Inspiron mini 10 netbook

[noble_aloof]

hi guys.. i had some money laying around and i was gonna mod my gamecube.. but i managed to light my dad's workbench on fire trying to make a screw-tool and it kind of went downhill from there.

 

soo i was looking through the local newspaper and it has a section called "aunt betty's basement" where people sell stuff. so the usual was there.. baby cribs, workout machines, atv parts, guns.. but something caught my eye. there was a netbook for sale.

 

it was "barely used" for $352. i was intrigued so i called the number, and a woman picked up and said she bought it 10 months ago with 2 other regular laptops but never really used it.

i continued to inquire about the battery, tv tuner, and operating system (keep in mind i was viewing the dell page the entire time, so i sounded like i knew my stuff)

 

she said it was windows xp, and she couldnt find out what battery it was, but she said it was completely flush with the system(didn't stick out) which means it was a 3cell/24Whr, and since it was that battery power it meant that the tv tuner was not included.

 

that system was going for 279 NEW on dell's website.. so i asked her how much she got it for. she claimed $700 so then i thought she was perhaps trying to make a quick buck from buying/selling but she sounded legitimate.

 

i told her i would compare prices and call back (didn't want to seem like an a-hole). I'll probably call back on friday/saturday and act as if i've just gotten paid (though i don't have a job). if she still has it i'll try to haggle down to $210 range. i'd still have some money left over so i think i'd buy an external harddrive/diskdrive and possibly windows 7

 

that brings me to some questions:

 

1. is it worth buying the netbook barely used for $210

 

2. what the [bleep] can i use this thing for anyway?

 

3. what are some useful/must-have gadgets for it?

[Solartide]

1. No

2. Not much really

3. Keyboard, mouse, monitor, yeah, just get a pc.

[RSBDavid]

1. is it worth buying the netbook barely used for $210

No. Buying any electronics used is generally a bad idea as you have no idea of how the previous owner took care of it.

 

2. what the [bleep] can i use this thing for anyway?

Most netbooks come with 512MB-1gig of memory, a 80-160GB hDD, and a 1.6-2GHz processor. The screen size is small. I used my net book to do research papers and check my email. I could fit it in my backpack at school.

 

3. what are some useful/must-have gadgets for it?

-A carrying case/sleve so it doesnt get damaged.

-A security thing so no one steals it.

-Cleaning items

 

 

Honestly, I would just save up your money and get a full laptop. They are more useful in the long-run. I had a MSI Wind U120 netbook, but I just couldn't use it for anything productive.

[noble_aloof]

well considering my computer right now is just running on 1gb ram, i see a netbook as a good portable gaming computer. i mean, we're not talking crysis here, but i saw a HUGE list on some site with all the games that were playable on the system. plus, if i upgraded it to windows 7 i could use that memory boost thing and maybe even run some other useful apps. Also, i don't have two grand to dish out for a new computer

 

some good/entertaining games playable (taken from multiple sites):

 

diablo 1/2

baldur's gate

age of empires 2

rome: total war

GBA emu

CaC games (RA 3/generals zero hour not tested)

quake 3

RUNESCAPE

WoW (lowest specs)

quake 3

torchlight (netbook mode)

jade dynasty (lowest specs)

gta vice city

 

most importantly:

mine sweeper

internet reversi

snood

farmville

bloons tower defense

 

are those games mentioned worth the $210? pretty much. plus the added mobility, wifi, word processing and audio video streaming.. i don't see why i wouldnt buy this system

 

1. No

2. Not much really

3. Keyboard, mouse, monitor, yeah, just get a pc.

 

good advice =D>

let me know when you have a $210 pc for sale.

i didn't know netbooks didn't include keyboards or screens either, thanks!

[Solartide]

i see a netbook as a good portable gaming computer.

 

lol i trol u

 

let me know when you have a $210 pc for sale.

 

Mother Board: $64

Ram: $30

PSU: $18

CPU: $33

Hard Drive: $36

Case: $37

$20 Mail-In rebate for the case! So $17 case if you send this baby in.

 

Total: $218

 

Good game bro.

[RSBDavid]

Ask your self this... "Do I want to save up another 250 bucks and buy a laptop and play those games in better quality?" or "Do I want to spend money now, not learning the importance of saving to get higher quality items?". Your net book will overheat playing wow and those games. It will play it for an hour or so before you have to turn your net book off or leave it idle.

[Solartide]

I'll just leave this here...

 

BRAND NEW NETBOOK for $225

 

But really, the tone you're taking, you're gonna end up buying it and ignoring all the advice posted here, so have fun with that.

