172 replies to this topic

[stationchief]

After missing out on Staples $400 deal which includes an HP notebook (G50-109NR) with 2GB ram, 120 GB hard drive, DVDrw drive, Vista and also a free HP printer and then missing out on circuit city's $400 deal for a similar HP notebook (G50-108NR) I was very dissapointed.

My girlfriend picked me up Office Max's deal which has probably the least impressive HP laptop of these offers the (G50-102NR) for around the same $400 (saved around $150). It has all the same specs as all the other laptops, the DVD rewriteable, 2 GB RAM 120GB hard drive. The only difference is that it is powered by the AMD Sempron processor as oppossed to the INtel pentium T3200 and the AMD Athlon X2.

Are there any tech gurus around today that can tell me if This deal is worth keeping or should I return it. I'm not going to spend any more than 400 and any laptop and this seems to have all the bells and whistles I need. Any insight will help.

Here's your tech specs: HP G50-102NR Notebook PC

Obviously dual-core processors are better, however that one would suit basic needs just fine. As you mentioned it's got all the bells/whistles necessary for an everyday laptop. Might not suit your needs anymore if you ever get into die-hard gaming or some serious video editing/authoring. You can still keep your eyes peeled for other <$400 deals on dual-core laptops for christmas, but far as overall household tasks that laptop should be good.

[dv41114nr]

After missing out on Staples $400 deal which includes an HP notebook (G50-109NR) with 2GB ram, 120 GB hard drive, DVDrw drive, Vista and also a free HP printer and then missing out on circuit city's $400 deal for a similar HP notebook (G50-108NR) I was very dissapointed.

My girlfriend picked me up Office Max's deal which has probably the least impressive HP laptop of these offers the (G50-102NR) for around the same $400 (saved around $150). It has all the same specs as all the other laptops, the DVD rewriteable, 2 GB RAM 120GB hard drive. The only difference is that it is powered by the AMD Sempron processor as oppossed to the INtel pentium T3200 and the AMD Athlon X2.

Are there any tech gurus around today that can tell me if This deal is worth keeping or should I return it. I'm not going to spend any more than 400 and any laptop and this seems to have all the bells and whistles I need. Any insight will help.

Sempron sucks lol. Get ride of that crap and wait for a better deal to come around in the next couple of months. The computer convention is coming up in Feburary where there introduce all the new 2009 stufff, so just wait until they start putting crap on sale around that time. Youll find deals thats are just as good by that time. Plus a lot of retailers try to offer discount deals on a lot of there items during the slow shopping months like January and Feburary to get people in their doors.

But yea how come you missed out on the Circuit City and Staples deals. And by the way I think the Office Depot Intel Dual Core for $349 was better than those two places deals. It came with 3gb ram and 160 gb hardrive to go along with it. So did you sleep in or what? Or was it that you just thought that you could walk up to the store and buy an hour before they opened Cause crap, I would have hoped you would have known this ahead of time. I past by a lot of stores at 8pm the night before and people had begun lining up already. So furture reference if you dont want to get stuck with a computer with a Sempron Processor, then be prepared to pull and all nighter out side. Or if your smart like me youll check to see if you can buy it online on Thanksgiving Day and save yourself the hassle of waiting in line

[SillyDogTrix]

I got the Staples Laptop but I didnt get the printer because it requires rebate and i wouldnt have enough money to pay for it! haha but i didnt need the printer anyway

[adomis82]

Thanks for the responses Stationchief and dv41114nr. This is my first experience with these black Friday deals and yes I did sleep til around 4:00am. The only reason I got up is because my son started crying around that time and after I got him to bed I decided to see what the big fuss is about. The last Staples HP ticket went to the people right in front of me, I was so close. Next year I'll be more prepared no doubt. dv41114nr, if I only plan on using the computer to basic things downloading media, using forums, burning DVDs, and I don't plan on gaming at all I should be ok with this one? right?

