In the market for a $500 laptop : which to avoid?

[radhak]

Family needs a laptop - general surfing, docs, spreadsheets, and some basic video watching, picture handling. I am hoping sub-$500 should be good?

I saw some good purchase hints in this thread from 4 months ago. Set me thinking - which manufacturers are better than others, and which worse?

My work laptop has been Thinkpads for the past 7 years, and love them. Dunno if I'd find any for my budget.

Today's woot deal is an Asus Intel Core i3 for $399.99. That is a new manufacturer, right? How are they?

And yes - how does dual-core compare with i3 / i5 / etc? How about intel vs AMD?

[LarryG]

Asus has been around quite a while as a motherboard manufacturer. I wouldn't be afraid of one of their laptops, although I'd want to see some reviews on the specific model I was considering.

I've not done a ton of research, but if I was buying, I'd probably buy a Toshiba.

[LCHIEN]

the big question would be, is it to really be a portable, i.e. use outside the home for many hours or is it to be a desktop replacement, to be used within the home, but as a one piece luggable from one room to another and used with an AC power pack.

If the former, light weight, long battery life, small size are important, but if the latter, then higher performance, bigger screen with more resolution trump size and power consumption.

[JSUPreston]

I recently (March) bought an HP g6 series laptop that Office Depot had on a great sale. Decent specs for $400 after rebate. Dual core 64bit AMD processor. 3GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 Home Premium. Link to machine is here: http://www.officedepot.com/a/product...Computer-With/

Performance wise, the machine is pretty good for surfing, word processing, etc. Tried Need For Speed World on it once-not so good. I got it to use on my side gig of setting up home networks, etc. Can't use the work machine for that. However, I'm not pleased with the build quality. I've already sent the machine back once for a keyboard replacement. It still acts screwy at times. Also, battery life isn't very good in my opinion. This is my first personal HP laptop, although I've had 3 or 4 work assigned units. IMHO, when it comes to laptops, HP makes great printers.

I like Asus motherboards and video cards. I've been a fan of theirs for years. My son has an Asus netbook that is acting a little funky, but I think he's done something to the OS load. Probably need to reload and tighten the security settings a little more.

If I were you, I'd check dealnews.com at least once a day. I've been seeing some good deals on Dell and Lenovo machines as well.

[jziegler]

ASUS has been around for some time, and make quality motherboards. Their laptops seem to be acceptable.

A warning about almost all of the current 15" and smaller laptops: They have relatively low-resolution screens. Almost all are 1366 x 768, which I consider too low for anything other than casual use. Resolutions tended to be a bit higher before everything went widescreen.

[jdon]

I'm also a Thinkpad fan. You might want to consider a Thinkpad Edge. My son bought one last year and loves it (and he has high standards).

I did a quick check and Newegg has an Edge for $480.

[JoeyGee]

Asus consistently ranks high in laptop reliability studies.

I am also a HUGE ThinkPad fan. I bought a ThinkPad SL410 at BB in 2/10 for $550. It was the only TP they had, and they didn't promote it heavily, and they have since stopped carrying TP's--at least in this range. I was surprised to find one in that range. It's 100% ThinkPad, though, not a cheap imitation slapped with a TP sticker.

I know some people like them, but I would NOT buy an HP. Buying and integrating Compaq into the HP brand really killed a once great line.

Toshibas are good, too.

[radhak]

Lot of good insight, thanks y'all!

Today I made a quick visit to CompUSA to check some out physically, and came to the conclusion that 15.6" is too big. I think the right size will be 12" to 14".

While most of the laptops were good looking, I am unable to think beyond Thinkpads. Lemme check the edge out.

while there my daughter liked the red laptops, and wants that color. Amazingly, the red color seems to add a premium of $150 ! Not sure I want to give that up just for an external color...

[herb fellows]

To paraphrase a famous line from The Graduate; I have two words for you: spray epoxy.

[RAV2]

Check the current Staples ad page 2. I picked up this Acer with a 17.3" display, 4GB Ram, DVD w/Blu Ray, and webcam for $425 (they sent a $75 coupon on that could be used on this $500 unit

They have

Item: 904496
Model: LX.PY902.077

The Acer® Aspire AS7741Z-4839 Laptop transforms digital entertainment into an amazing experience. Showcasing a cinematic 17.3-inch HD+ LED-backlit display, Intel® dual-core processing performance, Windows® 7, Dolby® audio enhancement and amazing media features you can fly through demanding applications and enjoy more of your multimedia in true elegance - wherever you go.

Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor P6200 (2.13GHz)
4GB installed memory
500GB hard drive
8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
17.3" HD+ Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit Display
Built-in HD 1.3MP Webcam (1280 x 1024)

Set up relatively quiclky after removing manageable bloatwear and had surprisingly few updates.

[bullethead1964]

Both my teens have Toshiba's we got at Best Buy for $375/ea. They use theirs like you plan to use yours.

What they both really like is the integrated number pad. These are 15 inch screens. We have had them for 10 months now and not a single issue. Battery life is @ 4 hrs.

[ironhat]

I have owned three Acers and tend to keep them for 4-5 years. After two years (+/-) the HDDs give up the ghost. I don't recall the maker of the drives or even whether they consistantly use the same manufacturer. Nevertheless, that's about all I can get out of a drive. When the second one goes I get rid of it due to the general condition of the machines. I do give them considerable use.

[radhak]

Update !

Finally ended up buying the Toshiba - Portege Laptop : Intel Core™ i5 Processor / 13.3" Display / 4GB Memory / 640GB Hard Drive. It is extremely slim - barely thicker than the MacBook Air (I put them side-by-side at the store), and still has an optical drive CD/DVD drive.

For all my belief that BestBuy is pricey, this particular piece lists at $729 there, by far lower than anywhere else online or brick. And on Sunday, I received a $100 gift card to BB for Father's day, and I saw it as a good omen, and plunked for it despite blowing past the $500 limit.

After just two days of use I am pretty impressed - it is everything I'd have expected. Of course, I am comparing with my work laptop that is limited in processor and memory (and is on XP), but am looking forward to the family using it and not bugging me much!

I also bought a Microsoft - Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000 that has impressed me with the new 'Bluetrack technology'. Pretty much flawless.

Thanks to everybody for all your inputs - proved invaluable!