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Get an HP dual-core notebook for $465

Forget stripped-down portables like the Asus Eee PC; you can get a full-featured Vista notebook for about the same price.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
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Rick Broida
eCost

Call me crazy, but I don't understand why anyone would buy the much-ballyhooed Asus Eee PC for $399 when they could get a full-fledged notebook for just a few bucks more. Case in point: eCost has the HP Presario F579WM for $465. Granted, it's an HP-recertified model, one that weighs three times as much as the Asus, but it's also much, much better equipped for everyday computing.

In addition to its dual-core AMD Athlon processor, the 6.6-pound Presario comes with 1GB of RAM, a 120GB hard drive, a super-multi-DVD burner, and a 15.4-inch screen. In short, it's a solid entry-level notebook, one that should easily satisfy users with basic needs. It even has discrete graphics in the form of an Nvidia GeForce Go 6150 processor, meaning games aren't out of the question.

The notebook includes a 90-day warranty. You can find complete specs here.

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