Good deal? Dell Inspiron 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD -- $499 @ Best Buy

Dell - Inspiron Laptop with Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor T2390 - Jet Black

Is this a good deal, for $499 at Best Buy? Is the Inspiron a good notebook?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...=product&tab=2&id=1210379087572#productdetail

 

It's not bad. I think for most users that surf the web, email, and other non-intensive tasks would be more than happy with it (and the price).

 

I have heard some bad things about Best Buy's return policies incase anything should happen. Anyone else know anything about this?

 

I bought a very cheap Toshiba there a year ago that was defective. It could not be turned off while it was plugged in. Even if it was forced to shut down by holding the power button down for a few seconds, it would turn itself back on 5 seconds later. One week after I bought it, I took it back. The geek squad played with it for a few minutes and tried changing the power cord and a few other things and decided it was defective so they got me a new one right then. It took about half hour of my time and they did not charge a fee. They even apologized for the selling a bad unit. The new computer works fine.
I do think they might have charged a 15% restocking fee if I had just returned the unit without good reason. I don't object to a restocking fee because they can't resell a returned computer for as much as a new one.
Several years ago, I bought an expensive Sony from them and got an extended service plan. After 2 years they replaced the battery at no charge. I did have to take the computer in to them to be looked at. After about 5minutes they agreed the battery needed replacing and gave me an authorization number. I called the service center, gave them the number and they mailed a new battery out. I received it 3 days later. Good service and polite service.
The geek squad has also helped with a few minor software
problems that I had while the Sony was under the extended service plan.
I have bought 5 laptops from Best Buy and will probably continue buying from them.

 

Thanks, that's great to know.

Which deal should I take--a Compaq Presario 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD for $449 (no tax) at Newegg or the Dell Inspiron 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD for Best Buy for $499?

 

I couldn't find the presario at Newegg. What processor does it have? You want some thing with 2 cores, not a sempron or celeron. If you have $600 you might think about a HP Dv5z.

http://www.bargainspots.com/scripts...123284&siteName=NotebookReview.com+Lite+Price

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834147757

It is AMD Athlon 64 X2, 1.9 Ghz. Does the 'X2' mean dual-core?

I want a computer primarily for media usage. Would this suffice, If I bought a 2GB stick of RAM to up it to 2.5 RAM?

 

Both computers will do basic tasks fine.
The Presario from Newegg is a refurb and only has a 90 day warranty.

I would get the dell.
For $50 you get an extra 1 G ram installed for a total of 2G, a full year warranty, an extra usb port and a firewire port.

 

I thought about that, but I can also get a 2GB RAM stick from Newegg for $34; bumping up the total RAM for the Presario to 2.5GB. Also, with Newegg, 3-day shipping is only $17 and there is absolutely NO sales tax (it also comes with a Compaq 90-day warranty). $466.99 total for the Presario (plus $34 for extra RAM).

I'm really leaning towards the Presario simply because of the price. The Presario IS duo-core, isn't it? What does the 'X2' mean? I also like the looks of it much better than the Dell.

The Dell would be $499, plus tax (usually around $50!), plus shipping. I'm looking at nearly $600, whereas the Presario's specs are almost identical.

Btw, thanks for all your input!

 

Yes the Presario has 2 cores and will do basic tasks well. I think you will be happy with it.

It is not an Intel core 2 duo, or pentium dual core, or core duo.
for more info
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166906

 

So that's TWO 1.9Ghz cores?

I will mainly be using this notebook for my LARGE library of music, pictures, videos, and documents (I work for the newspaper, so you can only imagine!). 2.5GB of RAM plus the 1.9Ghz cores you think will be nice and speedy?

 

Gah, you cant compare amd's old x2 to a intel core 2 with clockspeeds....

Get the dell.

 

If it were me, I'd go for the 1525. I don't think I've seen that COMPAQ Presario, but the ones I have seen and played with on display at stores see cheap and like they wouldn't hold up real well. But then post all laptop at that price range are. It's just my opinion, but of the budget laptop class Dell Inspiron's currently have the best build (although a bi heavy) of the ones I've seen.

Oh yeah, it is a duel core.

 

If you are still looking for a cheap one, see if your local circuit city has this one in stock. There would be no shipping charges on it. It's out of stock on line. Some of the stores by me still have it. $430

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/prod...RODUCT&cm_keycode=3&om_keycode=3#availability