Best low-end laptop?

B

Bob W

Joined
Dec 31, 2000
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Wife has been using a laptop computer that was a loaner from a non-profit organization that she sometimes worked for. Now they've lost funding for all of her programs and they want the laptop back, after eight years.

If it were me, I'd be shopping for a "desktop replacement" model in the over-$2000 price category. But Wife is broke and needs something in the sub-$500 range capable of writing letters and running her grading software.

So what's the best very-low-end machine available? Or more accurately, what brands are complete junk that she should stay clear of?

-Bob
 
I get all my notebook AKA lap top computers from USAnotebook.com. Its the only place to shop in my opinion.

You can get a great deal on a unit from IBM like mine which is a ThinkPad all set up for Windows XP which is much better than that Vista crap anyway, but the real great thing about them is that they back up what they sell. Most of the stuff is priced super, and what they have is refurbished computers from the factory and if not the factory they have refurbished it themselves and all come with a six month warranty. For a few dollars more you can get a one year warranty.

I've had three from them and still use all of em.

The one I got to use on the wireless for my shop was a Windows 98 unit for $200 and it has lasted longer than a brand new Sony we bought my wife for $3200. 14 months later Sony wanted $800 almost $900 really to refurbish it with a one month warranty.

While there at USAnotebook.com look up their list of clients and satisfied customers.

STR
 
I've been using off lease IBM's for about 5 or 6 years now,you can pick them up from ebay for lees than $500.00,they are over $3000.00 new.I've upgraded a couple of times,gave one to my middle son when he started college,I'm not sure if than one is still in use,the second I gave to my Mom to get on the internet with,she uses it for that and to play games,it's still working good.This one is a pentium 4with a 1.8 gig processor and a 40 gig harddrive.I've bought them from different sellers,usually without an operating system and installed XP from an upgrade version.
 
Another vote for Acer. I'm on a travelmate 4060 myself. 1.6Ghz, 80G HDD, XP. The 512Mb ram kinda sucks but that's an easy fix. The 15.4" screen is great. It's a few years old now so it should be right in your range. You probably know this, but budget for replacing the battery in any used laptop.
 
You can get many under $1000 laptops right now with plenty of storage and power to do everything except gaming.

I am using my son's laptop right now while mine is getting its' video card replaced. It is faster and more powerful than mine and costs less.

Toshiba, Fujitsu, Lenovo/IBM, Dell, Sony all make very decent ones under a grand. Mac makes a nice one, but they are still a tad higher in price, but coming down. I personally have not had good service from HP's.

Consider the extended warranty. I am usually not a believer in them, but in laptops, I have decided that they are worth the price.

You need at least 1gb RAM for Vista and preferably 2gb. You can add RAM more cheaply than having it installed on purchase. It is easy to install. It is better to get separate video memory rather than shared memory; however, that will raise the cost over a grand.
 
Wife grading program that the school district uses is not compatible with Windows Vista. Several other teachers have already tried...

-Bob
 
There are still several that offer XP instead of Vista. I am using Vista on this machine, but I really do not like it. I have XP Pro on both of mine.

I have found notebookreview website helpful. You can search by price.
 
I have a 4 year or more old acer running XP, does a respectable job, Don't put norton security on low end laptops, IME it kills them dead.
 
Don't put norton security on low end laptops, IME it kills them dead.
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Ditto Symantec. Either of those are incredibly bloated, and to have something like that running in the background constantly can bring many computers to their knees.

Once she picks a laptop, I'll hook her up with AVG or Avast and Zone Alarm.

She just made five hundred bucks for attending a teacher workshop, so that's going to be her budget.

-Bob
 
That USAnotebook.com looks like it has some really good deals. Might take a little sleuthing to check out the models, but with the prices and warranties listed you could probably do pretty well there. Thanks for the tip STR.

Jack
 
STR said:
I get all my notebook AKA lap top computers from USAnotebook.com. Its the only place to shop in my opinion.

You can get a great deal on a unit from IBM like mine which is a ThinkPad all set up for Windows XP which is much better than that Vista crap anyway, but the real great thing about them is that they back up what they sell. Most of the stuff is priced super, and what they have is refurbished computers from the factory and if not the factory they have refurbished it themselves and all come with a six month warranty. For a few dollars more you can get a one year warranty.

I've had three from them and still use all of em.

The one I got to use on the wireless for my shop was a Windows 98 unit for $200 and it has lasted longer than a brand new Sony we bought my wife for $3200. 14 months later Sony wanted $800 almost $900 really to refurbish it with a one month warranty.

While there at USAnotebook.com look up their list of clients and satisfied customers.

STR
Click to expand...

Thanks for that link! Really. Awesome prices. BTW, NE OK? Spent some time in Chelsea,Vinita and Claremore Oklahoma. Coolest gun Museum ever in Claremore.
 
I have never seen that website and they do have some great deals. I like the Toshiba Tecra M2 for under $500.

Plus, they offer an educational discount for students and faculty.
 
All My PC gear is HP. They make good stuff at good prices, plus they are a US company I'd rather my money went to america than the chinese.

A large portion of businesses I see use HP too, which always says something to me.

Steer away from the home user range, get a baisc business laptop, it might not have all the features but it will be more reliable.

Have a look at the HP Compaq nx7300 Notebook PC (RM131UT) its got an Intel chip, 512MB DRAM, WinXP, DVD/CD-RW drive and its only $629

http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/e...295-321838-89315-3310301-3310302-3311756.html
 
Bob W said:
Wife has been using a laptop computer that was a loaner from a non-profit organization that she sometimes worked for. Now they've lost funding for all of her programs and they want the laptop back, after eight years.

If it were me, I'd be shopping for a "desktop replacement" model in the over-$2000 price category. But Wife is broke and needs something in the sub-$500 range capable of writing letters and running her grading software.

So what's the best very-low-end machine available? Or more accurately, what brands are complete junk that she should stay clear of?

-Bob
Click to expand...
How ancient was the Laptop?
Could you perhaps give your Wife a loan? :confused:
 
How ancient was the Laptop?
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Must have gotten it about 7 years ago; it was a Dell Inspiron 18000 loaded with Windows ME.

Could you perhaps give your Wife a loan?
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Fat chance! I'm low on funds too, between my new custom desktop computer, knives, convertible, home repairs... In addition, I hate laptops and would never even get to use it.

Besides, for what she uses the laptop for, I think $500 is the appropriate max amount to spend. I'm steering her towards the $470 IBM Thinkpads at USAnotebook.

Thanks for all the replies so far.
-Bob
 
I just bought an IBM thinkpad last week for $300 and it comes ready for WIFI....Love it... Am using it on vacation now Now to get home and work on some knives ....carl
 
I noticed that many of the lower-priced IBM laptops at USAnotebook have Windows 2000 Installed. How does Windows 2000 interact with UBB drives, auto detection, special drivers needed, etc.?

-Bob
 
It is very similar to XP Pro-it was designed as a server operating system.

It does off Plug and Play and will recognize most drivers for your hardware. Just like in XP, you might run across a driver that you have to manually install for hardware that is not in the database. USB works with it just like in XP.
 
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