Walmart laptop $268

[marty]

See:
Compaq Presario AMD Laptop
15.6 diagonal display area
250GB harddrive
2GB memory
AMD E300 Processor
Webcam; wireless-enabled
#CQ57-439WM
$268
In Buffalo News Walmart flyer February 26, to March 3

Are there any cheaper laptops for sale anywhere on planet earth? Shipping to USA
Is this laptop good?

[dogman]

About as good as it gets in that price range. Has decent memory, good size hard drive. I don't know how fast that processor is, but in that price range it will not be super fast.

[spinningmagnets]

A while back, there was a push to develop a $100 laptop for schoolkids in poor countries. I recall it was a 10" screen, it used Linux as an operating system, and the breakthrough was that it didn't have a hard-drive, it used flash memory when thumb-drives reached about 2-gigs. Of course it had ports like USB, etc...but the basic unit would allow a remote school to connect to the internet...

A few month ago, India announced they were going to build hundreds of thousands of 7" Android touchpads for $60 each...http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/26/aakas ... exclusive/

[ohzee]

http://www.raspberrypi.org/

cant wait to get my hands on one of those.. 35$ is the price I have heard

XBMC is my dream

[dogman]

I've been wanting a new laptop for awhile, so I've been checking woot daily hoping something walmart would sell for 275 would be there for 200. No luck so far. A freind gave me one at christmas, about 8 years old. Processor insanely slow, 30 gig hard drive with 25 of it taken up with operating system and various junk. Pretty much useless. 5 min of video takes 15 min to load.

[bigmoose]

dogman, check out IBM X31 laptops on eBay. It is the standard of our family's fleet of computers. I use the X32, but the delta in performance is not worth it if you are price conscious. The X30 only has USB1 so it is too slow and out of the running. I just bought two more X31's to refresh the backup's. Paid 65 for one and 72 ish for the other IIRC. We standardized on these years ago. My original X30 blew a tantalum cap in the charging circuit, and my daughter's X31 just croaked after she fell asleep watching a movie and the blanket blocked the cooling intake and she cooked the motherboard. Very durable machines, and small and portable. Plus as Amber says, repurpose, recycle, get more life out of good stuff!

[Nehmo]

See:
Compaq Presario AMD Laptop
Are there any cheaper laptops for sale anywhere on planet earth?

The Compaq 15.6" Presario CQ57-439WM is a fine deal at this time. (You can get a bit cheaper if you accept a 10.1" [25.7cm] screen) Go get it if you now have the money. It will be cheaper later, but that's what happens to all computer prices.
Compaq's description
But one other little thing. You can bypass the sales tax if you happen to have a tax exempt registration with Walmart. Lots of people have one, and you can get one too. It's probably easier if it's an in-store purchase rather than by walmart.com. You plan to buy this for educational purposes, right?

[marty]

More info here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu ... r1002_usen
Hardware
Product Name CQ57-439WM
Product Number A7A54UA#ABA
Microprocessor 1.3GHz VISION E2 Technology from AMD with AMD Dual-Core E-300 Accelerated Processor
Microprocessor Cache 1MB L2 Cache
Memory 2GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
Memory Max Maximum supported = 8GB
Video Graphics AMD Radeon HD 6310 Discrete-Class Graphics
Video Memory Up to 949MB
Hard Drive 250GB 5400RPM)
Multimedia Drive SuperMulti DVD burner
Display 15.6-inch diagonal HD BrightView LED-backlit display (1366x768)
Network Card 10/100 Ethernet LAN
Wireless Connectivity

802.11b/g/n WLAN

Sound

Altec Lansing Speakers

Keyboard Full-size keyboard
Pointing Device Touchpad with on/off button
External Ports

Digital Media Card Reader for Secure Digital and Multimedia cards
3 Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0
1 VGA (15-pin)
1 RJ-45 (LAN)
1 Headphone-out
1 Microphone-in

Dimensions 14.80" (L) x 9.72" (W) x 1.23" (min H) -1.41" (max H)
Weight 5.50 lbs
Security

Kensington MicroSaver lock slot
Power-on password
Accepts 3rd party security lock devices

Power

65W AC adapter
6-cell 47WHr lithium-ion battery

What's In The Box HP Webcam with integrated microphone
Back to top
Software
Operating System:
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Security and Support:
HP Security Assistant: One-stop access to preloaded security solutions to help defend your data.; Free 60-day Norton Internet Security 2012 Subscription ; HP Recovery Manager: Recover, restore, and create recovery media for your PC

HP Support Assistant: Update your PC, troubleshoot problems and get technical support.; HP Power Manager: Adjust settings for optimal battery life or performance.

