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Value of 360, cheap notebook
Organichu
poopspeesRegistered User, Moderator mod
poopspeesRegistered User, Moderator mod
Hello, all. I have a couple of things that I'd like you to help me with. Situation: my financial situation has recently taken a turn for the worse. Ergo, my expected purchase of a Macbook is unlikely if not entirely out of the question. After some serious deliberation I've realized that I value a computer substantially more than a console. So, I'm looking at selling my Xbox 360 to buy a PC (I guess, since I don't have the $ for a new Apple laptop right now) notebook. So,
1.) How much do you think I could get selling my Xbox 360 (pro, old cpu/heatsink, purchased in July, never had any problems, freezes, rings etc.) with included wireless controller, additional wired controller, and CoD4, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed- all played but in great condition, no scratches, w/ original case and manual? I've searched around Ebay for a while but it seems like they're selling console only or console with a bunch of older games. I've got the console and three new games so I'm wondering if any of you could tell me what someone like you would pay.
2.) Where should I look/what should I expect to pay for a new laptop? My old laptop was free from my school, 1.7 ghz processor, 768 MBs RAM, 5400 RPM harddrive. I'd be fine with similar stats, I guess, though I'd definitely want either at 2 GB of RAM and I'd like it to include a DVD burner. I remember when I bought my last computer (built myself about 6-7 years ago) everyone I knew who knew anything about computers hated Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc.- there was equal disdain for all of them and people said the only system worth buying was a custom built one. I said sure then and built one. However, now I need a laptop and I'm completely out of the loop about companies that don't suck.
So, again, my expectations: 2 GB of RAM and that's about all I know. HDD isn't an issue for me. I do have a lot of media but buying a 500gb external isn't really a big deal, and I don't do enough compiling or editing to care too much about processor speed. I don't plan to play games and all I really 'want' is the ability to multitask. I want to be able to watch a DVD, browse the web, photo edit etc. at the same time. So I guess that I'm cool with an average consumer laptop with a bunch of RAM for multitasking. How much should I be paying? It'd be awesome if I could pay less than $700.
I realize the first half of my question is kind of an annoying one but this is the only board I frequent that has a large base of techy, game-loving people who may be able to answer the query accurately.
Also, and if this is tacky tell me to fuck right off and I will, would anyone be interested in buying my 360? If I get a few answers in the same price range and it strikes me as fair I'd probably be willing to chip some off for a PA-er.
Thanks.
1.) How much do you think I could get selling my Xbox 360 (pro, old cpu/heatsink, purchased in July, never had any problems, freezes, rings etc.) with included wireless controller, additional wired controller, and CoD4, Mass Effect, and Assassin's Creed- all played but in great condition, no scratches, w/ original case and manual? I've searched around Ebay for a while but it seems like they're selling console only or console with a bunch of older games. I've got the console and three new games so I'm wondering if any of you could tell me what someone like you would pay.
2.) Where should I look/what should I expect to pay for a new laptop? My old laptop was free from my school, 1.7 ghz processor, 768 MBs RAM, 5400 RPM harddrive. I'd be fine with similar stats, I guess, though I'd definitely want either at 2 GB of RAM and I'd like it to include a DVD burner. I remember when I bought my last computer (built myself about 6-7 years ago) everyone I knew who knew anything about computers hated Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc.- there was equal disdain for all of them and people said the only system worth buying was a custom built one. I said sure then and built one. However, now I need a laptop and I'm completely out of the loop about companies that don't suck.
So, again, my expectations: 2 GB of RAM and that's about all I know. HDD isn't an issue for me. I do have a lot of media but buying a 500gb external isn't really a big deal, and I don't do enough compiling or editing to care too much about processor speed. I don't plan to play games and all I really 'want' is the ability to multitask. I want to be able to watch a DVD, browse the web, photo edit etc. at the same time. So I guess that I'm cool with an average consumer laptop with a bunch of RAM for multitasking. How much should I be paying? It'd be awesome if I could pay less than $700.
I realize the first half of my question is kind of an annoying one but this is the only board I frequent that has a large base of techy, game-loving people who may be able to answer the query accurately.
Also, and if this is tacky tell me to fuck right off and I will, would anyone be interested in buying my 360? If I get a few answers in the same price range and it strikes me as fair I'd probably be willing to chip some off for a PA-er.
Thanks.
Organichu on
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Posts
Right..
1. No idea, ebay will be your best guide here. Look there for completed auctions of the same kit and the games separately. Using that method you should get a pretty good idea of how much you'll get for it.
2. If you're in the UK ebuyer have very nice deals on laptops, for example this for £290. (however, upgrade the ram which is an additional £30-50 for 2GB)
So, if you for example went for the above laptop then that'd be in the range of £320-350.
---
I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
I'm not in the UK but thanks for the information. That looks like a pretty decent laptop and at ~$701 before tax seems pretty good. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.
Anyone else have some ideas?
So far I saw these models that looked good:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115411
An Acer with everything I want plus an unasked for gfx card (8400). At $750 it's a bit more than I want to spend but if I get enough for my console it's something I'd consider. I'd prefer it to be a bit slimmer and minus the gfx card for 50-75 less. Looking now.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834101053
Smaller (yay!) Gateway for $499. After 75-100 bucks for 2GB of RAM I'm looking at about $575-600 which is great. How is Gateway?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115414
Comes with 1 GB so I could just upgrade to 1.5 GBs for 35-50 bucks.
Any other thoughts? Before tax/shipping I'm looking at a nice Acer for $750, a Gateway that with a RAM upgrade would be by far the best deal at $575-600, or a slimmer Acer that could be had for about $635-640 after upgrade.
