Looking for a basic laptop for under $400

[The Flying Penguin]

I'm looking to get my mom a laptop for Christmas. She does nothing on the computer except the occasional web surfing. I'd like to spend under $400 if possible because she really only needs something basic.

Portability and battery life mean little as she probably won't even take the laptop out of the house. She just needs something that can be moved around. She needs something with at least a 13.3" screen, easy to use trackpad and comfortable keyboard, be capable enough that she can watch Hulu and such, and most importantly be Linux friendly. I will be putting Ubuntu on it as she needs something user friendly and worry free.

I am thinking about this Compaq: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834107067 It has a roomy 15.6" screen which is great for her. It has more RAM and hard drive space then she will ever need. It is missing the options like a card reader, HDMI, and webcam. She won't use the webcam and she is probably better off plugging her phone in then taking out the tiny memory card but it's the lack of HDMI I am slightly worried about. I think it would be nice for her to plug it into her tv and watch Hulu if she so desired. She has said if she had her own laptop she would like to do things like that. I would prefer an Nvidia graphics card but the HD 4250 seems to be supported enough for her kind of usage. I also see work has been done for video acceleration with the HD series under Linux.

I also like this Acer Aspire: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003NE5K50?tag=netbboar-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B003NE5K50&adid=03JYEZ1F6JV9XMWEABFC& . I can get it refurb for $399. It only has a single core CPU but has a card reader and HDMI. It has a full keyboard but I have always found full keyboards on laptops to feel off center. The trackpad looks off center too. Graphics, RAM, and hard drive are all the same as the Compaq.

Any recommendations?

[linuxforartists]

The new Dell Vostro V130 laptop comes with Ubuntu 10.04 pre-installed, if you go with the entry-level "Essential" build.

From OMG! Ubuntu! Dell's new Vostro V130 laptop (http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/11/dells-new-vostro-v130-ultra-thin-ubuntu-laptop/)

A bit above your budget, it costs $429.

That Acer Aspire you linked to has good reviews on Amazon.com. I remember a couple months ago it was the #1 bestselling laptop on the site, must be great value.

Slightly off topic: did you already convert your mother to Ubuntu or is this the first attempt?

[jhsu802701]

If your mother isn't taking the computer anywhere, why not buy her a desktop? Used desktops are MUCH cheaper than new ones, which are cheaper than laptops. You should be able to find a desktop with the specs needed for Ubuntu for $50.

[The Flying Penguin]

The new Dell Vostro V130 laptop comes with Ubuntu 10.04 pre-installed, if you go with the entry-level "Essential" build.

From OMG! Ubuntu! Dell's new Vostro V130 laptop (http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/11/dells-new-vostro-v130-ultra-thin-ubuntu-laptop/)

Slightly above your budget, it costs $429.

That Acer Aspire you linked to has good reviews on Amazon.com. I remember a couple months ago it was the #1 bestselling laptop on the site, must be great value.

Slightly off topic: did you already convert your mother to Ubuntu or is this the first attempt?

Hmm, The Vostro is nice. What kind of video playback performance can be expected on that hardware?

I haven't converted her to Ubuntu yet but she isn't converted to Windows either. She knows nothing about computers and is an absolute noob lol. She barely knows how to open the web browser in XP. She has been on a computer maybe 5 times in the last year. This is due to her not having her own computer. She says she wants to learn how to do things on a computer and this will be her first computer to learn on. I feel that the Ubuntu interface is much more user friendly then Windows 7. Plus, with no web smarts, she needs something safe. And there is just too much upkeep involved in using Win 7. It would be overwhelming for her.



If your mother isn't taking the computer anywhere, why not buy her a desktop? Used desktops are MUCH cheaper than new ones, which are cheaper than laptops. You should be able to find a desktop with the specs needed for Ubuntu for $50.

She still needs to be able to move it around the house. Plus, she has said multiple times that she wants a laptop. For a computer noob like herself, I think a laptop is the best bet because everything is contained in one unit anyway.

[brokenromeo]

I got one of the Acer Aspire 5251's a while back at Walmart when they had a sale for $299! I am running 10.10 64 bit on it, and it works great out of the box...performance is good for everything I have thrown at it...

