LINK: http://www.gottadeal.com/Deal/28755

http://www.gottadeal.com/images/deals/20081020083538.jpg (http://www.gottadeal.com/Deal/28755)

AMD AthlonTM 64 X2 Dual-Core processor TK-57 (1.9GHz/256KB)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic, Service Pack 1
Microsoft® Works Plus 2008 - Works + Word 2003
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
15.4 inch Wide Screen XGA LCD Anti-Glare Display
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHZ, 2 Dimm
8X DVD+/-RW with double-layer DVD+R write capability, Cyberlink Power DVD
ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 256MB HyperMemory™ (integrated)
160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Wi-Fi Internal Card
6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
McAfee Total Protection for Small Business, 30-day subscription
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
Free Microsoft Office Live Small Business

What do you think of this for an 11 yr old?

What do you think of this for an 11 yr old?
thats so funny, I was just about to post asking if anyone had any idea if this would be good for a 12 year old. If anyone has any tips that would be great :)

It should be more than fine for 95% of what they want to do. If they want to play the latest and greatest games, they shouldn't expect great performance because of the on-board graphics, but that will be true with most laptops under $600-700. Other than that it comes with pretty much anything they'd need.

hmmm...im seriously debating this one for me. but the cheapskate in me says hold out for black friday, lol

I bought this last year for my dd 15 and ds 18-it will be fine for teens. My dd is a photo/music junkie :D

yeah Im thinking about this one for me also. i should get it now cause to get it at a price like this you would have to wait in line starting turkey day night. hhhmmmmm. do i really want to put the money into this now? such a hard decision.

is this good for a kid going to college?

Is this enough RAM to run vista on or should I down grade to XP

Would this be good for someone like me who only uses the computer for message boards, pictures, and surfing the net?

I asked my computer "nerd" bf about whether or not this would be good for my sister who only surfs the web, uploads pics, and checks her email/favorite sites.... he said that it would be great for her, but the only thing he would suggest is that she purchase a virus protection program... other than that he said it was a really good deal!!!! HTH

I just remembered tht my cousin is looking for one for her son so I gave her call. She needs to talk to her DH first, but she liked it a lot!

Got one!

I got one too for my 6yo and 8yo to share. Thanks.

I've never used Wifi before. How does that work in your house?

What do you think about this deal Brad? Do you think there will be similar deals closer to BF? I can't decide if I should bite the bullet now or wait it out.....

Is this enough RAM to run vista on or should I down grade to XP

It should have plenty for Vista. Also, check availablilty of drivers for XP before doing any "downgrading". Some computers that come with Vista don't necessarily have drivers for XP.

This is actually a very nice laptop for the price, the only thing I would change is the speed of the hd, 5400 is kind of slow. I wish I knew someone who wanted one.

Thanks com

What do you think about this deal Brad? Do you think there will be similar deals closer to BF? I can't decide if I should bite the bullet now or wait it out.....

This is an awesome deal for the following reasons:


Brad posted it which guarantees it's "hotness".
Why wait until BF? Is it worth standing in at Best Buy or Walmart for 10+ hours to save $90?
Dell Vostro is Dell's Small Business entry level laptop which offers better build quality than consumer grade laptops.
2GB RAM, Windows Vista, Wireless internet ready out of the box, DVD Burner, brand new.
$399 with free shipping and no rebate hassles.
RossMAN approved hot deal - that's all you need to know.

Thanks RossMan:D

Last year I bought this dell laptop on BF at WM- priced at $399. I don't think you will find a much better deal than this. I'm using mine for graduate school, surfing the web, sharing pictures. Easy to use, like the WiFi connection, and I have had NO problems using Vista.

What do you think of this for an 11 yr old?
thats so funny, I was just about to post asking if anyone had any idea if this would be good for a 12 year old. If anyone has any tips that would be great :)
As was said before, this laptop would be ideal for 95% of people out there. If you're a hardcore gamer, you'd need more, but then if you were a hardcore gamer, you'd already know that.


