Sep 8. 2007 - Mygeekshopper customers have put 3 of the aspire 5100 in service. Some quick observations. Be sure to have lots of CDs or a few DVDs handy to back up the original system at start-up. Do not discard the Windows Anytime Upgrade DVD that comes with it. That be the original operating system CD. As soon as you get the machine functioning with a printer, download Belarc and get a print out of keys. They are either well hidden or not sent in print with the original machine.

July 19, 2007 - Following is ideas recently submitted to one of our clients bases on her requirements sent to our Personal Shopper service. If you would like assistance shopping for your next bit of techy stuff, submit your requirements and questions to KBM via Email or call 585-225-5411 (9am - 4 pm EST) to discuss your need with a consultant. We will create a Personal Shopping page just for you.

Please be sure to read about our biases on the index page for Computer Advice.

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Original recommendation in Blue. Added thoughts 7/19 in red.

Given your specifications that you would like a general purpose laptop principally to be used for e-communication, internet surfing, quickbooks and offfice applications, here are some ideas. The commutability issues with your current work workstation might pose some obstacles, so I am sure we'll need to talk more, but her are some ideas. With the extra memory, I am pretty sure that you could even put an external keyboard and mouse and monitor any of the suggested laptops and you could use just the one machine. As always, just be sure to let me know what you do, in case there is anything of concern that jumps out at me. I do not know how long the special pricing will be available at Newegg.

Here are some things for you if you want to order and futs with configuring
on your own. KBM configuring and install is $229 labor. That will include
everything to make you happy. If you decide to do that, then let's chat
about what you like and don't like with these or any lic. or compatibility
concerns and I'll put together a complete proposal.

One comment I did get from Joe on the N82E16834115361 is that it is slower memory than the best available these days. I would be of more concern about this if you were going to be doing a lot of image/video editing. for business stuff, I don't think it will be a bottleneck, especially if you go with 2 GB.

This Acer would run XP nicely and comes with Vista Home premium which you
might want to try for a while, just for kicks. Since you are not on a Domain, I am pretty sure we can hook it into your work file server. This is not made for
multimedia, so if you are looking to edit video, not the right machine.
This is just a good basic business machine. If you stick with the vista, we
would probably do a mem upgrade before not too long.

Acer Aspire AS5100-3825 AMD Turion 64 15.4" WXGA ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 Acer Aspire AS5100-3825 NoteBook AMD Turion 64 MK-36(2.00GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 1GB DDR2 533 120GB DVD Super Multi ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 IGP (Mail In Rebate $100.00 Expires 07/31/2007) $599 with rebate Don't forget the form

Memory upgrade information for Acer Aspire AS5100 at Crucial

2GB kit (1GBx2), 200-pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-5300, 2GB kit (1GBx2), 200-pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-5300, NON-ECC, for $105.99

Buying a license for XP is almost $300 now Item: N82E16837116195 at
Newegg... If you decide to do that, we should shop around.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional with SP2 Microsoft Windows XP Professional with SP2 for $286.99

If you want to go with even larger screen, the HPs have those nice 17"
screens slower CPU. Although I doubt it will be a bottleneck for you with
sufficient mem. Something like N82E16834147365 (no commission product or can't get a link to work, just visit and/or order direct from newegg; Would probably need memory and is almost an extra 1.5 pound penalty for the extra screen size.) or smaller screen more mem N82E16834147484 (I can't find a memory speed on this. I suspect it's o.k. if not better given the price, but HP can sneak things in. If you seriously consider this, let's check it. There is also a trial Office 2007 on it that would allow us to check compatibility.)

HP Pavilion dv6568se(GA410UA) Core 2 Duo 15.4" WXGA NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS HP Pavilion dv6568se(GA410UA) NoteBook Intel Core 2 Duo T5450(1.66GHz) 15.4" Wide XGA 2GB 200GB 4200rpm DVD Super Multi NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (Mail In Rebate $50.00 Expires 09/29/2007) for $1299.99 don't forget the form.

HPs run hotter in my experience. I don't like sitting with them on my lap
without significant insulation... Cold winter nights they can be an easier
source of heat than a husband though.

A configured Dell w/ XP which they are still offering and 2 GB Mem including
Office 2007 (having trouble finding Office 2003 and you should be very
careful about doubling up on Lic use if you want to get OS updates - FYI)
would run in the $1300-1600 range. Subtract $275 for no Office. Subtract $70
for lower resolution screen... there is probably another $50 in there if
your really want to cut things to the bone, but they have some good value I
think in things like Next Bus. Day 1 year warranty for $30... That kind of
stuff. I would think about them for your situation and location...
Certainly cheaper than me;-) this is the details of the system I used for
the ballpark figure.

An example might be:

My System Details
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T5500 (1.66GHz) 2M L2 Cache, 667Mhz Dual Core
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2, with media
15 inch XGA LCD Panel
512MB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 1 DIMM
80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
24X CD-RW/DVD w/ Cyberlink PowerDVD™
Dell Wireless™ 1390 802.11g Mini Card
My Accessories
6 Cell Primary Battery
65W A/C Adapter
No Floppy Drive
My Software
No Resource CD
NTFS File System for all Operating Systems
My Support & Services
1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year Mail-in Service
No Onsite System Setup
Purchase is not intended for resale.
Also Included
Latitude D520
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
Windows XP Brand
Internal English Keyboard

Just a handy link to Dell:

So if you see something else you would like me to take a look at, let me
know. I will look around quick for Office 2003 lic... I guess we could look
on EBay. Let me know what you decide to do. (Not sure where I was yesterday. Found 2003 no problem at newegg.)

Microsoft Office Small Business 2003 SP2 Single Pack Microsoft Office Small Business 2003 SP2 Single Pack for $229