Buying a new budget laptop. Opinions on processor.

I'm about to take the plunge into a laptop and am trying to weigh my options.

Let me start off by explaining that I"m looking to spend $300 to $400 tops, before taxes and what-not.

My needs are simply to surf the net, email and watch dvds while away from the home unit.

What are the best choices regarding laptop brand and processor type?

I've read that Athlons normally generate more heat with a laptop, but generally outperform Celerons.

Suggestions?

 

Avoid Celeron and Sempron processors. These are the '3 legged dogs' from Intel and AMD respectively. Centrino and Turion processors (again Intel/AMD respectively) were engineered for laptop use and either would be a good choice for performance and battery longevity. Laptops which use standard desktop processors are likely to run hotter and shorten the time between battery charges, but performance will be increased.

 

I'm strongly considering either one of these. Which would be the best bet?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9168143&type=product&id=1218041995463

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9168063&type=product&id=1218041998438

Again, I don't need any serious firepower. Not a gamer, no video editing/authoring and not looking to launch any orbital satellites.

Just surfing, reading emails and watching the occasional Dvd. My desktop has more power and features than I will probably ever use, so the laptop is just a toy to play with while I'm away from the home unit.

 

The 2nd one is the way to go. A dual core Athlon beats a single core Celeron BIG TIME!!! There's basically no comparison. Plus, the 2nd one also has a larger hard drive (250gb vs. the smaller 160gb), and it uses a better video chip with more available video memory.

 

I was kind of leaning towards the 2nd one also. Another plus is Vista Home Premium and Best Buy is running a Free upgrade to Windows 7 with the 2nd comp.

A lot more bang for only $50 more!