budget laptops

I've been looking at laptops, and I have never had to buy a budget system before, so I always went with the Pentium. But now I need a laptop for not that much money, and was wondering how you rate the lower end processors.

I was reading a PC World issue from December 2005 http://pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,123262,00.asp , (pg 24, for anyone who wants to know :D ) and they said that an Acer laptop got the highest WorldBench score of all the budget systems they tested. I have never bought an Acer, and was wondering what companys are good to buy from too. Any info would be appreciated!

Hey

I like the acers....

As for the processors.....depends on what you are going to do with the machine...and what type of apps??

For most basic, internet, email, word etc the celerons are fine. Just make sure you have lots of memory on board and on you video card.

If you get into database stuff\graphics you may need something more powerful??

MLF

well, I'm not looking for power or anything. I will probably just use it to program, possibly surf the net, little or no gaming, and I'm not looking for great video or anything.

The Acer contains a Sempron processor. I'm assuming that this is like the Celeron. Is the Sempron a good buy? Cause thats what Acer has in theirs, and Acer has the lowest price budget laptops.

...when looking at specifics, i was looking at something like
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115222
I realise that this is like the cheapest laptop you can get...and thats why I'm asking if they're..stable.

I could look at some more expensive models, but not very much more than the $500-$600 range.

Hi,

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and was wondering how you rate the lower end processors.

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Processors are not really an issue these days unless you are looking at bragging rights, or very specialised applications.

The Sempron is an adequate processor for your requirements, just as the Duron was before it.

The RAM is inadequate on the machine you showed. You should have at least 512Mb these days, given that it has onboard graphics that share (read "steal") system memory. If you cannot get it changed as an extra, just add another stick.

I personally would not buy Acer, but then I remember the time back then when only Packard Bell kept them off the bottom of the heap :D

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Originally posted here by nihil
I personally would not buy Acer, but then I remember the time back then when only Packard Bell kept them off the bottom of the heap :D

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Why would you say that? other people have told me that they haven't had problems with their Acer computers.

Thanks for the RAM info, I didn't know that!

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Why would you say that?

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Because I once had a project to design and implement a fault analysis and reporting system for a major electrical retailers ;)

Admittedly they have probably cleaned their act up since. If you pick on a model just Google search for it and see if there are a lot of bad threads/comments.

Yes, the RAM needs to be adequate, and it is usually cheaper to get this installed as part of the deal when you first buy the PC.

:)

Well we purchased a few acers laptops now....with the extended warranty....and havent had any issues....I actually sold my old Acer laptop to my brother (about 4 years old now).....Its still running....no issues other than a battery that wouldnt charge...replaced by warranty.

Maybe its just Acer UK that has the issues ;)

MLF

Morgana~

That was a few years ago :D I haven't heard any particular comments recently. I guess if you get a bad automobile you don't feel like getting another of that make.

:)

Ok, thanks guys! You've helped a lot!

Yes I knew Acer had some problems in the past, but they have been pretty decent in the last couple years... Personally for laptops I wouldn't settle for anything less then toshiba or IBM... They make the best laptops by far... They don't usually make budget laptops though...

I have a good toshiba satellite that I bought almost 3 years ago. It came with a 5 year warranty and has been running as good as new since the day I bought it. It was way ahead of it's time as well. Intel P4 2.4 ghz, 512mb ram (soon I'll upgrade to 1 gig), dvd/cd burner, it's own 32mb nvidia graphics card (by this I mean it's not onboard)... I mean this setup beats or matches most new laptops today...