Cheap, quality notebook computers in Off Topic

ID:182573
 
Apr 21 2008, 4:51 pm
Fairly soon, I'll be in the market of searching for a laptop, since I don't feel like carting this bulky PC off to college with me, and while I'm there I'd like to be out a lot, and do things at places such as cafés and the like. Now, I'm poor (y'know, not even mentioning the student loan debt I'll soon be in), so I can't afford these nasty $1,000+ death-machines. Nor do I want those peewEee PCs, or whatever you nuts call them. I actually like to have a decent resolution, believe it or not.

Here's what my ideal notebook would look like:
- Cheap (major factor---I'm not getting any less poor!)
- Monitor can at least support 1024x768 resolution
- Built-in 802.11g technology if possible
- Decent hard drive space (I really just can't manage under 40GB so well)
- CD-ROM drive is a must
- No OS, or else a Linux OS (it would logically be cheaper then, yes?) --- I can supply my own; I don't want to pay for an OS that I already own or don't want. If it's cheap and has to come with Windows, that's OK too.
- Not ancient. I actually have a laptop right now that I can't install any OS on because its BIOS is so old it errors to its own doom when trying to boot from a CD, and has no floppy drive.

It's frickin' hard (for me, at least) to find sites that actually sell laptops with no OS or with Linux OSes pre-installed. And if I do find such a site, they feel the need to max out every other spec so that the price is still beyond my reach. I don't need the latest dual-core processors (hell, I'm pretty fine with the Celeron D my PC has been running since I bought it), don't need a 300GB hard drive, and most certainly not 4GB of RAM. I've tried that tuxmobil.org reseller site and it's basically useless. The pages I find that sell to the U.S. basically want to ship out something with "Ultimate" in the title, meaning they're selling something a few thousand dollars more than I can afford.

I'd hate to say it, but at this point it looks like I'll have to turn to eBay. Eww. Any help, my fellow Earthicans?

Hiead
#1 Apr 21 2008, 5:06 pm
Take a look at ZaReason.

Benefits:
* Laptops start well-equipped at $800, well under your $1000 death-machine cap: 80GB hard drive, dual-core Intel processor, 1280x800 resolution, webcam, integrated graphics.
* They include a screwdriver in the box, with the philosophy "If you can't open it, you don't own it." -- that means that your warranty is not voided by you working on your laptop, and in fact they can give you advice over the phone when you're trying to fix things yourself. If you can't figure it out, send it in and they'll sort it out.
* Their laptops are built with ASUS and Intel parts, with excellent build quality.
* All the laptops come with Ubuntu Linux pre-installed, and are designed for maximum hardware compatibility with the Linux kernel.
#2 Apr 21 2008, 6:45 pm
I posted this in the thread right under this...

[link]

http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/ vostronb_1000?c...

Dell Vostro 1000 for $399

Upgradeable if you want it, but cheap if you don't need the glitz. I'd recommend the one for $449. Keep in mind that Dell is going to charge you about fifty bucks in tax, but the shipping is free.
#3 Apr 21 2008, 6:51 pm
In response to Airjoe (#2)
Yeah, I saw it, but as a general rule I like to see competing specs and prices, not just a monopoly on the only decent $399 laptop. :)

I'll keep it in mind, though. Thanks.

Airjoe wrote:
Upgradeable if you want it, but cheap if you don't need the glitz.

Now they just need to modify the "Customize" options to allow downgrades that lower prices. :)

Hiead
#4 Apr 21 2008, 6:59 pm
In response to PirateHead (#1)
Gosh I've never seen a bigger rip-off.

Compare the ZaReason LightLapSR to the Dell Vostro 1500:

Dell's Vostro 1500 offers a bigger screen (the 14 inch is available if you want it, though), an Intel T5270 instead of the T5250, twice the RAM, and twice the HDD space. It has the same video card, built-in wireless, and all the other standard stuff like headphone/microphone ports, five USB ports, DVD burner, SD Reader, vga and s-video out, a valid XP or Vista OS, etc, all for $549.

So for that extra two hundred and fifty bucks, you get gigabit ethernet and Linux. I'd rather save the money and fitz around with ndiswrapper for the wireless, the only thing that's different enough to cause a linux compatibility issue.
#5 Apr 21 2008, 7:01 pm
In response to Hiead (#3)
Heh, I don't think you'll be able to find a computer for that cheap that can compete (though I won't discourage you from looking!). I look at things like the eeePC and shudder because for less than the maxed out eeePC (which is still pretty much garbage), you can get a sweet, real laptop.

The only thing the eeePC has going for it is ultra-portability, something I couldn't care less about, since even with my 9 cell battery my Dell Inspiron 1501 is plenty portable.
#6 Apr 21 2008, 7:52 pm
In response to Airjoe (#4)
Yeah, I've seen that those Vostro laptops are mighty cheap. It makes me wonder about the build quality, but if they are made with good parts, it sounds like a great deal.
#7 Apr 21 2008, 8:14 pm
In response to PirateHead (#6)
The new EeePCs come with a much bigger screen resolution 1080x800, or something like that.
#8 Apr 21 2008, 8:19 pm
In response to Flame Sage (#7)
That's really great, considering they're still not what Hiead's looking for, never mind the fact that their cost per specs is absolutely horrible. Also, reply to the right post, please. Thanks for contributing.
#9 Apr 22 2008, 2:10 am
In response to Airjoe (#4)
The Vostro are supposed to be a "limited time offer" thing, so buy quick!
#10 Apr 22 2008, 3:24 am
In response to PirateHead (#6)
PirateHead wrote:
Yeah, I've seen that those Vostro laptops are mighty cheap. It makes me wonder about the build quality, but if they are made with good parts, it sounds like a great deal.

