HP Pavilion G6-2235us 15.6" Laptop $329.99 a/$50 rebate @ STAPLES

Quote from QuickStriker : Hmmm alright, I'll have to do some research and digging for these deals... returned item may not be good for I'll just have to focus if I see any good new deals that's at least i3 and under 400. Thanks for the advice.

Just wanted to put my two cents here:

Avoid HP and AMD any combination if you want a laptop for more than 2 years, and not want additional room heaters.

Dell Outlet is, in my opinion, a great place to get what u want in sub400. They are not used, specially the refurbished, non scratch-and-dent ones and work well.

I have personally gone through 2 HP heaters and made my friends (on budget) get great Dell outlet deals that have lasted long enough.

Quote from DesertCoyote : you can easily look around and find an i3 for under 400. Many of the lenovo outlet items are new or look new. They might be a returned item, an open box, etc. I believe that they come with the same warranty as new.

I have a ThinkPad Edge E520 enroute from Lenovo Outlet Doorbusters which is i3 that was $235.21, but those are very few and far in between.

1 year warranty.

Don't the A-series processors have decent GPUs at this price point?

My two cents:

I am currently using a Lenovo I bought from the outlet... it had obviously been dropped and had the screen replaced. No big deal - just broken plastic and a dent in the wrist rest area!

WAIT!!! Lenovo says they won't send any out that have that kind of defect that could affect that area - thanks to it being annoying or scratching you wrist etc!!!

Well, mine does!

And the screen is sooo weak - my screen just cracked one day on the bottom (I have had it only about 4 months) Lenovo won't touch it now...

so I have it hooked up to an external monitor... lovely and portable... (sarcasm)

POINT IS: you just never know what you are going to get... stick w/ HP. Stick w/ New!!

Quote from gfx2 : Just wanted to put my two cents here: Avoid HP and AMD any combination if you want a laptop for more than 2 years, and not want additional room heaters. Dell Outlet is, in my opinion, a great place to get what u want in sub400. They are not used, specially the refurbished, non scratch-and-dent ones and work well. I have personally gone through 2 HP heaters and made my friends (on budget) get great Dell outlet deals that have lasted long enough. Lenovo outlet is good too, if u can find one there.

Quote from yarnim : i would not quote him on anything. ie. the system he uses, and he does not seem to have any first hand experience. I have first hand experience with 10+ refurb lenovo's from lenovo outlet as well as virtually most of the computers out there ranging from entry to very highest end. long story short on them leonvo refurbs: AVOID. unless they are thinkpad line. an A6 is NOT a weak processor. the processing power itself lacks a little compared to an intel, sure, but people are working with processors that are already overkill in most occasions. unless your sister is going to be doing some serious photowork, script writings or an entertainment freak that shes always encoding and transcoding media, this will be more than enough for several years if she takes care of it. plus, 3~4 years is already more than the average life span of any given computer electronics nowdays.

A big +1.
Lenovo = low quality PC builds that take otherwise quality components and put them together with such shoddy workmanship and design that the whole becomes crap. on PAPER they sound great but in reality they are crap. Even the much maligned Acer laptops are better. Lenovo support is also crap as well. You'd probably be better of spending it on a Dell refurb.
Once you own a Lenovo, you'll realize how important design is - you can have the best components in the world, but a poor design renders the whole into junk.

As for AMD A6 - don't discount them. They are quite powerful and will do the job well into the next four to six years. Here is where I disagree with this poster - I would argue that the rate of obsoletion is actually slowing down quite a bit unless users are gamers (and even then, it is slowing). If your sister is like most college students (esp. girls), this laptop will do her fine well into her first job or through grad school.

AMDs are weaker than intel in raw processing power but have a very robust integrated video solution. The end result is that in real world use they are just as strong and may even be better in some areas (such as playing games).

As a point of reference, I own very high end hardware at home but I have not felt underpowered at all using my HP 6710B which runs an old core2duo with 4gb of ram and an SSD with win7.

BTW, slickdeals and google docs run just fine even on a Pentium 4....

Do yourself a favor...

Get a A8 or A10 for a few bucks more.

AMD makes "budget gaming laptops" the A6 just does not cut it. IF YOU DO NOT GAME then go with a i3 (seems there is always a $350 deal somewhere).