[stationchief]

I only plan on using the computer to basic things downloading media, using forums, burning DVDs, and I don't plan on gaming at all I should be ok with this one? right?

The simple answer to that question is ... yes. I've used high-speed internet and downloaded tons of media before from my trustworthy workhorse laptop (a Dell Latitude w/P3 850 MHz processor and a whopping 512 MB of RAM ). Accessing internet/email, watching media, and simple gaming should be fine.

[dv41114nr]

dv41114nr, if I only plan on using the computer to basic things downloading media, using forums, burning DVDs, and I don't plan on gaming at all I should be ok with this one? right?

pffft yea youll be great man. Im really sorry things didnt work out for you though :/ Looking back on what I said I kinda feel bad. Im sorry that you were new Black Fridays this year, but I hope I didnt come off as a smartazz when I told you what I said. With Bestbuy for realllllly good deals youll always have to line about almost 12hrs ahead of time. Circuit City probably wont be around by the end of next year so no need to worry about them With other stores like Staples, you can usually get away with lining up around midnight.

That aside, seriously though, you got a great computer for your needs. If your not gaming, then your great. However, if you want to get more computer for your money, really be patient before opening it up and check out cyber monday. Supposedly a lot of places offer a lot of deals online this coming Monday. Personally even though I got the computer I wanted this weekend, I still might end up enchaging mine out for one on Cyber Monday if I find a better one. Well see. And if you even have more time....give it until January or Feburary. Like I said though, if you just want to be done with shopping....done with looking around...done with keeping an eye out for good deals...have the peace of mind to know that you got a computer that fits your needs for under $500. Happy Holidays!

[dessenma]

My son recently received some money and decided that he wanted to purchase the Toshibia laptop Wal Mart on Friday. It seemed like a decent deal for the memory and etc that you were receiving. Similar machines had excellent ratings out there. STood in line from 1:30 a.m. and were like 3rd in line and guess what, this Wal Mart did not receive any of those machines. They had plenty of the HP's. Was this as good of a deal as it seemed? (I am kind of computer illerate) Maybe something good will be in the ads tomorrow. He will basically be using it for college use does not do much computer gaming. He has around $500.00 to spend give or take a little bit.

[rockets34life]

Does anyone know what kind of memory does the Office Depot BF $349 HP Pavilion take? I looked on the HP site under product specifications and it doesn't say. I know it's a T3200 processor....so does it take PC6400 memory? Thanks in advance.

[dv41114nr]

Does anyone know what kind of memory does the Office Depot BF $349 HP Pavilion take? I looked on the HP site under product specifications and it doesn't say.

I know it's a T3200 processor....so does it take PC6400 memory? Thanks in advance.

My son recently received some money and decided that he wanted to purchase the Toshibia laptop Wal Mart on Friday. It seemed like a decent deal for the memory and etc that you were receiving. Similar machines had excellent ratings out there. STood in line from 1:30 a.m. and were like 3rd in line and guess what, this Wal Mart did not receive any of those machines. They had plenty of the HP's. Was this as good of a deal as it seemed? (I am kind of computer illerate) Maybe something good will be in the ads tomorrow. He will basically be using it for college use does not do much computer gaming. He has around $500.00 to spend give or take a little bit.

I dont like Toshiba laptops that much. Its just a personal opinon though. Plus I dont really think that particular Toshiba was anythign to write home about. In my eyes there were only 2 deals to take advantage of this black friday in reference to laptops. The one that was $349 at Office Depot if you were looking for the cheapest deal available...perfect for a college student looking using it for email, internet, music, etc. Then there was the one that I got from Best Buy for $499, the Dv4-1114nr...just a sweet all around laptop for under $500. I love it and didnt have to wait in line for it either, got in online on Thursday while everyone else was lining up at 5pm later in the day as I was leaving to go to my family's Thanksgiving dinner. Suckers

