Buying laptop suggestions?

Question

Hi all,

I want to buy a laptop for my study. I'm not very good about hardwares, so how should I choose my laptop? I'm gonna need it for C++ (school, not work), Internet cable, music and some general applications. Plus, I don't play games, so there's no need for a fancy one here, but there must be at least 30 GB hard drive here and I can upgrade it anytime.

I'd like to spend around $400 - $600. Any suggestions for me?

Thank you.

Answer 1

don't chose a Dell (they are loaded with crap software). you better go for a HP dv2000t, but for C++ you should upgrade it with at least a Core Solo (better a Core Duo) processor, 1GB ram (strongly recommended) and a 80GB hard disk. then it's $730, but believe me, notebooks below $600 will hardly do the job.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?series_name=dv2000t_series&catLevel=3&category=notebooks/hp_pavilion/dv2000_series&storeName=computer_store

Answer 2

Try Dell they provide great deals and there tech support is excellent. You only need a low spec machine for the things you've mentioned so one of there bargain deals will do.

Most come with a 40 gb (Gigabyte) hard drive now as standard. They also come with Windows (makes the machine work), Office (documents, spreadsheets etc), usually antivirus and internet connection deals. Also its worth forking over some extra dosh for the insurance that protects you should you drop it down a flight of concrete stairs or have it nicked out your car!

Make sure to backup all your school documents onto something like a pen drive, cdrom, or dvd. That way if the machine fails on you and goes back to the company you don't lose the information. Dell and any computer company WILL erase the hard drive so keep backups. Be careful using pen drives its easy to snap them off in the USB ports on a laptop meaning you lose the info on them.

Best of luck learning C++ feel free to message me on here if you need a helping hand.

Additional: "1 Gb RAM or 100 Gb hard" You won't get that on a laptop at least not easily and certainly not cheaply. I'm running on 1/2 gb (512 mb) of ram and a 40 gb hard drive on a laptop. I run the most resource intensive apps going IE games and have no problems with the above. Sure a gig of ram and a 100 gig hard drive is nice but do you really need it.

Answer 3

Athlon Turion XP or Intel Core Duo based notebooks will be great for you. Memory should be at least 512MB. If you buy from a retail store, buy another 512MB. Installation is easy. 80GB hard drive is good. When you have a Intel core duo or Athlon turion XP (two processors in single chip) processor, you can run your c++ programs and surf internet or watch movies without having any kind of delay. That's what I do ever since I got my dual core notebook. As they said in their adds "No more Hour glass (No more waiting)".

Other thing I highly consider is weight. If notebook heavy, you don't like to carry it from place to place. If you like to take it to school every day, find a lighter notebook. (less than 6lbs)

I think following model is little above your budget. But I highly recommend it. It is availabel in office depot this week (www.officedepot.com) with $150 rebate. So your final price would be $599+tax. Only drawback is small screen (14.1"). On the other hand big screen are heavy. All other specs are great for that price. You can even use this laptop to copy DVD's.

Toshiba Satellite® M115-S3154

If this model is out of stock (It is going fast), you can use that specifications as a baseline for your laptop hunting.

Good luck

J R

Answer 4

to be honest with you laptops run a bit more pricey than a desktop. i am sure you know that but to get a decent laptop, and i would recommend a DELL(C), you might run in the high 700's. i bought mine from DELL(C) for about 800 but i got like the best of everything. Go to DELL(C).com and go to their laptops section, you can customize a basic unit and upgrade it by your choice. If you'd like here is my email: [e-mail] you can let me know exactly what you want and i can do it for you. I work for a school district and i am constantly ordering computers for people so i know more or likely what you need and dont need.

Answer 5

Don't set yourself up to be disappointed. 30GB ain't enough. I wouldn't buy anything with less than 1 Gb RAM or 100 Gb hard drive. The internet is very resource-intensive not to mention virus and malware detectors. You just need more horsepower today than years ago.

Answer 6

Dell is reliable quiet keyboard, HP/Compaq is also excellent.

Need P4, 2+GHz, 256MB Ram, CD RW. HDD is still warranty or not too old. All have same 11 standard ports. Any extra ports are better for music subwoof, audio speaker, video, cable internet, satelite internet, TV, TV recorder or external devices later. Speedy Windows XP professional. Can watch DVB-TV with 2 GHz, but for DVD movie better from 2.4 GHz.

Yahoo, Ebid auction have no sale fee, so it maybe lower cost.

Answer 7

check out dell...they always have specials...i just saw one on tv for about 750..it was pretty much loaded....I'm sure there are cheaper ones suited to your needs..