I work in publications full-time and teach at a university part-time. I had been using a 2- or 3-year-old Vaio that work provided, but recently I had to check it back in. I then checked out a few-month-old Inspiron from school, but that was also a loaner that had to be returned in a few days. I was tired of having to constantly check laptops in and out, so I decided to go ahead and get my own "cheap" laptop that I could take with me without worrying about returning or about constantly installing or uninstalling software. So I went looking for an affordable second computer, a laptop, that I could use mainly for word processing and surfing on my wireless network at home (I have a desktop, but I sometimes like to sit in bed and surf or do my work).

Keep in mind that I was only looking for a really basic system. A hard drive, enough memory to run Word and a couple of other memory-intensive Adobe apps, and a decent display were all I really needed. I knew I didn't want to spend more than $900. I knew I wanted at least 512MB of memory and at least 40GB of drive space. I also needed a VGA connector to do occasional presentations for class. I wasn't concerned with battery life only because I knew I would never stray too far from an outlet anyway. Graphics and sound really weren't an issue because I wasn't using it for games or video or audio editing. I already had a wireless PC card, so wireless and LAN options were not a big deal. The other laptops that I used came with a DVD burner, but I never used it. So I really didn't have any use for one (especially because I already had one on my desktop). In the back of my mind, I sort of went looking for something with an AMD processor mainly for the price (really nothing against Intel).

I looked at an Acer and an HP and a few other laptops at other electronics and office retailers as well as some online computer retailers and even refurbished equipment retailers. I have a tendency to go with a familiar brand, and my current desktop is an eMachines. So when I saw the eMachines W4605 at Wal-Mart's website for a pretty decent price ($797), I think I was pretty set on this one. Here are some of the specs that stood out for me:

- Mobile AMD Sempron™ 2800 Processor
- 15.0" Ultrabright XGA TFT
- 512MB DDR (1x512MB) SODIMM (PC2700)Expandable to 2GB
- 60GB HDD (4200 RPM) 1
- 24x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
- 4-in-1 Digital Media Manager (MMC, SD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro)
- ATI Radeon® Xpress 200M Graphics
- AC '97 Compliant Audio with Built-in Stereo Speakers
- 802.11g integrated wireless LAN (up to 54Mbps)
- 10/100Mbps built-in Ethernet
- 3 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 IEEE 1394 (firewire), 1 VGA External Connector, 1 RJ11, 1 RJ45, Microphone In, Headphone/Audio Out
- 1 PCMCIA (Type I or Type II Card Bus)

The 15-inch display is really bright and clear. This one had the 512MB of memory with a 60GB hard drive, more than the 40GB that I was looking for, and it had a CDRW/DVD-ROM combo, which is all I really needed. The 3 USB ports would be more than enough for my external devices including flash drives, GPS devices, and other USB devices that I had. I wanted a PCMCIA card mainly for my wireless card, but this laptop already had built-in wireless. I suppose the firewire port is always something good to have if I ever got a firewire device. The ATI graphics is pretty basic as far as onboard cards go (it can share up to 128MB of system memory). The soundcard is pretty basic as well, which is no big deal. The SD/MMC/Memory Stick reader was a plus because my digital camera and cell phone use SD and MMC cards.

I've had this computer for almost a month now, and so far so good. I supposedly can get about 2.5 to 3 hours unplugged according to the battery icon, when I do unplug it, but as I mentioned, I rarely go unplugged. Last night, I did go unplugged for a couple of hours with supposedly 1.5 hours left of juice. (I've been told for battery life, laptops with the Intel Centrino chipset is the best way to go.) I'm still amazed at how light this one is (about 5 lbs) compared to the Vaio and Inspiron that I used before(~8 lbs). (The other day, I got to play a little with my brother's new Vaio that weighed about 3 lbs, but the display was a bit too small for my eyes at 11 inches.)

I do plenty of typing and editing and layout with Word, InDesign, and Photoshop without any hitches. As far as I can tell, the wireless is about as fast as the wireless card I installed on the other laptops (I had a Linksys wireless G with Speedbooster card that connected to a router with Speedbooster technology). It also picks up and holds signals pretty well. I've only burned a few music CDs, and so far I haven't had any coasters. I haven't tried watching a DVD yet. I do plan to install another 512MB of RAM (getting it for about $50)in a few days (the W4605 one comes with 512MB in one slot and one open slot---I noticed that many other brands have 2 slots with 256MB in each slot).

Even before I read reviews about how hot Sempron processors got, I did notice that this notebook got hotter than the others I've used. It also can be a little slow booting up, but that might be either from all the extras I installed myself or from the hard drive not being as fast as others (4200rpm). The only other thing is the keyboard, or specifically one particular key: the "Fn" key. On other notebooks, it's usually on the bottom right corner or near the top of either corners. On this model, it's at the bottom left, where I frequently press it instead of the "Ctrl" key that is usually there on other keyboards. It's just a habit that I'll have to learn to break I suppose. This one also has no option for a replication or expansion port, but that would probably defeat the purpose of a laptop (besides, isn't that what the desktop is for?).

I'll have to update this in a few months to see how this laptop works out. I could have spent an extra $150 or $200 on other brands for other perks such as a DVD burner or more USB or firewire ports or even better graphics or expansion ports, but in the end, I knew I would have no use for all the extras. I think I got a pretty good deal, and this laptop will serve its purpose just fine.

(I haven't had to use tech support yet. I also haven't found very much info on their website for this laptop except for the specs. I'm not sure if it's because it's a Wal-Mart exclusive.)

January 2007 update
No real issues with this one at all. It has actually saved me a couple of times when my desktop crashed. The only complaint is how slow it loads up (compared to other notebooks). It still gets hot, but it hasn't been an issue for me (although my wife says she can't leave it on her lap for too long). I'm currently debating replacing the hard drive with a somewhat faster and higher capacity drive. At this point, I've seen notebooks with more features (and somewhat faster) for near or even cheaper than what I paid for this one a little over a year ago. I'm not sure if Wally World still sells this one in any case.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 797 tax
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 15 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): Over 50