Is this a GOOD DEAL for budget laptop? Want to purchase soon!

[elevatecg]

I need a laptop soon that will fit my needs:

Office apps, surfing, movies/music, light to no gaming (wc3 maybe), vista efficient.

HP Pavillion DV6226US

In short, is this the best deal out there right now for a budget of $750? Or can I get something better? I have also been looking at the Dell E1505/1405/, E1501, but this HP package is still cheaper.

At $700 after rebates, this seems like a great deal. I'd like to have a decent non-integrated GPU, but I have had a hard time with this price range. I wonder if the Intel integrated will be good enough (I won't be doing extensive gfx using).

Also, will the Core Duo T2060 1.66ghz, being the lower end of the core duo series, be efficient for my basic needs and the next 2 years?

Any recommendations on other laptops? I'd like to purchase soon.

Thanks!

 

[mb]

It's not a great deal, but it's not bad. The CPU is seriously weak... but at the current time I don't see much of a better deal. Obviously if you can wait there will be something better, but if you can't it's not a bad deal.

FWIW, CompUSA has the same deal... so one store might be cheaper depending on sales tax.
http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=343917

 

[mb]

Here ya go.. same specs, $100 less: http://www.compusa.com/products/product...asp?&ref=cj&pfp=cj&product_code=344286

 

[alimoalem]

it'll be perfectly fine in terms of power for your listed needs. i'm not sure about wc3 but i doubt there's any laptop with a gpu better than the gma950 at that price (new).

go with supafly's compusa link

 

[elevatecg]

Thanks for the link supafly. What do you think about acer? Is there a difference in build quality compared to HP? Also, I wonder if the screens are the same. The HP reviews say the screen is nice and bright ($100 more then the acer though).

On a slightly different note, I found a Certified Refurbished Dell E1505 for $759 equipped with:

Intel Core 2 Duo 1.66GHZ
80 GB HD
ATI X1300 Mobility
1GB HD
15.4 True Life Display

Not new, but I heard refurbished is almost just as good.

 

[mb]

I only know of one person with an Acer, but from what I gather they build very solid laptops.

The refurb'd dell with the X1300 will play games a lot better than something with a GMA950 like the Acer or HP.
Also, the Core 2 Duo will be faster than the T2060.

I've heard good things about refurb'd dell laptops too. Quite often they can just be returns that never had a problem.