New x100e - good deal?

Hi everyone,

I hope you guys can help me feel out whether this is a good deal or not:

Lenovo x100e (with AMD X2) -- $498.24 + Tax
AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual-Core L335 (1.6GHz, 800MHz, 512KB L2)
Windows 7 Home Premium 32
AMD M780G with ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics
1 GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz SODIMM Memory (1 DIMM)
160 GB Hard Disk Drive, 5400rpm
6 cell Li-Ion Battery 2.6 Ah
Bluetooth w/ antenna
ThinkPad bgn Wireless
Integrated Mobile Broadband - Upgradable

Everything is base except Bluetooth. Please note that I'm not happy with the HDD size or RAM, but am willing to upgrade it later (depending on price). Warranty is 1 year, basic ship-in. I usually get a 3-4 year warranty + Accidental damage with my laptops, but then again I usually purchase more expensive laptops.

So, my questions are these:

- Is this a "good" price? I don't need to purchase anything urgently. I normally only follow the 15-17" laptop market and haven't had time to look at such small laptops too closely.

- Would you get a warranty extension with this laptop?

Thanks a lot for your help,

z.

 

As far as know cheaper laptops often don't have great deals due to profit margins. I'm sure it has small coupons once and a while for $50-$100 or something like that.

About the warranty. If you're using it as a primary machine, it would be smart to get a basic 3 year warranty. If you get something like Onsite 3 year warranty; with that kind of money you could easily get a much better x201.

 

...without the 3 year warranty,lol

anyway,if you can stand a little heat,and ~3-4 hours of battery life,the machine is great, no problems performance wise.

It has a great screen, keyboard and multi gesture touchpad added on,so its pretty decent to use as a secondary machine for me

 

Is this a secondary machine for fun/couch use? Base warranty + 1 year credit card extension is probably fine.

 

I have a laptop similar, an HP DM3z with the specs in the sig.

I am a Senior in high school this coming year and have been using this laptop as my primary machine since October 2009, and I have absolutely no problems with this laptop. I usually only get about 4.5 hours of battery but that's good enough for me.

The performance is solid, I type notes, have Opera web browser up with multiple tabs, and have iTunes up all at the same time all the time with no quirks.

I also do a little bit of light gaming, AOE III, League of Legends, AOE II, Deus Ex, etc. all run decently with medium-high settings. I am not a gamer by any means, but I occasionally will game.

The X100e just looks like an 11" version of the HP DM3z but made out of plastic, with a better keyboard and touchpad, more durable, but also more expensive.

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone. To answer a couple of the questions:

- This is a secondary machine. The machine in my sig died, and Dell replaced it with a 1764 that I use as my primary machine. The x100e will be more for use while traveling.

- I do intend to use it for light gaming. I play Eve Online and Dragon Age, but since Eve works on a Intel 4500HD, I doubt the ATI 3200 would have any problem with it.

Mostly, I'll be using the machine to edit forms/documents. As long as it works with my USB smartcard reader, I'll be okay.

At this point, I'm just holding out for a better deal. I'm really hoping some of the older coupons come back.

I picked up a great U150 for my parents for $400, and I'm hoping for a similar deal with this machine.

Thanks for your comments so far,

z.