Ask Engadget: Best non-netbook laptop for around $400?

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget question is coming to us from Todd, who's looking to snap up a solid cheap laptop (for his father-in-law, no less!) before that fateful Friday in December. Have a look below and hand out some Christmas cheer, won't you?

"My father-in-law is heading back to school in the spring and wants a laptop for Christmas. The only catch is their budget is around $400 and he does not want a netbook. He's not very "tech savvy" at all and doesn't need a hoss of a machine (not that $400 could get you one). We would like to get it for him as soon as possible and would love some input. Thanks for any help and Happy Holidays!"

We've already penned our laptop gift guide for 2009, but we understand the desire to get more input for this particular scenario. It's tough to find a sub-$400 machine that's not a netbook (and not a total heap), but we're confident that one or two gems are out there. Spill it if you know it, cool?

[yulebellow Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:29PM]

Oh Oh! Acer Aspire 1410!

[yulebellow Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:06AM]

Sorry for lack of info,
Review: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/acer-aspire-1410.aspx
Specs+Features @ my favorite place to buy: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/657142-REG/Acer_LX_SA902_006_Aspire_AS1410_2497_Notebook_Computer.html

[aeth Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:11AM]

@yulebellow
+1

[ramifications Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:41AM]

@yulebellow

How about the Acer Aspire 4810T or its replacement

Intel 1.4Ghz CULV processor, win 7, 320 gb HD, 4 gb ram, dvd/cd writer, intel 4800MHD graphics, 14" LED screen, and 8 hour batt life. Its thin and light too.

Great computer. Even runs youtube HD fine (usually).
Bought it in October at 550. I'm sure it or its replacement is much cheaper now.

[Luke Posted Dec 18th 2009 9:21AM]

@yulebellow

About to purchase an Eee PC 1201n...Is the Aspire 1410 better/worse?

[atwood7fan Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:23PM]

@Luke
I have the 1410, and it is very nice; keyboard is basically fullsize and its definitely faster than an atom, even though this CULV is a single core. This is the version I have, which sports the core 2 solo and not the celeron that was originally posted: http://www.buy.com/prod/acer-aspire-1410-8414-notebook-intel-core-2-solo-su3500-1-40-ghz-11-60/q/loc/101/211827804.html

[hooksocks Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:55PM]

@ramifications As far as I can tell there is no such thing as an Intel 4800MHD graphics chipset. only 4500.

[MarkPharaoh Posted Dec 19th 2009 9:20PM]

@yulebellow

Vouch this recommendation, I have a 1410 to supplement my 1530 Dell XPS and it's great for lugging to and from class, library, and coffee shop.

[Heysoos Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:31PM]

derrrr get a macbook its liek worth the extra moneys derrrrrr

[Special Agent Steve Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:50PM]

@Heysoos
With that logic you could easily say
"Durr, just bailout the entire US durrr it's worth the extra money".
That's not what they're asking for.

[Heysoos Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:55PM]

@Special Agent Steve

Well, yeah, thats the exact point I'm trying to make. I was being ironic, because theres always at least one fanboy who argues that a mac is the way to go in these topics.

[RikF Posted Dec 18th 2009 1:05AM]

@Heysoos So your idea of an unexpected result is to provide the result you expect? Interesting interpretation of irony...

[Heysoos Posted Dec 18th 2009 1:12AM]

@RikF

Its ok that you don't get it, don't feel bad.

[bemymonkey Posted Dec 18th 2009 1:53AM]

@Heysoos

I had a good laugh. Thanks ;)

[jgioannini Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:31PM]

Used / Refurbs can be cheap

[keefermilton Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:33PM]

Best Buy has a Gateway with 3 gig of ram, 250 meg hd, hdmi out, 2 gig dual core, and 15.4 inch screen for 380. Model MD2419u. Looks like an awesome deal to me...

