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$398 Laptop @ Wal*Mart Beginning November 5th

bfads.net — Possibly a hint of what is to come this Black Friday, but in the interim, Wal*Mart is offering a Sempron based laptop that is Vista ready beginning November 5th (more than two weeks prior to Black Friday)

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  • ~*77*~, on 10/12/2007, -5/+28Might be worth the money just to get the wife off of my laptop... Wait, that didn't sound quite right.
    • lolwtfhaha, on 10/12/2007, -23/+2Might be worth the money to get off my wife's iBook... Will it run lunix??
    • stmiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Full specs from here:

      http://bfads.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1379

      Compaq Presario V5305WM Laptop Computer - $398.00

      * 2.00 GHz Mobile AMD Sempron™ Processor 3300+
      * 512MB 333MHz DDR (upgradable to 2GB)
      * ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M IGP (128MB)
      * 60GB 5400RPM Hard-Drive
      * 24X DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
      * 15.4” WXGA High-Definition BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800) Display
      * Integrated 56k modem, 100mb Network Card and 54g 802.11b/g Wireless Connectivity
      * 1 ExpressCard/54 Slot (Not PCMCIA)
      * 10.2"(L) x 14.1"(W) x 1.38"(min H) /1.77"(max H)
      * 6.4 lbs

    • stmiller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1And possibly looks similar to this:

      http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2006/ces/images/v5000.jpg

    • kakapu4u, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Last year Sears sued these same guys to remove the ads because the details were posted sooner than Sears liked...

      Save the adscans locally just in case they're not there when you want to refresh your memory a week from now. http://bfads.net/adscans/
  • pondster, on 10/12/2007, -6/+32oh no no - from the fine words of ol G.W.B
    Walmart fool me once shame on me, fool me twice the fooled will not be fooled again!

    I fell for this scam last year - The chances of you getting this deal are next to none, the chances are walmart getting you to buy something else since they already suckered you in there 100%

    No way in hell am I going through that again - down with black friday!
    • jonnyq, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18yep... wal-mart with those high-pressure sales tactics
    • r2d7, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10What's black friday?
    • sabotank, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12@r2d7

      Black Friday (shopping), the day after Thanksgiving Day in the United States, the first shopping day of the Christmas season and one of the busiest shopping days of the year

      thanks wikipedia
    • gengisPhat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I got mine on Black Friday. I got there at 1am and waited in line. However, if I would have to got there at around 3:30 I still would have gotten it easy.

      Of course I live in podunk Pensacola, Florida so it might be easier than other places.
    • alwaysmc2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10@r2d7
      The name "Black Friday" comes from the fact that it is always the Friday after Thanksgiving. It's "black", because the numbers in the accounting books are always black on that day (meaning there was a profit. Red would mean a loss.)
  • fanboydcs, on 10/12/2007, -7/+16$398, wow, I would rather spend save my money and buy a laptop that will last over 1 year...
    • AJDigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Yeah spend $398 now and then it self-destructs after Christmas.....
  • Dogtown7, on 10/12/2007, -8/+8this is only about $50 off the normal retail. there is a paradigm shift in terms of laptop costs. Non-core duos can be had easily for under $500, so $400 is aiight. I would invest $50 more and buy something that looks like it was designed this century. This is a complete budget laptop. Even the glossy screen is very dim. Also, the xpress x200 does not beat the GMA950. For certain ATI optimized games, the FPS might be higher, but for Vista, the GMA950 performs much faster.
    • theotherme, on 10/12/2007, -3/+36ummm, nobody buys a $400 laptop to play games
    • mrwiggl3s, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5I got a $600 one and it plays CS great
  • danieleran, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2Instant eWaste! Thanks WalMart.

