Posted on 10/24/2009 5:44:39 AM PDT by Dr. Scarpetta
Windows 7 has spawned a new breed of inexpensive laptops at retailers like Best Buy and Frys.
At many stores on Thursday, Best Buy refreshed almost its entire stock of laptops: all running Windows 7 and all sporting new model numbers.
Frys--a megastore electronics retailer with locations throughout California, Arizona, and Texas--also refreshed many of its laptops with new Windows 7 models.
One of the most inexpensive Windows 7 arrivals is the Gateway model EC1410U. This tiny laptop is distinctly Netbook-like in appearance but uses a more powerful Celeron M ULV 743 processor (1.3GHz, 1MB cache) than the Atom-chip fare found in Netbooks.
In addition to the Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit version, other features include 2GB of memory and a 250GB hard disk drive.
Small Gateway laptop comes in a Netbook-like package but uses a more powerful Celeron processor than the Atom chip found in Netbooks--and it's cheap at $399
Many seductive Windows 7 newcomers are categorized as "ultrathins."
These slim designs are typically discernibly bigger than Netbooks (though, as evidenced by the Gateway above, it's now always clear-cut) and pack more processor horsepower.
The Toshiba Satellite T-135 (model: T135-S1309), which falls into this category, is priced at $549 at Best Buy and comes with Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 32-bit operating system, a 13.3-inch display, a dual-core power-efficient Pentium processor, 3GB of memory, a 320GB hard disk drive (5400RPM), and built-in Web cam.
The HP dm3 (model: dm3-1035dx), also an ultrathin and also priced at $549, packs 3GB of memory like the Toshiba but that's where the similarity ends.
The HP uses a 7200RPM 320GB hard disk drive (as opposed to the 5400RPM drive on the Toshiba), comes with the Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit version (compared with the Toshiba's 32-bit version), an AMD Athlon Neo X2 dual-core processor (versus Intel Pentium on the Toshiba), and ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics (unlike the Toshiba's Intel integrated graphics).
$549 Toshiba T135 weighs less than 4 pounds and boasts a dual-core processor and 320GB hard disk
$349: Gateway LT2030U Atom chip-based Netbook
Gateway is also offering a bona fide Netbook. The $349 LT2030U houses an Atom N270 processor, 1GB of memory, a 250GB hard disk drive, and--typical of many Atom-based designs--a 10.1-inch screen.
It weighs in at 3 pounds with Microsoft's light-duty Windows 7 Starter Edition--which doesn't support native DVD playback, multi-monitors, nor the Aero user interface.
$499: 15.6-inch Dell Inspiron laptop with 2.16GHz dual-core processor and optical drive
Not to be outdone, Dell is also offering a new inexpensive Windows 7 Inspiron model (I1545-4203JB) with a 15.6-inch screen and a 2.16GHz Intel Pentium dual-core processor T4300 processor.
It comes with 3GB of memory, DVD-RW/CD-RW drive, a 250GB hard disk drive, and the Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit OS.
At $449, Toshiba is also debuting an inexpensive 15.6-incher (L505D-S5983) with a dual-core AMD processor and ATI Radeon 4100 graphics.
It also includes a 320GB hard disk drive, DVD-RW/CD-RW drive, 3GB of memory, and Windows 7 Home Premium.
Frys was selling many of the same, or similar, low-cost models as Best Buy but also included some new high-powered Windows 7 laptops too, such as the HP dv7-3080.
This 17-inch model comes with a quad-core Core i7 720QM processor, an Nvidia GT 230 graphics chip, a 500GB hard disk drive, and Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64-bit. It is priced at $1,449 at Frys.
Thank you so much for the info..I was seething and so mad at myself because I didn’t back up previous to the motherboard failure.
Thanks, I’ll take a look.
My pleasure. Just be sure to go over the details before buying to insure it has what’s needed. Also, here’s some advice. Once you get it, go online and download Revo Uninstaller. It’s free and does a far better job of uninstalling applications than Windows uninstaller does.
After installing it, use it to remove McAfee Security Center. You can also remove other software that came with the PC that won’t be needed (like Microsoft Works?). The school may well require their own security suite, but if they don’t I’d recommend Avast! Anti-Virus, and Zone Alarm Free Edition as a firewall. Both are free and downloaded off the Internet.
Also, check with the school to see what they offer as software. I believe some schools have deals on software such as Microsoft Office for students and such. Again, they may have requirements in this.
