Buying laptops

[sue_n_julia]

Office Despot has a laptop on an incredibly good sale. So I am trying to decide whether to buy it or wait for the Memorial Day sales. What a choice.

The machine I'm looking at is $400 off (after all rebates) for a total of $600, plus taxes. It's a Toshiba Satellite M35X-S161 with Intel Celeron M 1.3 GHz, 60 Gig HD, 512 Meg RAM, DVD-ROM/CD-RW, Wireless 802.11g integrated card, 15.4" screen, and XP Home Edition. I think this would do everything I need -- I'm not really looking for a multimedia machine. So it's ability to run 3D graphics shouldn't be an issue. The deal ends on the 26th so I have time to think about it. I've checked out several reviews, but this particular Satellite model seems to be rather new (no user reviews dated prior to Feb 5).

I could try getting a higher end machine, but am thinking this way: Let's say I decide in a year that I want to trade up for another machine (low-end at that point) and in another year I do the same. That's ~$1800 on laptops. Let's say instead that I get a $1500 machine now and trade up in 3 years. Hmm, that's $3000.

Fortunately, it's tax time and I should be getting some real money back. I am planning on plowing into getting my freelance business up and running -- equipment, brochures, etc.

S

Comments

[blaisedec.livejournal.com]

You're analyzing the finances wrong. If you compare buying a $600 laptop every year to buying a $1500 laptop every three years, the numbers are actually that the cheap laptop ends up costing $1800 every three years while the expensive laptop costs $1500 every three years. (It's what programmers call a fencepost error -- you accidentally compared three years of cheap laptops to four [or more properly six] years of expensive laptops.)

[sue-n-julia.livejournal.com]

I'll need to think about that. I didn't mention that I generally run a machine into the ground (we are running our P2 as a print server right now). That means that I get more machines to run as servers, game machines, etc. than I would otherwise.

S

[demonlurking]

i'd looked at the toshibas, but decided that while the machines were good and solid, the battery life was shockingly short. it's only got an hour and a half battery life. current laptops in the $1500-$3000 range have 5-7 hour battery lives.

[alfiechat.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the business. It was nice seeing you all when you came back for the visit.

[sue-n-julia.livejournal.com]

Hey you! Great hearing from you!!

s