mpally

I need some opinions from some of you computer guys. I am thinking about getting a laptop. This would be used mainly for work away from home, watching dvds away from home, and surfing the internet while at our house at LOTO. Is this a decent laptop for the price and will it accomplish what I am wanting to do? I really don't want to spend much more on one than this unless this one will not be able to do what I am wanting. Thanks.

http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.js...rk_0&oid=82225

Ron P

Buy a Dell. Look at their refurbished section for some super deals.

I use mine for watching DVD on trains and planes all the time.

Make sure you get an ethernet card for broadband connections that are now becoming available in hotels.

wwwTOPDJcom

the USB ports are only 1.1 get one with the 2.0 the data transfer rate way better,
512 ram would be much better for XP

mcollinstn

If you plan to travel with it, be sure to get some "laptop damage insurance". It's paid off well for my neice who tends to kick it off her bunkbed in the middle of the night.

I usually don't go for "extended warranties" but stores like Circuit City and CompUSA have warrnties that will basically let you walk into the store and swap for a new one (you keep your hard drive of course).

I have watched THREE Compaq (presario) laptops go tits-up in four years. I have a Dell 7500 that I have owned since 1999 that has never hiccupped.

Whitey

I own a Toshiba and have been very happy with it and recommend it highly.

GLH

Dell

wwwTOPDJcom

I just bought a new Centrino Tecra M1
very happy so far

I also have a sony Vaio works great but customer support is not that good
and have had a Gateway Solo, they were good
and if you need help they have very good support

Ric232

Just two weeks ago, I was looking for exactly the same thing you are. I ended up buying Circuit City's best deal at the time, which was a Toshiba Satellite A15-S129 for $799 after rebates. It has the same specs you are talking about except it has a 40GB hard drive.

Circuit City has a 14-day return policy, no questions asked, so I would give it a try. Don't worry yourself into buying more than you need. The Celeron processor and 256MB RAM is fine. Yes, it will run better with 512MB, but it will also run better with 1024MB. You can upgrade the RAM later when the computer starts to feel slow to you.

The only thing I can say is that I've not heard the best reviews on the Compaq / HP notebooks. I have heard great things about Toshiba's products. No worries if you get an extended warranty. I usually don't, but I bought the 4yr warranty in this case because I keep my computers for so long. Until I bought this notebook, my main home computer was (and still is) a Gateway Pentium II 266Mhz PC, and the notebook I use at work is a Dell Pentium III 500Mhz. They both work fine except that they boot up so damned slow !! After using those, this new one SCREAMS !! My point is, I'm not a light user (I'm a CPA/CFO who is much more computer savvy than most in that category.) and I am completely happy w/o the latest, greatest, fastest. Since I bought the "cheap" notebook, I can still buy a new desktop (probably Dell) for the heavy lifting.

GLH

I think your one tough biotch to satisfy!

Audiofn

I have a Gateway and have been VERY Happy with it. It is the very small one that they have. I purchased it while flying back and forth across the country as it was the only one that you could open the screen up all the way and work. It does not have great battery life with the small batteries but I just carry two.

Jon