What do you think of this laptop I bought?

[subzero23]

It'll not be used for high end gaming, but mostly for 2D applications, music, DVDs and arcade/snes/genesis/nes emulation among others so with that in mind, please tell me what you think of it or even rate each component.
 
It's the enhanced performance Inspiron 1000 from Dell
-Mobile Intel

[mcdo15]

it's hard to be nice but your got jacked!!

go to fatwallet.com and shop smart

[clanggedin]

It's good except it's a Celeron. If it was a P4 or Athlon you'd be OK.

[paigeoliver]

"Value" laptops tend to be junky. I personally buy mine used so I can afford to buy the real ones with the real processors.

I use a p3 - 800 laptop myself. Paid $500for it a year or so ago.

[subzero23]

Sorry I don't think I could bring myself to buy used....touching something someone else's dirty hands have touched would drive me nuts.

I don't see how I got jacked though....seems like a pretty nice puter for mame and stuff

[Tailgunner]

Personally I've never been able to bring myself to buy a non-upgradable computer. For that matter, I've only bought two complete computers in the last 10 years, and one of those was a $10 486-100 garage sale system.

[Matt, GoC]

I only paid $250 for my 700MHz laptop!

[Gunstar Hero]

I paid $0 for my 500mhz laptop...

...cause it sucks!!

But hey, it works!

[NIVO]

subzero, it sounds decent, and agreed you may have been able to find a better price. But heck if your happy with your decision, then good goin. I still gotta get me one 

[paigeoliver]

I paid $0 for my 500mhz laptop...

...cause it sucks!!

But hey, it works!

There is no limit to the amount of 500 mhz laptops I will buy at that price.

[subzero23]

Well I honestly thought this was a waaaaay cheap laptop for the goods, where exactly could I get it cheaper?
People keep linking me to computer search sites and priceguides and they just really are so vague...if anyone has any specific examples I'd be willing to explore them.

[zaphod]

Anandtech has a nice deals forum.
http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.aspx?catid=40

Here's a BB link, too: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1093469196696&skuId=6855888&type=product&cmp=++

Dell runs crazy deals on occasion to clear inventories.  They had a 50% sale on laptops a couple weeks back. 

No matter how good a deal you find, you'll always find a better deal for a better machine a week after you buy.   


What is the free external wireless card you listed?  Does the notebook not have built-in wireless?

[pointdablame]

you overpaid quite a bit actually.  If you're happy, thats all that matters, but you DID overpay.

$1000 could have gotten you a Centrino, which is faster.  Don't let the Celeron clock speed fool you, the 1.5 Pentium M would have been a much better CPU, and your battery life would have been MUCH better.

That said, my dad has a 2.6 Celeron Inspiron 1150, and its a decent enough laptop.  However, he only paid $700 for his, with better options.

[HaRuMaN]

A good place to start is pricewatch.com

It will let you compare prices between vendors on all sorts of computers/laptops/parts/etc.