them at the store about my friend that was going to come with me, but had to work. They found the same deal for him the next day. The laptops were factory sealed and brand new, *not* refurbs or returns. Oh, I also got a nice laptop deal (different model) for my neice, $399 no rebates.

So here are some random things I have found, YMMV:

- The DV1010 is very nice. I really like it (but I am not a gamer). The Celeron M has 512 cache (vs 1MB of Pentium M of the time and 1 MB current Celeron M and 2 MB current Pentium M). The Celeron M also lacks SpeedStep for maximum battery savings. The performance difference between the old Celeron M and old Pentium M is negligable. The battery life difference should be very noticable if the laptop idles a lot. The hard drive in mine and my friend's was 5400 rpm, not the slower one listed in specs everywhere. The system is killer for general notebook usage.

- The Dell Inspiron 1100 I used to have was great (needed money, sold it). I had upgraded the Celeron to a P4 2.4ghz. These 1100 are going at really nice low prices out there when I look. (I wouldn't pay over $500 for one right now, personal preference).

- There are some $399 or $499 new retail laptop deals out there.

- The HP academic discounts are sweet, sweet, sweet! It might be worth it to you to wait until you get a student ID or get in touch now with a buddy at your new school.

- I would not buy a PIII unless it was dirt cheap because I have been finding nicer deals on more current laptops.

- Integrated graphics are OK, but not real hot for games. I you are not going to play intensive games, they are pretty nice because they keep costs down.

- 256 MB RAM minimum. 512 MB much nicer. More RAM can often yield more performance than faster processor of same class. If you have a sweet deal on a laptop but RAM is 128MB, check prices of replacement RAM before you purchase. It may or may not be a deal killer.

- Internal wireless is very nice and useful. Dell 1100 did not have it. DV1010US has it. After owning the 1100, I swore I would not buy another notebook without internal wireless.

- Make sure your school is not using 802.11a. My grad school was and then 802.11a was a bit pricey. They finally augmented with 802.11b

- When buying on the used market, be very savvy. My old business partner and I wasted a lot of $$$ on used laptops over many years because we could have found far better deals on new or newer (slightly used) laptops. Most of the used PIII and below laptop deals I have seen out there are really, really over priced IMO.

- Take your time in looking. The last two laptops I have owned, I looked around for at least a month and investigated prices & models obsessively. I was always glad I did, got great deals, and did not suffer 'buyer's remorse'.

Good luck and I hope some of this helped.

-JmE-

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JmE13
Gorcorps,

I wouldn't give up on getting a good new or slightly used/near new deal.

I just purchased a DV1010US from a retail store last week for $500 w/ a $50 HP MIR. So it will cost me $450 + tax after the rebate. I talked with them at the store about my friend that was going to come with me, but had to work. They found the same deal for him the next day. The laptops were factory sealed and brand new, *not* refurbs or returns. Oh, I also got a nice laptop deal (different model) for my neice, $399 no rebates.
What retail store what this? We were discussing this same model

So here are some random things I have found, YMMV:

- The DV1010 is very nice. I really like it (but I am not a gamer). The Celeron M has 512 cache (vs 1MB of Pentium M of the time and 1 MB current Celeron M and 2 MB current Pentium M). The Celeron M also lacks SpeedStep for maximum battery savings. The performance difference between the old Celeron M and old Pentium M is negligable. The battery life difference should be very noticable if the laptop idles a lot. The hard drive in mine and my friend's was 5400 rpm, not the slower one listed in specs everywhere. The system is killer for general notebook usage.
The dv1010 came with a 5400RPM drive?? NICE!

- The Dell Inspiron 1100 I used to have was great (needed money, sold it). I had upgraded the Celeron to a P4 2.4ghz. These 1100 are going at really nice low prices out there when I look. (I wouldn't pay over $500 for one right now, personal preference).

- There are some $399 or $499 new retail laptop deals out there.

- The HP academic discounts are sweet, sweet, sweet! It might be worth it to you to wait until you get a student ID or get in touch now with a buddy at your new school.

- I would not buy a PIII unless it was dirt cheap because I have been finding nicer deals on more current laptops.
It is possible to find better deals, but for quality, used laptops (like Toshiba or IBM IMO); P3's are awesome values with very respectable battery life. I use a P3 Dell 256MB notebook running Win2K as my PC at work, and surprisingly it does VERY well for its age.

