Joe Slick
Rock Star
Silver Level
I've bought quite a few things from tigerdirect.com in the last year. I have had excellent luck with them. If poker is all you want from a notebook, less than $450 should not be a problem. If you also want MS Office, less than $450 may be a problem.
Be aware that, in addition to new equipment, they also sell refurbished.
If you're not in a hurry, just get on their email list. They run free shipping promotions pretty often. They seem to have killer deals all the time.
My first purchase was an emachines computer, flat panel monitor, and a multifunction printer (scan, copy, print) for the grandkids for Christmas last year. All the equipment was new and the shipping was free. The total cost for the entire lot was $408. It's still alive and kicking.
Be aware that, in addition to new equipment, they also sell refurbished.
If you're not in a hurry, just get on their email list. They run free shipping promotions pretty often. They seem to have killer deals all the time.
My first purchase was an emachines computer, flat panel monitor, and a multifunction printer (scan, copy, print) for the grandkids for Christmas last year. All the equipment was new and the shipping was free. The total cost for the entire lot was $408. It's still alive and kicking.
absoluthamm
<==Poker Face
Silver Level
Just go ahead and buy the junk laptop. In the last thread about this same thing there were very compelling arguments regarding why that would not be a good choice but you are obviously set on this one and don't want to hear what two people who know about computers and have built their own say about it, so just go ahead and buy it...
absoluthamm
<==Poker Face
Silver Level
I'm not getting mad, I just take it as you ask for advice in one thread, then start a new thread and disregard the advice you were previously given. It isn't just a topic like this that that will annoy me, but you see it everywhere on here when people don't hear what they want to and they are looking for someone to tell them that they are right in their decision. I think I found the one you're looking at and this is far from a positive review on it:
The good: Ridiculously affordable; decent screen; handles streaming video well.
The bad: Slow, older CPU; thick and boxy; no Webcam.
The bottom line: While it's hard to argue with a $450 laptop, the underpowered L305-S5955 is, basically, a Netbook in a larger case, with slightly better video playback.
Review: Editors' note: This review is part of our 2009 Retail Laptop and Desktop Back-to-School roundup, covering specific fixed configurations of popular systems that can be found in retail stores.
It's hard to hate a laptop that only costs $350. Indeed, decent televisions weren't even this cheap half a decade ago. The first question that pops into one's head when confronted with such an absurdly low number is, "What am I getting for that?" The second question is, "Can I get away with owning one?"
Toshiba's bottom-of-the-line entry-level laptop in our 2009 Back-to-School roundup is the cheapest ... Expand full review
It's hard to hate a laptop that only costs $450. Indeed, decent televisions weren't even this cheap half a decade ago. The first question that pops into one's head when confronted with such an absurdly low number is, "What am I getting for that?" The second question is, "Can I get away with owning one?"
Toshiba's bottom-of-the-line entry-level laptop in our 2009 Back-to-School roundup is the cheapest machine in this collection, and that bears some attention. In fact, $450 is even cheaper than many Netbooks. For a 15.4-inch laptop, what comes under the hood? Last year's L305-S5875, which cost $675 and was housed in a nearly identical case, came with a 200GB hard drive, 3GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 1.86GHz Pentium Dual-Core T2390. Therein lies the difference: this year's L305 has a 160GB hard drive, only 2GB of RAM, and an inferior Celeron 900 processor for nearly half the cost. In essence, it has the guts of a Netbook in a 15.4-inch laptop's body (the earliest Netbooks actually used Celeron chips, before Intel release the Atom processor).
While this laptop is fine for basic e-mail, media viewing, music playing, and other simple tasks, we wouldn't recommend it for any sort of multitasking or serious mission-critical computing. It's already more than a bit of a dinosaur in 2009, and it won't get any less outdated, making it a questionable investment--on the other hand, Windows 7 should run fine on it (although most new Vista Basic systems are ineligible for a free upgrade), and this could be the sort of bargain a low-expectations consumer is looking for.
We also find there's a sizable psychological factor: small Netbooks come with one set of expectations attached, while users expect larger laptops--no matter how low-powered or inexpensive--to behave more or less like standard mainstream systems.
The L305-S5955 will never be confused for a Netbook from the outside, however. At 1.5 inches thick, it's one of the beefier nongaming laptops on the market. The muted blue-gray exterior is prone to fingerprint smears, but the plastic-feeling lid is solid. There's a full-size keyboard with tapered keys, and six physical media-control buttons that aren't backlit. Volume control, like with the similar Toshiba L505D-S5965, is operated via a wheel at the front of the laptop, under the touch pad.
