Looking for a basic laptop <$700

[LoneWolf121188]

I'm looking for a basic laptop for my cousin, max price of $700. It will just be used for word processing, browsing, etc, maybe the occasional movie, but certainly no gaming.

Reqs:

Vista Preloaded
DVD + CDRW
Medium-ish form factor (~15in screen or so?)


Any ideas on where to start would be great. Is there really any difference between HP, Dell, Toshiba, etc?

[funnyperson1]

Imho the build quality of the entry-level laptops are pretty similar. Only company I would really avoid is Gateway.

Both HP and Dell have some decent choices in your price range. From HP look at the Compaq V6000 and HP DV6000 series, from Dell look at the E1501.

Check out deals2buy.com, they have a link and coupon code to get an E1501 with Turion X2 TL50, 1gb of ram, and CDRW/DVDROM for $599. I can't link directly to the deal, so just go to the site and scroll down until you see it.

[LoneWolf121188]

I ended up getting a Toshiba A135-S4447 (T2250 Core Duo, 1GB PC4200, 80GB HDD, DVD+/-RW, 15.4" WXGA) for $600. Not a bad deal, I don't think.

[ozzlo]

Sorry for the threadjack but I am nowhere near considering vista until it has at least 1 or 2 service packs... WinXp is just fine...


I may be a big dell fan... but even I know where to draw the line. Don't buy the cheapest models of any manufacturer, the quality really drops off. I would instead reccomend a Higher-end model from the previous generation if your short on cash.