- Integrated graphics are OK, but not real hot for games. I you are not going to play intensive games, they are pretty nice because they keep costs down.
Rule #1: Integrated graphics are horrible for modern games. Repeat after me

- 256 MB RAM minimum. 512 MB much nicer. More RAM can often yield more performance than faster processor of same class. If you have a sweet deal on a laptop but RAM is 128MB, check prices of replacement RAM before you purchase. It may or may not be a deal killer.
:thumbsup:

- Internal wireless is very nice and useful. Dell 1100 did not have it. DV1010US has it. After owning the 1100, I swore I would not buy another notebook without internal wireless.
:thumbsup:

- Make sure your school is not using 802.11a. My grad school was and then 802.11a was a bit pricey. They finally augmented with 802.11b
Very few schools today use ONLY 802.11a, but check into it anyway.

- When buying on the used market, be very savvy. My old business partner and I wasted a lot of $$$ on used laptops over many years because we could have found far better deals on new or newer (slightly used) laptops. Most of the used PIII and below laptop deals I have seen out there are really, really over priced IMO.
He's looking @ a P3 notebook for like $400 right now, not a bad deal at all. However a dv1010 @ $500 out the door is almost unbeatable, I love the dv1000 series. And the CPU should be upgradeable to a Pentium M!

- Take your time in looking. The last two laptops I have owned, I looked around for at least a month and investigated prices & models obsessively. I was always glad I did, got great deals, and did not suffer 'buyer's remorse'.
:thumbsup:

Good luck and I hope some of this helped.

-JmE-

 

[JmE13]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
What retail store what this? We were discussing this same model

Yes, I read that. However, to reply to this thread I have not been able to figure out my old secret question nor password and my email has likely changed since I registered so I gave up and re-registered as the user I am now.

A well known chain. One of the "Office" varieties. I am not mentioning because I don't think the poor assistant manager would want to get flooded. LOL We went in for an advertised special. They could not get it going so he offered the $399 w/o rebates for my neice. He offered the DV1010US to me. I mentioned my friend and he told him to stop in the next day. It was pretty nice. My business partner/friend have been in the business for well over 15+ years and did a lot of retail clerance/closeout deals on the spot in the past.

The dv1010 came with a 5400RPM drive?? NICE!

Yes, we were pleasantly shocked.

It is possible to find better deals, but for quality, used laptops (like Toshiba or IBM IMO); P3's are awesome values with very respectable battery life. I use a P3 Dell 256MB notebook running Win2K as my PC at work, and surprisingly it does VERY well for its age.

We were buying Toshiba and IBM... those were the ones looking back I feel we wasted a lot of money on as a business and personally. Not to be contrary, but I just think we wasted too much money buying used. I looked at the used route two weeks ago. I almost did it until I found some nice deals. My budget was $500. Now that I bought this DV1010 I am finding deals like crazy on new laptops.

Rule #1: Integrated graphics are horrible for modern games. Repeat after me

Yes, that was my point to the OP as well.

Very few schools today use ONLY 802.11a, but check into it anyway.

That is what I thought until I found out my medical school (a couple of years ago, circa 2003) only did 802.11a. They finally listened to reason (I am a squeaky wheel I guess) and added B in some areas.

He's looking @ a P3 notebook for like $400 right now, not a bad deal at all. However a dv1010 @ $500 out the door is almost unbeatable, I love the dv1000 series. And the CPU should be upgradeable to a Pentium M!

I repsectfully disagree. We were finding PIIIs for that or less a few years ago (IBMs in fact). For $400~$500, I would look hard for more modern. We had a lot of those PIIIs and that is where I feel we wasted our money. If I could go back, I would have nixed the purchases. Check out the Inspiron 1100 varieties on eBay. There are one or two that run through for less than $500. Also the OP could get a relative to front the rebate portion and get one of the $499 after rebate systems out there retail. I saw some today.

On the DV1010 and Pentium M, yes, I am watching eBay for Pentium M (1MB cache ones) and 12 cell batteries. The performance of the Celeron M is great for me. I would just like max battery life.

 

[JmE13]

I don't know if it was mentioned here before, but the DV1010 model has a DVD writer in it.

Since the DV1010US has the older Celeron M in it... I imagine if buyers walked into retail stores at the right time (when they had $399 and $499 after rebate notebook deals) and the right way (looking for one of those advertised deals that the retailer could not produce) they potentially could swing similar deals. The DV1010 should be considered old stock soon if not already.

Baiscally that is what happened to us and we walked out with three new laptops for $1,300.