The 15.4-inch TFT LCD glossy screen has a resolution of 1,280x800 pixels, which is standard for an inexpensive mainstream laptop. The display looked sharp when playing back streaming videos and playing games. It's not a 16x9 screen, but then again, this isn't the sort of machine you're likely to buy for HD movie-playing. The stereo speakers above the keyboard had crisp but not very loud sound--which is perfectly fine, especially for this price range
The Celeron 900 is an older, bottom-of-the-line Intel processor, and we'd have a hard time recommending it to anyone for their home computing needs. However, despite the Celeron performing expectedly subpar in our multimedia and iTunes/Photoshop tests--nearly three times as slow as the Asus K50IJ-RX05--our anecdotal use of the L305-S5955 yielded surprisingly livable results. Streaming video, for instance, looked better than it ever has on an office Netbook running an Atom N270, including effortless handling of HD videos and Netflix Instant Streaming. We also gave PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies game a whirl, and while that game's not exactly a spec-consuming barn burner, it looked great on the L305-S5955. So, yes, you can expect some basic video playing and casual game consumption on this superbudget machine, too.
The good: Ridiculously affordable; decent screen; handles streaming video well.
The bad: Slow, older CPU; thick and boxy; no Webcam.
The bottom line: While it's hard to argue with a $450 laptop, the underpowered L305-S5955 is, basically, a Netbook in a larger case, with slightly better video playback.
Review: Editors' note: This review is part of our 2009 Retail Laptop and Desktop Back-to-School roundup, covering specific fixed configurations of popular systems that can be found in retail stores.
It's hard to hate a laptop that only costs $350. Indeed, decent televisions weren't even this cheap half a decade ago. The first question that pops into one's head when confronted with such an absurdly low number is, "What am I getting for that?" The second question is, "Can I get away with owning one?"
Toshiba's bottom-of-the-line entry-level laptop in our 2009 Back-to-School roundup is the cheapest ... Expand full review
It's hard to hate a laptop that only costs $450. Indeed, decent televisions weren't even this cheap half a decade ago. The first question that pops into one's head when confronted with such an absurdly low number is, "What am I getting for that?" The second question is, "Can I get away with owning one?"
Toshiba's bottom-of-the-line entry-level laptop in our 2009 Back-to-School roundup is the cheapest machine in this collection, and that bears some attention. In fact, $450 is even cheaper than many Netbooks. For a 15.4-inch laptop, what comes under the hood? Last year's L305-S5875, which cost $675 and was housed in a nearly identical case, came with a 200GB hard drive, 3GB of DDR2 RAM, and a 1.86GHz Pentium Dual-Core T2390. Therein lies the difference: this year's L305 has a 160GB hard drive, only 2GB of RAM, and an inferior Celeron 900 processor for nearly half the cost. In essence, it has the guts of a Netbook in a 15.4-inch laptop's body (the earliest Netbooks actually used Celeron chips, before Intel release the Atom processor).
While this laptop is fine for basic e-mail, media viewing, music playing, and other simple tasks, we wouldn't recommend it for any sort of multitasking or serious mission-critical computing. It's already more than a bit of a dinosaur in 2009, and it won't get any less outdated, making it a questionable investment--on the other hand, Windows 7 should run fine on it (although most new Vista Basic systems are ineligible for a free upgrade), and this could be the sort of bargain a low-expectations consumer is looking for.
Table1
The next question you may have is: "Why wouldn't I just buy a Netbook?" To that, we say: it depends on whether a larger screen and keyboard matter to you. Netbooks are considerably more portable, and an Atom processor doesn't make much of a computing difference compared with the Celeron 900 in the Satellite L305-S5955. However, many budget Netbooks have compromised keyboard sizes, and screens that might be too limiting for power users. Also, the L305-S5955 runs Vista as opposed to Windows XP. Take that as you will.
We also find there's a sizable psychological factor: small Netbooks come with one set of expectations attached, while users expect larger laptops--no matter how low-powered or inexpensive--to behave more or less like standard mainstream systems.
The L305-S5955 will never be confused for a Netbook from the outside, however. At 1.5 inches thick, it's one of the beefier nongaming laptops on the market. The muted blue-gray exterior is prone to fingerprint smears, but the plastic-feeling lid is solid. There's a full-size keyboard with tapered keys, and six physical media-control buttons that aren't backlit. Volume control, like with the similar Toshiba L505D-S5965, is operated via a wheel at the front of the laptop, under the touch pad.
