Dell I1525-106W Laptop Advice Please

[Paul]

Starting Sunday Wal-mart is having a Father's Day sale on Dell I1525-106W laptops. The ad says: 2GB memory; 120GB hard drive; Reads and writes CD's and DVD's; Windows XP Home; Intel Celeron processor 550. The link is (if I do it right) : Walmart.com: Dell 15.4" Inspiron 1525-106W Laptop PC w/ Intel Celeron Processor 550, Black: LOADING ZONE: ELECTRONICS . I mentioned looking for a laptop for my son & daughter to study on in my previous post - primarily using it for Instacert but will also need to look up other information as related to their studies.
My question: given these parameters is this a decent computer for this use? I've thought about another desktop computer but these guys really need the portability of a laptop. Any thoughts??
Thanks!

[gcalvin]

Looks like quite a good deal. Consider purchasing the extended warranty if they offer one -- for a notebook, you can think of it as an insurance policy on the screen.

-Gary-

[Paul]

Thanks gcalvin!

[eyrobinson]

Yea it looks great, only thing is it has XP instead of Vista. That may be good for now, until Microsoft decides it does not want to support XP anymore.

[gcalvin]

Many people prefer XP to Vista anyway. For Paul's intended use, XP Home will be fine. Microsoft will end up extending the support life of XP anyway, as they are now finding themselves having to support it on a new class of "ultra-portables".

-Gary-

[Paul]

I'm not computer literate enough to know the difference between the two systems but I bought it this morning & am on it now. I like it. Time will tell but it looks like it will fit our needs.
Many Thanks!!

[goldpaws]

It should work fine.
The only problem I've found with midnight Walmart sales is the computer doesn't have enough storage space (meaning I have to manage files), and that they aren't as equipped visually as one from another store. (meaning the graphics cards are so-so.)

I've had two laptops so far: one from best buy, and one from walmart.
One was thousands of dollars ($3000+); the other was $350.

the best buy one (XP, fully loaded, great graphics, Gateway, Works, no storage problems whatsoever) lasted approx 4 years, ending in a hard drive failure. the hard drive failure came really fast; I didn't have problems before the burn up that signified that there was an ongoing issue. It was simply a surprising hard ball.

the walmart one (XP, not fully loaded, Compaq Presario, minimal graphics, Works) gave me a virtual memory message within the first week! I haven't been fully satisfied but it does the job of surfing and writing up papers. I'm not complaining to the person who bought it for me because otherwise I would have no computer at all - but, in end, I really want my old computer to rise from the dead and work again. It's in a corner now. I think this HP computer won't last more than 2 years at the pace I write papers and play games.

When it comes to walmart and laptops, you get what you pay for.
There's no doubt most laptops are adequate for everyday use but, ya know, next time I'm going back to best buy because I, well, utilize programs that apparently don't love standard low-budget computers. I had a great warranty at best buy and even though the geek squad is expensive, everything I needed fixed was under warranty and I paid little or nothing to have a physical defect, etc., fixed. Definitely don't go Vista.

If you need specifics on my old laptop I would be happy to try and fill you in. You don't really want the specs on my new computer b/c I really wouldn't recommend it. If you are curious either way, just ask.