$349.99 Laptop at BB

[tealk]

$349.99 Laptop

What ya guys think? It would be for my dad that will use it for internet usage, and once in a while playing some DVD's?

For $350 what ya think?

Also, how slow will this be as a Celeron with 512mb RAM running Vista? Like horribly slow, or just regular celeron slow?

 

[dew042]

That sounds painful.

A memory upgrade is a must. vista really needs it.

Vista is a hog, even with RAM this thing will be very slow.

dew.

 

[Slick5150]

It would be pretty bad running Vista. You'd definitely want to upgrade the RAM to 1gb.

 

[tealk]

Ok so what you think would be better, running Vista at 1gb, or running XP Pro at current config? XP Pro downgrade option would be free.

 

[darom]

Do a quick search on how well this laptop model runs Linux. Then install any good distro on it (SuSe or Ubuntu). Enjoy your DVDs and Internet browsing on a cheap laptop.

 

[wiredspider]

I bought the gateway 14.1" version last week, at 512 MB it was slow, I added 1 GB (for 1.5 GB total) and it runs quite nicely.

 

[DaGeek]

i got this toshiba deal a couple weeks ago when it was the same price, brought it up to 1gb and it is being used for the same stuff you said your dad was doing and it is fine for that, actually the new celerons arent all that bad for basic use, but i agree you definitely want to upgrade the ram, with 512 it was really slow but toss a $30 512 ddr2 in there and it will serve your purposes very well.

 

[slightlyhuman]

bought this for the gf. added 1gb ddr for $40. flies now.

very small which she likes considering she uses it for class.

 

[harrkev]

It will run really slow. Since the web site lists "sold out," you will get 0 GHz with 0 MB of RAM, and a 0GB hard drive.

 

[bearxor]

Spend the extra $100 for the Compaq for 449. 1GB of RAM, Dual-Core Pentium and Windows Vista Home Premium.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1180743304365

Better yet, spend a weekend and wander around from store to store and see what they have open box or clearance. I got a Turion TL-56, 2GB DDR2, 160GB HD, 802.11abgn, 15.4" 1280x800, Integrated Webcam really nice HP last weekend for $670.

 

[tealk]

Originally posted by: harrkev
It will run really slow. Since the web site lists "sold out," you will get 0 GHz with 0 MB of RAM, and a 0GB hard drive.

Store nearest me has 20 in stock...website is wrong.

 

[superHARD]

Originally posted by: tealk

Originally posted by: harrkev
It will run really slow. Since the web site lists "sold out," you will get 0 GHz with 0 MB of RAM, and a 0GB hard drive.

Store nearest me has 20 in stock...website is wrong.

how did you find that out?

 

[tealk]

I called them up, and she walked back there and looked...i actually picked it up already...and they did in fact have a lot in stock.

 

[Harvey]

Originally posted by: tealk
Ok so what you think would be better, running Vista at 1gb, or running XP Pro at current config? XP Pro downgrade option would be free.

It's a Cele, and the video uses shared memory. For performance, reverting to XP would be an UPgrade, not a downgrade. Look for a hot deal on notebook RAM, and max it out. You'll use less of that 80 GB hard drive, too.

How do you get the free upgrade to XP?

 

[tealk]

I know peeps in places

 

[epileptic]

Originally posted by: bearxor
Spend the extra $100 for the Compaq for 449. 1GB of RAM, Dual-Core Pentium and Windows Vista Home Premium.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1180743304365

i agree, spend 100 more. ive seen several 1GB dual core laptops goin for 450. might be w/ a 50 MIR but who cares..you get way more bang for your buck in the 450-500 price range.

 

[Dizzymon]

Ubuntu would be perfect for this system since you all you do is surf the web. I don't think you would have to upgrade the memory. Just don't install a lot of clunky apps that run in the background.

 

[Spikesoldier]

go buy a used merom and 2gb kit and you should be set

 

[russki]

I bought that laptop, you DEFINITELY have to get another 512mb ram at least, which can be had for $25 shipped on newegg. I needed a cheap laptop and that's exactly what I got

 

[finkle]

Can anyone tell if this notebook will take a Core Duo or Core2Duo??

Funny, this "Junk/Slow" notebook is probably better/faster then anything you could have bought 2 years ago....

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: finkle
Can anyone tell if this notebook will take a Core Duo or Core2Duo??

Funny, this "Junk/Slow" notebook is probably better/faster then anything you could have bought 2 years ago....

its a perfectly fine notebook.


celeron M 520 is a single core core 2 duo. like the celeron 4xx desktop series.


Celeron M 4xx and 5xx boards can support core 1 duo and core 2 duo mobile chips, so it is upgradeable and most of these value laptops you can easily just pry the keyboard up, unscrew a lot of screws and plug in a new chip.

I'd say for $350 its an awesome deal. 512mb and even 1gb sodimms are dirt cheap now, so an upgrade to 2gb initially , with a core 2 mobile chip in the future woul dmake it a decent amchine for a while (core duo 1.66 ghz -1.83 ghz are already under $100 on ebay)

 

[AMD K9]

How do you upgrade graphic memory on a laptop? Shared memory is from the devil!

 

[saya2005]

I bought an ACER 14" laptop at CC for about same price a month ago. Essentially similar specs. It was sluggish with 512K mem. I added another gig for about $40.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

If anyone has info on how to downgrade Vista Home Basic to XP for free, I'd like to hear it. AFAIK, only Vista Business and Ultimate are downgradeable for free.

 

[tealk]

Guy I wasnt talking like it was some kinda promo that I get it for free, it's a copy of XP that I have. I just wipped the drive, it's not some kinda special promo or something.