Looking to Buy a Laptop -- Need Advice

[SPR]

The old lady and I are looking to buy a laptop computer. I am hoping that some of you computer jocks can point me to a good "reliable" laptop either locally or over the internet. At the very least, can someone tell me what to stay away from and what upgrades are worth the money? The laptop will be used for school work, internet browsing, watching Army Wives and porn. Advice on good anti-virus software would be appreciated as well.

[Sveta]

Costco!

[White trash]

We've been real happy with the compaq laptops we picked up a few years ago at best buy. We got almost the cheapest ones they had and they have proven to be reliable so far especially for under a grand for the pair.

[Lud]

for antivirus I would go with AVG.

http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus

Its free, has updates, it blocks spyware as well as anti-virus.

You'll also need to get something to block malware.
http://download.cnet.com/Malwarebytes-Anti-Malware/3000-8022_4-10804572.html?part=dl-10804572&subj=dl&tag=button


For laptops its really all in what you want. Do you ever intend to replace your desktop entirely with a notebook?

Compaq/HP are now one in the same company and either line is fine.

My only two pieces of advice in hardware

Look for one with a bigger amount of HD space such as 250Gb or more
(hey that porn takes up room on your hard drive)

Go with at least 4Gb of RAM as you most likely will have Windows 7 on it.

EDIT: Costco has some good ones as mentioned above.

[SPR]

Thanks guys for the advice. Down the road, we will replace the desktop with a laptop. I suspect that we will be a two laptop family.

Lud, thanks for the virius software info. I recently downloaded the AVG. Now I will get the other one that you mentioned.

[mattawajeep]

Go with at least 4Gb of RAM as you most likely will have Windows 7 on it.

Just one quick note on that - the 4GB of RAM will only be useful if you have the 64bit version of Windows 7 (which I recommend you get) - otherwise it won't be put to use.

And to avoid viruses I highly recommend a dual boot setup, Windows 7 64bit (Which should come with the computer, and a Linux distribution (Ubuntu is probably the easiest.)

My sister is computer illiterate, but I've got her using both Linux and Windows on her college laptop. Ubuntu is just about bullet proof for all your internet browsing/watching video needs. And it even comes with a full office suite that is compatible with word/excel with complete functionality (except for VB coding if that's your thing).

As far as hardware, I suggest that you at least get a pentium dual core of a decent speed. I've had good luck with Dell for laptops and Netbooks - but I can't reccomend much more than that - I'm more of a desktop guy for a primary PC, and build my own.

[Lud]

He's right Win64+4GB ram+ Dual Core Pentium=good

I only suggest 4GB ram with either Windows 7 because your laptop will most likely have an integrated Video card and will share memory with the system. That and I've learned ram is often cheaper when bought with the laptop then later on.

Linux/Windows Dual boot is a nice setup but theres a learning curve.

I've had my HP Laptop for 5 years and except for the hinges (which I fixed in another thread) it's lasted. It's been good as a desktop replacement but its now just my backup.

[SPR]

What's the deal with "cnet"? Do they make you want a few minutes before starting the download to trick you into clicking on one of their many other software download buttons?

Thanks for the advice guys. I am looking to get a Dell laptop. Is it generally best to order through Dell website? I sure would like a has quick access to a local vender for warrantee work.

[mattawajeep]

What's the deal with "cnet"? Do they make you want a few minutes before starting the download to trick you into clicking on one of their many other software download buttons?

Pretty much, they probably have a deal with their advertisers, and get more money if they make you wait.

Thanks for the advice guys. I am looking to get a Dell laptop. Is it generally best to order through Dell website? I sure would like a has quick access to a local vender for warrantee work.

You can customize your order if you go through the website, and they often have special deals. Of course there are sales through the local dealers as well. Best buy probably isn't a bad place to get a basic model - but I'm not sure if they do the warranty work, or if it still has to get sent into dell. I've never actually taken a computer of any type in to be repaired.

If you want to go with dell, give a price range and the basics of what you want and I can try to optimize the choices for you and email you the results.

[SPR]

If you want to go with dell, give a price range and the basics of what you want and I can try to optimize the choices for you and email you the results.

Very cool. I will send you a PM next week

[tenikiwon2]

what Lud said.

I would also suggest looking at the business line vs. the home line. Get Professional vs Home if you're getting a Windows machine which I'm assuming. I would say 4GB of Ram is a min. with Windows 7 64-bit or not. Spend you money on RAM first, then HD space. You WILL need more of both, but with external drives what they are it's easier to add HD space.

[skijeeper]

I have to put in my $.02 for buying an Apple Macbook. They may cost more, but they just work, and very lil worry about viruses and malware.

I am a longtime mac users, even though I spend all day at work managing pc's running windows. When I come home, I don't want the hassles of windows. I just want the darn thing to work. So I use a Mac.


My $.02
Skijeeper

[jpcreep]

X2 buy a MAC

[SPR]

We bought a Dell. I wish that I would have looked into a Mac to see what they offer.

Here is what we bought.

Order Detail


Order Number: 471510862 Estimated Delivery Date : 10/14/2010

Item Number Quantity Item Description

224-8739
1 Inspiron 15R

317-3902
1 New 2010 Intel® Core™ i3-350M 2.26Gh (4 Threads, 3M Cache)

317-3919
1 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3

320-1372
1 15.6" High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™

320-1373
1 Intel® HD Graphics

342-1112
1 500GB 5400rpm

313-9529
1 Mars Black

330-6222
330-8333
420-3279
420-6436
420-6576
420-7938
420-9100
420-9691
421-0092
421-0187
421-0356
421-0757
421-1193
421-2086
463-2282
1 Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit

430-3605
1 Integrated 10/100 Network Card

410-1883
1 Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0

313-9536
420-8183
1 8X CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) - w/ Roxio Burn 1.0

313-4783
1 HD Audio 2.2 Support SRSâ„¢ Premium Sound

430-0761
1 Dell Wireless DW1501, 802.11 g/n 1x1 Half Mini Card

313-9535
421-1009
1 Integrated 1.3M Pixel Webcam

410-0487
1 Microsoft® Office Starter 2010

410-2462
1 McAfee Security Center with VirusScan, Firewall, Spyware Removal, 15-Months

312-0238
1 Lithium Ion Battery (6-Cell) – Up to 4 hours, 2 minutes of battery life*

923-4597
933-8550
950-9797
960-2780
1 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, On-site Service, and 1 Yr Tech Support


Save $40 on Select Inspiron 15r through Dell Small Business - $40.00
Order Subtotal: $689.99
Shipping and Handling Total: $25.00

Shipping Discount: -$25.00

Tax Total: $57.28
Total Amount: $747.27

[Lud]

Should be fine for what you want.

[iaccocca]

Okay, I'm going to piggy back on this thread. My laptop has gone from dying to dead. We went inexpensive from Costco last time, but in the end I was disappointed with processor speed and the graphics card. The battery life was good at first, but in less than two years got so bad it needed to be replaced, so my portable computer was always attached to an outlet. I prefer a 17â€

[mattawajeep]

Looks to me like that will do everything you want quite handily. The I5 and I7's are great processors, and the 4 threads on yours combined with the 6 gigs of ram will let you open up a whole lot of programs at once without a problem. Just be sure you get a 64bit OS. The video card is entry level, but it should play most modern games if you keep the settings low.

[SPR]

Lee, My sister-li-law recently purchased a new Toshiba laptop. It has an illuminated keyboard that is really nice.

[Grumpy]

Susan likes her Toshiba...Got it at Bestbuy.