Seriously though, even though the Toshiba wasnt all that great, I still would have been pist that I waited in line for nothing. I mean usually on the ads, it will say "*each store will receive 10 minimum" or something like that. I would contact their headquarters and say that you waited in line all night, were 3rd in place, and walked away with nothing because you guys couldnt keep your word on getting X amount. Maybe theyll do something for you. Like get that one if you really want it. Or get you a better/similar one. Look into it, its worth a try. I know if I were you I would, no way in hell I quitely walk away after freezing my butt off. Let me know how things go over, if you decide to take that route. Seriously though, for yourself, please do! That makes me really mad

[stationchief]

Does anyone know what kind of memory does the Office Depot BF $349 HP Pavilion take? I looked on the HP site under product specifications and it doesn't say.

I know it's a T3200 processor....so does it take PC6400 memory? Thanks in advance.

It's either PC2-5300 or PC2-6400. If you have the laptop you'll be able to check. But keep in mind the memory in that one is already maxed out so if you're lookin' to upgrade to something higher than 3 GB, don't bother.

[stationchief]

I dont like Toshiba laptops that much. Its just a personal opinon though. Plus I dont really think that particular Toshiba was anythign to write home about. In my eyes there were only 2 deals to take advantage of this black friday in reference to laptops. The one that was $349 at Office Depot if you were looking for the cheapest deal available...perfect for a college student looking using it for email, internet, music, etc. Then there was the one that I got from Best Buy for $499, the Dv4-1114nr...just a sweet all around laptop for under $500. I love it and didnt have to wait in line for it either, got in online on Thursday while everyone else was lining up at 5pm later in the day as I was leaving to go to my family's Thanksgiving dinner. Suckers

dv41114nr got the Dv4-1114nr? Never saw that one coming ...

Seriously, sometimes 'ya get lucky and are able to snag a great online deal. Kudos 2 u!

Seriously though, even though the Toshiba wasnt all that great, I still would have been pist that I waited in line for nothing. I mean usually on the ads, it will say "*each store will receive 10 minimum" or something like that. I would contact their headquarters and say that you waited in line all night, were 3rd in place, and walked away with nothing because you guys couldnt keep your word on getting X amount. Maybe theyll do something for you. Like get that one if you really want it. Or get you a better/similar one. Look into it, its worth a try. I know if I were you I would, no way in hell I quitely walk away after freezing my butt off. Let me know how things go over, if you decide to take that route. Seriously though, for yourself, please do! That makes me really mad

You could try, but seeing as they never made such a claim in their ad it might not help. Other copanies like BB had fine print that said "minimum of 10 per store" and all that, but Walmart only claimed it was "while supplies last". Could be a legal safet net for 'em in case folks who froze their keesters off in line for nothing got mad. You could try and see what happens.

[dv41114nr]

My son recently received some money and decided that he wanted to purchase the Toshibia laptop Wal Mart on Friday. It seemed like a decent deal for the memory and etc that you were receiving. Similar machines had excellent ratings out there. STood in line from 1:30 a.m. and were like 3rd in line and guess what, this Wal Mart did not receive any of those machines. They had plenty of the HP's. Was this as good of a deal as it seemed? (I am kind of computer illerate) Maybe something good will be in the ads tomorrow. He will basically be using it for college use does not do much computer gaming. He has around $500.00 to spend give or take a little bit.

I felt so frustrated for you that I looked into matters myself. Unfortunately on the ad it said "Available at most stores." So right there, that cuts removes any responsibility off of them.