I have a small USB external drive that I bought at Wal-Mart for well under $100. It has a decent size drive and I back up all my stuff on my laptop to it. There’s enough room to backup my wife’s PC to it as well, but so far, she has so little that I use a flask stick for hers.
For the money, these USB external drives are well worth it.
Thanks for the info.
I’ve got a 6 yr old Dell Inspiron with XP that’s ready to be replaced.
It runs HOT and that causes a number of processor issues.
I’ve done the recommended internal cleanout and pack the heat sink to processor interface with thermal grease, but that doesn’t seem to last more than a month or so.
Have also replaced the hard drive and some bad memory.
Welcome suggestions and anecdotes from FReepers.
Thanks again. I’m pretty ignorant when it comes to computers. I’m doing all this from my blackberry which is very simple to use.
Well then, you're not as ignorant as you make out :). I looked at Blackberry when I upgraded to a smartphone this Spring. But it didn't have software available that I use a lot so I opted for a Palm Centro. The keypad is smaller but I've gotten used to it. I have a Blackberry Pearl I bought reconditioned, but I use it more as an MP3 player than anything. Again, it's the software issue.
I trust my blackberry more than my pc! ;-) am using mine right now as well.
Palms have been around for years. This Centro is my 4th. The software I’m hooked on is called SmartList To Go. It’s one heck of a relational database application that allows one to create fairly robust databases very easily. But it’s only available for the Palm platform. I use it for all kinds of information, geneology, grocery lists, auto-care, etc. I’ve yet to see one for other platforms that’s as intuitive as this.
So, I’m confined, but loving it...
Any ordinary USB mouse (cord or wireless) will work.
Well, I doubt they’ll ever last as long as refrigerators, the hardware is just too intricate. But, they should have a decent shelf life, and with prices coming down as they have, shelf life continues to be of lesser importance as long as it remains stable.
Another point, think about the refrigerator you’d get for $499-$699...
bump for later research
True, I recognize the delicate pc hardware is far different from a. Quality frig (I guess it’s apples vs oranges)...but I think after spending hundreds of dollars, we (or maybe it’s just me) should at least feel more confident about how long they will last. Having had to format hardrives so many times, replace them, monitors etc..I just was so ticked. We were told (rightly) that it would be cheaper to get a good used pc, than but a new mother board. I have officially become a jaded pc user. AND the more advanced windows software, the less user friendly. I loved being able to go into dos to salvage files if windows needed to be reformatted. (All self-taught).. I’ll quit griping now. I’m starting to rant. :-p
I’m not a tech person by any means, but I’ve built a few PCs (years ago) and have a fair idea of what to expect from one. Frankly, hard drive formats and such ills are almost a fact of life. I’ve yet to have a PC I haven’t had to reformat and reinstall the system (and more than once). It comes with the territory.
The best way to minimize the issue is to keep your drive defragged, be very cautious with sites you visit online, have adequate security, and maintain your cookies and such to keep your system as lean as possible. Also, be sure your hard drive is large enough with sufficient free space to warrant a reasonable swap file. This goes hand-in-hand with sufficient memory for the work you do.
All these things go together to provide a minimal amount of frustration and downtime due to ‘problems’.
Warning! Warning! Danger Will Robinson! We thought the same thing when we shot $700 towards an HP notebook that we full expected to be college worthy. Less than 1 year and the m-board was shot. Sent it out for another....under warranty thank goodness. They KNEW it was because of the heat associated with their design chipset....but instead of fixing it they just slapped in another board and said we should buy another warranty. Sure enough...after another 9 months it burned up again. (I am leaving out the 2.5 hours you MUST spend with their overseas tech support...going line by line through their screen generated troubleshooting procedures BEFORE they will issue you a repair/claim number, the week or so you will be without notebook and the joy of knowing you are forever stuck with a poohkey laptop that melts every 9 months and you have not choice but to buy extended warranties for as long as you own it) Absolutely LOVE my HP desktop. It is the third I've owned and have no complaints with them. Beware the laptops....they are not what they should be.
LOL - classic line! Although I never strayed into Vista, I'm sure many can relate to your analogy.
Thanks for info on W7. My desktop PC has 4MB of RAM so I'm confident W7 will work fine. My smaller (for business travel) 9" netbook w/SSD has 1MB RAM running XP and I've been told W7 will run even better than XP.
I do have an external HD used for backup so no problem there.
From your post, I assume you first insert the W7 into a drive and it does the reformatting for you?
Thanks for your comments!
uuggggh... They should send out recall notices on their motherboards instead of waiting for us to call them.
Sony...but they cost a little more. You get what you pay for, though.
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