[JPeak Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:34PM]

@keefermilton

250 meg hdd? Looks like a quantum leaped back to 1996 :(

[keefermilton Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:35PM]

@JPeak oops. Gig. apologies.

[Konrad Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:37PM]

@JPeak I hope you went back further than that...

[keefermilton Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:39PM]

@Konrad , @JPeak "Oh boy..."

[yulebellow Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:56PM]

@keefermilton

Link Please!!!

[keefermilton Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:09AM]

@yulebellow http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Gateway+-+Laptop+with+AMD+Athlon&%23153%3B+X2+Dual-Core+Processor+-+Black/9664376.p?id=1218140710154&skuId=9664376

[yulebellow Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:17AM]

@keefermilton *googly eyes*

[jolt Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:33PM]

You can get a Dell Inspiron 14 for $399 with Pentium Dual Core. The spec's are very similar to a netbook with the exception that you get a Pentium Dual Core instead of the Atom (160 gb hard drive, 2gb of ram).

You'll get more performance out of it, but the battery life won't be so great. At this price point, I don't think you'll be able to find anything with a Core 2 Duo in it unless you get it from eBay or refurbished.

[jjgalvez Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:33PM]

How about an HP Pavillion dv4-1548dx, I just bought one and it works great! it has a 14'' screen, an Intel Dual Core processor @2.1 GHz, 4GB RAM, 250GB HDD plus some other great stuff... and the best part, it can be currently found in Best Buy for $449!

I hope this helps and good luck with the laptop hunting!!

[JPeak Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:33PM]

Dell Latitude D610

I've seen it used by everyone from businessmen to hospitals to the National Guard. And it's pretty good, my mom owns one for the same purpose as this guys dad. $400 new.

[JeremyBenthem Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:35PM]

there's not that inherently seperates a netbook from a laptop, when you ask for a laptop under $400, a netbook is pretty much your answer

[QChronoD Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:28AM]

@JeremyBenthem I think that the whole point is that he doesn't want an atom processor.
As for suggestions, be sure to check out the coupon/deal sites like Techbargin or Fatwallet. There are a couple of good machines on there that hit close to $400 after the instant rebates and %off coupons.

[JeremyBenthem Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:42AM]

@QChronoD
well basic rule of thumb is, if you don't want a crappy computer, don't have a crappy budget

maybe he should consider a desktop option if he already has display and keyboard

[chrisaroz Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:38PM]

Isn't that like asking what the best non-subcompact car you can get for $9k is?

[Pupitmiser Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:41PM]

It's not horrible imho. It'll get the job done. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115676

[Pupitmiser Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:44PM]

@Pupitmiser This one too! XD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834115654

[grantyale Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:45PM]

Dell Vostro v13, from $449.

[anstosa Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:57PM]

I second @grantyale on the Vostro. It's got decent guts and it's pretty much the only laptop you can buy for less that $800 that doesn't look like a piece of crap.

[writeinC Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:16AM]

@grantyale
It says that he's NOT tech savvy, and since at that price it's comes with Ubuntu, I would say that it's not an option. I don't care how user friendly Ubuntu is compared to other distros, there's a huge learning curve, plus most things can only be done through the terminal.

And yes, I use Ubuntu 9.10

[Schwinn Posted Dec 18th 2009 8:49AM]

@writeinC And that's just the point... Ubuntu is great for a non-tech person. I had a customer who was not too tech saavy (an Administrative Assistant) and I switched her to Ubuntu back at 6.06LTS... she's loved it ever since and uses it daily. She never needs to go to the terminal for anything, since there is nothing she needs to change... it "just works". I setup the OS on her old Emachine that refused to run Windows properly for her (it would always break down). She's upgraded it through the builtin upgrade routines and was last running 9.04 with no issues.

