Hi,
I'm looking for a laptop to purchase for my mother who uses it primarily for usual web surfing, a bit of multimedia, and other normal day work (not business related). One of the main criteria for her is the cost which should adhere to the price tag of $700 and below (w/ S&H + Tax)--more or less. Another major criteria is the size of the monitor: min 15". These two points, cost and size overwrite all other features.
Obviously, this would take out Samsung, Sony, and Apple as they are more expensive than her budget. I have narrowed down the selection to 10 brand-models with the following features persisting more or less in all the items:
CPU: Intel Core i3 (if i5 for that price, the better)
Memory: DDR3 (2GB and up)
Hard Drive: 200GB+ (I am more concern with RPM, 7200 is much preferred)
Optical Drive: Dual Layer CD/DVD +/-R (if it is RW, the better)
Wireless: As long as it supports WPA/WPA2 and -N
Wire: Min 100MB
Video: Min Integrated Intel 128MB+ (1366x768)
Battery: Min 6 cell
Connectors: 1x HDMI
After searching for a few days, I've come up with the following list. What I'm looking is for people to share all the negative reviews they have either personally experienced or read because that way I can weed out the models with known issues. Yes, it's a bit strange request but I think this is the best way to minimize the future headaches. I list them in no particular of preference and specify the short coming of the components with respect to what I listed above and also certain extra amenities included in the package that deviates from the original ceiling with negative (-) and positive (+) sings:
1) Gateway NV5930u: $650 w/ S&H + Tax?
(-) 500GB 5400 RPM
2) Acer Aspire 5740-6025: $700 w/ S&H + Tax?
(+) Intel Core i5-430M 2.26 GHz (3M cache)
(-) 500GB 5400 RPM
3) Asus K52F-A1: $750 w/ S&H + Tax?
(+) Intel Core i3-350M 2.26 GHz (3M cache)
(-) 320GB 5400 RPM
4) Toshiba Satellite A500-ST6644: $780 w/ S&H + Tax
(+) 320GB SATA, 7200 RPM
5) Acer Aspire AS5740-5513: $650 w/ S&H + Tax
(-) 320GB SATA, 5400 RPM
6) HP Pavilion dv6t: $750 w/ S&H + Tax
(+) 320GB SATA, 7200 RPM w/ HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive
(-) Wireless-G Card
7) HP G62t: $650 w/ S&H + Tax
(+) 250GB SATA, 7200 RPM
(-) 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066 MHz
8) Dell Vestro 3500: $700 w/ S&H
(+) Intel Core i3-350M 2.26 GHz (3M cache)
(-) 250GB, 7200 RPM
9) Dell Inspiron 1564: $640 w/ S&H
(-) 320GB, 5400 RPM
(*) Webcam
(*) Dell 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
10) Dell Studio 1555: $760 w/ S&H
(+) 320GB SATA, 7200 RPM
(*) Dell 1397 Wireless G
If by any chance you know of any site that offers any of the models above, please do hesitate to share.
Sincerely,
I'm looking for a laptop to purchase for my mother who uses it primarily for usual web surfing, a bit of multimedia, and other normal day work (not business related). One of the main criteria for her is the cost which should adhere to the price tag of $700 and below (w/ S&H + Tax)--more or less. Another major criteria is the size of the monitor: min 15". These two points, cost and size overwrite all other features.
Obviously, this would take out Samsung, Sony, and Apple as they are more expensive than her budget. I have narrowed down the selection to 10 brand-models with the following features persisting more or less in all the items:
CPU: Intel Core i3 (if i5 for that price, the better)
Memory: DDR3 (2GB and up)
Hard Drive: 200GB+ (I am more concern with RPM, 7200 is much preferred)
Optical Drive: Dual Layer CD/DVD +/-R (if it is RW, the better)
Wireless: As long as it supports WPA/WPA2 and -N
Wire: Min 100MB
Video: Min Integrated Intel 128MB+ (1366x768)
Battery: Min 6 cell
Connectors: 1x HDMI
After searching for a few days, I've come up with the following list. What I'm looking is for people to share all the negative reviews they have either personally experienced or read because that way I can weed out the models with known issues. Yes, it's a bit strange request but I think this is the best way to minimize the future headaches. I list them in no particular of preference and specify the short coming of the components with respect to what I listed above and also certain extra amenities included in the package that deviates from the original ceiling with negative (-) and positive (+) sings:
1) Gateway NV5930u: $650 w/ S&H + Tax?
(-) 500GB 5400 RPM
2) Acer Aspire 5740-6025: $700 w/ S&H + Tax?
(+) Intel Core i5-430M 2.26 GHz (3M cache)
(-) 500GB 5400 RPM
3) Asus K52F-A1: $750 w/ S&H + Tax?
(+) Intel Core i3-350M 2.26 GHz (3M cache)
(-) 320GB 5400 RPM
4) Toshiba Satellite A500-ST6644: $780 w/ S&H + Tax
(+) 320GB SATA, 7200 RPM
5) Acer Aspire AS5740-5513: $650 w/ S&H + Tax
(-) 320GB SATA, 5400 RPM
6) HP Pavilion dv6t: $750 w/ S&H + Tax
(+) 320GB SATA, 7200 RPM w/ HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive
(-) Wireless-G Card
7) HP G62t: $650 w/ S&H + Tax
(+) 250GB SATA, 7200 RPM
(-) 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066 MHz
8) Dell Vestro 3500: $700 w/ S&H
(+) Intel Core i3-350M 2.26 GHz (3M cache)
(-) 250GB, 7200 RPM
9) Dell Inspiron 1564: $640 w/ S&H
(-) 320GB, 5400 RPM
(*) Webcam
(*) Dell 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card
10) Dell Studio 1555: $760 w/ S&H
(+) 320GB SATA, 7200 RPM
(*) Dell 1397 Wireless G
If by any chance you know of any site that offers any of the models above, please do hesitate to share.
Sincerely,