Laptop under 500 dollars w/wireless?

SeanThomps

Junior Member
Jul 11, 2004
19
0
0
Hey,

I'm a poor college student who goes to a wifi-enabled campus. The computers are always busy, and I need to use one for courses.

Any idea where to obtain a PC that has centrino wireless + is under 500 (a little over is fine too)

Thank you.
 

jdiddy

Diamond Member
Feb 6, 2004
3,905
44
91
Its just about impossible to get a Centrino laptop for less then $900. Dell has deals on their 600m's sometimes and they end up to less then a grand but no where near $500. If you just want a wirless enabled laptop and not a Centrino theres always deals on Celerons or P4 laptops closer to what your willing to pay. http://www.circuitcity.com/det...mp;c=1&b=g&u=c

Thats $699 but after rebate and its a Celeron and pretty heavy. With the back to school season the sales are going to be going on. You could also just buy a used laptop and use a PCMCIA wireless card.
 

dannybek

Golden Member
Jul 19, 2002
1,096
0
0
I got a 600x, bought a 802.11b card and your good to go! Now if you want internal wireless, 600x is a great choice too. I am currently typing this too you on a 600x with mini-pci intel wireless card, the ones used on the centrino. I sto... bought a antenna for it and voila! It works like a charm. The only thing is the 56K modem mini-pci is gone.

600x 395.00
mini-pci card 45.00
antenna 30.00
Having a stable laptop with no funny ugly thingy sticking out of the side which is normally a PCMCIA wifi card. Priceless
 

JDub02

Diamond Member
Sep 27, 2002
6,209
1
0
I just bought a Dell Latitude C610 for $550

P3-M 1GHz
512 MB RAM
20 GB HD
8X DVD-ROM
built in Wi-Fi/Ethernet/56k modem

from computer geeks. I give them 6/10. The laptop came not working well (wouldn't left click), but Dell support was fantastic. 2 days later, I had a new keyboard and palmrest with touchpad. All Dell refurbs carry the remainder of their original warranty. The one I just picked up has warranty until May 2005. :)
 

imported_Woody

Senior member
Aug 29, 2004
294
0
0
Why not look for a used laptop? Try ebay or local dealers. I have an 4.5 year old Macintosh powerbook with integrated wireless that was valued at around $500-$600 so I decided to keep it for my kids. You should be able to find a one or two year old PC laptop for that price.
 

cy7878

Senior member
Jul 2, 2003
394
0
0
definitely buy used. For web browsing you don't need anything more than a P2 anyways. A used Thinkpad can be bought for less than $500 for sure. Check ebay. IBM site also sells refurb stuff.