Challenge! Find me the cheapest recent Pavilion

After a few weeks of posting, surfing the internet and browsing meatspace stores, I've narrowed down what I want. Originally I wanted a Thinkpad, then I wanted a Pavilion Special Edition, but now I realize that--thankfully!--all I need is something relatively simple and inexpensive: a basic dv2000 or dv6000 series HP Pavilion.

The exact model matters less than the price; I will really only use it for internet and word processing, with the occasional other random project--but nothing requiring much power or speed (that is, no high-graphics gaming).

Basic parameters:

Price ~ Preferrably under $600, up to but no higher than $700.
Processor ~ Doesn't matter too much, but I'd prefer a 64-bit mainstream CPU as per this site's Ultimate CPU Guide.
Screen ~ I'd prefer the dv6000 series 15.4", but would be fine with a 14.1" because I'm used to a small laptop and the slightly better battery life.
Battery ~ In order of preference: 6-cell high capacity, 6-cell, 12-cell. I want decent life but don't want to deal with the bulky 12-cell. But again, it doesn't matter that much. If I wasn't happy with the 6-cell I'd consider buying a 12-cell down the line.
Everything else ~ Negotiable. I'd prefer a webcam, lightscribe, a 120 GB hard-drive, but none of these are absolutely necessary.

So far I've seen two decent options, but I've held back from biting:

* This one at Best Buy; it is only $549--about $572 with tax--but was all out at the nearest few Best Buys. I'd have to search the Denver metro area to find one. The main downside is while I'd be okay with an AMD, I've heard they suck battery life quicker, plus it doesn't have any of the fun perks like a webcam, lightscribe, etc.

* This one at Circuit City; it has a nicer processor than the one above, plus some nice perks--webcam, lightscribe, etc--but a worse GPU and a slightly higher price: $649. Of course I would also have to deal with a $150 mail-in rebate.

I'm willing to wait a month or two if I will save a lot of money, but I'd really prefer to get one within the next couple weeks (the sooner the better). I'm willing to buy used, even Ebay, but it seems with what I want I wouldn't save that much, so new makes sense.

In summary, some questions:

*Will I find better deals than those I linked to above?
*Will waiting until after Thanksgiving or even the New Year save me a significant amount of money?
*I noticed Best Buy has a regular Wednesday web sale--worth checking out?
*It seemed that CompUSA is more expensive than Best Buy or Circuit City--yeah or nay?
*If I want to spend $600 or less, is there any point in waiting for an HP coupon as they seem to only apply to $999+?

* The bottom line: what is the cheapest relatively recent HP Pavilion currently available?

Thanks!

p.s. The reason I decided against the Thinkpad is a) the cost, and b) when I finally got a chance to see one--an R61--I was a bit disappointed; it felt a bit cheaper than I expected.
p.p.s. As of yesterday I was drooling over the Special Edition dv2550se/dv2660se. I was planning on waiting for it to appear on HP.com as the dv2600 configurable and then wait for a 30% off coupon--but even then it would be at least $750ish with tax, and for me it isn't worth almost $200 more than that basic Best Buy laptop.

 

You saw this?

 

That looks okay but I'm kinda fixated on the Pavilion looks and I also swore I'd never get a Compaq after two in a row (before my two Dells--all four of which had some degree of structural issues).

I'd rather spend the extra $50 and get the Circuit City Pavilion.

 

The AMD has a better GPU (graphics) than the Intel. You are pushing the bottom of cost, can it go lower? Maybe but I have doubts. If you want to get go ahead and get either.

 

Given that I mainly just use the internet and write, will I notice the difference in processors or in graphics more?

At this point it would be difficult for me to get the Best Buy laptop--the nearby stores are out--and I'm not sure the differences in the two are worth $100 to me (it really only comes down to the webcam and lightscribe, which aren't worth that much--I don't think I'd really notice a difference in the CPU or GPU). What I think I'll do is wait and see what the Wednesday sale offers, and if not that my guess is that Best Buy and Circuit City always have something in the $550-$650 range shows up at the next sale (Sunday, I think). I'm anxious but I can wait at least until then...

I'll bump this thread a few times to see if anyone comes up with anything.

 

For just word processing/office apps, and web browsing, the only thing that matters is the processor and RAM. I would say that upgrading the RAM will have a bigger impact than upgrading the processor when you're talking about getting the most for your money.

I'd go for the circuit city one (unless you want to wait a week and see what Sunday's newspaper flyer brings).

 

Well now I've noticed that Circuit City also has one with 2MB RAM and an AMD Turion 1.9GHz TL58 for $50 more. Isn't that a better processor than even the Intel? Plus the extra RAM for $50...seems like a good deal...

So confusing!

 

Why don't you wait until the quad processors come out for laptops then that would be a good deal.....

My point is nobody can tell you which laptop to buy. Buy which one you want.

 

Intel Core 2 Duo processors are usually considered to be the best available mobile processors right now.

AMD is trailing Intel these days and it doesn't look like there is much hope for AMD's recovery any time soon (in my opinion). You'll often find AMD processors in lower-end, less expensive systems. Usually, AMD-based notebooks tend to run hotter and suck more power (less battery life) than their Intel "Centrino" labeled counterparts.

 

Challenge! Find me the most expensive Pavilion and give me the money to buy it as well.