Laptop for surfing web, listening to music and some work

[Sircoop]

My friend asked me to buy his wife a notebook for X-MAS TODAY! LOL

So I have been researching NewEgg and other sites for anything I can get shipped overnight.

She will be using it (Wireless) in the kitchen and living room to surf the web, maybe listen to music with headphones, maybe type in Microsoft word or play with spreadsheets within Excel.

No gaming etc...

Any one have any quick wins for me?

I keep hearing, if I go with VISTA I need 2 GBs on memory in the notebook.

My first choice was this one, but the reviews say the screen is too glossy and not good for surfing etc..

Gateway M-1618 NoteBook AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58(1.90GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 2GB DDR2 667 250GB 5400rpm DVD Super Multi ATI Radeon X1270 - Retail

Oh and he wants to spend under 1,100! LOL Going to be tough to find a 2GB Notebook.

Please share your thoughts for me.

 

[Brainonska511]

Any cheap notebook will suffice for your needs. Just upgrade the RAM on your own afterwards (it's cheap - ~$40 for a 2GB so-dimm) so you don't have to worry about finding a notebook with 2GB of RAM (which you'll probably only see in the $1300+ notebooks).

 

[Sircoop]

I think I will buy this one for them. Only 899 and has 27 4.9 out of 5 reviews

Acer Aspire AS7520-5311 NoteBook AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58(1.90GHz) 17.0" Wide XGA+ 2GB DDR2 667 160GB DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G - Retail
Equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 8400M

 

[JustaGeek]

Can't beat Ceramic White

15.4" screen though...

$999.

Or these...

 

[Rottie]

Originally posted by: Sircoop
I think I will buy this one for them. Only 899 and has 27 4.9 out of 5 reviews

Acer Aspire AS7520-5311 NoteBook AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-58(1.90GHz) 17.0" Wide XGA+ 2GB DDR2 667 160GB DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8400M G - Retail
Equipped with NVIDIA GeForce 8400M

but why 17 inches? and 8400m? Think she can carry it I am sure she will complain about too heavy to carry around and 8400m is a waste if she doesn't play any games.

 

[VinDSL]

Originally posted by: Rottie
but why 17 inches? and 8400m?

Gotta agree - I see a LOT of n00b misconceptions taking place here...

Gateway/Acer/Packard Bell is one company now. They tried to buy eMachines too, but the offer was flatly rejected.

Anyway, you can tell which direction they're headed... and it ain't being the performance leader!

17" is way too big to carry around, especially for a split-tail! 15.4" borders on being too big also...

He got the memory right, but there's no reason to waste money buying it pre-installed. That's a sucker's game!

Here's 2GB for 30 BONES MIR @ FRY'S.

I'd go with SOMETHING LIKE THIS and stick some memory in it...

 

[fire400]

...Best Buy has SODIMM's for 31 bucks out the door. Under 70 bucks you can do 2 gigs and dump the stock RAM on any 1GB laptop.

I'd rather pay tax than pay shipping and handling and have to wait, but that's a whole different story.

A girl? I'd say, most girls I've talked to wanted something in the 14.1" zone. Something compact and thin. 15" is pushing it, and 17" .. unless it's a DTR computer, forget it. This is just my opinion on high school/college-aged young women/young single adults.

You'll get crazy battery life with Dell notebooks, which girls dig. As far as married women and laptops, I'm not in that ballpark.

I say HP or VAIO. Leaning more towards HP 'cuz they have a sleek finish for cheap, whereas the nicer looking Sony's will probably hit over a thousand. 800 bucks will get you a 14.1 dual core with nice widescreen and blood thirsty chassis finish.

I'm just talking about looks mostly, 'cuz image matters.