Best laptop for money

[mect]

I'm helping my brother to pick out a laptop for school. Mainly will be used for word processing, powerpoint, internet, etc. His home computer is really old however, so this will also be taking over as the computer they use for other stuff like music, pictures, watching movies probably, etc.

I've look around, and I think the best deal I can find right now is a compaq V2000Z series with the specs listed below:

Operating System Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
Processor AMD Sempron(TM) 3000+ (1.8GHz/128KB L2 Cache)
Display FREE Upgrade to 14.0 WXGA BrightView Widescreen!!
Graphics Card ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M
Memory 256MB DDR SDRAM (1x256MB)
Hard Drive 40 GB 4200 RPM Hard Drive
Primary CD/DVD Drive 8X DVD Drive
Networking 54g(TM) 802.11b/g WLAN w/ 125HSM/SpeedBooster(TM)
Primary Battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works/Money

Total $549 after $50 rebate w/ free shipping

I'd suggest for him to just pick up extra ram from somewhere else to get that up. Some things I'd like input on. Would it be worth it to upgrade to the turion processor for $45 for what he'll be doing (no gaming, video editing, compiling or anything like that) or will the difference not be noticeable. I think the main thing that will be important for him will just be program start up times and the ability to work with multiple windows at once (internet browser, word processor, power point, for example). Also, I have a dell laptop with a dvd/cd burner combo. Would it be possible to swap my drive out and switch it with his so he could burn cds? The final question is just whether others think this seems like a decent deal or if there's better elsewhere. Thanks for your input.

 

[smthmlk]

i have a similar laptop from compaq (v2405us, $599 new). It's very good for the price. Only real complaint is the battery life... it's very short, about an hour or so if you leave the screen at its brightest setting and don't use any dynamic cpu frequency stuff (dunno about it in windows, but in linux, cpufreq + ondemand governor adds quite a bit of life to the battery).

To answer your questions:
-The turion processor might help with battery life, but performance is very good with the sempron as it is. If you need battery life, I'd get the turion.
-I don't think you can swap dvd/cd drives on this thing with other brands of laptops.. and I'm not really sure the dvd drive on mine is even easily removeable. Mine did come with a cd-rw/dvd combo drive which burns cd's just fine, so I would probably just pick up that upgrade if funds permit.
-This is a great laptop for the money, and just about everything on it works with Linux as well (). I haven't seen any other laptops of this calibre from a real name brand in the last few months.

If you have him pick up this laptop (or any compaq/HP), be sure to reinstall WinXP Home from CD provided as soon you get it to clean out all the junk Compaq pre-installs.

 

[Wuzup101]

You might be able to get an iBook for around that price, would be good for everything you mentioned. However, the computer you listed is pretty nice in it's own right. I would recomend that you stick in another 512mb of ram if you/he can afford it - should make a nice difference over 256mb.

 

[mect]

Originally posted by: Wuzup101
You might be able to get an iBook for around that price, would be good for everything you mentioned. However, the computer you listed is pretty nice in it's own right. I would recomend that you stick in another 512mb of ram if you/he can afford it - should make a nice difference over 256mb.

yeah, I was just planning on getting that seperately as it seems to run for about half as much as getting it direct from hp.

 

[Marc Rader]

I would go on HP.com and do their customize feature. That way you can have the factory upgrade the ram, hdd, battery for you. the battery upgrade is not hard, but the others especially the hdd would be some work. give it a try. It might cost a little more, but it might be worth the hassle.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

Originally posted by: Marc Rader
I would go on HP.com and do their customize feature. That way you can have the factory upgrade the ram, hdd, battery for you. the battery upgrade is not hard, but the others especially the hdd would be some work. give it a try. It might cost a little more, but it might be worth the hassle.

i'd recommend the opposite, actually.
The battery you should get direct from HP, since buying batteries from ebay may get you a used or refurb'd one without your knowing.

However, ram and hdd upgrades in laptops are even easier than in desktops. There are little covers that you just unscrew and they come right out.

Also, concerning the drive issue. I'm almost 100% sure that the drives will be compatible. however, you will end up with an ugly result, since the compaq and the dell are likely different colors. Also, many laptops have custom bezels so they "fit" into the sides better.

 

[rdegler]

I have the v2000z and love it. I upgraded to the 12 cell battery. I can get from 2-4 hours depending on use. I also upgraded the additional ports. I like firewire, addtional USB, and memory card ports. I also upgraded to a Turion 64.

I added a PQI 512 PC2700 SoDimm from newegg. According to HP must use PC2700.

Performance is great and the system is very stable (no BSODs) without a reinstall of windows xp home.

My only complaint is one dead pixel and the case and plastic does not seem very sturdy. I am very gentle with the computer and would not view this as a road machine. I use at home, in the coffee shop, and on the road for occassional travel. I do not think it could handle excessive road wear without damaged plastic or to movable parts (hinges, latch, doors etc)

I would buy this computer again. My previous job was managing over a 150 laptops for check out to students and faculty for a university library (all Dell). I think I am aware of what can break and performance of laptops. While this machine has better performance than the Dell Lattitudes we used (c-6xx, d600 and d610) I think the dell lattitudes were sturdier.