[The Flying Penguin]

I got one of the Acer Aspire 5251's a while back at Walmart when they had a sale for $299! I am running 10.10 64 bit on it, and it works great out of the box...performance is good for everything I have thrown at it...

Does that have the off center trackpad? If so, how do you like it? They seem really awkward to me.

I'm really liking this HP from Best Buy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Factory-Refurbished+Laptop+/+AMD+V-Series+Processor+/+15.6%22+Display+/+3GB+Memory+/+250GB+Hard+Drive+-+Silver/1559201.p?id=1218268437358&skuId=1559201

This one also uses the HD 4250 but has HDMI. It also it has a 7200 rpm hard drive and Bluetooth. The Bluetooth would be great because I could get her a nice Bluetooth mouse to use.

The 90 day warranty does worry me slightly. I'm not sure if Best Buy offers any extended warranty on refurbs.

[teet]

I'm actually looking to buy a laptop for a similar reason in the same price range.

Bestbuy actually had a pretty good selection of laptops in the ~$400 range. They were either the amd athlonII/ati 4250 combo or intel P6100/x4500 graphics combo. According to CPU benchmark the CPU's are pretty comparable...I'm not sure how the video cards stack up to one another.

Basically, I just want the laptop to be powerful enough to run Hulu at the highest resolution at full screen smoothly (I figure that would be the most intense task this laptop would ever be used for). I tested the laptops in the store and for some reason the AMD/ATI combo was able to do it but the intel P6100/x4500 seemed to struggle and stutter with full screen flash...I'm not sure if there was a wifi problem or if the intel laptops were really that weak.

-teet

Edit: BTW, tech bargains dot com has some pretty decent deals and is updated daily.

[Changturkey]

That Vostro looks like an amazing deal. I can vouch that the U3400 processor, though being a ULV, is very snappy.

[linuxforartists]

@Changturkey: Thanks for the recommendation about the processor. That was one thing I was worried about, having anything less than an Intel i3 processor. Dell doesn't allow any customization options for that laptop.

What do you think of Dell wireless cards? That's what the Vostro comes with. Intel and Atheros cards should be okay, but I don't know about Dell's wireless cards.

@The Flying Penguin and teet: From what I've heard about video cards, Nvidia and ATI are where it's at. Although Intel cards seem to be better-supported for Linux.

A little off-topic again, but I love to test the video cards on laptops in the store by running a Tron: Legacy movie trailer at the highest resolution. Good way to test the speakers and sound system, too. Here's the first official trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9szn1QQfas).

Strictly for research purposes. I derive no pleasure from it :-\"

[johntaylor1887]

Walmart has laptops for $399.

[The Flying Penguin]

@The Flying Penguin and teet: From what I've heard about video cards, Nvidia and ATI are where it's at. Although Intel cards seem to be better-supported for Linux.


Yeah, I have actually been trying to avoid an Intel card which is the one thing I don't like about the Vostro. I'm not sure if my mom will ever want to play any 1080P content but I'd like to leave the option open. I'm not sure the progress of XvBA but I believe it will eventually be a viable option for Linux ATI users. The laptops I have listed all use the HD 4250 so I feel fairly confident she will eventually be able to play 1080P.

I would prefer Nvidia as I use vdpau on two of my machines and its amazing but haven't found any laptops sporting one in this price range with similar hardware.

[Changturkey]

XvBA on Linux is still a major work in progress. Either get an Nvidia card, or even a Intel card if you're going to play video using GPU; though I think the Athlon II is fast enough for CPU decoding of 720p video, not sure about 1080. And I think the Dell wireless card should be fine, as they're installing Ubuntu on them, I'd assume most Linux distros would support the card as well.

[The Flying Penguin]

XvBA on Linux is still a major work in progress. Either get an Nvidia card, or even a Intel card if you're going to play video using GPU; though I think the Athlon II is fast enough for CPU decoding of 720p video, not sure about 1080. And I think the Dell wireless card should be fine, as they're installing Ubuntu on them, I'd assume most Linux distros would support the card as well.

Seems Nvidia isn't in the laptops within my price range.

