New FS742 or Refurbished A250?

SonyStyle has a refurbished A250 (original list price $2099) for $1049, which would be $1070 after a $300 rebate, tax and a 3-year warranty. It has a 1.6GHz pentium M processor, 400MHz front side bus speed, 512MB RAM, 80GB harddrive, DL DVD burner and an ATI mobility Radeon 9200 graphics card with 64MB ram.

A new FS742 for $1299 would be $1220 after a $400 rebate, tax and a 3-year warranty. It has a 1.73GHz pentium M processor, 533MHz front side bus speed, 512MB RAM, 80GB harddrive, DL DVD burner and integrated GMA 900 graphics.

I don't really play games, just watch and burn DVDs and do regular office-type work. So...

Would you recommend a 1.73 processor with 533MHz bus speed and INTEGRATED graphics, or a 1.6GHz processor with 400MHz bus speed and DEDICATED graphics?

I would definitely upgrade the RAM at a later date.

I figure I'm probably okay on a refurbished item since I'll be getting the 3-year warranty with accidental damage coverage.

Thanks in advance,

Alex

 

Alex -

You'll be okay with either given your needs. It's my preference to not buy refurbs, but if that machine suits you better, you have a good warranty.

 

Brian, you graciously answered my other thread. First, sorry for posting two similar threads. I kind of realized after I wrote one that it maybe wasn't as clear as it should have been... I guess I should have just added a reply to that thread, rather than making a whole new one...

anyway, if I'm doing some basic video editing, basically backing up movie I own to DVD, would that make a difference in your advice on needing a graphics card?

Thanks!

 

Not at all, in that case CPU is going to be important, along with RAM.

 

Thanks, man!