Newbie with laptops, need some advice.

[PacMan]

Hey guys,
Need some advice on a laptop I’m considering. I do all my computer hardware purchases at pricewatch. Heres one that is modest and sufficient for me, but need some advice cause I have never worked (hardware wise) on a laptop. This is the bare bone:
http://www.tekstation.com/pd_amd_desk_note.cfm

I’m A+ certified (like that means anything) and know my basics with the hardware of PCs. This laptop or desk note (what’s the difference?) is an AMD 929D bare bone (I prefer AMD cpus). Now this comes without HD, memory or CPU. The prices for these seem ridiculous to me. So I would like to buy these elsewhere, but need some help:

CPU
It states it is compatible up to XP 2200 cpu (1.8ghz). Now can I use the AMD Athlon XP 2200+ Socket A CPU Model 6 Athlon (Palomino) or the socket A? I’m guessing not. Or do I have to get AMD Athlon XP 2200 Mobile 1.8GHz 45W 266MHz CPU?

Memory
The Ram is “DDR266/PC2100 support”: Equipped with one DDR DIMM sockets to support up to 512MB of DDR SDRAM. In pricewatch, for notebook memory, I only get categories for name brand laptops. Help plz.

Hard Drive
Hard drive, What type can I put in this laptop? I have seen them before, very small hard drives, what are they called? Cant find them in Pricewatch.

Power
Does this thing even have an A/C Adaptor for power? The battery is $105.00, Pricewatch seems to have batteries for $50 and up.


Sorry if this thread is inappropriate. Thanks for any help and your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot guys! I just need this to do Schoolwork while at school. Nothing too crazy. But do want to play games once in awhile :-P .

If there is any other “good deals” besides this, plz let me know!! :)

[NooNoo]

hmmm this may look like a laptop, but its actually a small desktop that will run on a battery for a short while.

I was impressed with sager notebooks on the price.

Pricewatch is not a shop, its a service.

What do you want this laptop to be able to do?

Finally remember when you are buying the barebone and they include a price for the important bits like the cpu, you are also paying for the labour to fit them.

[PacMan]

Hey NooNoo,

Thanks a lot for replying to such a vague post (you always help me out). I been looking through some of the other threads on the laptop section and am learning a lot more (especially from your posts).

I am just looking for a portable desktop I guess with an 800mhz to 1.1 gig processing speed (don’t really care wht type of processor as long as its not some unheard of processor). I was looking for some used/refurbished ones and the best I found was this http://store.yahoo.com/saveateaglestore/gatsol53peni.html for $549.00. lol, if you look at what they say is the retail price, I would rather take that (it says retail is $099.00).

If anyone knows a good site with decent (low price) used laptops, please let me know. My budget is about $400. to $750.

Oh NooNoo, I searched for the sager notebooks but only found brand new ones. A lot of great reviews about them. Do you happen to know any site for the used sagers?

Thanks and take care.
Pacman! :rolleyes: :thumbs2:

[FatalException0E]

Buying a used laptop is a very risky proposition. If you do it, its best to get it someplace that you can go in and check it out before you spend your money. A friend of mine ordered a 'refurbished' Dell a little while back. When he got it, the modem and NIC both had blown ports, the display was blemished, and the hard drive was going bad. This was a fairly recent model (P3 1ghz) Also, used laptops are generally sold with no warranty what so ever on the battery, and its very common to find dead (permanently) batteries in the used ones, especially if the shop has had it sitting around for a while.

So, if you buy used, better see if there's a Mr. Laptop or something in your town. Otherwise, make sure you get a darn good warranty, and talk to somebody at the company before you buy.




I looked at the used Gateway you're considering, and it doesn't look too bad. The integrated NIC is nice, and since it has mini-PCI, you can add an internal wireless. Also, a 6 month warranty is quite good for a used laptop. Call them first to see if the warranty covers the battery, as they get expensive.

[silencio]

Ebay's littered with laptops. I just picked up an Armada PIII850/512meg/20Gig/Win2k/OfficeXP for $612 shipped. I've had Armada's in the past and they were always pretty reliable... that's why I got this one. My old P166 stopped cutting the mustard ;)

[silencio]

Ebay's littered with laptops. I just picked up an Armada PIII850/512meg/20Gig/Win2k/OfficeXP for $612 shipped. I've had Armada's in the past and they were always pretty reliable... that's why I got this one. My old P166 stopped cutting the mustard ;)
Oh, I did have to buy a battery. The one that came with the laptop would only run for about an hour and a half with the GPS adapter running. Also, I bought a 32 gig drive from Saveateagles (SP?). Their shipping was quick and free with the Pricewatch code PW.

[NooNoo]

Hey NooNoo,



Oh NooNoo, I searched for the sager notebooks but only found brand new ones. A lot of great reviews about them. Do you happen to know any site for the used sagers?

Thanks and take care.
Pacman! :rolleyes: :thumbs2:

PM DocPC

[jahmakya]

[FONT=Georgia][SIZE=3][COLOR=RoyalBlue]

Hey guys, whats up?
about those barebone desknote/notebooks!!! I am going to get one next week and I would like to know if they are really worth it? I searched for the {cpu/hdd/mem} elswhere but the prices were higher, and I did some price comparison on similar retail notebooks I~ think these are good. If I'm wrong and someone knows of a better deal, pls let a brother know, thanx in advance

[NooNoo]

Welcome to Windrivers jahmakya

I am sold on centrino... I like being able to work for 5 hours on a single charge.

Desktop replacements are not my thing, but others I am sure will chime in.