    http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Home/29C5599A-FCD8-4E30-9AD5-5497999ABA1B.html
  • chix0r, on 10/12/2007, -9/+24people buy electronics from walmart? gross.
    • Kamikid, on 10/12/2007, -3/+5I work for Wal-mart and I can tell you from looking at our numbers electronics is consistently our highest selling department in the whole store. So to answer your question yes.
    • f0dder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@Kamikid
      What percentage of that sale is electronics gear vs sales of DVD's?
      I remember Wal-Mart goin ***** when Apple mentioned allowing
      download of movies via iTMS, threatening Wal Marts DVD business.
  • tange1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6This is nearly the exact same specs as walmarts 380 dollar black Friday machine. I bought it, its an OK box. This year's machine starts w/ 512 instead of 256 like last year (I upgraded it for 50 bucks ish anyway) and its got a higher resolution screen. Looks like it hasn't really changed.
  • nwkeeley, on 10/12/2007, -17/+1My god, I have seen this same article posted like 12x over on digg.
    Each and everyone I am burying...
    1. Because I do not support Walmart,
    2. Because It has been posted 12x over.
    3. Because it has been posted 12x over.
    and 4. Because it has been posted 12x over.
    • StephenCIreland, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2ill digg you down because you said that 2nd bit 4x over
  • Ascus, on 10/12/2007, -3/+11I had someone the always seemed to be getting the best deal explain how they get all the good deals on black Friday. Actual quite well though out.

    1> they work in group of 5 to 6 (more on this later)
    2> have large non-transparent shopping bag with them (no delay getting a cart and no one sees what they already have)
    3> they know exactly where each product will be displayed by going in prior day, and asking if neccessary (no time wasted looking)
    4> Show up between midnight and 3am as a group and camp out (to be first in line)
    5> Each person has one item to pick up,and they will pick up limit for each person wanting that item.
    6> After each get the item they are tasked for, The meet in-store and swap the items so the each get thier limit.
    7> Check out. Usually are out in a couple minutes since every one else is still looking for the next deal.

    It seemed quite a bit of work to me, but they see it more as an adventure and chance to party, and get some good deals in process. I will be joining them this year, just for fun.
    • adidos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7That seems like a good strategy...but I'd rather not get up at 3am to camp out in front of the scummy-ass Walmart in my city just to save 50 bucks. If you consider the time you're investing (midnight -> 7am), you're getting like $7/hour (assuming you are saving $50).
    • nosebleed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Ugh, I did this with my brother and some friends at Best Buy sometime before Christmas. We got there at 2am, were third in line, store opened at 6am, and we got what we were looking for quickly, but wound up having to wait in lines until 10am. Not anything I'd want to go through again just to save a few clams.
  • nolt, on 10/12/2007, -21/+4if you buy anything at walmart then you deserve what you get. hopefully that will include headache, loss of time, hives, herpes, evil eye, spontaneous combustion, and a laptop thats barely more powerful than a cellphone.
    • elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I buy anything from Wal*Mart, I deserve what I get? Economical goods in a convenient location for great prices?

      (I don't support Wal*Mart, but this guy's just an ass)
  • elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8You know, quickly looking at the specs, that computer isn't all that bad. Hell, I must admit, it's a damn good deal.
  • deadbaby, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3You get what you pay for. The problem with these cheap laptops is the overall build quality is quite low. Things will break. (screen hinges/latch/LCD backlight) which is going to leave you with an out of pocket warranty repair fee which, in many cases, is going to exceed the cost of the laptop itself. You also have to carefully read the warranty to see what they cover. Some cheap laptop makers simply exclude parts or warranty things unevenly. They might warranty the motherboard for a year and the display for 90 days. You gotta be VERY careful buying cheap laptops. It may turnout to be a good deal in the end but it's a gamble.
    • Soulhuntre, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, at least when you buy a defective by design laptop from apple someone called a "genius" will keep swappign the logic board for you!
  • cl0ck_werk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Remember, remember the 5Th of November.
  • samuelcotterall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I don't know what everyone is complaining about here.

    I wouldn't touch it myself (I don't use PC's these days, and I'd only buy a ThinkPad if I had to) but the average person who needs a laptop has no intention of gaming or running After Effects and the Internet isn't going to change so dramatically that in a year you wont be able to run the latest browser. It's a BS to suggest that a computer will only last a certain length of time.

    If you need a Core 2 Duo then it's going to cost you a damn sight more than $398 - but if you want a basic laptop that's going to get you through college then you can't go far wrong. It may be Wal*Mart, but the computer is still going to be covered by the store/manufacturer for a year.
    • samuelcotterall, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Too late to edit...

