$499 dell laptop. Dual core. Good deal?

[Eric]

I hate spam on boards but thats a damn good price isn't it?

1501

http://www.dell.com/content/products/compare.aspx/notebooks?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn

Best buy. Only celerons. Starts at $599.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site//olspage.jsp?id=pcmcat103700050018&type=category

[Silock]

It's a good deal if you want a cheap web browser, but the processors in those things are dogshit.

[BigMeatballDave]

I don't think the $499 model has the dual core...

[Eric]

http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/cto_inspn_1501?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

my mistake $ 599 . amd dual core but no one knows much about the stupid processor. Unbelievable. AMD website has nothing on it too except this little blurb http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0Hello - commatard on the loose.30_118_13909_13912,00.html

[BigMeatballDave]

I have never used a machine with a dual core, but I hear they are quick. I was told that a 2.2 gig dual core is faster than a 3 gig Pentium 4.

[Eleazar]

I've got an AMD Athlon 64 X2, which is a dual core. 2.8 GHz. I don't really know what to compare it to but it seems pretty quick. I don't do much waiting.

[htismaqe]

You can read everything you want to know about the dual core Athlon at www.tomshardware.com.

[htismaqe]

And $599 for that Dell isn't a great deal when you consider you can build a comparable machine for under $300.

I spec'd out an Athlon X2 dual-core system with 250GB RAID 1 and SLI last week for $582.

[Vegas_Dave]

Teh $599 isnt bad but keep in mind that it is using only 1gb RAM with 25% of it being shared for video. With Windows Vista, this simply is not enough. On a shared memory setup, you really need to upgrade to 2gb in order for things to work smoothly.

Also, that laptop has a measly 4-cell battery. I recommend an 8-Cell or higher for real useable baterry life.

Lastly, that has Windows Home BASIC, a.k.a. Windows Vista Stripped.

To get it upgraded to something that is actually worth buying, you are up to about $920 (2gb, 120gb HD, Vista Home Premium, 9Cell Battery).

There are better values to be found at that price. You can get an Intel Core 2 Duo system comparably equipped for less many times (I did). I am an AMD fan, however the Core 2 Duo (not Core Duo) is simply the best CPU on the market right now.

[Vegas_Dave]

Here's the one I bought a few weeks ago. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8310785&st=MT6831&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1173578368248

When I bought it, I got it for $899 on special.

[Eric]

microcenter has the $500 laptops too.

[chasedude]

I picked this up a couple of weeks ago on a special for $579. The price is back up to $699 but it is a good laptop.

It came with Vista, I blew it out and installed XP Pro. It runs like a top now.

I even got a free laptop bag with purchase.

This is a company called Everex and I've never heard of them. Reviews seemed good so I picked one up. I haven't been disappointed yet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834280001