Becky Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Greetings, can someone please give me some advice on laptops? I am looking at two different kinds, the one for hp $379.00 at BB which I am sure you'all know the specs, and the other is a Dell Inspiron B130 Notebook, $499.00 with free printer Includes Intel Celeron M processor 380, Genuine Windows XP Home Edition, 1gb Shared DDR2 Memory, 60 GB Hard Drive, CD Burner Dvd Combo drive, Dell 1370 Internal wireless (802.1 1b/g) 1 year warranty, tech support, I am kinda new at the whole laptop thing, and it is for my son 1st year in college....he needs it for report writing and stuff...Thanks ahead of time...Becky I will check back often for your advice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTZDUDE90 Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 As a student i'd chose the Dell. Yes it costs a little more but it includes the printer but more importantly it can burn DVD's and has 1GB of memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossMAN Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 The HP @ BB is better but you'll have to stand in line. Upgrade the RAM (memory) and it would be a great laptop for your son. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kubisiak Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 If I am lucky and can get the LT at BB on BF, what is the best deal on RAM? I don't understand anything about it. Is it a memory stick or a card like I put in my camera? What one should I buy to go with it. I'd also like a wireless mouse. Any suggestions on a good buy that will work on BB's laptop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 My guess on the HP is that to obtain the total RAM of 512, HP tossed (2) 256mb sticks in there. To do the upgrade, you'd have to replace both unless you want 1 256 and 1 512. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eplant Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Becky, I'd agree that you'd be better off with the HP laptop from Best Buy. To clarify, it does have a DVD burner. Computer RAM / memory is not quite the same as upgrading your camera memory. The Best Buy HP laptop uses a special kind of memory called dual channel, which means if you have two chips of memory in your computer, it can access both of them at once, very quickly. I would agree that upgrading this laptop is a good idea, since it comes with only 2 chips of 256 MB (512 MB total). I'd recommend getting two 512 MB chips for a total of 1 GB, unless you're a big spender and want 2 x 1 GB = 2 GB. To get a good deal, go to dealram.com and look for the size and type you need, which in this case is PC2-5300 DDR2 SO-DIMMS (667MHz). Make sure to get two of the same chip so your computer can run in dual channel mode. Good brands include Corsair, Crucial, Micron, Kingston, PNY, and probably more. You could of course get your memory at CompUSA or some such place too, but you will pay extra for the convenience. I hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottlerocket Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 The biggest thing here for me is the Celeron M vs. the Core Solo. Celeron M's run very hot, have poor battery life, and don't have that much processing power. There isn't even a point in having a gig of DDR2 RAM if your processor isn't even good enough to make full use of it. In contrast, the Core Solo is fairly recent technology, runs pretty cool, has fantastic battery life, and can at least match a Celeron M in processing power. Seeing as how the HP laptop is also $120 cheaper, I'd say to go for that one, as long as you're willing to stand in line for a very, VERY long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belmarsurfer Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Keep in mind that the Dell DOES NOT come with a productivity wuire....ie microsoft office. You have to install that yourself. RAM is cheap to buy & install, MSOffice suite can be 100-200 bucks if you don't have friend with the license to use. so yes, Dell is better per say, but you get alot more programs with the BB deal. I work in a college setting and having programs are better than having to buy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky Posted November 21, 2006 Author Share Posted November 21, 2006 Thanks lots for the info, hubby is going to BB at 2:00am, do u think that is early enough??? I will be at wally world....Thanks again guys...Becky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Normy Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 Thanks lots for the info, hubby is going to BB at 2:00am, do u think that is early enough??? I will be at wally world....Thanks again guys...Becky No way, the Sony might be available by the time you get in the door? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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