 

Also, 2 grand for a new computer is so 20 years ago.

 

Here's the specs for the latest Techreport econobox:

 

http://techreport.com/articles.x/18510/2

 

$543, it will blow your current comp out of the water.

[noble_aloof]

Ask your self this... "Do I want to save up another 250 bucks and buy a laptop and play those games in better quality?" or "Do I want to spend money now, not learning the importance of saving to get higher quality items?". Your net book will overheat playing wow and those games. It will play it for an hour or so before you have to turn your net book off or leave it idle.

 

i'm not looking for a hardcore gaming computer though. im just looking for something to fool around on and a measly $200 should keep me occupied. i'm not getting it for gaming, gaming on it is just a big perk. all i said it my last post that playing those games alone would be worth the cost, not including the other useful things i could do on it.

 

if i wanted a laptop, i'd take the money out of the bank and buy a laptop. if i wanted a new ridiculous gaming rig, i'd buy that. just because i have hours upon hours to myself now over spring break doesn't mean i will down the road, which is why i haven't purchased a new computer game (literally) since overlord(which wasn't even a good game). to be honest, if i really wanted this netbook i would have called her last night instead of waiting until friday. i'm just getting some opinions

 

 

I'll just leave this here...

 

BRAND NEW NETBOOK for $225

 

But really, the tone you're taking, you're gonna end up buying it and ignoring all the advice posted here, so have fun with that.

 

Also, 2 grand for a new computer is so 20 years ago.

 

Here's the specs for the latest Techreport econobox:

 

http://techreport.com/articles.x/18510/2

 

$543, it will blow your current comp out of the water.

 

i'll reply line by line:

thats a really good deal

if i knew for sure i was just gonna end up buying it i wouldnt have waited/ posted a topic

the one i was planning on getting from newegg was $1800 without a monitor

yes, chances are it will blow my 'current' 4 year old computer out of the water. in fact i know it will.

as stated above, if i wanted a nice gaming rig. i'd sure as hell buy one. infact i was offered a pretty nice one less than two months ago for $400

[Laura]

are those games mentioned worth the $210? pretty much. plus the added mobility, wifi, word processing and audio video streaming.. i don't see why i wouldnt buy this system

Just remember its limits and the cheap components that went inside it to bring it sub $300. If all you're going to do is type and play Farmville then it might just suit you.

plus, if i upgraded it to windows 7 i could use that memory boost thing and maybe even run some other useful apps.

It doesn't work that way. If you use a USB/SD card for memory expansion you run the risk of killing the drive (MS claims to have some "tests" refuting the issue, but it hasn't ever been released). It's usually not worth using, especially not on a netbook where the whole point is to reduce size. You'll see a better performance upgrade from buying another GB of RAM. You can use it, but don't base your decision on it.

 

Also another vote to buy new. I wouldn't trust high-end electronics that have already been used and not refurbished.

 

Good luck with your decision. :D

Edited April 7, 2010 by laura0077
Sorry for all of the edits. I was just attempting to clarify. :)

[Solartide]

the one i was planning on getting from newegg was $1800 without a monitor

 

I'm not sure what you're doing that needs a 1800 computer.

 

Here's 1500:

 

http://techreport.com/articles.x/18510/6

 

Here's the specs for Crysis at 4x AA:

 

http://techreport.com/articles.x/17652/8

 

1 TB of storage, quadcore.

 

I'm not seeing why you need better.

[Sbrideau]

1. No, it's a Dell. Been used too and you never know what might have happened to it.

 

2. Browsing the internet, not much more.

 

3. Mouse

 

I would say go new, you'd be much better off with an Asus netbook than this.

[noble_aloof]

thanks for the posts. i am a bit sketchy now about the condition of the netbook. and laura as far as i know this specific computer cannot be upgraded to 2gb of RAM, i didn't know about that memory boost issue either, thanks. now i see that the $210 that i was planning to offer is a far cry from what it would actually go for (in the mid-100's). so i'm pretty much talked out of it, and that $210 wasn't gauranteed either.

 

i guess i'll just call on friday, if she hasn't sold it i'll offer $150. the highest i'll go is $165. if she denies then i'll call back the next week and offer the same. and ill continue doing that until either she manages to rip someone off or she gives in. then i'll have a little piece of technology to mess around with. thanks guys

[Solartide]

I'd take it if it were under 100, not over though.

 

 

Rather get a box of eldrazi and hold a draft with some buddies.