< $500 dollar laptop?

[AeroEngy]

My wife's ~5 year old crappy Dell Inspiron 1525 has finally toasted. I don't follow anything related to laptop hardware and I just need a cheap < $500 replacement.

She only uses it to surf the net, create an occasional small Word doc, and watch some stuff on the internet (Hulu, etc.). Her only real requirement is at least a 15" screen.

So I found the following on Dell.com and was wondering if you guys had any other suggestions (Asus, Acer, etc.) that fit the <$500 15"+ category. I realize most in this category are going to suck somehow but I am just trying to minimize the suck to $ ratio.

Dell Inspiron 15 $399
Core i3-2370M
4GB Memory
500GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive
Intel HD Graphics HM57
Win 7 Home Premium

Thanks

 

[gorcorps]

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-4334EAU...bsnr_565108_25

Similar specs, but I just prefer lenovo.

 

[gorcorps]

Even better:

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-A55A-AB51...bsnr_565108_35

Has the latest gen i3/i5 which means better integrated graphics as well. Also has a larger HDD, and I like Asus these days more than the other two mentioned.

 

[AeroEngy]

Even better:

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-A55A-AB51...bsnr_565108_35

Has the latest gen i3/i5 which means better integrated graphics as well. Also has a larger HDD, and I like Asus these days more than the other two mentioned.

That one does seem to be a better deal. Plus when I showed it to my wife she said "I like this one because it comes in red!" Thanks again.

 

[Pardus]

Samsung - 15.6" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Silver

Model: NP300E5A-A05US
SKU: 5862633
Our Price: $399.99

 

[Tdavis5432]

That one appears out of stock everywhere I looked and its not available for shipping, too bad, looks nice!

Samsung - 15.6" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Silver

Model: NP300E5A-A05US
SKU: 5862633
Our Price: $399.99

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

If you want something durable and reliable buy an HP ProBook 4530s. They have a metal chassis, matte screen, and a relatively low weight of 5.2 pounds. You can find them at that price range easily:

http://www.buy.com/prod/hp-probook-4...l?listingId=-1

$450 new with a Core i3-2350M (2.3GHz), 4GB DDR3, and a 500GB 7200RPM HDD for higher system responsiveness. 5 hours of real use battery life.

Here are two reviews:

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/hp-probook-4530s.aspx
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP-ProBook-4530s-Notebook.56747.0.html

 

[exia989]

My vote goes towards a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge, either the e430 or e530. I have one that I upgraded, and I love it. Not the prettiest laptop ever, but the build quality on it makes it worth it.

 

[funboy6942]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2269698