Get a 16-inch HP notebook for $499.99

For just a few bucks more than the refurb price, you can get HP's desktop-friendly Pavilion GX-235DX brand new.

(Credit: Best Buy)

Remember the HP Pavilion G60-235DX notebook from last week? Buy.com had refurbs for $469.99 shipped. (They still do, in fact.)

But eagle-eyed reader Mike wrote in to say that Best Buy has new HP Pavilion G60-235DX notebooks for $499.99. In other words, for an extra 30 bucks (plus sales tax in most states), you're getting the same system brand new, with a full one-year warranty instead of just 90 days.

Worth it? Absolutely. I mean, at any price under $500, this notebook is a steal. The 16-inch LCD makes it more than suitable as a desktop replacement, and it offers ample mainstream-computing power from its 2GHz dual-core processor, 3GB of RAM, and roomy 320GB hard drive. (Check the original post if you want more specs or commentary.)

User reviews for this model are stellar on the Best Buy and Buy.com sites alike. And just to clarify that one point of confusion from last week, Buy.com did indeed have the wrong product photo, which they've since corrected. The G60-D235DX does have a full-size keyboard with separate numeric keypad.

If you don't have a Best Buy in your area, you'll have to pony up an extra $25 for shipping. But I still think this is a system worth considering, especially if you're shopping for, say, a high-school grad who needs a college-ready notebook.

[Nychocolips]

Todays Woot also has an HP Laptop. $649.99. It is larger and has greater memory and hard drive space as well as a firewire port. It's also a refurb, so I don't know if it is worth it.

HP Pavilion dv7-1279wm 2GHz Core 2 Duo 4GB DDR2 500GB HD Gigabit LAN eSATA Vista Home Prem 64 bit http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=8314

I like the NEW one you brought out Rick. I'm just so anti-sales tax this week. :)

Thanks

[xZero2007x]

From the older post:
"For example, the Pavilion has a 2GHz dual-core processor, as opposed to the Dell's 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor. Real-world difference? Not much."

Uh, there IS a real-world difference between the Pentium D processors and the C2D processors. You'll notice the difference with basic and advanced usage alike including email, web browsing, office applications to audio/video management/creation.

For $80 more, I'd definitely look for something more in line with the Dell deal. It's not that hard to find a C2D spec, especially on a desktop replacement (smaller = more money) at a low price. If anything, that's what consumers SHOULD be looking for instead of buying 4+ year old tech.

Again, this is an OK deal, but there are definitely better ones to be had.

[xelanmetallium]

Not a Pentium D. According to the specs., it is Pentium Dual-Core which is essentially a Core 2 chip with a slower front side bus, less L2 cache and a slightly slower clock speed. So in this case, a Pentium Dual-Core != Dual Core Pentium D. Good thing too - those netburst Pentium D chips were like ovens.

[lelapin]

Staples has this the same price as an IN STORE purchase after a rebate. I was lucky enough to snag one of these from Staples last month (April) for only $449!!! I love it. Have an AMD dual core laptop, also, but this one is much better. Didn't like the widescreen at first as it requires a lot of vertical scrolling for reading documents, but is wide enough to have 2 documents opened side by side, which is a good tradeoff. Be careful, BestBuy also has an HP G60 235 (not a 230) for slightly more money but it is the IDENTICAL machine but without 80211 G. The HP G60 235 has wireless "G", so it's strange that Best Buy is charging MORE for it when otherwise, it is identical as far as I can see.