Balance AMD Athlon 1.2GHz 40GB 256MB DVD-R/CD-RW

Hello,
I am new to this website and wondered if I could get some feedback on a notebook system that Walmart/Sam's Club is pushing at the moment.

I am pretty sure that this is basically an entry level notebook. Does anyone has feedback experience with the manufacturer regarding reliability, etc. The brand is Balance and the manufacturer is ECS, I believe. Price is $ 629 configured per following specs. Anyway here are the specs from the Sam's club website:

Features



LCD Display and Graphic:
14.1" XGA TFT LCD with 1024 x 768 resolution, 16.7M colors
High performance 256bit 3D graphic engine, up to 143MHz 3D engine clock
Shared memory 16/32/64MB DDR (user adjustable in BIOS, 16MB as default)
Audio:

AC’97 2.2 supports 5.1 channel decoder through SPDIF cable
Built-in two stereo speakers with chamber
Communication:

Integrated WiFi™-compliant wireless LAN, 802.11b:11Mbps
On-board 1Gb/100M/10M Base-T LAN Ethernet, up to 1 Gbps
56K V.90 modem supported by miniPCI modem card as option
Hard Disk Drive:

2.5” 9.5mm height
40BG ATA 100/66/33 supported
Optical Device Drive:

DVD-ROM drive, CD/RW
Pointing Device & Keyboard:

Synaptics touchpad w/ 4-way scrolling button
3.0mm key travel, 19mm key pitch, inverted-T
Two Quick Launch Keys : WWW & E-mail
I/O Interface:

4 X USB 2.0, 1 X RJ-11 (Modem), 1 X RJ-45 jack for Ethernet
1 X Headphone jack with SPDIF output for 5.1 channel decoder, 1 X MIC-in
1 X external VGA port, 1 X parallel port, 1 X S-Video TV - Out connector
1 X DC- in jack for AC adaptor
AC Adapter:

Auto-sensing dual voltage support, AC100-240V
60W,3pin, DC 19V,3.16A
Battery:

4-cell Li-Ion battery pack: 32.56Whr/1800mAhr
Approximately 2 hours charging time to 100% capacity by 8-cell battery pack (system off)
Provide approximately 40 min. of battery life by 8-cell battery pack
Dimensions and Weight:

Dimensions: 13.14" x 10.78" x 1.33"
Weight: 6.0 lbs.
BIOS:

Plug & Play, ACPI and DMI supported
Bootable from USB FDD and CD-ROM
Security:

Kensington Lock and BIOS password protection
Included Accessories:

AC adaptor
Removable battery
Windows XP Home Edition
InterVideo WinDVD 4 software for playing DVD videos

 

I'd look at this as a basic laptop:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?CategoryID=cat01174&id=1099387489920&skuId=6979193&type=product&ref=10&loc=01

You'll have to wait out the rebates, but it is much cheaper than the Walmart one. I think the quality of the Walmart notebook is an unknown at this time. Looks like it is sold out online, but you may be able to find one in store. Sometimes Best Buy will allow you to purchase even if it is not in stock and pick it up later. Just make sure the rebates don't expire in the mean time, and make copies of all forms and UPCs before sending them out. Best Buy is usually pretty good about rebates though. Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

I also understand the mfg of Sams Balance AMD Athlon 1.2GHz 40GB 256MB DVD-R/CD-RW AKAECS A535 is the Elitegroup Computer Systems

http://www.ecsusa.com/products/a535.html