Dell components are crap. You get what you pay for with laptops, most of the time.
#11 Apr 22 2008, 5:25 am (Edited on Apr 22 2008, 9:53 am)
It kinda depends on how you define "Cheap" but this Acer is a pretty good deal. Newegg has some good prices for laptops, and a far larger selection than most local stores. I haven't looked at the stats on the Dell that Airjoe linked to, but that Acer is a full powered laptop for $600.
#12 Apr 22 2008, 9:20 am
In response to Danial.Beta (#11)
A friend of mine has a very similar Acer - it's caused him a lot of trouble. It overheats so he needs to have a special notebook cooling platform which kills the portability, it's got poor battery life, it's had a number of bad cables, basically just a low-cost, low-quality deal.

I fear the same thing would be true of Dell's Vostro computers - I think they must be cutting corners somewhere. My aunt got a Vostro and last I heard she likes it, but she spent more than $1000 on it so I'm not sure it bears any similarity to the bottom-basement priced ones.
#13 Apr 22 2008, 9:28 am
In response to Alathon (#10)
I have a bottom of the line Dell Inspiron 1501, which the Dell Vostro 1000 series replaced. I've had it for a year now with no problems, and I absolutely love it. I recommended the Vostro to my boss at work, and he bought two 1700s which haven't had a single problem since we bought them about six months ago, and a co-worker recently hopped on Dell's "spend 1300 and save 500" deal, getting one hell of a system for only 800 bucks.

Dell's offering these deals to small businesses because they can, and they hope in the long run these businesses will consistently choose Dell. When I got my Inspiron 1501, it was $549 if I went through the small business section of the Dell website. If I went through home or home office, it was $899. They're still high quality parts, just offered at a huge discount to small businesses.

Am I a Dell fanboy? Well, yeah, but that's because my first real computer was a Dell, and it's still running fine today, unlike all the old Compaqs and Gateways I have lying around. I run my own computer repair business, and the only problem I ever have with Dells has nothing to do with the computer itself, its just software, whereas the HPs/Compaqs and other manufacturers frequently have bad memory, power supplies, or some other hardware problem.

Heh, not trying to sound elite or insulting here, just sharing my experiences. I know you have a lot of experience in computers too ([link], jeez, I wish I had the opportunity to build 50 computers!), but I've just never had a problem with Dell.
#14 Apr 22 2008, 9:30 am
In response to PirateHead (#12)
He should contact Acer support. They give 1 year warranties on all their stuff, and give great support. I own an Acer laptop, and the only downside I have is that the fans are software controlled mixed with the CPU speed, there is no actual temperature detection, at least not OS independent. So I have to keep it at full clock speed when sitting on my table, or it gets really hot(never cut off on me, but feels very unsafe). Aside from that, it's a great laptop and has really good Linux support. Out of the box the only thing that isn't supported by Kubuntu is fan controls and the WiFi light on the front.

When I got my Acer, it was a bottom of the barrel, coming in at about $850 after shipping. So I have more than got my money's worth, and I still recommend them as a brand. My Acer is of rock solid quality and am avoiding trading it in, despite it being rather underpowered to today's standards. And, although they aren't as good as some vendors, Acer tries hard to make sure there is plenty of Linux support, and they don't care what OS you have when you have hardware problems(I had to send my Acer in for repair due to a manufacturing defect and had already replaced Windows XP with Ubuntu and didn't hear a peep from them).
#15 Apr 22 2008, 9:40 am
In response to Danial.Beta (#11)
For the specs, that certainly is a good price, pretty much on par with the Vostro 1500 (or maybe even better than, but I don't feel like customizing to see). I do like Acer, and was probably going to go with one until I found Dell's sweet small business deals. Still, for 100 bucks less (I recommended a fifty dollar upgrade, and Dell charges tax regardless of state... :[) he's getting a fully functional laptop that can handle quite a bit (I've used mine for basic gaming like CS 1.6, Rainbow Six 3, and Red Faction I and II, as well as stuff like Autodesk Inventor 2008). I must say though, good on Acer for making what looks to be a quality, relatively inexpensive laptop. I go to HP's website and am shocked by some of their laptop prices.
#16 Apr 23 2008, 4:17 am
TigerDirect just sent me an e-mail saying they've got the Lenovo 3000 Y410 laptop on sale again (at boxing day prices!).

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/ item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3509675&sku=T70-14002&CMP=EMC-EMAIL20 06&SRCCODE=CANEM1128

Worth the money.
#17 Apr 24 2008, 7:50 am
In response to Crashed (#16)
Just a note to anyone looking to use this deal, you have to pay $800 up front and you get $200 back through mail-in rebates (which Tigerdirect is total fail at, I spent three months trying to get a rebate on a network switch I got and ended up having them email me telling me the rebate no longer existed!) you also have to live in Canada or at least have your billing and shipping addresses in Canada, otherwise you pay full price.