That being said, I looked into things for you and wanted to give you some good news. For starters, after looking at the specifications of the one you were looking to get, I think this computer at the price it was offered at was just an average deal. I think you will easily be able to get one similiar to that at a similiar deal, if not, for even $50 cheaper. In fact I think you could settle for something that has 3gbs of Ram and a 160hd. I mean if what you said about him not being into gaming is true, then I dont think he needs that extra stuff. And even if he loves music, he still doesnt need anything more than a 160GB hd because that right there could only over 35,000 songs. No one has that many songs! Plus with a smaller hard drive youll get more battery life out of the computer. Also if your willing to settle for a 14.1 inch screen, not only might you be able to save more money....but it will be cheaper, more lighter/portable (great for a college student), and more battery efficent. Average 15.4 inch screen gets 2 hrs of battery life per charge. A 14.1 inch gets 3hrs on average. Just something to keep in mind as well. And finally another reason you might want to be happy about in terms of not getting the Toshiba is that it came with a 64-bit Vista operating system. Ive heard a lot of people complaining about this newer operation system when it comes to installing programs on it.

So yea, all in all, dont worry about this insignificant loss. Something better will come up trust me. In fact my computer will be coming in on Friday December 5th. From there I will have 14 days to return if for some reason I dont like it. I am going to use that time to look at ever ad for the next 3 weeks all the way up until December 19th to see if there ends up being an even better deal for me even though I dont think there will be. That being noted, I promise to keep an eye out for deals for you as well. If youd like to make it a point to tell me anything important like...MY COMPUTER HAS TO HAVE THIS....I DONT NEED THIS...etc then Ill take that into concern. Ads come out ever Sunday, so Ill give you a heads on what I think is good for the next 3 weekends over each one of those weekends. I hope this will help, and Im sure we can get your son something good that is affordable. And heres the cool thing...once we get him something...you will have 14 days just like me to look around in case something better comes along before you cant return it....so together we will keep an eye out on ads for the next two weeks that follow And if you see anything that catches your eye that I might not pick up on in the next three weeks, shoot me a post and Ill tell you what I think of it

[rockets34life]

It's either PC2-5300 or PC2-6400. If you have the laptop you'll be able to check. But keep in mind the memory in that one is already maxed out so if you're lookin' to upgrade to something higher than 3 GB, don't bother.

Oh, I didn't know it was maxed out.

Oh, well....3 GB should be plenty! Thanks, stationchief!

[dv41114nr]

Oh and for future reference, just on another side note, if it ever says "at most stores" on the ad or it doesnt state a minimum amount, always be sure to give a call on Wednesday before the store closes to see if they have your item. If they dont have it by Wednesday night, then trust me, there not going to get it at all. Not that this ended up making a difference, but when I was thinking about the $349 Office Depot laptop, I made it a point to call my closest location to see if they had it....and this was even though they were suppose to have at least 10 units per store. Well as it turned on it was 8pm on Wednesday and they still had nothing on hand from what the computer stated. I asked to speak to a manager and he told me while we wont be having them on hand, this other store had some that was 5 miles away. Jesus Im so glad I didnt want in that line. I then asked him what would happen to the people that waited out there. And hes told me that he was going to put up a sign stating the fact on the door. However if I didnt bring it up and he didnt take notice of this fact on his own he said hed like to think that the store would get a shipment of them on Friday afternoon so that there wouldnt be too many disgruntled guests, otherwise he didnt know what he was going to do. "Like to think"...I dont like relying on "Like to thinks"...and I dont like being left with conclusions like "otherwise I dont know what I was going to do" So yea never wait in line anywhere if they dont have your item by close on Wednesday night, cause obviously they will most likely not be getting shipments on Thanksgiving. Alright well Ive been on this computer for way to long, but like I said Ill keep you up to date with what deals I think are good. Have a good weekend!

[dv41114nr]

It's either PC2-5300 or PC2-6400. If you have the laptop you'll be able to check. But keep in mind the memory in that one is already maxed out so if you're lookin' to upgrade to something higher than 3 GB, don't bother.

Wow I didnt know that, I thought it had room for 1 more GB of ram. Bummer, I totally did not know about that while I was debating over buying that computer on Wednesday before I decided on my dv4-1114nr.