So is the difference in support between Gateway and Acer worth $35-65?
http://www.dell.com/outlet/
You can even get laptops that were built and cancelled so they've never been opened. You also get the full warranty IIRC and can add the completecare for accidental coverage.
Thanks much, I'll check that out.
ElJeffe: thanks for the estimate. I don't plan to entirely fund the laptop with the 360. I am expecting (and willing) to throw in another 2-3 hundred bucks.
I checked out the Dell outlet and it had some great deals, but I just now found the Vostro and it definitely seems to be the best deal thus far.
If you're willing to go up around $700, you could try configuring a ~$1000 lappy at HP and then using "NB3075" 30% off HP Pavilion Notebook PCs $999 and up, exp 12/8.
Slickdeals turned these up:
Currently at Circuit City
Toshiba Satellite L45S7423 $530
15.4" WXGA (1280x800)
Pentium Dual Core T2310 1.46GHz, 533MHz FSB, 2MB L2
1GB PC2-5300 RAM, max 2GB
120GB 5400rpm HDD
DVD+/-RW
3x USB 2.0
802.11 b/g
Intel GMA X3100, up to 251MB shared
Modem, 10/100 Ethernet
Vista Home Premium
10.6" x 14.0" x 1.4", 6.2 lbs.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Toshiba-Satellite-15-4-rdquo-Widescreen-Laptop-L45S7423/sem/rpsm/oid/191736/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do
Currently at Office Depot
Compaq Presario F730US $450 after $180 in mail in rebates
15.4" WXGA
Athlon 64 X2 TK-55 1.8GHz, 1600MHz FSB, 512KB L2
1GB DDR2 RAM, 2GB max
120GB 5400 HDD
DVD+/-RW, DL support for DVD+R, w/Lightscribe
802.11 b/g
3x USB 2.0
GeForce Go 6100, up to 288MB shared
1x S-video out
modem, 10/100 Ethernet
Vista Home Premium
10.1" x 14.0" x 1.6", 6.6 lbs
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=598725
Sony VAIO VGN-NR160E/T $600 after $150 mail in rebates
15.4" WXGA
Core 2 Duo T5250, 1.5 GHz, 667MHz FSB, 2MB L2
1GB PC2-5300 RAM, 4GB max
160GB 5400rpm HDD
DVD+/-RW DL
Intel 3945ABG 802.11 a/b/g
4x USB 2.0
1x Firewire
1x ExpressCard/34
Media card reader - MS, SD
Intel GMA X3100, up to 251MB shared
modem, 10/100 Ethernet
Vista Home Premium
10.6" x 14.2" x 1.5", 6.2 lbs
http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=477165
Bubba: awesome info! Thanks. By this time I've sort of decided on a 14.1" laptop. I was cool with my 15.4", but in retrospect I never really found myself saying 'man, thank God this has so much screen real estate!" but I constantly found myself thinking it was a but clunky.
The first piece of info you gave (the HP coupon was AWESOME! Thankfully HP currently has a promotion for a free upgrade to GB of RAM. Ergo, I'd be looking at):
Operating system Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor T7500 (2.20 GHz, 4 MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
Display 14.1" WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1280 x 800)
Memory FREE Upgrade to 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 1GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)!!
Graphics Card 64MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Personalization HP Imprint Finish (Radiance) + Webcam + Microphone
Networking Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection
Hard Drive 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Primary CD/DVD Drive SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
TV & Entertainment Experience No TV Tuner w/remote contro
Primary Battery 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Productivity Software Microsoft(R) Works 8.0
For $723 after coupon. With the brightview screen, built in webcam and the substantially better processor (the Vostro only had a 1.4 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache cpu) that is normally $150, this Pavillion does look like the best deal so far.
I may end up just springing for this HP tonight or tomorrow since I'm not sure how long the RAM upgrade lasts. Would anyone have some final thoughts?
A few notes based off my experiences with OEM licenses and Vista; if you keep the Home Premium install, be patient for the first few weeks of indexing and learning your habits. It will start somewhat slow. Also, absolutely remove all the crapware as soon as possible, especially antivirus, which will likely tank performance. Hitting Defender (win key + "defender") > Tools > Software Explore > Show All Users; and disabling any non-core startup programs (especially stuff like Acrobat and Quicktime) will vastly increase your boot times.
If you need to run XP Pro for any reason, try to get Vista Business OEM if you have access to an XP Pro disk and key- even one that's in use. Business OEM provides downgrade rights, so you can get a re-used XP Pro disk activated by calling it in.
It sounds like that's a model that has the cool media keys below the screen; you can turn the sounds off in the BIOS and avoid lots of irritating beeps.
Overall, that looks like a slick machine.
Compaq and HP are the same and Acer is garbage.
Asus and Lenovo make the best laptops.
A couple of years back, Acer was among the top 3 or 4 brands according to (I believe) Consumer Reports. That may have changed, but my wife's Acer has been nothing but awesome. I might have been confusing Compaq with someone else, though I know that HPs are supposed to be a good brand.
Really cheap though, for something that'll do music, movies, internet, word processing etc perfectly well. Which is all most people want or need anyway.
But I'd still save up and get a Mac. OS X is just nicer to use and it'll last longer without clogging up. Vista is irritating. And still manages to run slowly on a Core 2 Duo (what's it doing in the background? subatomic particle modeling?)...
No question, Macbook was my very first choice, it's something I've been looking forward to for months. However, as I said my financial situation recently nosedived and so I can no longer spring for $1,200 on a laptop.