I'm helping a friend find a laptop for his wife who is going back to school fulltime and wants a laptop for mostly web surfing, web assignments, an Microsoft office. He wants to spend no more than $500, but I'm going to give him options up to $600.

Here's what I've found to be decent so far. Let me know if I could give him better options. A medium size screen would be nice, nothing too small or too bulky (so I've stuck with the ~15.6").

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011257

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220663

Thanks.

11/18/2009 8:50:59 AM

Looks good, get it.

11/18/2009 8:58:46 AM

2nd one seems like a way better deal

11/18/2009 9:23:40 AM

Wait. I'm confused on the ZipZoomFly Asus laptop. It says in the description:

Quote :

"Powered by an Intel® Core™2 Duo processor for multitasking performance"

But then says this in the specs:

Quote :

" Processor CPU Type Intel Core 2 Solo CPU Speed SU3500 1.4GHz "

So, this is a Single Core 1.4GHz and not a Dual Core? If that's the case, then yeah, the second choice at NewEgg is totally the way to go.

11/18/2009 9:53:59 AM

ZipZoomFly is kinda sketchy anyway. I've had two dealings with them, and neither time did the product I received work correctly on the first go around. They had to ship replacements both times, and their RMA process is built to discourage helping you.

11/18/2009 9:57:21 AM

Go to: www.lenovo.com/cpp
Use code: familyandfriends
Choose: Y Series
Choose: Build your own Y550 (15.4" screen)
Choose: The first one in the list ($516)

Great deal for $516 (pretty same specs as your newegg one, but for slightly cheaper price). Or you can upgrade it to faster processor and be around the $550 price range. I own one myself (the one with discrete graphics, Nvidia) and I love it. It even plays games like a champ. Some crapware/bloatware, but after uninstalling all of the crap, I've enjoyed it.


Edit: Sorry, not exactly the same specs. I didn't see the 4GB of memory in the Asus...

[Edited on November 18, 2009 at 10:07 AM. Reason : oops...]

11/18/2009 10:04:03 AM

I've purchased several items, and my father has as well, with no issues. This disappoints me.

^ Good one. Thanks I've heard that Lenovos have some "build quality" concerns though. But They seem to use good components. I'll forward that too. Thanks

[Edited on November 18, 2009 at 10:08 AM. Reason : .]

11/18/2009 10:04:19 AM

yeah, zzf is hit-or-miss...i once bought a video card from them and received one that was completely different than the image and specs they provided on the site (they had the specs of the rev2 and sent me the rev1, though the model numbers themselves were the same)...i had to bitch at them for 2 weeks and threaten to file a complaint with my credit card company before they sent me a pre-paid RMA and gave me a full refund

my favorite part is where they said something along the lines of "but we make it very clear that the images on our site are for display purposes and do not represent the actual product you may receive"

i don't avoid them if they have a spectacular deal, but if the difference is minimal, i'll shop somewhere else

11/18/2009 10:12:17 AM

i just gave a recommendation to someone for that newegg Asus one you linked, although it was $499 at the time.

first link at zzf is Core Solo, not sure it's even the Core 2 Solo.

Core Solo < Pentium Dual-Core < Core 2 Duo

[Edited on November 18, 2009 at 1:54 PM. Reason : l]

11/18/2009 1:52:08 PM

http://dealnews.com/Lenovo-coupons-Up-to-200-off-select-laptops-and-netbooks/329822.html

11/18/2009 4:19:21 PM