me want laptop :P

[firebird999]

i need some recommendations for a laptop.

what it must have:
disk drive
usb port
<$250

what i'd like it to have, but don't need:
not black
at least 13 inch screen (american measurements (corner to corner))
extra usb port
last through college (about 8 years, so i need to be able to easily update the software periodically)
options (carrying case, car charger, etc.)

idc about it's memory, just as long as it's reasonable

EDIT: forgot, i want it very up-to-date, so i can play the sims 3 on it when it comes out. oh ya, and i'd prefer it be vista compatible, or come with it.

[nitemeer]

ehh... $250? that is going to be hard to find i guess.. unless you go on ebay and find some used laptops.

[lol]

Laptops from Ebay phail. Their hard-drives probally will get damaged while shipping unless its flash memory.

[nitemeer]

heres a $300 laptop lol
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1218013392456

$50 more you get a brand new laptop at bestbuy

you want a lap top thats going to last 8 years in the 250 dollar range? go fly a kite man lol.

very few computers now days last 8 years it seems like, specially lap tops. my lap top im on right now is about 2 1/2 years old. my battery is shot, i cant leave it unplugged for more than 5 minutes with out it dying. ive had to replace the power supply twice, my T key is broken and i have to be super carefull with it.

Ive had to reformatt it twice now, and im very good about not clogging up my computer, i dont down load spyware and virus's and random programs, i dont play games on my computer at all. i dont go to bad sites. My mouse key is broke, i dont know how it even works. my scroll feature on my mouse pad doesnt work any more. mine is going to hell. and ive got about a 1200 dollar dell. it was a badass computer when i bought it, its freaking loaded.

you can get payments on a 1000 dollar lap top for like less than 30 bucks a month, pretty sure any college kid can make those payments. and hopefully it will last ya 8 years if your VERY NICE to it. but im betting around year 5 your going to need a new one.

and why do you want vista? vista is the worst windows system EVER. windows 95 was better lol.

But i would check into acers, dells, or HP. ive had good luck with all of them. Besides this dell ive beat to hell. (hey that rhymed haha) Compaqs arent to bad either, my ex had one and it was actually quite nice. But your looking at about a minimum of 500 bucks for a decent lap top. i wouldnt spend anything less than 600 or so. My next one after this one dies will be in the 1500 dollar range.

[kendallcschm]

Originally Posted by firebird999

i need some recommendations for a laptop.

what it must have:
disk drive
usb port
<$250

what i'd like it to have, but don't need:
not black
at least 13 inch screen (american measurements (corner to corner))
extra usb port
last through college (about 8 years, so i need to be able to easily update the software periodically)
options (carrying case, car charger, etc.)

idc about it's memory, just as long as it's reasonable

EDIT: forgot, i want it very up-to-date, so i can play the sims 3 on it when it comes out. oh ya, and i'd prefer it be vista compatible, or come with it.

would you like to buy a laptop from me? ill give it a bigger hard drive put in some new ram and it would work great for you and ill give ti too you for $ 100.... its not an 13" screen though... but it has a usb port a floppy drive a cd rom drive and a hard drive... its a pentium II though so i dont know if you want it... if you dont try this website:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115432
this is the cheapest computer you can get thats new on the market... and no it does not have 250G HD it only has 120G.... but what ever... oh and it costs $400

WHAT EVER YOU DO DONT BUY AN EMACHINE THEY BREAK WAY TOO EASILY!!! i had a customer and he had an emachine.. the boot sector of his hard drive failed so he had to but a new hard drive which cost him $200 cause it was nice and then he needed a new power supply... $50!! NOT WORTH IT... and guess what.. if your laptop hard drive failes it costs even more!!! but no power supply... if your LAPTOP power supply fails it costs $100 to get emachines to replace it!!!! DO NOT BUY

[jimmythekid1]

if you can get the sims 3 to some how magically run on a $250 machine it will most likely melt in you hands.

[ling427ttvette]

You're not going to find a laptop that will last you 8 years unless you very rarely use it.

You need to buy a desktop, and with a desktop you get alot more for your money anyway. Getting a Vista compatible laptop for $250 isn't going to happen either, or Vista will just run horribly on it because Vista at the least needs 1gb of RAM to run properly.

My suggestion, go to Dell and apply for their credit line. If you get approved, which is HARD, you will be able to get a very nice computer for low payments a month.

[jimmythekid1]

Originally Posted by ling427ttvette

You're not going to find a laptop that will last you 8 years unless you very rarely use it.

