Suggestions/help on purchasing laptop?

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Hey all, I was hoping that I might be able to get some help on my search....

I'm looking at buying a new laptop. For specs, I want at least a 1 Ghz processor (preferably Pentium 4), 1 gig RAM (although I am willing to settle for 512 and upgrade later), and at least a 60 gig hard drive, 80 much preferred.

So, I have two questions.

1.) A lot of laptops nowadays have "shared video memory" - which I take to mean that they don't have an actual video card, and thus a way to upgrade it later. Any comments/suggestions on this? My last laptop had an actual video card, and I am unfamiliar with they way 'shared video memory' works, nor what would be a 'good' shared video amount.

2.) The catch on the specs I want? I only have a budget of $300. Any suggestions/ideas on where to look for laptops in my price range with those specs, besides eBay? I don't mind used, although I will want to be able to pay credit card or paypal for buyer protection, not cash. Or am I just never going to be able to get a decent laptop at that price?

 

[DaveMage]

I think the cheapest Dell laptop is $650 and that doesn't include shipping & tax.

Your best bet may be checking your local newspaper for used laptops.

Wal-Mart has a $500 one, but I don't think it has the RAM you want.

 

[Thanee]

Or am I just never going to be able to get a decent laptop at that price?

I would think you will need some patience there. Studying ebay and other sources for used notebooks for a while to get a good idea what is possible and then wait for a good opportunity.

Bye
Thanee

 

[jonesy]

1.) A lot of laptops nowadays have "shared video memory" - which I take to mean that they don't have an actual video card, and thus a way to upgrade it later. Any comments/suggestions on this? My last laptop had an actual video card, and I am unfamiliar with they way 'shared video memory' works, nor what would be a 'good' shared video amount.

Shared memory on laptops means that the video card doesn't have it's "own" memory, but rather it taps into the system RAM. If you have enough memory there to share, then there's no problem, but of course it's always better to have a proper graphics card.

 

[drothgery]

Dell's outlet store ( http://www.dell.com/outlet ) looks like it usually has a few refurbished/scratch-n-dent low-end notebooks for $400-$500. But that's about the best you'll do other than checking classifieds and eBay for a used box.

 

[Mycanid]

Yeah ... I was just looking at eBay before I came across this thread. You can get something for under $300, but not much. :\

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Thanks for all the advice, folks...

I'd been scanning ebay for a month or so, and shortly after posting this thread found something that would work, for $250 including shipping. It doesn't have quite the ram nor harddrive size I want, but it has a better processor and some other nifty features, so I decided to go for it.

 

[Merkuri]

Sounds like I'm too late, but I find TigerDirect good for generic computers. I find buying generics is great because it almost guarantees that you can mix and match parts for when you want to upgrade.

The computer I had before this one was a Dell, and when my computer started having problems I decided to try and upgrade the power supply. Much to my dismay I found out that the motherboard needed a non-standard power supply. I had to specifically buy a Dell power supply, so what could've been a $20 purchase became $90. I've gone generic since then.

I don't know how many generic laptops there are on the market, though, because laptops are more compact so it's much harder to make them piecemeal, but it's worth a look.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Thanks for the link to Tiger Direct - I'd actually checked there, but didn't really see any generic laptops, just name brands... maybe I wasn't looking at the right place?...

I agree about generic systems - we build all our own desktops, as it's so much cheaper to just buy the components you want. Unfortunately, it's substantially harder to do so with laptops.

I had to specifically buy a Dell power supply, so what could've been a $20 purchase became $90.

Ebay is your friend... I replaced the LCD on my last laptop (which is gone now, may it rest in peace) for $80 as opposed to the $250 Dell wanted. I tend to look for people selling just whatever component I needed, or for dead systems that have working parts that I need.

 

[Thanee]

I'd been scanning ebay for a month or so, and shortly after posting this thread found something that would work, for $250 including shipping. It doesn't have quite the ram nor harddrive size I want, but it has a better processor and some other nifty features, so I decided to go for it.

Good luck with it!

Upgrading RAM isn't that expensive, and HDD space isn't all, just requires some better managing to get along with less.

Bye
Thanee