[dv41114nr]

Btw, stationcheif is there any other related posts like this one talking about what laptops people got. I like really about what everyone got and didnt get and why. Its fun to debate and read baout such things

[dv41114nr]

I like really* about what everyone got and didnt get and why. Its fun to debate and read baout such things

*Meant to write reading lol

[JohnnyLaRue]

The simple answer to that question is ... yes. I've used high-speed internet and downloaded tons of media before from my trustworthy workhorse laptop (a Dell Latitude w/P3 850 MHz processor and a whopping 512 MB of RAM

I agree. My cpu I use at home is about 7 years old. 256 RAM. 8 GB hard drive space. Can check email, go online with high speed, write college papers, put my travel photos on it, watch some media, play music...etc. Anything large I download (which is very rare) I put on a flash drive or burn to CD. I am not a gamer either (unless Bejeweled counts).

I keep saying I am going to buy a new cpu or laptop one of these days (4 years now) but figure I'll buy a new one when the one I have no longer works. Just can't get excited about a CPU I guess.

[adomis82]

pffft yea youll be great man. Im really sorry things didnt work out for you though :/ Looking back on what I said I kinda feel bad. Im sorry that you were new Black Fridays this year, but I hope I didnt come off as a smartazz when I told you what I said. With Bestbuy for realllllly good deals youll always have to line about almost 12hrs ahead of time. Circuit City probably wont be around by the end of next year so no need to worry about them With other stores like Staples, you can usually get away with lining up around midnight.

That aside, seriously though, you got a great computer for your needs. If your not gaming, then your great. However, if you want to get more computer for your money, really be patient before opening it up and check out cyber monday. Supposedly a lot of places offer a lot of deals online this coming Monday. Personally even though I got the computer I wanted this weekend, I still might end up enchaging mine out for one on Cyber Monday if I find a better one. Well see. And if you even have more time....give it until January or Feburary. Like I said though, if you just want to be done with shopping....done with looking around...done with keeping an eye out for good deals...have the peace of mind to know that you got a computer that fits your needs for under $500. Happy Holidays!

Don't feel bad, I welcomed your first more critical viewpoint on this purchase. That's exactly what I was looking for by posting here.

And thank you Stationchief, this type of insight is priceless and I'm so happy you were able to help me. THANK YOU BOTH

[dessenma]

I felt so frustrated for you that I looked into matters myself. Unfortunately on the ad it said "Available at most stores." So right there, that cuts removes any responsibility off of them.

That being said, I looked into things for you and wanted to give you some good news. For starters, after looking at the specifications of the one you were looking to get, I think this computer at the price it was offered at was just an average deal. I think you will easily be able to get one similiar to that at a similiar deal, if not, for even $50 cheaper. In fact I think you could settle for something that has 3gbs of Ram and a 160hd. I mean if what you said about him not being into gaming is true, then I dont think he needs that extra stuff. And even if he loves music, he still doesnt need anything more than a 160GB hd because that right there could only over 35,000 songs. No one has that many songs! Plus with a smaller hard drive youll get more battery life out of the computer. Also if your willing to settle for a 14.1 inch screen, not only might you be able to save more money....but it will be cheaper, more lighter/portable (great for a college student), and more battery efficent. Average 15.4 inch screen gets 2 hrs of battery life per charge. A 14.1 inch gets 3hrs on average. Just something to keep in mind as well. And finally another reason you might want to be happy about in terms of not getting the Toshiba is that it came with a 64-bit Vista operating system. Ive heard a lot of people complaining about this newer operation system when it comes to installing programs on it.