You need to buy a desktop, and with a desktop you get alot more for your money anyway. Getting a Vista compatible laptop for $250 isn't going to happen either, or Vista will just run horribly on it because Vista at the least needs 1gb of RAM to run properly.

My suggestion, go to Dell and apply for their credit line. If you get approved, which is HARD, you will be able to get a very nice computer for low payments a month.

At a very high interest rate

[firebird999]

you're trying to sell me a pentium II... so searched it on ebay. sorry, but this one has quite a bit of what i want, too, you think i should try to get it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Wireless-Dell-La...1%7C240%3A1308

[taiwanesekid05]

Originally Posted by firebird999

you're trying to sell me a pentium II... so searched it on ebay. sorry, but this one has quite a bit of what i want, too, you think i should try to get it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Wireless-Dell-La...1%7C240%3A1308

Don't make me laugh. Pentium II is ancient. Not even worth the money unless you just want a laptop that works.

[firebird999]

woah. this one is great, right?
http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-D600-P4-MOB...1%7C240%3A1309
am i finally being smart?

[taiwanesekid05]

Sounds good. But I'm not that much of a computer junkie...

[jimmythekid1]

Originally Posted by firebird999

woah. this one is great, right?
http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-D600-P4-MOB...1%7C240%3A1309
am i finally being smart?

not enough ram to run the Sims smoothly.

[firebird999]

well, that's the least of my worries. plus it says i can upgrade to a 120gb, so that's enough for sure, right?

[lol]

i have a Dell laptop. I have CS, CSS, CSCZ, SF, Gunz , Drift City, and all of the Halflife's installed. It runs smooth still. Had this baby for a year. Nothing broken exept the sound insert. It need resoldering. You Should eBay a Dell Inspiron E1705. :] thats what I have.

[jimmythekid1]

Originally Posted by firebird999

well, that's the least of my worries. plus it says i can upgrade to a 120gb, so that's enough for sure, right?

no thats the hard drive not the RAM. I also don't know if the graphics card meets any of the requirements you will need.

if you want to game I would go with something like this.
http://www.dell.com/content/products...2D6&mo=3~4G2D6

[firebird999]

well, whatever. just as long as it works, i'll be fine with it. so, yeah, i'll probably end up getting one like that one early next year.

[ling427ttvette]

Well, since you are so set on getting a laptop, here's a few hints from me.

Do NOT let it run all day and night, if you're not using it shut it off. Laptop cooling systems suck compared to a desktops cooling. I burnt through 3 hard drives in my old one from running it all the time, and 1 in my new Dell. My new Dell also runs hot because it has a dual core processor though.

Do NOT run it on top of your bed, or any cloth surface that will block the cooling system. Set it on hard surfaces only so it can get air flow underneath the laptop, you will fry it so quick if you don't do that.

I certainly still recommend a desktop, more bang for the buck but they aren't portable like a laptop. It all depends on if you need mobility or not, for college you usually do so I can understand the laptop. But even then you could just buy a cheap bare bones laptop to take to class and type notes in and assignments and whatnot, and then have a desktop rig for all of your gaming and more serious use. A barebones laptop could be had for cheap, and so can a desktop. All depends on where you look.

[jimmythekid1]

Originally Posted by jimmythekid1

no thats the hard drive not the RAM. I also don't know if the graphics card meets any of the requirements you will need.

if you want to game I would go with something like this.
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1730?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&~oid=us~en~29~xp snb_m1730_anav1~~tbRxZiyx&m_3=4G2D6&mo=3~4G2D6

Originally Posted by ling427ttvette

Well, since you are so set on getting a laptop, here's a few hints from me.

Do NOT let it run all day and night, if you're not using it shut it off. Laptop cooling systems suck compared to a desktops cooling. I burnt through 3 hard drives in my old one from running it all the time, and 1 in my new Dell. My new Dell also runs hot because it has a dual core processor though.

Do NOT run it on top of your bed, or any cloth surface that will block the cooling system. Set it on hard surfaces only so it can get air flow underneath the laptop, you will fry it so quick if you don't do that.

I certainly still recommend a desktop, more bang for the buck but they aren't portable like a laptop. It all depends on if you need mobility or not, for college you usually do so I can understand the laptop. But even then you could just buy a cheap bare bones laptop to take to class and type notes in and assignments and whatnot, and then have a desktop rig for all of your gaming and more serious use. A barebones laptop could be had for cheap, and so can a desktop. All depends on where you look.

I also use a cooling pad with dual fans in it. It runs off a usb port, since getting it my laptops fan hardly ever runs.