Inexpensive laptop advice?

**the_mango55** · August 21, 2007, 01:06 AM

I'm thinking of getting an inexpensive laptop to take to graduate school with me. I have a fairly powerful computer here at home, so I don't need it to play games or edit video or anything such as that, just to be reasonably fast and capable of educational uses.

I found what looks like a fairly good deal, what does everyone think of it?

Is this a good value?

Compaq Presario f560us Notebook

AMD Mobile Sempron 3500+
15.4 inch screen (max resolution 1200 x 800)
512 MB Ram
80 GB HD
DVR RW
GeForce Go 6150 128 MB
Windows Vista Home Basic

$399.99 after MIR

**drak10687** · August 21, 2007, 01:48 PM

Well, that seems like a pretty good price for what you are getting... are you getting that of off e-bay?

My only personal complaints would be the size and the resolution. For that size of Laptop screen, the resolution is too small for my taste. Its OK for some desktop CRT monitor, but I like my laptop screens to be sharp. The other complaint, is the size. Especially since its not a powerful laptop, the size seems unjustified, and if you plan on carrying it around a lot, it will become a burden. If I were you, I would look for something like 14" or less. Also, I read through the description fast, but I saw nothing about battery size or approximate length of time it can last... that is also important and you should check that out. Other than that, I would recommend that you ask about it, or read some reviews about it on some notebook forums, like notebookforums.com.

**Garnier** · August 21, 2007, 02:12 PM

512 MB ram, and windows vista? bad idea... Get at 2 GB ram if you get vista. Or get XP and 1 GB ram.

**mrmouth** · August 21, 2007, 02:16 PM

Occasionally you will find deals for $399 laptops running a core 2 cpu. Saw one last month. $399 seems to be the new set price for budget PC's whether they be desktop or notebooks. It seems most manufacturers are trying to release something at that price point now.

You can disable things within vista to make running 512mb of ram more manageable. Some people run it with 2gb or ram and complain, some run it with 512mb and are surprised they are not complaining.

**the_mango55** · August 21, 2007, 10:18 PM

Can you put different size/brand ram into laptops?

Like, could I add a 1 gig stick of ram to the 512 already there? or would I have to replace it?

Also, does doing that affect your warranty?

**Gary88** · August 21, 2007, 10:23 PM

mango are you literally using it for your coursework requierments like essays etc and maybe a few other things like MSN, ITunes etc?

**the_mango55** · August 21, 2007, 10:30 PM

yeah, that's pretty much it. Maybe watch a movie on it, play some flash games, maybe install some really old games like Fallout or Alpha Centauri.

It's not going to be my main computer.

**Gary88** · August 21, 2007, 10:35 PM

tbh (and this isnt the most technically minded person) then beyond some basic advice like you might want more RAM to run vista, a basic laptop should do you fine. my laptop was the cheapest bottom of the range piece of **** in the shop 6 months ago and it does me alright, i even play RTW and DoW on this bad boy. you'd have to do quite badly to find a laptop that couldnt handle your requirements.

i'm envious of the prices too, wtf is up with the UK we get ****ed over on everything

**the_mango55** · August 22, 2007, 01:26 PM

Well I ordered it. I'm going to try to tweak vista some, but if it's too slow I will order another gig of ram.

**the_mango55** · August 25, 2007, 02:23 PM

Well I'm posting from it now

If I were to get another stick of ram, could I just add the 1 gig stick to the 512 stick for 1.5 gigs? Or will the ram need to be replaced?

**Dick** · August 25, 2007, 02:54 PM

Putting RAM in laptops has the potential to be really annoying. If your lucky, you should be able to take off the bottom (hopefully there will be a panel with the RAM underneath). Adding RAM is also dependant on the state of current RAM, as you may have 2x256mb sticks, and laptops don't have many slots.

IT IS ALSO A HIGH PROBABILITY YOU WILL LOSE YOUR WARRANTY IF YOU OPEN THE CASE. But, most companies will allow you too send it back to them or have it done by an expert so that you don't.

**the_mango55** · August 25, 2007, 02:56 PM

mine has panels. They just have screws.

I'm going to assume that taking those off won't void my warranty, because there is no magnetic tape or anything for them to be able to tell if it was opened.

**Dick** · August 25, 2007, 03:05 PM

That's good, ussually there will be a label that can't be put back once removed. All you need to know now is whether there is room for more RAM, or whether you will have to take some out to put more in.