Did anyone buy the $179 Lenovo at Best Buy on BF?

[AllesonWonderland]

I got that laptop for the kids for Christmas, but now I'm starting to worry that instead of being a good budget find, it might be too low-end to be useful. Anyone using it already? Mine's in the box til Christmas morning.

For those wondering the specs are: 15.6" LED HD Display / AMD E-300 1.3GHz Processor / 250GB HD / 2GB DDR3 RAM / Radeon HD 6310 Graphics / Win7 Home Premium-64bit

TIA!

 

[Karenj2]

I don't know about that specific laptop, but I only buy IBM/Lenovo laptops - I think they're built much better than the other ones. (And this is even after getting laid off from IBM.)

I think it depends on what the kids will be doing with it. Hopefully someone else will chime in for you!

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

I got that laptop for the kids for Christmas, but now I'm starting to worry that instead of being a good budget find, it might be too low-end to be useful. Anyone using it already? Mine's in the box til Christmas morning.

For those wondering the specs are: 15.6" LED HD Display / AMD E-300 1.3GHz Processor / 250GB HD / 2GB DDR3 RAM / Radeon HD 6310 Graphics / Win7 Home Premium-64bit

TIA!

It has low RAM and only ONE processor so it will probably be slow. But if it is for tweens/teens or a kid it should be ok. I wouldn't give that to an adult who had been asking for a laptop.

 

[kafitty]

i agree with the PP - if this is going to be used mainly as an internet/word processing machine for a younger person, it should be fine, but don't expect it to run games very well.

i would also invest in an external hard drive if the user plans on storing lots of pictures/music, as they can clog up a machine's memory fast with that stuff.

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Thanks for the insight. The kids are 10 and 14. So, the 14yo will use it mainly for facebook and homework. DS 10 does like to play an online game (roblox), hopefully it's not too taxing. I am going to upgrade the memory to 4gb.

 

[Lewisc]

Low RAM. Probably not an issue if you just want to surf the web. Not a good computer for editing video, serious gaming not sure how it will even work for viewing movies.

BB is currently selling (not even on sale) Lenovo model 1450ABU. $300
4G RAM. 320G hard drive. Faster processor (1.65 GHz) HDMI port. Media card reader 2 speakers.

The unit you bought was designed just for BF. It only has one memory slot. It only has one working speaker (not stereo).

Some info http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Lenovo-...o-notebooks-without-left-speakers/td-p/602731

I hoped you didn't camp out. You bought a computer worth $180 for
$179.99

edited to add it only has 2 USB ports.

Will this be an "extra" computer? Can you afford to spend more money? Consider returning the computer.

You want to upgrade the machine to 4G of RAM. You'll need to buy 4G and replace the current 2G with 4G.

 

[AllesonWonderland]

I hoped you didn't camp out. You bought a computer worth $180 for
$179.99

I didn't camp out, well, just in front of my computer to order online. I've seen the issues on the Lenovo boards...probably what's adding to my worry. Though, the first reviews for it on Best Buy's site (before the page disappeared) were pretty favorable. People not expecting a lot, but were happy with what it was for the price.

Thanks for your comments!

 

[AllesonWonderland]

edited to add it only has 2 USB ports.

Will this be an "extra" computer? Can you afford to spend more money? Consider returning the computer.

You want to upgrade the machine to 4G of RAM. You'll need to buy 4G and replace the current 2G with 4G.

I'm on the lookout now for 4G of RAM to upgrade.

I have a new desktop. The kids have older desktops, so they use mine more because mine is faster. No laptops at all at our house. So, if this allows DD14 to do her homework in her room and frees up my computer, mission accomplished! LOL

I believe Best Buy extended their return policy for the holidays, and unopened units of this model are getting scooped up on ebay for $280-$360 (One even went for $405), so I guess I always have that to fall back on.

 

[dodukes]

I think for what you mentioned, it should be a fine computer for the kids. Most people think they want more high end stuff on their laptops but lets be realistic, most people waste money on that stuff because hte majority of users are doing basic tasks with their laptops, surfing the internet and maybe some word processing.

I think it will be fine for them. I got one for my coworker for her 17yo to use. i can give you more first hand after xmas as well lol

 

[AllesonWonderland]

Thanks dodukes! I did go ahead and set it up yesterday. Everything ran fine, watched a few videos on youtube, played a little bit of DD's favorite DVD and tried out the game that DS would spend most of his time playing. No lags or issues.

Hopefully they will be pleased with what this is, a basic laptop that they can use when they want instead of waiting for me to get off the Dis.

 

[luvmy3]

I don't know about that specific laptop, but I only buy IBM/Lenovo laptops - I think they're built much better than the other ones. (And this is even after getting laid off from IBM.)

I think it depends on what the kids will be doing with it. Hopefully someone else will chime in for you!

IBM no longer makes computers.