My friend, who is fairly new to computers, wants to go to Best Buy and pick up a laptop under $400 before tax. He has an AT&T 3G wireless connection with a 5 GB cap. He mostly checks out ebay and watches youtube and is going to set up iTunes. He doesn't need MS Office. He asked me for my suggestion and I said this one:

Dell - 15.6" Inspiron Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Black
Model: I15N-2731BK
SKU: 4882609
# Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# Technical details: 2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i3 processor; 15.6" display; 4GB memory; 500GB hard drive
# Special features: Bluetooth; HDMI output
Customer Reviews: 4.8 of 5 4.8 of 5 (8 reviews)

[www.bestbuy.com]

Here is the link for all their sub-$400 laptops, but it ,right not work right:

[www.bestbuy.com]||24333030202d20243339392e3939&add_to_pkg=false&pagetype=listing

Among the offerings, these are the processors that seem to be available:

Intel® Pentium® processor
Intel® Core™ i3 processor
2nd Gen Intel® Core™ i3
AMD A-Series
AMD A4-Series
AMD A6-Series
AMD E-Series
AMD Athlon

These are the models that are sometimes available:

HP Pavillion
Compaq
Dell Inspiron
Toshiba Satellite
Lenova G570
Lenova IdeaPad
Gateway
Asus
Acer

I also need something similar in a couple of months, but will probably order it online.

In y'all's opinions, which processors and brands are best and which are dogs?

Should be fine. It isn't a powerhouse, but decent specs.

That's an excellent choice. He'll enjoy it.

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Does he plan to carry it around at all? If he does, then I'd suggest looking at the 14inch models.

the 15inchers are a bit unwieldy at times.

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Skill without imagination is craftsmanship. Imagination without skill is Modern Art.

Core i3 at a minimum so that Dell is fine. The thing in common with most/all of these low end machines is the display. Usually a low res 1366x768 TN panel which, frankly, is good enough for casual use.

He won't carry it much and if he does, it will probably stay in his pickup.

Good grief. I just called him and he had already gone and picked this one up:

$379.99
HP - 15.6" Pavilion Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Pewter
Model: g6-1d48dx
SKU: 5015961
# Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# Technical details: AMD A6-Series processor; 15.6" display; 4GB memory; 500GB hard drive
# Special features: HDMI output
Customer Reviews: 4.1 of 5 4.1 of 5 (47 reviews)

He said he almost got the Dell. I let him know he got a lesser machine and why did he ask my opinion in the first place and why didn't he wait until I reported back from you guys. He's happy though. He's back online after 4 days without facebook. He got 2 months of free Norton (whoopee). I guess he forgot about the time I told him with his last computer not to buy Norton, but he did anyway. I told him again, but I bet he buys it again. I bet anything he sets his music up with Windows Media Player instead of iTunes like I told him. I'm pretty much through with helping him with his computers.

No good deed goes unpunished…

Wait 'til he asks you why it is so S L O W . . . and it will slow down in about 10 days. Have Fun.

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Bill
Flagler Beach, FL 32136

Carpe Vino!

Fermentation may have been a greater discovery than fire.
— David Rains Wallace

Well, I guess it's OK. If he had bought my suggestion, everything that went wrong would be my fault. Now when something goes wrong, I can gloat.