SO THUMBS DOWNS... product is just lacking.

how does this compare to a Lenovo g580 intel celeron b830 4gb ram 320gb hard drive 15.6 screen? I bought it for below 190 and brand new but i might just sell it and get one of the HP? My current laptop i bought in 2007 and has held up well it runs a dual core. i'm not a laptop snob just need a laptop to skype, web browse, send mail, and millescaneous administrative things.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Well I heard horrific stories regarding mixing HP and AMD several days back on some other threads so I probably should avoid this if I know what's good for my sister until she can afford her own laptop sometime in future in college...

But this may be a little bit difficult to find then if my standards to buy a laptop over next month to last 3-4 years is:

1. At least Intel i3
2. Has a CD/DVD drive
3. Stable build so it can actually last a good 3-4 years at least
4. Under 400 dollars...

Factoring all this, I might have to decline this deal on this thread unless others can convince me otherwise... but we'll see how the market goes in the next few weeks until I'm really in trouble because I didn't buy a present for her b-day in March..

Quote from QuickStriker : Thanks for the feedback guys. Well I heard horrific stories regarding mixing HP and AMD several days back on some other threads so I probably should avoid this if I know what's good for my sister until she can afford her own laptop sometime in future in college... But this may be a little bit difficult to find then if my standards to buy a laptop over next month to last 3-4 years is: 1. At least Intel i3 2. Has a CD/DVD drive 3. Stable build so it can actually last a good 3-4 years at least 4. Under 400 dollars... Factoring all this, I might have to decline this deal on this thread unless others can convince me otherwise... but we'll see how the market goes in the next few weeks until I'm really in trouble because I didn't buy a present for her b-day in March..

I would say you would probably want to decline this deal more because it's an A6 processor, and less because it's an HP with an AMD processor. An A8 would be sufficient, an A10 would be better than an i3. They'll also usually give you better battery life, although probably not by much.

If you want something to last 3-4 years, get something with an i5 for under 500. It'll last you a little longer, and it will be a little faster. Also, any regular laptop (i.e. not an ultrabook/ultraportable/sleekbook/whatever) will have a dvd drive.

Quote from QuickStriker : So my best bet would look for those Lenovo outlet and find a possible i3 or i5 laptops AND that's also new (she hates used products) for around or under 400 dollars??? Were there deals like that or is that even possible? I never seen such deals!! Thanks for the help.

Just open up the package and remove the refurbished sticker off th bottom of the laptop and call it new.

And yes, Lenovo outlet did and does have new models on sale/clearance.

Quote from sweetjg : how does this compare to a Lenovo g580 intel celeron b830 4gb ram 320gb hard drive 15.6 screen? I bought it for below 190 and brand new but i might just sell it and get one of the HP? My current laptop i bought in 2007 and has held up well it runs a dual core. i'm not a laptop snob just need a laptop to skype, web browse, send mail, and millescaneous administrative things.

Not a fan of Celeron... sorry.

What the hell are you guys doing with a 330 dollar laptop that requires more horsepower than an A6 will provide?

This laptop will easily do all your web browsing, e-mailing, basic photo editing, and even some light gaming. The expectation of a high end gaming machine is unrealistic at this price unless it is a price mistake.


It will play 1080p blueray files, 1080/720 MKVs, and all the flash games out there. My wife has an old AMD X2 laptop that is probably 6 years old and can do most of that already (not the blueray).

The requirements of browsing the web, doing office, e-mail, etc is *NOT* going to change in 4 years. Everything you can do now with it, you *WILL* be able to do in 4 years. Everything my wife could do with her laptop when she bought it 6 years ago, she can still do today. It hasn't changed.


Anyone who says you need an i3 or an i5 because it will be outdated in 3-4 years is a fool.

Quote from WorkingMan : My two cents: POINT IS: you just never know what you are going to get... stick w/ HP. Stick w/ New!!

POINT IS: life is a box of chocolates......stick w/ HP. Stick w/ New!!

Quote from DWad : I would say you would probably want to decline this deal more because it's an A6 processor, and less because it's an HP with an AMD processor. An A8 would be sufficient, an A10 would be better than an i3. They'll also usually give you better battery life, although probably not by much. If you want something to last 3-4 years, get something with an i5 for under 500. It'll last you a little longer, and it will be a little faster. Also, any regular laptop (i.e. not an ultrabook/ultraportable/sleekbook/whatever) will have a dvd drive.

check this out. i got this one for 419.
link [bestbuy.com]