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View Full Version : Looking for a budget laptop.



kcirbmab
July 30th, 2007, 05:24 AM
Hi, new to the forums. I've been semi-interested in Linux (mostly because my friend keeps bugging me to try it) and I've decided I'll use it on a laptop I'll be buying for school.

I'm looking for a general-purpose laptop for web browsing, media, and school work, so nothing great is needed. I'm pretty much looking in the general area of $400 - $500 or best bang for my buck.

I was originally intending on going with this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115369) since it seemed to be just what I needed, but I've been reading up on these ATI horror stories with Ubuntu (this one has an Xpress 1100).

So I guess I can sum this up into two questions:

1) Is there much better laptop in the pricerange?
2) Have there been any solutions to the ATI problem? I've been searching around but it's hard to follow.

cilynx
July 30th, 2007, 05:40 AM
In my experience, ATI isn't a problem so long as you don't expect unnecessary eye-candy to work out of the box. I have an HP dv8135nr with an XPRESS 200M and it performs beautifully. Composting is hit and miss, meaning that you're either going to live without Beryl, Compiz, Fusion, or whatever name they're going by today or spend a lot of time debugging.

Being new to Linux, you're going to take one of three routes:
1) Look! Toys!
Get something with an nVidia card
2) This is cool, I can mess with my settings and make it do what I want. Getting there is 9/10 of the fun
Get whatever you want and be prepared to get to know it very well
3) I surf the web and write papers.
Get a nice cheap machine and an HP printer

MikeyJ
July 30th, 2007, 06:54 AM
Try http://www.medisoncelebrity.com/product.html . It is a $150.00 laptop with no frills and loaded with Fedora. Not tried it yet but it is worth a look.

kcirbmab
July 30th, 2007, 07:46 AM
Try http://www.medisoncelebrity.com/product.html . It is a $150.00 laptop with no frills and loaded with Fedora. Not tried it yet but it is worth a look.

Wow. I'm checking this out right away.
update: seems too good to be true. Possible scam?



update: Alright. I've looked around and it seems all signs point to scam. Anyways, I found this computer (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115371) which is pretty much the same as the one I posted earlier but without the ATI chip and a few other differences.

Would I have any out-of-the-ordinary problems with this computer? Also, would it have trouble running Beryl at a decent speed?

Ubunted
July 30th, 2007, 07:58 PM
If lightweight mobile computing is all you need then wait a month or so and pick up an Asus Eee PC.

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/Hands_on_with_the_ASUS_Eee/

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3829

This one has the advantage of NOT being a scam. Plus, you can be pretty darn sure it will run Linux.

popch
July 30th, 2007, 08:47 PM
it seems all signs point to scam.

Besides hearsay, fear and the cheap price: does anyone have actual knowledge of it being a scam?

I do not think a machine at that price point all that incredible. The components all are rather plain and presumably to be had nearly for the asking. And if the production of el cheapo is just done in order to consume the otherwise unused capacity of a factory, they even can make a small but measurable profit on the thing.

Remember: every sale above variable costs is a profitable transaction.

vwbeamer
July 30th, 2007, 09:10 PM
check www.slickdeals.net, they usually have some good laptop deals posted.

jgrabham
July 30th, 2007, 10:00 PM
Besides hearsay, fear and the cheap price: does anyone have actual knowledge of it being a scam?

I do not think a machine at that price point all that incredible. The components all are rather plain and presumably to be had nearly for the asking. And if the production of el cheapo is just done in order to consume the otherwise unused capacity of a factory, they even can make a small but measurable profit on the thing.

Remember: every sale above variable costs is a profitable transaction.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/25/medison-celebrity-150-of-linux-laptop-for-the-people/

jgrabham
July 30th, 2007, 10:19 PM
EDIT : sorry, posted twice, mods please delete this post

popch
July 30th, 2007, 10:39 PM
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/25/medison-celebrity-150-of-linux-laptop-for-the-people/

Thank you for the link.
If losing $150 hurts you, then you probably should not buy this at this moment.