Thread: Inexpensive Laptop Recommendations?

My daughter is about to go off to college for her freshman year, and we need to get her a laptop. Considering that she's likely to lose/drop/break the thing, and the fact that she's not a power user by any means, I'd like to spend under $450. She's just going to be using the web and the Microsoft suite of programs, and no games or high end video stuff. I just want something reliable without the bells and whistles.

Can anyone recommend something for this type of user?

Originally Posted by KHenry14

My daughter is about to go off to college for her freshman year, and we need to get her a laptop. Considering that she's likely to lose/drop/break the thing, and the fact that she's not a power user by any means, I'd like to spend under $450. She's just going to be using the web and the Microsoft suite of programs, and no games or high end video stuff. I just want something reliable without the bells and whistles.

Can anyone recommend something for this type of user?

Just go to dell.com or hp.com and you should be able to find something in that price range. There isn't going to be much to distinguish between bottom-end laptops. Just get as much memory as you can for the money.

Best recommendation is look at the CPU and find one with a dedicated video card. Even for basic usage a dedicated video card will cut out a lot of the lag. Everything else can be upgraded easily.

Head over to Walmart and look at the $399 offerings from HP and Dell. Make sure its a dual core and comes with at least 4GB of RAM and Windows 7.

HP G62 and G62t series | HP Official Store

Thats a pretty good deal, but $50 over your budget.

check slickdeals.net or fatwallet.com periodically and I'm sure you'll find a good deal. I assume that because it's for college, you have a little bit of time (so you should be able to hunt for a deal). Good luck!

from sick deals.

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/37078/dell-outlet-25%-off-inspiron-minis-from-$186-intel-atom-processor-n450,-1gb-ddr2,-250gb-hd,-intel-nm10-express,-win-7-starter-&-more

HOT SUMMER COUPONS FROM DELL OUTLET! | Dell

Do not go with an Intel Atom based computer if this is going to be her only computer when she goes away to school. Netbooks and nettops are nice when you are going to class, but they do not have the processing power for day to day work.

I would also avoid any Intel Celerons or AMD Sempron processors.

We have a toshiba at best buy for 399 with 4 gb ram, 320 hdd and a intel dual core 4500. It's a good deal!

UPDATE: $298 Acer AS5251-1513 Laptop with Webcam & HMDI- Walmart Store (Sold Out online)

or better yet

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1019486/