Is this enough RAM to run vista on or should I down grade to XP
Yup. As I understand it, 32 bit operating systems aren't able to efficiently utilize much more than 3 gigs anyway and this one comes with the normal 32 bit version of Windows Vista. You can't add more to this laptop though as apparently the motherboard maxes out at 2GB.

Would this be good for someone like me who only uses the computer for message boards, pictures, and surfing the net?
Yup

I asked my computer "nerd" bf about whether or not this would be good for my sister who only surfs the web, uploads pics, and checks her email/favorite sites.... he said that it would be great for her, but the only thing he would suggest is that she purchase a virus protection program... other than that he said it was a really good deal!!!! HTH
You've got a smart "nerd" boyfriend. I completely agree. I use Grisoft AVG and have no complaints. If you look hard, you can find their last completely free version (7.5.something) which was the last one to not pester you to upgrade to their paid version. But you should DEFINITELY get antivirus protection.

I've never used Wifi before. How does that work in your house?
WiFi refers to how you connect to your local Internet hotspot, be it in your local coffee shop or in your home. In order to use WiFi at home, you'd need to have:
1.) an Internet connection (Cable model, or DSL or whatever)
2.) a wireless router to take the connection and make it available wirelessly over a couple hundred foot radius.
3.) a wireless network card (this laptop has one built in) to send and receive signals to and from your wireless router.

At a coffee shop, they provide everything except #3 above.
If you have a generous or WiFi security ignorant neighbor, they may provide everything except #3 above as well.


It should have plenty for Vista. Also, check availablilty of drivers for XP before doing any "downgrading". Some computers that come with Vista don't necessarily have drivers for XP.

This is actually a very nice laptop for the price, the only thing I would change is the speed of the hd, 5400 is kind of slow. I wish I knew someone who wanted one.

I can't advise downgrading to XP unless you have very specific reasons - ie you absolutely NEED to run an application that will not run in Vista. Microsoft is chomping at the bit to drop support for XP and will do so sooner or later. Is Vista better than XP? In my opinion, not so much, but the promise of at least a few more years of security updates and such is reason enough for me to stick it out with Vista and advise most others to do the same.

And a 5400 rpm laptop HDD is absolutely normal. I, personally, sought a 7200 rpm drive when I ordered my last laptop last year because I do a lot of number crunching stuff with very large files, but 5400 will certainly get the job done fine for 95% (or more) of the people out there.

HTH

WOW Pnambic you are totally awesome!!!!!!

now my next question is there a port/slot where I can put my SD card from my camera directly in so I can view my photos and order from online.

now my next question is there a port/slot where I can put my SD card from my camera directly in so I can view my photos and order from online.

It has a "3 in 1" memory card reader along the right side. Mine definitely reads xD and SD cards, but I haven't tried any others and don't see anything expressly telling me which formats it reads. I would guess yes to SD.

I got one today. I was going to wait for BF but decided to get it now since there are no rebates or lines to mess with.

Sold Out!!!

they ended it early:

Hello,



Please note that the offer below has expired early. Please remove the link from your site. Thank you again for all your efforts in promoting Dell Small Business.



Link AID 10593770: Save 33% off the Vostro 1000! Only $399 after Instant Savings!



Thank you,

Dell Small Business Affiliate Team

I'll bet there are a few people kicking themselves right now for not buying this sooner:

Here's some sage advice:

Deals like this come around every 6-8 weeks, so there will probably be a few more before Black Friday.
These deals usually last a few days but really hot deals like this only last a few hours.
How do you know if it's a really hot deal? If it's on GottaDeal.com or Brad posted it, it's hot!
If all else fails, buy now, think later ;) Good luck explaining that to your spouse ;)
Follow this advice and you won't become another victim of "You snooze, you lose" :tongue1: