Looking for a $300 laptop, taking suggestions.

[Noo]

Buying a used laptop is okay with me.

I'm looking for something that's light, under 14", really quiet, and have a long battery life.

It's going to be used for school/online research, watching youtube videos and that's pretty much it.

 

[Roland00Address]

Windows or Chromebooks alright?

 

[Bateluer]

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/list/Laptops/categoryID.62685400

 

[Roland00Address]

Refurb Acer Chromebook $130 (Cheap small laptop that is good for browsing and internet, not good for other software since not running windows.)
http://www.groupon.com/deals/gg-acer-116-chromebook-with-14ghz-dual-core-processor

Refurb Asus T100 32gb + Dock $250 with $50 MIR =$200 AR (10" Tablet running windows plus dock) I have the 64gb model and I am happy with it.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=FAS-102351636

New Atom Dual Core 15" Laptop $200 You can find this same laptop every day for $250 on dell's website.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/434010/Inspiron_15_156_Laptop_Computer_-_Black

Now there is a $350 Asus i5 13" with touchscreen refurb on ebay right now (I can't link ebay on anandtech due to the rules) storefront buydig with buy it now. You can find more info on slickdeals if you type this into the search Q301LA-BHI5T02 The battery life on this is 4 to 5 hours depending on usage (notebook check put it at 5:38 for wifi, and 5:10 for websurfing.)

 

[jana519]

If you like your keyboards to have good haptic feedback, I would suggest a Dell Latitude E4300. Cost well under $200, 13.3", 3.9 lbs, and C2D is enough power for most of your desktop, browsing, and videos.

 

[TeknoBug]

Most Chromebooks *shudder* are around that price range, personally I don't like them things. There are a handful of 14" or 15.6" laptops with AMD A4-5000/A6-5200 or E2-2500ish CPU's for around that price range but you'll lose out on RAM (most of them would have 2GB ram), of course you can later upgrade the memory depending on the laptop model (HP forces you to take the entire thing apart while Asus and Acer has a small panel on the bottom).

I have an A4-5000 laptop (6GB ram) and it performs well (I paid $329 CDN), the E1/E2 CPU series are atrocious and should be avoided. The Intel Celeron N2820/2920 are excellent too.

 

[s44]

Chromebook. Specifically either the C200 or C300 -- both are $230 at Amazon, dead silent, and have ridiculous battery life.

The C720 deal is really good though if the money difference matters to you.

 

[Noo]

Most Chromebooks *shudder* are around that price range, personally I don't like them things. There are a handful of 14" or 15.6" laptops with AMD A4-5000/A6-5200 or E2-2500ish CPU's for around that price range but you'll lose out on RAM (most of them would have 2GB ram), of course you can later upgrade the memory depending on the laptop model (HP forces you to take the entire thing apart while Asus and Acer has a small panel on the bottom).

I have an A4-5000 laptop (6GB ram) and it performs well (I paid $329 CDN), the E1/E2 CPU series are atrocious and should be avoided. The Intel Celeron N2820/2920 are excellent too.

After looking at all of the suggested chromebooks, I just couldn't pull the trigger. It's just too lacking for me as far as laptop functionality and performance.

I finally settled with this gem I found on eBay that's in NEW condition for $265 shipped . It's one hell of a machine looking at the specs and on top of that, the build quality is years beyond any chromebook. I can't wait!!

Lenovo ThinkPad T420

CPU: Intel Core i5 2520M
RAM: 8GB DDR3
DUAL GPU: Intel HD & Nvidia NVS 4200M 1GB
1600x900 Screen Resolution
HD: 320GB 7200RPM
OS: Windows 7 PRO

DVD-RW Burner, Bluetooth, 720P HD Camera, Fingerprint Reader

 

[s44]

So apparently you actually didn't want long battery life.

 

[Noo]

If given a choice between a cheaply built chromebook with 2gb of ram, 16gb of storage, and is basically a web browser for an OS vs an enterprise grade laptop with the best keyboard in the industry, core i5 processor, dedicated GPU with 1gb of memory, 8GB of ram, fingerprint scanner, 320GB 7200RPM HD, DVD Burner, 1600x900 resolution, and a full fledge windows operating system you'll pick the chromebook? for what...7-8hours of realistic usage vs 4-5 hours? Not to mention the laptop have a removable battery and I also have the option of choosing a 6 cell, 9 cell, or a combination of both for a ridiculous battery life.

 

[ninaholic37]

If given a choice between a cheaply built chromebook with 2gb of ram, 16gb of storage, and is basically a web browser for an OS vs an enterprise grade laptop with the best keyboard in the industry, core i5 processor, dedicated GPU with 1gb of memory, 8GB of ram, fingerprint scanner, 320GB 7200RPM HD, DVD Burner, 1600x900 resolution, and a full fledge windows operating system you'll pick the chromebook? for what...7-8hours of realistic usage vs 4-5 hours? Not to mention the laptop have a removable battery and I also have the option of choosing a 6 cell, 9 cell, or a combination of both for a ridiculous battery life.

I don't think s44 was saying that at all, just that what you ended up buying was a bit unexpected considering what you were asking for. Older Thinkpads are pretty nice though. I'd consider buying a used one for my desk if it was being sold for <$80.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Yep, they're great laptops, just not what was expected. Thinkpads are in no way light machines, and they're not the most efficient on battery use. With large batteries thrown at them, they do well, but they weigh quite a bit. I have the T530 (the 15" slightly newer laptop) for work, and with the 70++ nine cell I currently use it gets me about 6 hours of internet surfing use, but it is tiring to carry around with the extra 28++ cell under-battery connected.

The T430 with 9 cell battery tips at just under 5 pounds. That's pretty porky for a 14". But if you're happy with it, that's what matters!

 

[khaledusto]

Hi, thank you.

 

[uberman]

I noticed someone posted some links to Tiger for laptop refurbs. I bought a couple T61 (Think Pad Style) from them before. The refurbisher (Metro Business Systems) was great, but another was (Joy Systems) who is a crook. They sent me a laptop with a cheap battery, not the nine cell battery that was advertised.

I emailed Tiger about 3 times in 3 weeks. Tiger finally emailed me contact info for Joy Systems. They did not respond and I had to purchase another battery for $85.00.

Good luck

 

[VirtualLarry]

I noticed someone posted some links to Tiger for laptop refurbs. I bought a couple T61 (Think Pad Style) from them before. The refurbisher (Metro Business Systems) was great, but another was (Joy Systems) who is a crook. They sent me a laptop with a cheap battery, not the nine cell battery that was advertised.

I emailed Tiger about 3 times in 3 weeks. Tiger finally emailed me contact info for Joy Systems. They did not respond and I had to purchase another battery for $85.00.

Good luck

It could have been Tiger's fault too, for advertising the wrong specs. I've seen that happen before. (Router advertised at "300W".)

I purchased two refurb C2D desktops from Newegg, that when I got them, said that they were refurbished by Joy Systems.

They both worked fine, and seemed to have the advertised parts. They were both clean and functional, and included the old COA, and a new refurbisher's COA for Win7. They only came with 32-bit, but then again, they only had 2GB RAM, so I kind of understand why.

 

[jihe]

Yep, they're great laptops, just not what was expected. Thinkpads are in no way light machines, and they're not the most efficient on battery use. With large batteries thrown at them, they do well, but they weigh quite a bit. I have the T530 (the 15" slightly newer laptop) for work, and with the 70++ nine cell I currently use it gets me about 6 hours of internet surfing use, but it is tiring to carry around with the extra 28++ cell under-battery connected.

The T430 with 9 cell battery tips at just under 5 pounds. That's pretty porky for a 14". But if you're happy with it, that's what matters!

The X series is meant to be the lighter ones, and they are great little machines..... until lenovo changed the keyboard.