And I thought there was no GPU video acceleration for Intel cards under Linux?

[The Flying Penguin]

Thought I would follow up and let you guys know I ended up getting her the HP. I liked the fact it had Bluetooth, HDMI, and a faster hard drive.

The laptop feels incredibly cheap. Cheapest feeling laptop eve lol. I'm more concerned with function for my mom.

It came with Win 7 Home Premium and a ton of HP bloatware. This thing was so bloated that it took a few seconds just to open the start menu. Everything I did involved waiting. So I did a fresh install of Win 7 and Ubuntu 10.10. I think I'll leave Win on in case she wants to watch Netflix or if I can't get HD content playing correctly in Ubuntu.

Speaking of HD content, this machine has flawless 1080p playback, under Win 7 using Media Player Classic Home Cinema. Flash plays back great too! HD doesn't play so well in Ubuntu though. I'm going to try to setup xbva and hopefully will have some success. Worse case scenario she will have to boot into Win 7 to play 1080p but that would only be once in a great while.

Also, for some reason the machine won't shutdown in Ubuntu. The screen goes black or purple and then just sits there forever.

Hopefully I'll have it configured for her in the next couple of days.

But yeah, she really likes! Thanks for the suggestions guys!

[teet]

I ended up going with this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Laptop+/+AMD+Athlon%26%23153%3B+II+Processor+/+14%22+Display+/+3GB+Memory+/+320GB+Hard+Drive+-+Biscotti/1630039.p?id=1218274970383&skuId=1630039&st=hp%20g42&cp=1&lp=1

I picked it up at BestBuy before Christmas for $350. I resized the partitions (which involved deleting the HP recover partition because I need to make a "logical partition" and there were 4 primary partitions already). Everything I tested worked out of the box in Ubuntu 10.10 (I had to install Broadcom wireless drivers). I installed "cheese" and was surprised that the webcam just worked. The ATI graphics seemed to work fine (it could play full screen Hulu smoothly).

The only thing I dislike is the 16:9 aspect ratio and 1366x768 resolution. I prefer 16:10 or at least a few more vertical pixels.

-teet

[chriswyatt]

My dad's notebook is dying, it's an HP Pavilion ZD8000 laptop with a 2.8 GHz Pentium 4 processor, the screen is dying (vertical lines appearing) and I'm wondering whether it's worth replacing the screen or not. Also I think the hard drive might be on its way out as well, so it seems pointless replacing the parts as we might as well get a whole new laptop/notebook.

So would the Vostro be faster than the HP? The clock rate in the Vostro is much lower than my dad's HP notebook, but I've heard clock rate doesn't necessarily equate to speed so would the Vostro be faster than he HP? He plays Farmville a lot and the HP laptop can't really handle it, Farmville eats CPU and memory and of course Flash support in Linux isn't all that great.

[teet]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

I use the above site for comparing CPUs. It boils everything down to one number...I'm sure there are flaws with it, but it's the best thing I've found. I remember back in the day when there was only really one line of processors and the higher the megahertz, the faster the machine. Things were much more simple back then :)

-teet

Edit: Also take into account that once you break the 1000 point barrier on cpu benchmark, that will probably be "fast enough" for the average user. Things like hard drive speed and graphics card would probably make a much bigger difference. You could probably buy a really cheap $300 - 350 machine and put in a decent SSD and get a machine that performs like a $1200 laptop.

[Changturkey]

Clockspeed doesn't matter as much as it did back in the Pentium 4 Era. I'm pretty sure the U5400 Pentium could handle Farmville easily.

[chriswyatt]

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

I use the above site for comparing CPUs. It boils everything down to one number...I'm sure there are flaws with it, but it's the best thing I've found. I remember back in the day when there was only really one line of processors and the higher the megahertz, the faster the machine. Things were much more simple back then :)

-teet

Edit: Also take into account that once you break the 1000 point barrier on cpu benchmark, that will probably be "fast enough" for the average user. Things like hard drive speed and graphics card would probably make a much bigger difference. You could probably buy a really cheap $300 - 350 machine and put in a decent SSD and get a machine that performs like a $1200 laptop.

Yes, thankyou! This was exactly the kind of thing I was looking for.