      Maybe the warranty isn't a year... but if you take care of it then it going to last a year anyway.
    • codyfrisch, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2It wouldn't get me through college.. then again I use after effects and 3ds max on a daily basis for my degree. But i guess then I fall into the first category. I might consider picking something like this up to set in my living room for friends to use when they are over. But right now I got my MacBook Pro, PowerMac and homebrew P4 system to keep me happy. Getting a Mac Pro next year sometime.
  • greggish, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12This $400 lappy would probably run Ubuntu quite nicely.
    • cartwheels, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2My exact thoughts... I'll see you at Wal Mart.
    • dattaway, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6From what I have bought Walmart seems to test laptops they sell for ability to run linux. Installations run smoothly.
  • oceanelement, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4tick tock tick tock, boom (battery innards fly everywhere).
  • haxorjoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well, it's a brand name, pretty good specs. Makes me really thing about it.
  • bbardlbradd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1WAL*MART electronics+Cheap=Vista ready sempron system??? A Vista ready laptop for $400... I'm just thinking.......... about how much of a n00b they are....
  • N3wtR0ckn13, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1is bfads.net the kids from caltech that put this site up a year or two ago?
  • truspark, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to watching that fat lady fall down and lose her wig again when they open the doors the day those things go on sale.
  • mallclerks, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I find it funny people make a big deal about this, where as Best Buy has had 2 different Laptops for sale in the past 2 months for the same price, except they were a Gateway and an HP I believe. Hell, I bought the Gateway for my sister + Mom to use.

    Don't fall for this BS, at the very least wait until the actual Black Friday where ya will probably get an even better deal.
    • EtherGnat, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The difference between this and most other budget systems is that there are no rebates to deal with on this computer. A lot of the Best Buy systems have MULTIPLE rebates, which are a pain the ass.
  • kagelump, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sempron for $400?

    frys had a sempron laptop last black friday for a bit over $300
  • slythfox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ug. Office Depot has had two offers for $400 laptops in the past year.

    Walmart is not the first.
  • Cyberdactyl, on 10/12/2007, -5/+1LOL why the hell was this posted?

    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1907630&CatId=17

    I can find sub $400 all day long.
    • cartwheels, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6You do realize that the laptop that was posted is brand new. The Thinkpad was a decent computer 5 years ago... but a Pentium 3 now? No way.
    • BigBunion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0So you are comparing a USED P3 1.0 Ghz laptop with NO OS to this brand new sempron machine?

      Brilliant!
  • PsychoticCarp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1No PCMCIA card? no thankyou.
  • crpietschmann, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Those specs are Vista Capable, not Vista Premium Ready. They would need to be a little bit higher for that.
  • IVIystic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Sempron... Vista Ready? Did anyone else see those specs? I'm blogging this as the the Turtle ready vista laptop... mmhmm
  • katarin, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0I joined this site and got some money back. I was really amazed :).

    BIG CRUMBS REALLY DOES WORK!! USE THE FOLLWOING LINK TO START SAVING ON PURCHASES YOU WOULD NORMALLY BUY ANYWAYS!!

    http://www.bigcrumbs.com/crumbs/frontpage.jsp?r=niisuke

    It includes eBay Apple store, Bestbuy, CircuitCity, CompUSA, Dell, Gap, Macy's, Orbitz, Overstock.com, Sears, Sephora, shoes.com, Target, Wal-Mart, Zappos.com etc.

    So check it out and join too ;)
  • dattaway, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Microcenter has been selling various Acer laptop models just under this price over the summer, but with nvidia video chipsets. I already bought one for every family member, but it seems like the price of laptops will drop to an all time low just after the holiday season happens.
  • siestaguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I happened to be at walmart shortly before 12 AM. Starting at about 11:30, they periodically announced that, at 12:01 AM, they will be selling a limited quantity of these laptops as a "one time deal". People were lining up and they gave out sheets of paper saying you are x of 38 in line. I got one, figuring I can return it if I decide later that I don't want it or a friend doesn't want to buy it off me.
  • Harmless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I picked one up. My store had 30 of them. They handed out tickets at 10pm. They dished them out at 12:01. I am very happy with it. Although I wouldn't play WOW on this, I did load it up and had no problems running it. I am happy with the screen size too. What I was not happy about, was the three hours last night that I spent in the add/remove console properly uninstalling all of the crap that they loaded up on this thing.

    Anyway, overall, I'm happy with the purchase. My wife is going to enjoy this, and I can finally have my desktop back.
  • xterra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I think this ram will work.

    http://www.edgetechcorp.com/memory/upgrade.asp?cid=30310
  • ikenthepainter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For the person that actually buys this laptop during this years black Friday experience at Wal-Mart: get back to us on it. And just because you waited in line for 5+ hours doesn't mean you need to give us your biased opinion. I'm curious, and I'm sure we all are.
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