HP Setup Manager: Transfer files, set up backups, get connected and more-easily.

HP Application Assistant: Makes finding and downloading the software needed to open your files easy.; HP Launch Box: Fast launch of HP and Microsoft apps grouped in taskbar boxes, plus option to customize a third box.

Windows Update; Lojack for Laptops;
Multimedia:
Windows Media Player; Windows DVD Maker

Cyberlink YouCam DE: Chat live and capture video or photos. Be yourself or a favorite avatar!

Zya Music Maker: Zya makes it fun and easy for everyone to create and share their own music.; RaRa Music: Music for every mood! (rara.com/hp)

HP MovieStore powered by Rovi: Rent or buy latest movies and TV shows.; HP Music: Listen to all the music you want at one low monthly price.

Snapfish Picture Mover; eBay ; Walmart Photo Center; VUDU: Rent, buy and watch HD movies and TV shows on demand.

Blio eReader application with full color includes 4 free digital books valued at $75 MSRP.
Productivity and Finance:
Microsoft Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word and Excel only, with advertising. No PowerPoint or Outlook.

Windows Live Essentials 2011: Windows Live Mail; Windows Live Messenger; Windows Live Photo Gallery; Windows Live Movie Maker; Windows Live Writer; Windows Live Mesh
Internet Solutions:
Internet Explorer 9

Bing Bar for Internet Explorer 9

Skype

HP QuickWeb: Instant-on web browser with customizable widget dashboard.

[RallySTX]

In short, it's a stripper, but that's what you get for the money. I considered it until I read the specs on the video, and the cam. If all you want is something to work with, or a gift to give, it's ok. However, there isn't enough ram for the video, which is second class anyway. The cam is external, so not only do you loose a usb port, but the external device uses more power and is delicate. I was surprised to see such a slow processor, but the use of cache does help. Probably the only reason it still works with Win7. The ram is slow, and in short supply, but can be upgraded, hopefully the hard drive as well. If you buy it, first upgrade the ram, and if possible, get a flash drive to replace the old HD. If you're lucky, the processor, and graphics can also be replaced. No data on the screen suggests it's wimpy too. You can get a better used laptop with just a bit of learning, from a more mainstream maker, for the take home on this. As an example, I got this Dell D630, with 2 Gig processor, 2 gigs of SDRAM, ATI graphics, 150 gig HD, 4 USB ports, for $100. I treat it like a rental car, and it just keeps on working. I have a 5150 however, that rarely gets used as it likes to overheat under moderate use. A Antec AN200 cooling tray is mandatory for one of those 5150's, or anything that gets pushed hard.
Brian L.

[rojitor]

A while back, there was a push to develop a $100 laptop for schoolkids in poor countries. I recall it was a 10" screen, it used Linux as an operating system, and the breakthrough was that it didn't have a hard-drive, it used flash memory when thimb-drives reached about 2-gigs. Of course it had ports like USB, etc...but the basic unit would allow a remote school to connect to the internet...

A few month ago, India announced they were going to build hundreds of thousands of 7" Android touchpads for $60 each...http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/26/aakas ... exclusive/

You talk about the olpc's One Laptop Per Child http://one.laptop.org/
The lady behind that initiative developed recently the pixel qi screen http://www.pixelqi.com/ imho the best screen available. The Notion Ink Tablet has that screen so i got one of those and forgot about laptops for now...
http://www.notionink.com/

[marty]

About as good as it gets in that price range. Has decent memory, good size hard drive. I don't know how fast that processor is, but in that price range it will not be super fast.