A non-tech-saavy person is a great person for Ubuntu, since they don't have to tinker with anything at all. I'll admit, if something goes wrong or isn't supported, then you may need the terminal and whatnot, but it's almost the same story with windows, except that you have to dig into the registry there. Granted, there are more people to help when you deal with windows problems (not that all of them are really helpful) so that's another challenge, but in 3+ years, the only thing she "broke" was her printer because she didn't use Ubuntu's built-in installer for the drivers on it... she was trying to compile and stuff, according to the Brother website (morons shouldn't be telling the user to do that!). In the end, it was an easy fix when you told Ubuntu to install it... it just worked, and was far easier than Brother's instructions.

[tike0rz Posted Dec 18th 2009 11:36AM]

@(Unverified)

I have Ubuntu on my Grandmothers machine. Nuff said.

[Ducman69 Posted Dec 17th 2009 11:55PM]

Dell Outlet next time they have a 15% off sale. In my experience they've been like new and are usually around a 1/3rd off new price or more.

[Edward D Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:01AM]

Look out for deals at Lenovo. It's possible to pick up a ThinkPad SL410 for around $450 with coupons. Even though it's not built like a real T-series ThinkPad, you still get a very solid design!

[Denster2u Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:06AM]

The Toshiba T115-S1100 at $449 is hard to beat. It comes in at the size of a netbook, 11.6 screen and no optical drive, but look at these specs!

# Intel® Celeron® Processor 743
# Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit)
# 2GB DDR3 memory
# Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 4500M
#11.6 screen Supports 720p content, 1366x768 (HD)
# 250GB HDD (5400rpm)
#Webcam and microphone built into LCD bezel
# 8-9 Hour Battery Life

http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/satellite/T100/T115-S1100

[kickace Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:13AM]

@Denster2u

celeron? no thanks, but nice on the ddr3

[yulebellow Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:22AM]

@kickace
Celeron ~ Atom x 2
Atom x 2 for > $500 = Awesome
Awesome + Me = Ill take one!

[Bean Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:38AM]

@yulebellow Wait. So as long as you can pay more than $500 for an atom x2 you'll take one?

[yulebellow Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:45AM]

@(myself)
oops, point-making fail

[NetNewsercom Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:08AM]

Okay Engadget, the Jumbo ad at the top before was awful. Now this is just insane! An XXL rollover Jumbo ad? I just moved my cursor from my bookmarks bar down to the page and the ad covered up the ENTIRE page for 10 seconds. I guess I'll just have to get used to the AD-Free RSS feed. If anyone else wants it: feed://www.engadget.com/rss.xml

[crescentdavid Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:15AM]

@NetNewsercom ... what ad? FF 3.5.6 with adblock plus. If you like Safari ... it's available.

[Bean Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:40AM]

@NetNewsercom I have adBlock Plus disabled on engadget (since I like them) and I still have never seen any such jumbo ad.

But adBlockPlus does the trick, though it does disable some videos too (since they probably have embedded ads)

[ravissimo Posted Dec 18th 2009 1:05AM]

@Bean I use flashblock in firefox so I can enable any videos and block the ads. i prefer it to adblock.

[kickace Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:14AM]

Lenovo G450 Dual Core Laptop (Intel® Pentium® Processor T4300, 3 GB Ram, 250GB HD, Windows 7 Home Premium) $404 Shipped

5lbs; 14" 1366x768 LED; Intel Dual-Core T4300 @ 2.1GHz; 3GB RAM; 250GB HDD; DVD burner; 802.11b/g; Windows 7 Home Premium; 6-cell battery; 1yr warranty

$669.00 - $220 instant savings - 10% off Code: USPNOTEBOOKS = $404.10 Free Shippin

[kickace Posted Dec 18th 2009 12:14AM]

@kickace

http://slickdeals.net/?sdtid=1753552&u2=http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/config.workflow:ConfigureMtmAsItem?mtm-item=:000000F3:00002611:?sid=482802&AID=10429688&PID=2370677&CJURL=http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/config.workflow:ConfigureMtmAsItem?mtm-item=:000000F3:00002611:?sid=482802

$384 after cash back also