Need help picking a laptop. Computer Geeks I need your help.

[89five.o]

My dad is desperate to get a new laptop for work and he was set on buying one from Bestbuy but I told him to give me a bit of time to try finding him a better bargain if possible. He's kind of antsy to get it and I would spend hours researching it if he wasn't but it doesn't look like I'll have enough time for that. Advice on any model's for under $500 that would be considerably better would be greatly appreciated. He also mentioned that he really likes the way the keys on the Toshiba felt if that helps any. Thanks everyone!

Here's the computer he was looking at getting.
http://laptops.toshiba.com/laptops/satellite/L500/L505D-S5965

L505D-S5965 : Detailed Product Specs
Processor*

AMD Athlon™ X2 QL-65 Processor
Operating System*

Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit)
Memory Size*

3GB
Memory Speed*

DDR2 800MHz
Display Size*

15.6" widescreen
Display Type*

HD with TruBrite® Technology
Display Resolution*

Supports 720p content, 1366x768 (HD)
Graphics Engine*

ATI® Radeon™ 3100
Graphics Memory*

256MB-1406MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory
Hard Drive Size*

250GB
Hard Drive Speed*

5400rpm
Secondary Hard Drive Size*

None Available
Optical Drives*

DVD-SuperMulti (+/-R double layer) with Labelflash™ drive supporting up to 11 formats
Wireless LAN*

Realtek 802.11b/g wireless-LAN
Bluetooth

No Bluetooth (No Antenna)
Inputs and Controls

TouchPad™ pointing device, CD/DVD Buttons (Play/Pause, Stop, Prev Track, Next Track), 104 key US keyboard with 10-keypad (silver), Mute button
Security and Protoection

Security Cable Lock Slot, HDD Recovery
Modem

Modem
LAN

10/100 Ethernet LAN
Audio

Standard stereo speakers, Headphone jack (stereo), Microphone jack (mono), Built-in microphone
AC Adapter

75W (19V 3.95A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz input
Battery

Li-Ion (4000mAh, 6-Cell)
Media Card Reader

Memory Card Reader
USB Ports*

2-USB (2.0), 1-eSATA/USB combo port
Software*

TOSHIBA ConfigFree®, Google Picasa™, Hard disc (HDD) recovery, Corel® DVD MovieFactory® for TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA PC Health Monitor, Norton Internet Security™ 2009 (30 day trial), WildTangent® Orb™ Games Console, Microsoft® Works Version 9.0, TOSHIBA DVD Player, TOSHIBA Disc Creator, TOSHIBA Recovery Disc Creator, Microsoft® Office Trial Home and Student 2007 Edition (60-day trial)
Weight*

Starting at 6.0 lbs.
Color

Fusion Finish™ with Breeze Pattern in Graphite Gray
Standards*

Energy Star 5.0 Compliant, EPEAT™ Gold, RoHS Compliant
Standard Limited Warranty*

1-Yr Parts and Labor, 1-Year Battery

 

[avbcon12]

what are his requirements? whats he going to be using it for (applications)?

 

[89five.o]

He's just using it to sell cars at a car dealership. He liked the keyboard from the Toshiba (how it felt to type on) and he doesn't want to spend more than $500. I thought the stats on the Toshiba were pretty good but I've been kind of out of the loop in what is and isn't good computer-wise nowadays.

 

[robvas]

Fuck under $500 from Best Buy. The warranties suck and the batteries suck.

Get a Latitude or XPS from Dell, and make sure you get the 9-cell battery and 3-year in-home warranty.

Doin't buy anything that has a Celeron or AMD processor in it, either.

 

[avbcon12]

agreed, much better value and features can be had from dell from what hes looking for.

 

[89five.o]

This is for a Dell Inspiron 15 for $499

SYSTEM COLOR Jet Black

PROCESSOR Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T4200 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Edition SP1

OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9

WARRANTY AND SERVICE Classic Protection: 1 yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service

HD DISPLAY Bright, glossy widescreen 15.6 WLED display (1366x768)

MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz

HARD DRIVE 250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

VIDEO CARD Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)

BATTERY OPTIONS 4-cell battery

WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card

INTEGRATED WEBCAM No Webcam Option

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

My Accessories
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee 30 day Trial

DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

My Software & Accessories
ADOBE & ENTERTAINMENT WildTangent Games

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
Network Integrated 10/100 Network Card
PROCESSOR LABELS Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
OS LABELS Windows Vista™ Basic
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested
REMOTE ACCESS Dell Remote Access, free basic service

 

[Killjoy]

Check out FatWallet and SlickDeals for current hot deals. Deals on laptops all the time. At worst, I would order a Dell online over a BBY visit.

 

[89five.o]

Check out FatWallet and SlickDeals for current hot deals. Deals on laptops all the time. At worst, I would order a Dell online over a BBY visit.

I'll be sure to check those sites out. Thanks!