I am not understanding processor speed?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

The old laptop, Toshiba Satellite A75-S206, Windows XP
CPU
• Mobile Intel® Pentium® Processor 518 supporting Hyper-Threading Technology
o 2.80GHz , 1MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB
• ATI® MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9000 IGP
448MB of RAM
Old reliable laptop that overheats. Solved the overheating problem with 4 cans of tuna under the feet.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Home made 2 year old computer, Windows 7
Intel® Core™ i7-930 Processor (8M Cache, 2.80 GHz, 4.80 GT/s Intel® QPI)
12GB of RAM
This computer is fast. No complaints.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

$268 Walmart laptop
Compaq Presario CQ57-439WM
Microprocessor 1.3GHz VISION E2 Technology from AMD with AMD Dual-Core E-300 Accelerated Processor
Microprocessor Cache 1MB L2 Cache
Memory 2GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Is processor speed measured in GHz? Why is my old slow laptop and my 2 year old fast computer both 2.80 GHz?
How does this $268 Walmart laptop compare with the old Toshiba Satellite A75-S206 laptop?

Looked at "Bigmoose" IBM (Lenovo) Thinkpad X31, used on eBay. They are selling for less then $100 (completed listings) Screen size is only 12.1"

[Ypedal]

anything running win7 needs at LEAST 3gb of ram, if you plan to use it as a media centre, it needs 4+

if you run XP it's not so bad but let's face it, xp is getting old ( but reliable !!.. still runs my home pc.. but my laptop is win7 ) ..

[RallySTX]

There are several reasons why your laptop is slow. You list 448Mb of RAM, which isn't enough to work with today's operating systems. Please try to confirm the RAM on yout Toshiba again. A gig or more should be the minimum amount of RAM. The 2.8 Gig processor is an Intel standard pentium 4 or P4 CPU that was widely used for several years, and due to it's reliability, it was used in many laptops as well. I have one in my Dell Inspiron 5150. Your Toshiba would work better if you add a Antec AN200 cooler tray under it to control temps. The newer Walmart laptop has been designed with the cheapest of today's tech, to meet a price point, and work with a very specific software setup. Your old unit has a more compatable hardware setup, and should be roughly similar in performance, based on available data. CPU or thr processor speed is listed in G, Gig, Ghz, or gigahertz. There are several makers with different technological methods used to create basically the same thing, a brain. The speed of the brain is relative to it's efficiency and capacity, but that's not all there is to it. Along with the speed, you will see the word "cache." Cache is memory, or RAM, that is built into the processor to help it work faster. There are also stacked, or multiple processors built together to achieve faster speed. Quantifying all of these designs in a simple manner isn't easy for me, because I'm a tech with my own idea of how it should be done, and many manufacturers aren't as honest about what they are actually doing as we would like them to be. So, to help you out, I will try to explain what I know about your descriptions, and what the differences mean. You already know about CPU speed in Ghz, and about cache, which can range from less than a Meg-abyte, to over a GIG-abyte in size. What you may not know, is about FSB, or the Front Side Bus, which roughly translates to the speed of the motherboard itself. FSB relates the efficiency, or throughput speed of the mainboard, and denotes different versions of the same computer, because it's easier to increase FSB speed, than it is to redesign a new processor. There are several types of Ram as well. SDRAM is slower than DDR-RAM. Either way, in most cases, more ram is better.
Mobile Intel® Pentium® Processor 518 supporting Hyper-Threading Technology
o 2.80GHz , 1MB L2 cache, 533MHz FSB. This means it's a laptop style processor, which are designed to work at lower voltages, and temps. model 518, with Hyperthreading which is an instruction set that helps it work faster, it's a 2.8Ghz speed CPU, also means most likely that it's a P4 or Pentium 4 CPU which are an industry standard, and have a very good track record, it has 1 Megabyte or Meg of storage or RAM on the chip, more ram here means less time going back to the hard drive for instructions, there is L1, L2, L3, etc, not very important to you I think, and finally the 533 Mhz FSB speed.
Comparing laptops to desktops isn't really fair due to the intended usage, and therefore design parameters. However, basic specs are all that's needed to help determine a given machines ability to serve a purpose. So, your home made pc, with a similar CPU and above average RAM should work fast. I hope that this helps out. This is all off the top of my head, and meant to be a simple guide for you. I am a tech with a degree, and 20 years under my belt. All that really means is that Im just smart enough to get into big trouble.
Brian L.

