$197 Windows 7 PC: Deal or not? |
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$197 Windows 7 PC: Deal or not?
Here's one doorbuster that's likely to get more than a few people out of bed early in the morning. But should it?
Best Buy is offering a new HP laptop with a 15-inch screen, 2GB of RAM and a 150GB hard drive for $197. Unlike that Radio Shack "deal" we warned you about, it comes not with Windows Vista Home Basic but with 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium.
But here's the catch, and probably the reason it's on sale: The processor is an Intel Celeron, which has a reputation for less-than-stellar performance compared with other Intel chips.
One self-described computer tech, commenting on the Best Buy site, goes so far as to specifically steer people away from the machine, even at that low price, saying "you can't go cheap cheap and be happy" when it comes to a laptop. The general consensus among other users on the site is that it's not a bad PC.
So here's an opportunity for the wise computer geeks out there to give some advice to people thinking about getting up at the crack of dawn for this one. If you were in the market for a laptop -- for email and Web browsing, maybe the occasional casual game or other simple tasks -- would you consider buying this one?
About Todd Bishop
Todd Bishop is co-founder and managing editor of TechFlash. He has covered Microsoft and the technology industry for more than five years, most recently as a daily newspaper reporter and blogger based in Seattle.
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