Best bang-for-buck $300 - $500 Notebook

[BlackTigers]

I bought that Acer today.

It's a nice unit. Faster than my desktop, and looks really slick, a little big though. =[ I can snap some pictures if you want

I talked to a manager, and he grabbed an ad out of his office. CONFIRMED the bundle with the printer, mouse, bag, etc for $379.99. He told me I would have no problem taking the laptop back to price match it and get the rest of the bundle.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers
I bought that Acer today.

It's a nice unit. Faster than my desktop, and looks really slick, a little big though. =[ I can snap some pictures if you want

I talked to a manager, and he grabbed an ad out of his office. CONFIRMED the bundle with the printer, mouse, bag, etc for $379.99. He told me I would have no problem taking the laptop back to price match it and get the rest of the bundle.

The manager I talked to denied knowing anything about the ad or being able to find out. He was being pretty much a dick. He tried hard to sell me on the protection plans, wouldn't stop talking about them for several minutes once I said I would buy the laptop. I assured him that my usage patterns made it much less likely for me to ever benefit from such a plan than most everyone else who would buy this. Even so, he persisted in trying to sell me one of those plans. He couldn't help himself, he just had to try and try. It should have been clear to him that I wasn't going to consider it. I never do, and for this I know it would be really stupid.

I'm rubbing my chin on this one. I might go for the 380 bundle even though I don't want that printer. I suspect that the mouse sucks too and they say the tote is actually an inch too small. :roll: $380 for that laptop is probably a very good deal by itself. Maybe I can sell the printer on ebay or craigslist. I figure there will be a bunch for sale at the same time, though. Supply/demand. The thing that impressed me when I saw the Acer was how big it is. It's also very glitzy compared to my Lenovo T60, which is all business, just unvarnished functionality, which appeals to me alot. I'd prefer that look. The Acer will take up a lot of space on my little kitchen table. Dunno, maybe I'll like it, it's just hard to say right now. Anyway, it's got a lot going for it. How do you like the display, BlackTigers?

Originally posted by: preslove

Originally posted by: Muse


If so, the Vista Basic is a serious downside - not upgradable to Windows 7. Also no HDMI. Got my fingers crossed on the Acer.

Dude, it's deader than Michael Jackson.

Judging from all the hoopla concerning his "death" I have to think he's not all that dead.

 

[Muse]

Here's some great pictures of the Acer:

Pic1

Pic2

Pic3

Pic4

Pic5

 

[piasabird]

If you want to take notes in class then a 17 inch laptop may be too big to carry around. My daughter has a Dell with a 15.6 inch screen and it is pretty big.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: piasabird
If you want to take notes in class then a 17 inch laptop may be too big to carry around. My daughter has a Dell with a 15.6 inch screen and it is pretty big.

I have my Lenovo T60 w/ 14.1" screen on my lap right now, and it's very nice as a laptop! Not heavy and the bottom just gets a little warm.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: piasabird
If you want to take notes in class then a 17 inch laptop may be too big to carry around. My daughter has a Dell with a 15.6 inch screen and it is pretty big.

I have my Lenovo T60 w/ 14.1" screen on my lap right now, and it's very nice as a laptop! Not heavy and the bottom just gets a little warm.

I just went over to Best Buy to have a look at their whole inventory of laptops just to get an idea of what's out there. Looked over the Acer again really good. Measuring the screen carefully (13.875" x 7.75") I now realize that the actual screen real estate is only 11% more than my Lenovo T60 (11.25" x 8.5"). They didn't have any laptops with similar dimensions. All the laptops I see nowadays are wide screen. What is it? The fascination with 16x9 movies? I kind of like the old form factors where width didn't trump height. My T60 is only 4 lb. 5 oz, 5 lb. 1 oz with 6 cell battery. The Acer is said to b e 7.5 lb. and that's probably without the battery.

 

[preslove]

Originally posted by: piasabird
If you want to take notes in class then a 17 inch laptop may be too big to carry around. My daughter has a Dell with a 15.6 inch screen and it is pretty big.

With the rise of netbooks, full blown laptops shouldn't be taken to campus.

Laptop for home & trips take nin your car, netbook for lugging around campus.

 

[IlllI]

here is one for $280 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1218099043398

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: IlllI
here is one for $280 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...oduct&id=1218099043398

Yeah, I was/am considering getting that instead of the other BB deal (the bundle one). It's $110 less out the door. 1.6 GHz not dual core processor (the other is dual core 2.0 GHz), no HDMI. Best deal I've seen for a basic laptop, though. Right now the bundle is sitting unopened beside me.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: presloveWith the rise of netbooks, full blown laptops shouldn't be taken to campus.

Laptop for home & trips take nin your car, netbook for lugging around campus.

I partially agree. Netbook for taking around campus and for writing papers at the library. Desktop for serious gaming in your dorm room.