[Lessss]

buy it repartition it and install ubuntu

[dodjob]

buy it repartition it and install ubuntu

+1

[marty]

buy it repartition it and install ubuntu

+1

Ubuntu - Good idea! This is for a 50 year old female with almost no computer experience. Ubuntu is perfect for someone who doesn't know what a apple is and has no windows experience. [She does eat apples while looking out the window]
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Insta ... quirements

Ubuntu
Recommended Minimum System Requirements

The Recommended Minimum System Requirements, here, should allow even someone fairly new to installing Ubuntu or Gnu&Linux to easily install a usable system with enough room to be comfortable. A good "rule of thumb" is that machines that could run XP, Vista, Windows 7 or x86 OS X will almost always be a lot faster with Ubuntu even if they are lower-spec than described below. Simply try Ubuntu CD as a LiveCD first to check the hardware works.

Ubuntu Desktop Edition

1 GHz CPU (x86 processor (Pentium 4 or better))
1 GiB RAM (system memory)
15 GB of hard-drive space (or USB stick, memory card or external drive but see LiveCD for an alternative approach)
800 by 600 screen resolution
Either a CD/DVD drive or a USB port for the installer media

Internet access is helpful

Marty goes to Walmart............
Will wipe out every trace of windows and install Ubuntu. Next question will probably be why is there some problem with the hardware? Here is a list of computers that are guaranteed to work perfectly with Ubuntu. This HP Compaq Presario is not on the list.
Certified for Ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/certification/

Walmart computer has Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Which version of Ubuntu should I install?
Ubuntu 11.10 - Latest version 32-bit (recommended)
Ubuntu 11.10 - Latest version 64-bit
Ubuntu 10.04 - LTS - Long-term support 32-bit (recommended)
Ubuntu 10.04 - LTS - Long-term support 64-bit
or a older version of Ubuntu?

[Ypedal]

horrible idea.

50 year old clueless ( no know how of PC's .. i am not saying idiot here.. lol ) user should be given the standard, what everyone she knows uses, what facebook will work with and what she can ask help with from anyone sho has touched a mouse instead of always calling Marty !.

The ubuntu users are those geeks who like " different " and will figure weird stuff out on their own.

[marty]

Ubuntu is good for geeks and idiots too. Think Mozilla Firefox is Mozilla Firefox weather you are using Windows or Ubuntu.
Just got back from Walmart [They just built a bigger Walmart and shut down the old Walmart] Nice polished concrete floors. Computer sales man was very helpful and showed me a different computer for $10 more. Same white, black, red, Compaq box. All the Walmart computers were in locked cabinets. Computer sales man explained that someone stuck the wrong key in the lock and broke it. He was unable to get the $278 computer out of the cabinet. He had no knowledge of the difference between the $268 computer and the $278 computer. I bought the $268 computer.

Nehmo found this link:
Compaq 15.6" Presario CQ57-439WM

I can't figure out how to find either the $268 computer or the $278 computer I don't see them when I search the Walmart web site.

Might return the $268 computer and buy the $278 computer if I can figure out what is the difference.

[marty]

Found the $278 computer. Search in Google looks like this:
Compaq Presario $278 site:walmart.com
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Compaq-15.6-2 ... A/15657958
CQ56-219WM
EDIT 2/28/12 wrong part number delete all specifications

Marty goes back to a different Walmart to return the AMD and buy Intel for $10 more.

[marty]

Update. Was searching for the wrong part number. Just got back from Walmart. They got the locked cabinet open. Paid $278 and got:

Compaq Black 15.6" Presario CQ57-339WM Laptop PC with Intel Celeron B800 Processor and Windows 7 Home Premium

The simple style and essential features you expect from Compaq are more affordable than ever! The new Compaq Presario CQ57 enhances your life with full PC performance for projects and entertainment, with features you find in laptops costing much more like HD video support and Altec Lansing stereo speakers. Get integrated Wi-Fi to connect anywhere a hotspot is available. A built-in setup manager walks you through this process, plus how to transfer files from your old PC, backup your data and much more. A large hard drive holds plenty of documents, homework, music, photos and videos. It's all yours now at a price so low, it's almost unbelievable. Why pay more for peace of mind? Get brand name quality, now at a price you can afford.

