Notebook Advice Sought

[pentachris]

My sister is looking for a notebook computer to take with her to law school this fall. She found this site (http://auctions.lycos.com/HTML/Cat3828/Page1.htm) that has what appears to be some pretty good offers.

Quick example: PIII-500, 128 MB, 12 GB systems being sold by Dell Financial Services for bids ranging from $350-$500. They're used, but some are less than two years old and the remainder of the two year warranty is transfered to the high bidder.

In about a week, Lycos auctions will be taken over by eBay.

I'd like to recommend that she try for one of these, but I know very little about notebooks. What's your opinion on these notebooks? And do you think the transition to eBay will have a large effect on the prices?

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Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

[saphalline]

That site has some pretty good deals! Most of those Dell Latitude CPHX 500GT's are a steal under $400. There's one near the bottom of page 1 that comes with a 20GB HD instead of 12GB, and it's currently at $320. I've only looked at the first page, but I would seriously suggest getting hold of your sister and have her try for one of the 500GT's. Most of them end in only a couple hours and they're staggered so if she misses one she can bid on another practically every hour http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif!

As to the whole prices being changed when switching over to eBay, yes I think they will. Online auctions are usually a contest to see who can bid last as the final seconds count down. But forget "in a week", those 500GT's end today! Call her now!

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Windows 95: A 32-bit extension of a 16-bit overlay for an 8-bit OS that was originally designed for a 4-bit processor by a 2-bit company that can't produce 1 bit of good software!

[pentachris]

Thanks, saphalline.

Any reservations about buying a used notebook that may have a very short warranty, if any warranty at all?

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Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

[saphalline]

Well... there's a few negatives to having a shorter warranty, but usually (and this is true for all computer parts) if something is gonna go wrong it won't happen 2 years down the road. I've had bad parts before - CD-ROM drives, hard drives, monitors - and they have all broken within 2 years of being new (or after about 7 years of constant use).

One of the good things about having a notebook/laptop off warranty is that you can take it anywhere for service. Hard drives, RAM, processor upgrades, even new LCD screens are all serviceable parts. Any good local shop should be able to fix common portable problems, but they are a bit more expensive.

Overall, I wouldn't worry about it. I would worry about what OS you're gonna put on it because most used portables don't come with OS or software! Finding drivers will drive you nuts far more than a cranky hard drive. Maybe it's time to pay up for a membership to Windrivers.com!

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Windows 95: A 32-bit extension of a 16-bit overlay for an 8-bit OS that was originally designed for a 4-bit processor by a 2-bit company that can't produce 1 bit of good software!

[bassman]

Hey Pentachris,
Just in case she has reservations about buying something used or from an auction, check out www.netlux.com. (http://www.netlux.com.)
I have not purchased from them yet but have priced a few out for people and the have some pretty nice systems.

Good luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

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Waiting patiently for the future to arrive.

Frank's Place (http://dreamwater.net/tech/frankscomp/)

[pentachris]

Those looks like some nice computers and nice deals, bassman. Reports like this (http://www.labbb.org/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=wsbroker1/C%3A/Inetpub/wwwroot/SouthlandReport/default.htm?hCompID=13103264&hAKAID=1&hAddrID=2) make me a little nervous, though. I guess it's no riskier than an auction - but they're not in the $500 range, either.

By the way, we are going after the auction deals, but as you can imagine, they get competitive in the final hours. I'm not sure how high she wants to go.

We may very well wind up going to netlux or somewhere similar in the end, won over by the increased performance of their machines vs the 500 mhz Latitudes we're bidding on now.

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Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.