Good luck on the hunt, I used to love doing it in part for a living.

-JmE-

 

[gorcorps]

Good info to know. Unfortunately, I just ran into a MAJOR financial barrier that is going to slow my purchase of a notebook for the time being. I might have to wait till college starts to spend money on a notebook. Office stores huh... I'm gonna check out all my local staples, officemax, and officedepot and see what I can come up with.

 

[JmE13]

Also check slickdeals, fat wallet, and there is a guy, "Rasputinj", who has a Dell coupon and other deals site. He works for Dell (I believe) and is a super nice person. You can catch his posts on http://www.ipaqhq.com an http://www.aximsite.com also.

http://www.fatwallet.com/
http://www.slickdeals.net/
http://rasputinj.com/

With more time, it gives you an excellent opportunity to scope out the deals. Most of the retail store deals will be too $$$ so don't get discouraged. Know what you will spend and know what is the lowest specs you will take. This will help when you find that super deal. (Also saving money in an envelope will help too, LOL)

Also, the Dell Inspiron 1100 are looking OK on eBay right now. They have integrated video, but use a desktop P4 or Celeron Processor. They are heavy and have not so great battery life, but I really enjoyed them. If I can get some more money together, I will likely try to slowly outfit my four children with them to go along with their desktop systems.

The best time to buy, IMHO, is when new/different/revamped processors and models are being released. The 'old stock' tends to fly out the door cheaper than you will be able to buy it a couple of months later on the used market.

I do hope you find some good deals. If you drop me an email, I will be glad to email you any cool deals on notebooks I find in the next 6 months.

-JmE-

 

[gorcorps]

Good to know, since intel will be releasing their 64 bit mobile processor fairly soon, the others may go down in price.

 

[fbrdphreak]

And AMD just released their 64-bit mobile processor, in response Intel is planning to cut Pentium M prices. Keep your eyes open!

 

[gorcorps]

hehe, excellent. I have a feeling something will roll my way soon.

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

Thanks for the great thread, I'm learning lots of things about laptops that I didn't know before. I hope no one minds if I tag along and ask for advice - I'm looking to get a laptop sometime in the next 6 months in the $300-600 price range. At the moment I'm leaning toward new rather than used since I want wireless on it. I'll be using it for word processing, library research and internet surfing, but not games. The laptop size or weight really doesn't matter to me. Besides just about anything is going to be faster and lighter than what I have at home - a PII 400MHz desktop I've now had for 6 years, but now its being replaced by a much faster 933MHz desktop. At that rate, in about 10 years I'll be in the market for gorcorps' Athlon 64 3000+.

The Gateway link/deal looked great, but its too impulsive and a bit pricey for me at $1000. The Acer link on newegg is closer to my budget range, but I'd like to keep my eyes open for other deals too. I was wondering - are there any laptop brands that are regarded as more durable than others? Also, what is the range of battery life for most laptops?


Lamorak Des Galis

 

[gorcorps]

Dell is supposed to be pretty high quality, IBM is even better. Compaq I've heard has horrible quality and breaks down a lot. You might be in the same boat as me now with your budget, i which case you might want to wait till the Pentium M prices fall. They're supposed to go down fairly soon I guess, and you can find them now for under $800 if you look around.

 

[JmE13]

Another good place to check once in a while might be http://www.ecost.com

Don't forget good 'ol eBay for Inspirons but be very, very careful on price as many will be way over priced. You will likely find only a few in the right range.

Also, Dell at certain times *and* use as many coupons as you can!

Learn what just became "yesterday's technology" as that will be your best bargain. Go too far back from that and you will pay too much. Go too far forward and you will pay too much. If you live on the bleeding edge of technology, it can bleed your wallet. LOL

One word of caution about when to buy clearance electronics. When the cost bottoms out completely, there is little time before it rebounds which is kind of like the stock market. The trick is finding something that has bottomed, know what you are looking at, know what you want, and have the means to purchase at the time you find it. Other factors are involved in price drops of which we speak. Some things include: the perception of the economy at the time (for me it has been when the economy looks bad, inventory starts moving cheaper), a lot of new releases related to what you want to purchase, a lot of competition between manufacturers, etc. YMMV and just my opinion.

Summary, study up and study up some more. Know the absolute maximum you will spend for a particular setup. Save up and save up some more. This way when you see your killer deal, you recognize it and have the money to walk away with it. If it is a great deal, it usually will not be there long.

-JmeE-