Affordable entry laptop...

steveinaz
steveinaz Posts: 19,538
edited August 2010 in The Clubhouse
I picked up an ASUS K50IJ-BBZ5 from best buy for $549. It features:

15.6" screen
4GB Mem
320G HDD
Pentium dual core processor, 2.3GHz
Camera/Mic built in
Windows 7 premium

Looks like a good buy for the money. Just passing this on for anyone looking at a budget laptop...
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Post edited by steveinaz on
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  • Jstas
    Jstas Posts: 14,808
    edited August 2010
    Sweet! That's pretty close to the Lenovo I picked up for maybe $50 less a few months ago. You have more memory than me. Is that a widescreen monitor?
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  • Amherst
    Amherst Posts: 695
    edited August 2010
    My son works for BB and he currently sports one of those Asus models.
    Since he does the repairs on these things on a daily basis, he knows which are junk and which are not.
    He likes the Asus lineup so I'm thinking you picked a good one.
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  • LessisNevermore
    LessisNevermore Posts: 1,519
    edited August 2010
    Zero wrote: »
    Good choice. Asus builds a very solid machine. The only other two I'd consider at that price point would be a Toshiba A505 series, or an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad. All three of em are gunna be good. Enjoy the new toy!

    I got an A505 about 6 months ago, just replaced the hard drive last week. Other than that little issue, I like it quite a lot. It came with the 12-cell battery, which gives you very nearly 7 hours.:eek:

    Can't say I'm impressed with Toshiba's service, but I do like the laptop.
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  • SivaNevets
    SivaNevets Posts: 303
    edited August 2010
    asus makes solid laptop. cpu would be nice if they r core 2 duo
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited August 2010
    Jstas wrote: »
    Sweet! That's pretty close to the Lenovo I picked up for maybe $50 less a few months ago. You have more memory than me. Is that a widescreen monitor?

    Yes, widescreen.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited August 2010
    It was contest between the Toshiba L655D and the Asus K50, both are top in reliablility, so i went on "feel" and looks. The Tosh was $529. Also, being that my last 4 computer builds were all based on Asus MB's, I was a bit biased.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • LessisNevermore
    LessisNevermore Posts: 1,519
    edited August 2010
    Zero wrote: »
    I believe Toshiba uses Hitachi HDD's now. Why? I Don't know. Their own HDD's are pretty decent. I recall one of the HDD's in my laptops dying, but thats only because I got real pissed off and... erm.. yeahhh. haha

    Yep, Toshiba's service is balls. Then again, so is everyone's. The only exception to that rule is Apple - and you PAY for that service. Big time.

    Yep, I have a dead 500GB Hitachi drive here.:( I replaced it with a 640GB WD for less than $100, and avoided the headaches of sending it to Toshiba.
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited August 2010
    Windows 7 is a bit of a pain, but I hate change--so don't pay too much attention to my complaining. I'm getting the hang of it, slowly.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited August 2010
    I know in my warehouse we had Toshiba Satellites and IBM Thinkpads that outlasted EVERYTHING else (HP, Sony, Compaq). Some of those laptops worked for 6+ years without a problem. Most were still fully functional when I finally turned them in as obsolete a few years ago.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • steveinaz
    steveinaz Posts: 19,538
    edited August 2010
    The CPU is a Pentium T4500 2.3GHz.
    Source: Bluesound Node 2i - Preamp/DAC: Benchmark DAC2 DX - Amp: Parasound Halo A21 - Speakers: MartinLogan Motion 60XTi - Shop Rig: Yamaha A-S501 Integrated - Shop Spkrs: Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2
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  • Norm Apter
    Norm Apter Posts: 1,036
    edited August 2010
    After purchasing 3 Toshibas in a row between my wife and me, we picked up a Lenovo Thinkpad for her last month and couldn't be happier. Very simple design but classy and solid. Its been a great performer so far.

    When I was in Taipei from 2003 to 2006, there was fierce competition between Asus and Acer, as both are Taiwanese brands. Acer put a lot more into marketing and if you went into the average Taiwanese or multinational office you were much more likely to see Acer. However, when I spoke with my Taiwanese friends who really knew something about the actual performance of computers, all of them held that Asus produced a much better machine. You should be very pleased with it.

    I'm still using a Toshiba but next time I'll most likely go with Lenovo, after having used my wife's laptop a bit here and there.
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  • renowilliams
    renowilliams Posts: 920
    edited August 2010
    Norm Apter wrote: »
    After purchasing 3 Toshibas in a row between my wife and me, we picked up a Lenovo Thinkpad for her last month and couldn't be happier. Very simple design but classy and solid. Its been a great performer so far.

    When I was in Taipei from 2003 to 2006, there was fierce competition between Asus and Acer, as both are Taiwanese brands. Acer put a lot more into marketing and if you went into the average Taiwanese or multinational office you were much more likely to see Acer. However, when I spoke with my Taiwanese friends who really knew something about the actual performance of computers, all of them held that Asus produced a much better machine. You should be very pleased with it.

    I'm still using a Toshiba but next time I'll most likely go with Lenovo, after having used my wife's laptop a bit here and there.

    +1 on the Lenovo/Thinkpad laptops. I have owned several of these and they are very durable. I loaded Windows 7 on an 8 year old Thinkpad with two gigs of memory and gave it to someone who needed one and is still going. I have an R-500 with a t-9600 duel core and it runs great. I highly recommend Lenovo/Thinkpads. Another great feature,is that you can pour a cup of water on the keypad and it still runs, no problem.
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  • Serendipity
    Serendipity Posts: 6,975
    edited August 2010
    Asus > Acer. IMO.
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  • John30_30
    John30_30 Posts: 1,024
    edited August 2010
    Serendipity wrote: »
    Asus > Acer. IMO.

    They both build a very pretty car-branded boutique laptop, which Acer did first. Ferrari vs. Lambo.

    acerferrari4000.jpg

    Acer has gobbled up Gateway/eMachines. Asus still build the best motherboards overall, imo. Asus pretty much started the netbook craze. Good, healthy competition.
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