Laptop specs?

[Goldenboko]

I was wondering if someone could tell me if these specs are worth blowing 600$ on.

Processor/Display
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Mobile AMD Sempron™ 3500+ (1.8GHz/512KB)

MEMORY
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512MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHZ, 1 DIMM

HARD DRIVES
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60GB Hard Drive

Combo/DVD+RW Drives
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24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive

Primary Battery
29 WHr 4-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

VIDEO CARD
ATI RADEON® Xpress1150 256MB HyperMemory™ (Integrated)

Wireless Networking Cards
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Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Mini Card (54Mbps)

Warranty and Service
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1Yr Ltd Warranty6 and Mail-In Service

It seems to be a good deal to me for only $599 especially because I'm mainly going to be using it for RPG Maker, the internet, photoshop and Runescape.

[rubah]

I can't really advocate buying a dell or buying the lowest end computers available (512mb of ram is barely sustainable nowadays and the most intense program I tend to use is photoshop 7), but if you want it, it would probably be a decent little machine. At least dell notebooks tend to be higher quality than their desktops.

[Yamaneko]

Is that your budget? I could definitely recommend something better if you told us how much you're willing to spend. Also, form factor is important. How big do you want the screen? A 4-cell LI is pretty weak. You won't be getting much battery life off of it.

The model you listed has a weak processor, low memory, small HDD, and a regular CD burner as opposed to a DVD burner. Sorry if I seem picky, but you'll want something that lasts, so that six months down the line you don't regret making the purchase. Then again a $600 budget isn't going to fetch you anything that much better somewhere else.

[Goldenboko]

600 dollars is my budget which is why this is the one I've chosen.

Not getting much battery life doesn't bother me, often I just need to have it last long enough that I can bring it somewhere and plug it into a wall.

I don't know what HDD even is xp

I don't play video games... Basically I need it so I can
A. Go on the internet on the road, or when all computers are taken
B. Have a computer which isn't being spammed with my brother's, and father's crap
A 15.4 inche screen is fine considering I don't think I'm going to play any games other then Runescape


This is one of the best I could find with a $600 budget.

[Xaven]

600 dollars is my budget which is why this is the one I've chosen.

Not getting much battery life doesn't bother me, often I just need to have it last long enough that I can bring it somewhere and plug it into a wall.

I don't know what HDD even is xp

I don't play video games... Basically I need it so I can
A. Go on the internet on the road, or when all computers are taken
B. Have a computer which isn't being spammed with my brother's, and father's crap
A 15.4 inche screen is fine considering I don't think I'm going to play any games other then Runescape


This is one of the best I could find with a $600 budget.

HDD is Hard Disk Drive. Hard Drive.

If you want to go on the internet on the road, you'll likely have to buy a plan for your cell phone, or a something else-whatsit. As far as I know, you'll have to pay continually for the means to connectly to the internet remotely.

[o_O]

I advise you not to get a Dell. Not only do their machines seem to be substandard, but if you <i>ever</i> need anything that involves the word "support" or "warranty", you're out of luck, because they're less willing to help you than Microsoft tech support (and MS charge you $75 for phone assistance).

The way I would go is to look for a small computer vendor in your area (they almost invariably sell parts around 25% cheaper than big stores (in New Zealand anyway)), and get them to assist you in building a PC. You won't have to build it yourself, and they'll help you choose the parts you need for the lowest price.

[Samuraid]

I've had nearly the opposite experience with Dell, at least in my area (southern California). They have been very reliable and the service has been good. I'm not sure how their service varies in different areas though. I guess YMMV.

Anyway, as for the topic:
512MB will work with Window XP as long as you are conservative with your computer resources. In other words, load only what you need and nothing else. Even on a streamlined machine, 512MB will limit the computer's performance if you are running a number of programs at once. Most laptops have an option for memory upgrade though, so you could likely upgrade in the future if you ever needed it. (The laptop has DDR2 which is current, so you should be able to find a SO-DIMM memory upgrade for not a huge cost)

[Yamaneko]

The way I would go is to look for a small computer vendor in your area (they almost invariably sell parts around 25% cheaper than big stores (in New Zealand anyway)), and get them to assist you in building a PC.

I think he wants a notebook.

I've heard decent accounts about Dell support here in the states. I don't know how it is in NZ. You can also look at HP/Compaq. They have similarly spec'ed notebooks with some above-average build quality.

[Goldenboko]

600 dollars is my budget which is why this is the one I've chosen.

Not getting much battery life doesn't bother me, often I just need to have it last long enough that I can bring it somewhere and plug it into a wall.

I don't know what HDD even is xp

I don't play video games... Basically I need it so I can
A. Go on the internet on the road, or when all computers are taken
B. Have a computer which isn't being spammed with my brother's, and father's crap
A 15.4 inche screen is fine considering I don't think I'm going to play any games other then Runescape


This is one of the best I could find with a $600 budget.

HDD is Hard Disk Drive. Hard Drive.

If you want to go on the internet on the road, you'll likely have to buy a plan for your cell phone, or a something else-whatsit. As far as I know, you'll have to pay continually for the means to connectly to the internet remotely.

I ment sometimes when I'm at places that have wireless (AKA My school) I'd be able to accsess the internet without having to use on of their computers.

Because of lack of funds I decided to order this laptop, I waited a couple days for my parents to put money in the credit cards and got a pleasent surprise. For the exact same amount of money the Laptop now
came with a 120GB hard drive. Very nice ;0

[bipper]

Of course, you can build your own laptop with quite a bit of poking around, but I would not really suggest it lest you know what you are doing. I have seen laptops get built for less than half of what their marketed brethren go for.


Anyways, I have had nothing but good luck with dell; I mean, if something breaks, they are on it. You need some patience in dealing with their reps, unless you have the Gold Support (us based help desk etc), I have a nice Core Duo laptop with 17 inch screen and all the bells and whistles, and the thing has yet o hit a hardware problem. Well built and fast imo. It is my laptop for work though, thus it needing to be dell. I do support the product, though personally I may look at custom enclosures; but that certainly does not mean I do not support what dell can do. They are an amazing company.

After saying all that, I would go Dell, in your position. Something a little heftier should fall in your price line - especially if you look into the refurbished lines.

[Rostum]

It'd probably be worth spending the extra money to get at least 1GB in RAM and maybe 80GB in HDD space. But other than that, I think it'd work fine.

Generally, Dell laptops have always been good to me, but their support sucks a lot. My dad recently tried to order one on the net / over the phone, and they made it extremely difficult to do -- but alas, he got it and it runs fairly well.