Here's my situation:
- My MacBook Air died, Apple replaced three major sets of components and it still wasn't working.
- Its backup, a slim/light Acer, was terminally failing due to overheating.
I figured I should just buy a new, very basic aptop until Apple brings (blings ;)) out an improved MBA.
- The replacement is a 15.4" compaq and I'm not at all impressed.
If I can offload the compaq (only a few weeks old) I'd try to find a light and good interim replacement.
Right now my options are:
a) Refurb Apple MacBook AUD$1049
C2D 2GHz, 13" 1Gb 80G HD (http://store.apple.com/133-622/WebObjects/australiastore.woa/wa/RSLID?fnode=home/specialdeals/mac&nplm=FB061X/A)(or slightly more for bigger & better RAM/storage)
b) HP dv2632tx AUD$900 (less $50 cashback applied from previous Plasma sale)
C2D T5250 1.5GHz, 14.4" 1Gb 160G HD (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/manualCategory?product=3571690&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us)(quite nice to use for a PC laptop)
c) (most likely) neither, keep the clunky Compaq, jack the RAM to 2Gb and be patient - maybe fix Vista with the SP1 update.
In USD$ from USA shops (& maybe including online, which could ship to a hotel), what would you recommend as a reliable, low-fuss replacement which is relatively portable and nice to use?
I suppose I should just (c) wait it out for the new MBA (or better still the MB Al for 2/3 the price)...
Lack
May 23, 08, 2:17 am
For less then 1k$ you can get a really nice refurbished Dell D430 (12"), D630 (14,1") or an Lenovo/IBM X series.
djsflynn
May 23, 08, 2:23 am
Ouch! Bad news on the MacBook Air, BiziBB, especially after all those repairs! I'm still in two minds about it, but won't make a move until they release the first full update (not just a refresh to the 45nm CPU).
I quite like the latest HPs, and the dv2600 series you mention, that's the "Verve" unit, right? I've been quite impressed with this as a unit and also for sheer value for money.
But, if your a happy Mac user (albeit not so happy with the Air!) then I'd suggest sticking with the MacBook, going by way of the refurb unit. As a rule Macs hold their resale value higher than Windows systems, too. Not sure how much RAM that particular refurb model has but 2GB would be good regardless... and don't forget to buy it 30 days before your next trip and take it through the airport for your TRS refund, makes it even cheaper.
As it happens I've just today helped a friend price some MacBooks both here in AU (new and refurb) as well as from the US, which she could buy there and have delivered to her hotel.
Here's what I drew up for her (note that we're in the position to get a 10% discount on the MacBooks due to being in the industry, so this was factored in, along with state sales tax in the US which I averaged to 8%)
Refurbished 2.4GHz MacBook
(I'd imagine this is last season's 65nm Merom model, although it could be a near-new Penryn, no way to really know before you buy); 2GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive (heaps), burns DVDs
$1440, no discount, but 10% GST rebate if you take it overseas brings price down to $1300
New 2.1GHz White
Current entry-level 45nm model, 1GB of RAM (can easily and cheaply be upgraded with third-party memory), 120GB hard drive (plenty), plays DVDs but does not burn them
Local price is $1500, take off 10% "mate's rates" discount= $1350, take it overseas and you get GST rebate of 10% = now down to $1215
US price is US$1100, sales tax is 8% so that's US$1190, which at current rates is around A$1250 (alas, no sales tax rebate in the US)
New 2.4GHz White
Current mid-range 45nm model, 2GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive (heaps), burns DVDs
Local price is $1800, take off 10% "mate's rates" discount= $1620, take it overseas and you get GST rebate of 10% = now down to $1460
US price is US$1300, sales tax is 8% so that's US$1400, which at current rates is around A$1470 (as you can see, that's same as your best 'double-discount' locally)
New 2.4GHz Black
Current top-end 45nm model, 2GB of RAM, 250GB hard drive (insane), burns DVDs and looks way cooler than the white ones
Local price is $2100, take off 10% "mate's rates" discount= $1890, take it overseas and you get GST rebate of 10% = now down to $1700
US price is US$1500, sales tax is 8% so that's US$1620, which at current rates is around A$1700 (once again, same as your best 'double-discount' locally)
US refurbished 2.4GHz MacBook White
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nplm=FB403LL/A
Not sure if it'd be Merom or Penryn; 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, burns DVDs
US$1100, sales tax is 8% so that's US$1190, which at current rates is around A$1250 (same as new entry-level white from US)
US refurbished 2.4GHz MacBook Black
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nplm=FB404LL/A
Merom or Penryn? 2GB RAM, 250GB hard drive, burns DVDs
US$1300, sales tax is 8% so that's US$1400, which at current rates is around A$1470 (same as new mid-range white from US)
Hope that helps a little!