So yea, all in all, dont worry about this insignificant loss. Something better will come up trust me. In fact my computer will be coming in on Friday December 5th. From there I will have 14 days to return if for some reason I dont like it. I am going to use that time to look at ever ad for the next 3 weeks all the way up until December 19th to see if there ends up being an even better deal for me even though I dont think there will be. That being noted, I promise to keep an eye out for deals for you as well. If youd like to make it a point to tell me anything important like...MY COMPUTER HAS TO HAVE THIS....I DONT NEED THIS...etc then Ill take that into concern. Ads come out ever Sunday, so Ill give you a heads on what I think is good for the next 3 weekends over each one of those weekends. I hope this will help, and Im sure we can get your son something good that is affordable. And heres the cool thing...once we get him something...you will have 14 days just like me to look around in case something better comes along before you cant return it....so together we will keep an eye out on ads for the next two weeks that follow And if you see anything that catches your eye that I might not pick up on in the next three weeks, shoot me a post and Ill tell you what I think of it

Thank you very much for the awsome advise. If you see anything appropriate, I would really appreciate it if you could let me know. We have a brick and mortar, Staples, Office Max, Best Buy, Wal Mart and Target with a 1/2 hour away. He does store music on his computer, uses the internet, will need office 07 (I don't know that any computer comes pre-loaded with that anymore) He does watch movies online from Netflix. Wireless capablity. I didn't even think about the weight, that was a really good point. The lighter the beter to haul across campus. He will need ample storage and speed.

I was not happy with Wal Mart. In fact, I sent them an e-mail today. I have not yet heard anything back from them yet. Luckily our Wal Mart is a 24 hour store, so I did not have to stand outside. I had called the store on Thursday to see how many they had and ofcourse, they don't know how many of what they received. Maybe I am niave, I would of thought they would of received at least a few of them and being third in line I thought it was a sure thing. The two people in front of me wanted the X-boxes. I did go back later in the day just to make sure maybe they missed putting them out.

Once again, thanks for the wonderful advise and if you see any amazing deals, let me know in case I miss them. You did give me some guidelines as to what to look for!

[stationchief]

Oh, I didn't know it was maxed out.

Oh, well....3 GB should be plenty! Thanks, stationchief!

No prob. And even if you could flash the bios or do something to get the board to support 2 GB chips in each slot instead of 1 GB, the 32-bit OS wouldn't support more than about 3 GB anyways. Not worth the hassle, believe me. Yes, 3 GB should be plenty for most folks not doing professional level work.

[stationchief]

Wow I didnt know that, I thought it had room for 1 more GB of ram. Bummer, I totally did not know about that while I was debating over buying that computer on Wednesday before I decided on my dv4-1114nr.

Yup. Three slots at 1 GB each. I'd think most typical consumers should be happy with that. But you still made the right choice with the HP dv4-1114nr. Just FYI: yours supports 8 GB if you ever were to decide to upgrade to 64-bit version of Vista Premium. Otherwise, thanks to your included 32-bit Vista OS and the way it handles memory, you're stuck with about 3 GB, too.

Didn't anybody look at my charts before they headed out? I know I still gotta update it with all the tech info on some of the BF exclusive models.

[stationchief]

Btw, stationcheif is there any other related posts like this one talking about what laptops people got. I like really about what everyone got and didnt get and why. Its fun to debate and read baout such things

You're in the right place to chat about the laptop/laptops you got. You can also chat about what'cha got/didn't get in the Official One-and-Only "What I Got" / "My BF Experience" Thread. But we talk about nothing but laptops here.

[dv41114nr]

Thank you very much for the awsome advise. If you see anything appropriate, I would really appreciate it if you could let me know. We have a brick and mortar, Staples, Office Max, Best Buy, Wal Mart and Target with a 1/2 hour away. He does store music on his computer, uses the internet, will need office 07 (I don't know that any computer comes pre-loaded with that anymore) He does watch movies online from Netflix. Wireless capablity. I didn't even think about the weight, that was a really good point. The lighter the beter to haul across campus. He will need ample storage and speed.

I was not happy with Wal Mart. In fact, I sent them an e-mail today. I have not yet heard anything back from them yet. Luckily our Wal Mart is a 24 hour store, so I did not have to stand outside. I had called the store on Thursday to see how many they had and ofcourse, they don't know how many of what they received. Maybe I am niave, I would of thought they would of received at least a few of them and being third in line I thought it was a sure thing. The two people in front of me wanted the X-boxes. I did go back later in the day just to make sure maybe they missed putting them out.

