$464 Asus 17" laptop

[gavagai]

I'm looking for a cheap 17" laptop, and this one looks pretty great: http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-x75adh31-p-4980.html?wconfigure=yes

Asus
17.3" (1600x900)
i3-2350 (2.3Ghz)
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4GB DDR3 1600Mhz (1x4GB)
500GB 5400 HDD
$464, free shipping, 15 day return policy

This would only be for web browsing, citrix remote login to work, occasionally MS office, and occasionally old games (Civ4). I'll probably replace this in 2 years.

Any red flags? 4GB RAM enough (there is no upgrade option)?

 

[cl-scott]

The one and only possible issue I could point out to you, is that Xotic makes custom builds in a lot of cases. So if you have some kind of warranty issue, you have to first send the unit to Xotic, who will undo all of their changes before sending the unit to us. We then send it back to Xotic when work is done, and they return it to you.

From past experience, this adds about an extra 2 weeks onto the total RMA process. If that's not an issue for you, then I have no further comments.

 

[azathoth]

I'm looking for a cheap 17" laptop, and this one looks pretty great: http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-x75adh31-p-4980.html?wconfigure=yes

Asus
17.3" (1600x900)
i3-2350 (2.3Ghz)
Intel HD Graphics 4000
4GB DDR3 1600Mhz (1x4GB)
500GB 5400 HDD
$464, free shipping, 15 day return policy

This would only be for web browsing, citrix remote login to work, occasionally MS office, and occasionally old games (Civ4). I'll probably replace this in 2 years.

Any red flags? 4GB RAM enough (there is no upgrade option)?

Those are probably the best specifications for a laptop in that price range that I've seen.
Fast CPU, the HD4000 can handle even newer games on low/medium settings with 50fps

The RAM has only 1 slot occupied, and you can easily purchase a quick upgrade.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231483
This will go into the unoccupied RAM slot, beside the other stick and you will have 8GB of RAM. Shouldn't take more than a minute to install!

As scott stated, the only downfall to the laptop is if there does happen to be some sort of hardware issue, the return process will take slightly longer. For the most part this should be irrelevant in your purchase decision.

 

[gavagai]

Best answer selected by gavagai.