The 15.4-inch TFT LCD glossy screen has a resolution of 1,280x800 pixels, which is standard for an inexpensive mainstream laptop. The display looked sharp when playing back streaming videos and playing games. It's not a 16x9 screen, but then again, this isn't the sort of machine you're likely to buy for HD movie-playing. The stereo speakers above the keyboard had crisp but not very loud sound--which is perfectly fine, especially for this price range
Table 2
You can count the port features on one hand: thee USB 2.0 jacks, a basic VGA output, and a surprising ExpressCard/54 slot. A lack of SD card slot is frustrating, so you'll be stuck with a USB or ExpressCard model. The L305-S5955 also has no Webcam. Again, this is an entry-level machine, but in an age of videoconferencing and Web communication, it's a feature that's sorely missed (but can be rectified, obviously, with a USB cam).
The Celeron 900 is an older, bottom-of-the-line Intel processor, and we'd have a hard time recommending it to anyone for their home computing needs. However, despite the Celeron performing expectedly subpar in our multimedia and iTunes/Photoshop tests--nearly three times as slow as the Asus K50IJ-RX05--our anecdotal use of the L305-S5955 yielded surprisingly livable results. Streaming video, for instance, looked better than it ever has on an office Netbook running an Atom N270, including effortless handling of HD videos and Netflix Instant Streaming. We also gave PopCap's Plants vs. Zombies game a whirl, and while that game's not exactly a spec-consuming barn burner, it looked great on the L305-S5955. So, yes, you can expect some basic video playing and casual game consumption on this superbudget machine, too.
Attachments
Last edited:
TylerN
Kool-Aid & Frozen Pizza
Silver Level
When I read that exact thing that's when I posted a new threa asking if there is any laptops around that price because I realize that one probBky won't cut it. I looked at the intel i3 and the other ones and yet did get great reviews by editors but kind of pricy for wat I'm looking for. I went on Dells websites and found a basic one that could be ok but idk if u who'd think so. It's the Dell inspiron 15" and i think it's one of the more basic laptops out there which could be a problem. The other thing is people tell methat fulltilt doesn't take alot of power to run so the lack of certain power of the toshiba would be ok even thought it is basically like a netbook with a bigger screen.The other thing is how it is relatively old compared to newer computers which is why I'm assuming it's cheaper
absoluthamm
<==Poker Face
Silver Level
For that budget, you're not getting much right now. I really think you should wait until Black Friday to get some great deals. But... if you're looking on TigerDirect, the best one I could find that is within your range is http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6645059&CatId=4965
It's refurbed and it's nothing special, but that's what you're going to get. It has a small(er) hard drive of only 250GB, but the screen size is decent and there is 4GB of DDR3.
It's refurbed and it's nothing special, but that's what you're going to get. It has a small(er) hard drive of only 250GB, but the screen size is decent and there is 4GB of DDR3.
ALL IN CLUBS
Legend
Silver Level
http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-G72-259WM/14575753 I love mine big screen can play 16 games no prob at once on it ....
Joe Slick
Rock Star
Silver Level
Absolutely!
R
RamdeeBen
Legend
Silver Level
Mines a samsung netbook I use most of the time but also got PC purely for more comfort. On an evening I will use the netbook however. I woulden't say it was top of the range but it definitely isn't crap. I'v never had a problem playing 10 tables before and I'm sure it could manage more, it doesn't start lagging or anything. PC is faster though i imagine if I could play 50 tables at once it could handle it! 
TylerN
Kool-Aid & Frozen Pizza
Silver Level
Tell me what u guys think if this one. It is has an i3. http://www.ecost.com/prod/Systems/N...e+-+WA781UARABA/54550809.aspx?navid=155441524
TylerN
Kool-Aid & Frozen Pizza
Silver Level
Mines a samsung netbook I use most of the time but also got PC purely for more comfort. On an evening I will use the netbook however. I woulden't say it was top of the range but it definitely isn't crap. I'v never had a problem playing 10 tables before and I'm sure it could manage more, it doesn't start lagging or anything. PC is faster though i imagine if I could play 50 tables at once it could handle it!
How do u play 10 tables with such a small screen? Isn't the resolution bad?
TylerN
Kool-Aid & Frozen Pizza
Silver Level
So i ended up getting a dell inspiron 14 i3. Very happy with it so far if anybody is interested. Its 14in and all the qualitites u guys told me to look into so i think playing poker on it will not be a problem at all
R
RamdeeBen
Legend
Silver Level