Got a friend looking for $400 or less laptop...

[danwood]

. Buy a license for Win 7 for $69.

I wouldn't bother with that, just use 8.1 that comes with all laptops. You can install the free Classic Shell or Start8 and it is pretty much identical to Win 7 (you never see the Metro/New UI stuff).

[danwood]

BTW, HP doesn't use lead in their solder (for a long time now) and the motherboards fail constantly due to the solder joints cracking (ever notice that you can fry an egg on an HP laptop?)! The HP motherboard failure rate is an epidemic with their consumer products!

It's not just HP, nobody uses Lead Solder since it was effectively banned in the EU almost 10 years ago:

"On July 1, 2006 the European Union Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) and Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) came into effect prohibiting the inclusion of significant quantities of lead in most consumer electronics produced in the EU."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solder#Lead_solder

[danwood]

The ban on Lead isn't so harsh here in the States.

I'd imagine most machines are designed for the international market though, is lead solder still common on computers in the US?