Is this a good choice for a PC laptop under $400?

[Dennis S]

My friend, who is fairly new to computers, wants to go to Best Buy and pick up a laptop under $400 before tax. He has an AT&T 3G wireless connection with a 5 GB cap. He mostly checks out ebay and watches youtube and is going to set up iTunes. He doesn't need MS Office. He asked me for my suggestion and I said this one:

Dell - 15.6" Inspiron Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Black
Model: I15N-2731BK
SKU: 4882609
# Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# Technical details: 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i3 processor; 15.6" display; 4GB memory; 500GB hard drive
# Special features: Bluetooth; HDMI output
Customer Reviews: 4.8 of 5 4.8 of 5 (8 reviews)

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+15.6%...8570952783&skuId=4882609

Here is the link for all their sub-$400 laptops, but it ,right not work right:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatem...ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-8096641980784424156&id=pcat17080&type=page&lcn=Computers+%26+Tablets&sc=abComputerSP&st=processingtime%3A%3E1900-01-01&usc=abcat0500000&cp=1&sp=customerrating+numberofreviews&nrp=15&qp=q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a~~cabcat0502000%23%230%23%23o~~f305||24333030202d20243339392e3939&add_to_pkg=false&pagetype=listing

Among the offerings, these are the processors that seem to be available:

Intel® Pentium® processor
Intel® Core™ i3 processor
2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i3
AMD A-Series
AMD A4-Series
AMD A6-Series
AMD E-Series
AMD Athlon

These are the models that are sometimes available:

HP Pavillion
Compaq
Dell Inspiron
Toshiba Satellite
Lenova G570
Lenova IdeaPad
Gateway
Asus
Acer

I also need something similar in a couple of months, but will probably order it online.

In y'all's opinions, which processors and brands are best and which are dogs?

[Racer X]

Should be fine. It isn't a powerhouse, but decent specs.

[onthedownlow]

That's an excellent choice. He'll enjoy it.

[timg]

Does he plan to carry it around at all? If he does, then I'd suggest looking at the 14inch models.

the 15inchers are a bit unwieldy at times.

[Lew Zealand]

Core i3 at a minimum so that Dell is fine. The thing in common with most/all of these low end machines is the display. Usually a low res 1366x768 TN panel which, frankly, is good enough for casual use.

[Dennis S]

He won't carry it much and if he does, it will probably stay in his pickup.

[Dennis S]

Good grief. I just called him and he had already gone and picked this one up:

$379.99
HP - 15.6" Pavilion Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Pewter
Model: g6-1d48dx
SKU: 5015961
# Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# Technical details: AMD A6-Series processor; 15.6" display; 4GB memory; 500GB hard drive
# Special features: HDMI output
Customer Reviews: 4.1 of 5 4.1 of 5 (47 reviews)

He said he almost got the Dell. I let him know he got a lesser machine and why did he ask my opinion in the first place and why didn't he wait until I reported back from you guys. He's happy though. He's back online after 4 days without facebook. He got 2 months of free Norton (whoopee). I guess he forgot about the time I told him with his last computer not to buy Norton, but he did anyway. I told him again, but I bet he buys it again. I bet anything he sets his music up with Windows Media Player instead of iTunes like I told him. I'm pretty much through with helping him with his computers.

[olnacl]

No good deed goes unpunished…

[WHiiP]

Wait 'til he asks you why it is so S L O W . . . and it will slow down in about 10 days. Have Fun. :nono:

[Dennis S]

Well, I guess it's OK. If he had bought my suggestion, everything that went wrong would be my fault. Now when something goes wrong, I can gloat.