Solved! Buying a laptop (use or new) in $350-450 range. Please advise!

[zeppelin101]

Hi, I'm looking for laptop and I've used the guide from the sticky to form my post. Without further ado -

Main Criteria:
*Budget range: $350-450 (shipping is within that range). I'm ok with buying a used laptop off Ebay.
*Performance
*Desired hardware specs:
-At least a 2ghz processor (my desktop at home is a ~3.8ghz dual core so I can't live with a snail computer)
-Minimum 2GB ram, though 3 is sounds optimal
-Minimum 160gb HDD
-Minimum 15" width display
*Primary use:
-schoolwork (programming and word processor)
-NOT gaming. I don't expect to be able to play any newer games on a laptop in this budget range. That said, I may give flash games and emulators a try.
*Projected lifespan - I will use this laptop a minimum of 2 years

Secondary Criteria:
*I may get a dual-boot environment going and install Linux on it. Not sure of the distro, but probably Ubuntu
*I might want to watch 1080p movies on it
*CD/DVD Burner, though not necessary. Just a DVD-rom drive would suffice as well.

Other thoughts:
*Don't really care what OS it comes in since I have spare copies of Win7 x64 & WinXP Pro SP3
*I live in northwest U.S.
*I would like good battery lifetime, but I'm not sure it will matter in a school environment where electrical sockets are everywhere.
*Sites I've considered:
-Newegg
-Tiger Direct
-Ebay. Any input or things to keep in mind when buying used or new laptops on Ebay would be appreciated!
*I need this laptop in my hands in approximately 3 weeks..

Any help is appreciated!

 

[buwish]

How about this?

http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834146771

 

[zeppelin101]

That's a single core CPU. I don't think that's a great investment.

 

[buwish]

Whoops my bad. I didn't even look over the CPU specs. In that case though, have a look at this one:

http/www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/guidedSearch.asp?CatId=17&sel=Price;Price5,Detail;98_266_9898_11937,Detail;164_168_1103_1103,Detail;112_479_45852_45852

It's a bit over your max budget, but for what you want, I think it would be worth the extra $30 or so.

 

[zeppelin101]

Well the CPU in that one is under 2ghz.

 

[buwish]

In comparison to other mobile CPU's (or any CPU), it isn't about speed, it's about the processor architecture. Save for an i3 on up, you'll find that the better mobile CPU's tend to be in the C2D line. Take a look at this:

http/www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

 

[zeppelin101]

That's a great website there. I'm looking at the i3's and I'm not seeing that much about them that's amazing in terms of performance or TDP. The multiple threads don't seem to add that much.