HP Laptop + xbox (Futureshop/BestBuy Canada)?

My 6 yr old laptop HDD just died and now its time to get something new.
Futureshop and BestBuy in Canada are doing the HP Laptop + xbox deal.

But I am not sure about the systems I would be willing to spend money on, especially since I have not kept up with CPU info and all that.

I was looking at the following for $499.99:
HP G-Series 15.6"
AMD Phenom II Quad-Core P960
640 GB @ 5400RPM
4 GB RAM
DVD+/-RW with LightScribe
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 (I think integrated)

I wouldn't spend more than $700 for a system at the moment, but the available systems all seem to be Quad Core systems. I've heard that the P960 is a little slow in single threaded applications since it is clocked at 1.8GHz.

I don't really use any multi-core programs and don't usually play too many intense games..altho that may change if i get a good system.

I used to have a Intel T2300..the first 2 core for laptops i think how would this compare to that in just normal watching movies, browsing, etc.?

 

the laptops that avail in futureshop/bestbuy are all old gen hps they are trying to get rid of for the new line to come out.

the deals are not very good at all. a dual core version of that laptop (same everything except its another amd cpu but dual instead of quadcore same clocks) goes for 350. dont buy into the whole free xbox thing its just a way for them to get rid of old stocks.

if you are just watching movies and browsing the cheapest laptop ie 300+ will do.

 

Thanks for the info. I looked the P960 up and found out it was from last year sometime.
And yea, it seems like a dual-core at a high clock is more what i need than a Quad core.
thanks for saving me the trouble!
+1

 

just bought the 350 today.. i hate the trackpad so i just use the mouse.. tbh either buy a laptop under 400 or go all out and get a desktop at 1500