Once again, thanks for the wonderful advise and if you see any amazing deals, let me know in case I miss them. You did give me some guidelines as to what to look for!

So just so I know when Im looking for you in the next couple of weeks, would you like one with a 160GB HD or one with a 250GB HD? Im guessing the 160GB one would be fine, but then you said ample storage space would be nice...so by ample, would 160GB fit that category? And your correct your not going to find Microsoft Office on any of the laptops, unless its a trail version. Hate to break it to you.

Alright well like I said Ill start looking into things for you in the next coming weeks. In fact here are two that I saw that I personally think are on an even grounds to the Toshiba you were originally looking at, but at a cheaper price. They are both at Office Depot.

#1 (look up item # 978005)

Compaq
15.4 inch screen
2GB Ram
160GB HD
Athlon Ql-62 Dual-Core Processor
Windown Vista Premium Edition (doesnt state 32 or 64 bit though)

$399.99

I personally like all the specs. I love Athlon Dual-Core & Intel Core 2 Dou's processor, so the processor is pretty sweet. It could use another GB of ram to max it out, but that is something you can always get for cheap later on. Im not sure how I feel about Compaq. I hated them back in the day, but HP bought them out, so now they are supposedly suppose to be like HPs rather than the old kind of Compaqs that they used to be. All in all, I would have wanted this one a lot more than the Tosibha you were originally looking at for the price that its going at.

#2 (look up item # 993090)

Toshiba
15.4 inch screen
3GB Ram
160GB HD
Pentium Dual Core T-3200 Processor
Windows Vista Edition (doesnt state 32 or 64 bit though)

$479.99

This one has the extra GB of Ram, which is a plus. The Pentium Dual Core T-3200 is an older processor, still good, but not as energy efficent and fast as the newer ones. Long story short, this processor is more suited for a desktop, but it is still good for a laptop. Finally its a Toshiba. I just cant get past the fact that Toshiba makes computers. Its still weird to me. On top of that, their key boards have been known to make a lot of noise when typing on them. Whether or not thats a big deal, its just something I thought you should known.

If it were me Id pick the Compaq if your ready to pull the trigger on something. However, it would be nice if we could find you a HP with 3GB Ram, 160 HD, and a 15.4 or 14.1 screen with a Turion, Athlon, or Core 2 Dou processor for $449. That would be ideal. But like I said, the Compaq isnt too shabby. So keep it in mind and tell me what youd like to do. Ill continue to keep my eyes open. Once again both of these will be at Office Depot and the sale begins tomorrow (Sunday November 30th.) While you wont have to line up early in the morning, I would get their maybe a half hour-an hour before the store opens just ot be safe.

[jhaferm]

So just so I know when Im looking for you in the next couple of weeks, would you like one with a 160GB HD or one with a 250GB HD? Im guessing the 160GB one would be fine, but then you said ample storage space would be nice...so by ample, would 160GB fit that category? And your correct your not going to find Microsoft Office on any of the laptops, unless its a trail version. Hate to break it to you.

Alright well like I said Ill start looking into things for you in the next coming weeks. In fact here are two that I saw that I personally think are on an even grounds to the Toshiba you were originally looking at, but at a cheaper price. They are both at Office Depot.

#1 (look up item # 978005)

Compaq
15.4 inch screen
2GB Ram
160GB HD
Athlon Ql-62 Dual-Core Processor
Windown Vista Premium Edition (doesnt state 32 or 64 bit though)

$399.99

I personally like all the specs. I love Athlon Dual-Core & Intel Core 2 Dou's processor, so the processor is pretty sweet. It could use another GB of ram to max it out, but that is something you can always get for cheap later on. Im not sure how I feel about Compaq. I hated them back in the day, but HP bought them out, so now they are supposedly suppose to be like HPs rather than the old kind of Compaqs that they used to be. All in all, I would have wanted this one a lot more than the Tosibha you were originally looking at for the price that its going at.

