Laptop buying advice?

[mememe]

Hi all,
A friend wants me to advise them on which laptop to buy. It just needs to do
the usual stuff, Office apps and internet. So I was looking around for a
reasonable laptop buying guide. A checklist, so that I don't miss any
critical points.

The problem am I finding is that many of the checklists are out of date
already .. make sure you buy 512KB of RAM for example. ( I wouldn't
recommend a laptop with less than 2GB now).

It occurs to me that ANY laptop that has 2Gig or more of RAM would be
suitable, but then you have to consider screen size and key board. I
couldn't live with a white keyboard for example but that is my preference.
That's why I think it is important to go take look.

The other thing I would like to say to my friend is: "don't buy the cheapest
one, you get what you pay for" but by ignoring anything with less than 2GB
of RAM you are effectively weeding out the cheapest laptops. So maybe this
advice is not required.

Then there are the extras: would you like a built in webcam?, would you like
built in Bluetooth? would you like build in wifi?(Maybe that should be added
to the must haves list which consist so far of 'must have at least 2GB RAM'

One thing I am unsure of right now is the 64bit versus 32 bit processor
thing. Should I be advising 64 bit only? I am thinking that pretty soon 32
bit systems will be phased out.

all advice gratefully received!

 

[Big_Al]

Hi all,
A friend wants me to advise them on which laptop to buy. It just needs to do
the usual stuff, Office apps and internet. So I was looking around for a
reasonable laptop buying guide. A checklist, so that I don't miss any
critical points.

The problem am I finding is that many of the checklists are out of date
already .. make sure you buy 512KB of RAM for example. ( I wouldn't
recommend a laptop with less than 2GB now).

It occurs to me that ANY laptop that has 2Gig or more of RAM would be
suitable, but then you have to consider screen size and key board. I
couldn't live with a white keyboard for example but that is my preference.
That's why I think it is important to go take look.

The other thing I would like to say to my friend is: "don't buy the cheapest
one, you get what you pay for" but by ignoring anything with less than 2GB
of RAM you are effectively weeding out the cheapest laptops. So maybe this
advice is not required.

Then there are the extras: would you like a built in webcam?, would you like
built in Bluetooth? would you like build in wifi?(Maybe that should be added
to the must haves list which consist so far of 'must have at least 2GB RAM'

One thing I am unsure of right now is the 64bit versus 32 bit processor
thing. Should I be advising 64 bit only? I am thinking that pretty soon 32
bit systems will be phased out.

all advice gratefully received!

I bought my Dell 2+ years ago. I don't say its the best, as PC's have
changed in 3 years now. I read a message somewhere around here that
Dell no longer sends CD's, but the things I like the most about what I
bought or got with my system was the full package of install CD's not a
restore set or a partition with software, the bluetooth built in so I
don't have that dongle hanging out, and the 1 year in house service. I
kinda wish I had a DVD burner, but I have one in my desktop, so its not
the end of the world. I like the 15.4 inch screen. And with a 2 ghz
processor I find it very good for almost everything I do.

Dell (maybe other manufacturers) has cute tool to build / modify a base
computer. So you can play with options, add /subtract items, see what
they offer, might jog your memory as to what to buy. Then print the
list if you want to shop big box stores. I built about 12 PC's on
their website before I stabilized on what I wanted. And I still
missed it.... oops!

 

[Mike Walsh]

Hi all,
A friend wants me to advise them on which laptop to buy. It just needs to do
the usual stuff, Office apps and internet. So I was looking around for a
reasonable laptop buying guide. A checklist, so that I don't miss any
critical points.

The problem am I finding is that many of the checklists are out of date
already .. make sure you buy 512KB of RAM for example. ( I wouldn't
recommend a laptop with less than 2GB now).

Windows XP will run with 512 MB. Windows Vista Basic will run with 1 GB. Most laptops come with Vista Premium, which should have 2 GB.

It occurs to me that ANY laptop that has 2Gig or more of RAM would be
suitable, but then you have to consider screen size and key board. I
couldn't live with a white keyboard for example but that is my preference.
That's why I think it is important to go take look.

A large screen is preferable if it is only occasionally carried around. A small screen is preferable if it is constantly on the move e.g. a student or someone who travels on business.
Some people have strong preferences regarding touch pads versus eraser heads (not common but still available).

The other thing I would like to say to my friend is: "don't buy the cheapest
one, you get what you pay for" but by ignoring anything with less than 2GB
of RAM you are effectively weeding out the cheapest laptops. So maybe this
advice is not required.

Then there are the extras: would you like a built in webcam?, would you like
built in Bluetooth? would you like build in wifi?(Maybe that should be added
to the must haves list which consist so far of 'must have at least 2GB RAM'

Built-in WiFi is now considered a necessity.

One thing I am unsure of right now is the 64bit versus 32 bit processor
thing. Should I be advising 64 bit only? I am thinking that pretty soon 32
bit systems will be phased out.

The Intel Core2 processor is 64bit. AMD's high end processors are also 64 bit. You will not get an OEM 64 bit OS unless you order a computer with more than 3 GB memory.

 

[GT]

Hi all,
A friend wants me to advise them on which laptop to buy. It just needs to
do the usual stuff, Office apps and internet. So I was looking around for
a reasonable laptop buying guide. A checklist, so that I don't miss any
critical points.

Decide on a budget FIRST. Determine if the user requires 3D power. Any
modern processor will be fast enough for normal office/windows work. I would
agree with you on RAM, but consider upgradability in the future (get 1x2GB
DIMM instead of 2x1GB DIMM). Based on applications, determine required
screen size (resolution, not 'size').

Then I would personnaly go on the DELL outlet website and see what there is
to offer. Alternatively, if they can wait a few weeks, this will save you a
bit... phone Dell and get them to spec out a laptop and then tell them that
it sounds a bit pricy for what you get and say - 'we'll get back to you'.
They will phone you back in a day or two and probably knock 10% off the
price!!! This works best at the end of the month when they are trying to
reach targets.

 

[who?]

Decide on a budget FIRST. Determine if the user requires 3D power. Any
modern processor will be fast enough for normal office/windows work. I
would agree with you on RAM, but consider upgradability in the future (get
1x2GB DIMM instead of 2x1GB DIMM). Based on applications, determine
required screen size (resolution, not 'size').

Then I would personnaly go on the DELL outlet website and see what there
is to offer. Alternatively, if they can wait a few weeks, this will save
you a bit... phone Dell and get them to spec out a laptop and then tell
them that it sounds a bit pricy for what you get and say - 'we'll get back
to you'. They will phone you back in a day or two and probably knock 10%
off the price!!! This works best at the end of the month when they are
trying to reach targets.

Thanks to all for the replies.