cordelli
May 23, 08, 9:57 am
Dell off lease sales.
www.dfsdirectsales.com
They take the off lease stuff, refruib them and sell them usually for much less then the dell refruib site sells stuff. I don't get why they are not the same, but you can find some very good deals based on what they have at the time.
Another good thing, everything is ready to ship and goes out the next day.
Granted, they may not have what you are looking for exactly on the day you are looking for it (currently their 12 inch laptops are all dell 400's in the $350 to $400 range), but their stock changes quite frequently.
ScottC
May 23, 08, 1:47 pm
Dell off lease sales.
www.dfsdirectsales.com
They take the off lease stuff, refruib them and sell them usually for much less then the dell refruib site sells stuff. I don't get why they are not the same, but you can find some very good deals based on what they have at the time.
Another good thing, everything is ready to ship and goes out the next day.
Granted, they may not have what you are looking for exactly on the day you are looking for it (currently their 12 inch laptops are all dell 400's in the $350 to $400 range), but their stock changes quite frequently.
You keep posting that link, but are their deals really all that good?
Seriously, $500 for a 30Gb 256Mb 2.7GHz Inspiron junker is highway robbery.
And all those D400's have limited memory, small HDD's and most don't even come with a DVD drive or wireless lan.
I've been looking at their deals ever since you first posted about it, but I really don't see anything worth buying.
You'd be much better off at the "real" Dell outlet where you can find a nice Inspiron with 1Gb of ram, 80Gb and a DVD drive for around $399. Plus they almost all come with Wi-Fi, unlike the stuff at the DFS store.
And finally; Dell outlet machines come with the same warranty as new machines (up to 3 years depending on the model), and the DFL machines only get 100 days.
willyroo
May 23, 08, 4:44 pm
Since you're in Australia - don't buy anything in the US unless you have a cast-iron worldwide guarantee.
Add RAM to your current Compaq, (option (c)), and wait for MBA II.
cordelli
May 23, 08, 7:20 pm
The value of the deals depends on what they have in stock. I got an Inspiron 410 with a 80 GB drive, DVD, and a GB of memory and wireless for a just over $400. We've also purchased a few for people at work (we have a computer scholarship program when there is funding for it) and the deals have been there.
It's totally dependant on what people return when the lease is up, I don't get that concept at all, I'm sure the leases have a $1 buyout on them, not sure why anybody would return instead of just buying. I use to work for a computer leasing company and it was the same thing, we would have warehouses full of stuff returned because companies didn't want to make that final $1 payment for whatever accounting reason (it becomes an asset and all that)
When I got it they had a dozen of them at the regular dell site, exact same machine, without the DVD and half the memory, was $650.
I think the deals on the really small machines are probably drying up (the dell site has no latitudes at all in their regular outlet, and the lease site only has a batch of 400's from someplace) right now, but yes, there are deals, but they aren't there every day.
Lack
May 24, 08, 2:38 am
I think the deals on the really small machines are probably drying up (the dell site has no latitudes at all in their regular outlet, and the lease site only has a batch of 400's from someplace) right now, but yes, there are deals, but they aren't there every day.
At the moment Dell has 21 D420 in stock (starting at 659 USD) and 129 D430 (starting at 729 USD) - those are the really small machines.
The supply on D400/D410 is obviously low because those are really old models that Dell doesn't sell anymore.