laptop

i need to buy a laptop in the next 3 weeks
its for uni i really dont know what im looking for but here are the bare essentials:
- Need Microsoft office suite
- need it to be reliable
- need it to be broadband ready ( uni has wireless hotspots im told)

need it to be cheap ( 500 +/- 20%)

any ideas where to look?

I had a similar thread recently, that may help:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=24019

for that money AVOID VISTA!

for that money AVOID VISTA!

+1
you could probably grab a bargain at ebay???

maybe get one of those EEPC thingos? they are small and compact and have everything u need for uni work. Unless u wanna play games or watch movies. I made the big mistake of buying a 15" laptop from HP, i hate taking it in to uni its such a pain in the ass carrying it around even with a bag. Yea avoid vista tahts a pain in the ass as well...

for that price range, government auctions are the way to go. have a google for ones in your area. or have a look at greys online, auctions there start from $9.

You can buy MS Office Student for about $75 ATM.

for that money AVOID VISTA!

+1
you could probably grab a bargain at ebay???

My laptop cost me $250 off fleabay, admittedly it only had a 40gb drive (i had a 120 sitting in a drawer not doing much)

for that price range, government auctions are the way to go. have a google for ones in your area. or have a look at greys online, auctions there start from $9.

Did a similar thing for my old laptop, worked well. Also look into getting a 12-14inch laptop if you'll be doing a lot of lugging it around, especially the lighter weight models (not every 14inch laptop is made equal).