Compaq 15.6" Presario CQ57-339WM Laptop PC:

Key Features and Benefits:

Intel Celeron B800 processor
1.50GHz, 2MB L3 Cache

2GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory (expandable to 8GB)
Gives you the options for surfing, video conferencing, documents, basic photo editing and simple computer tasks

320GB SATA hard drive
Store 213,000 photos, 91,000 songs or 168 hours of HD video and more

SuperMulti DVD Burner
Watch movies, and read and write CDs and DVDs in multiple formats

10/100Base-T Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
Connect to a broadband modem with wired Ethernet or wirelessly connect to a Wi-Fi signal or hotspot with the 802.11b/g/n connection built into your PC

15.6" HD BrightView LED-backlit display
Intel HD Graphics with up to 762MB total graphics memory

Additional Features:

HP webcam
2-in-1 memory card reader
3 x USB 2.0 ports, 1 x headphone-out, 1 x microphone-in, 1 x RJ-45 Ethernet port, 1 x VGA port
6-cell lithium-ion battery, up to 5 h 30 min battery life

Software:

Genuine Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Edition (To learn more about the features of Windows 7, click here)
Microsoft Office Starter 2010: Includes reduced functionality versions of Microsoft Word and Excel, with advertising. PowerPoint and Outlook are NOT included. Purchase Office 2010 today and get the most out of your new PC. (To learn more about the features of Office 2010, click here)
Norton Internet Security 2012 (60-day)
Backup and Restore options built into Windows allows you to create safety copies of your most important personal files, so you're always prepared for the worst

Support and Warranty:

1-year limited PC hardware warranty; 30-days free limited software support
Restore discs are not included (unless specified by supplier). We recommend you use the installed software to create your own restore and backup DVD the first week you use the computer.

What's In The Box:

Power cord
6-cell lithium-ion battery
Quick Start Guide

Cost $10 more. The box is way lighter then the $268 computer. Will open it in the morning. Got to go to sleep now.

[RallySTX]

So the 278 dollar unit has the cam built into the laptop, has twice the CPU memory, twice the hard drive space on a faster drive, better graphics, and longer lasting battery. Not bad!
Brian L.

[marty]

So the 278 dollar unit has the cam built into the laptop, has twice the CPU memory, twice the hard drive space on a faster drive, better graphics, and longer lasting battery. Not bad!
Brian L.

Re: cam built into the laptop. Camera! I can look at myself looking at the computer.

[marty]

anything running win7 needs at LEAST 3gb of ram, if you plan to use it as a media centre, it needs 4+

if you run XP it's not so bad but let's face it, xp is getting old ( but reliable !!.. still runs my home pc.. but my laptop is win7 ) ..

Ypedal - As per your request I went to Newegg and bought 2 - 4GBs pieces of RAM $20 each
2 x ($19.99) Kingston 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model KVR1333D3S9/4G
Hope it is the right type? I have bought the wrong ram on eBay before. Those of you looking for a investment, I recommend that you don't buy RAM. Predict that what cost $20 today will be worth 50¢ in 5 or 10 years.

RAM FOR SALE 2-GB (PC3, 10600, 1333-MHz) HP part number 621565-001 $10 with Free Shipping to anywhere in USA

Will go into Uninstall Programs and remove all of the free trial programs

Will forget about Ubuntu for now. If its not broke. Don't fix it.

Thanks all for the suggestions and advise.

[RallySTX]

Afteer checking the links myself it seems previous info was a bit off. The 279 dollar unit doesn't list a cam, but the 369 dollar lists a built in webcam, so yes it should allow you to see yourself work. Unless of course it's on the wrong side of the lid. The hard drives are close in size, but Sata will be faster.
Brian L.

[auraslip]

I have a $250 wal-mart laptop for school.

a) It's a great deal for the price and works fine.

b) It's memory footprint out of the box is twice the size as a fresh install of windows 7, so be prepared to wipe the hard drive and re-install everything.

c) It overheats while compiling code. Don't expect to run games on it. Keep it cool.