#2 (look up item # 993090)

Toshiba
15.4 inch screen
3GB Ram
160GB HD
Pentium Dual Core T-3200 Processor
Windows Vista Edition (doesnt state 32 or 64 bit though)

$479.99

This one has the extra GB of Ram, which is a plus. The Pentium Dual Core T-3200 is an older processor, still good, but not as energy efficent and fast as the newer ones. Long story short, this processor is more suited for a desktop, but it is still good for a laptop. Finally its a Toshiba. I just cant get past the fact that Toshiba makes computers. Its still weird to me. On top of that, their key boards have been known to make a lot of noise when typing on them. Whether or not thats a big deal, its just something I thought you should known.

If it were me Id pick the Compaq if your ready to pull the trigger on something. However, it would be nice if we could find you a HP with 3GB Ram, 160 HD, and a 15.4 or 14.1 screen with a Turion, Athlon, or Core 2 Dou processor for $449. That would be ideal. But like I said, the Compaq isnt too shabby. So keep it in mind and tell me what youd like to do. Ill continue to keep my eyes open. Once again both of these will be at Office Depot and the sale begins tomorrow (Sunday November 30th.) While you wont have to line up early in the morning, I would get their maybe a half hour-an hour before the store opens just ot be safe.

Does anyone know if the Compaq will be available online?

Thanks!

[dv41114nr]

Does anyone know if the Compaq will be available online?

Thanks!

No. Its an in stores only deal. So grab it while you can if you have the time to on Sunday morning cause I doubt they will last long with Christmas getting closer and closer and with people trying to get a second chance kind of deal if they missed out on Black Friday.

[dv41114nr]

No prob. And even if you could flash the bios or do something to get the board to support 2 GB chips in each slot instead of 1 GB, the 32-bit OS wouldn't support more than about 3 GB anyways. Not worth the hassle, believe me. Yes, 3 GB should be plenty for most folks not doing professional level work.

Hey Stationchief, why do you think they offered my DV4-1114nr in an upgraded verison, the DV4-1117nr? It had the Windows Vista 32 bit version just like mine, but it came with a 250 HD and 4 GB Ram. So your basically telling me that unfortunately all the people that bought the package deal one didnt get their full moneys worth because that extra GB of ram will be usless unless they get Windows Vista 64 bit

[jhaferm]

No. Its an in stores only deal. So grab it while you can if you have the time to on Sunday morning cause I doubt they will last long with Christmas getting closer and closer and with people trying to get a second chance kind of deal if they missed out on Black Friday.

Thanks!

[dessenma]

I guess I am torn between the 160 and the 250. I don't exactly know what he will need college wise. I guess I figure that more is better:) But that drains the battery life correct? I do not have an Office Depot around me though.

[dv41114nr]

I guess I am torn between the 160 and the 250. I don't exactly know what he will need college wise. I guess I figure that more is better:) But that drains the battery life correct? I do not have an Office Depot around me though.

Oh ok. Sorry to have gotten your hopes up. Alright well sounds like you would like to lean more towards the 250GB HD rather than the 160GB. I have a feeling your wanting it as a safety precaution and I respect that, but 160GB is still pretty humungous. In either regard, just to be safe, Ill keep an eye out for a 250GB one for you instead of a 160GB one if that is what you really want. It will add a little bit more to the price, but as far as it draining your battery power, its just a small factor of many. The main one is having a big screen. As I was telling you before a 15 inch screen will get about 2 hrs of battery life with the average 6 cell Lithium Ion battery while a 14 inch screen will get about 3 hrs. When looking at the difference between a 160GB and 250GB hard drive, Id imagine that having a 250GB would only cost you an an extra 15 minutes of battery life to run. So not a big deal. Its more or less the screen as the key factor.

Anyways though, the search goes on. Ill keep my eyes peeled for a 250GB one for you. Dont worry we'll find something!