Looking to get a laptop for my wife. She'll run Photoshop and web site design software on there. Most likely watch some movies and rip some CDs. Looking for something under $1000. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth would be nice as well.
Any recommendations or sites that have good reviews?
2006-11-15 02:30:39 · 6 answers · asked by aplusjimages 4 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
ahh... sounds like the delema we went through a year ago when we got our laptop.
My suggestions - DO NOT get one with an express graphic card!!! It shares memory, and is not good enough to run some programs and games. We had gotten our first laptop,a special edition gateway had one, and the specs were astounding in it, but it could not pull together enough memory and processor speed for lightwave! (If you don't know what that is, it's the best graphic software out there, for model-making and rendering - The Jimmy Neutron movie was made entirely with it!)
A few pieces of advice - Again, graphics card. Photoshop sometimes needs to have enough memory to do certain tasks, and an express won't be able to do it.
Make sure it has got a DVD writer. It's just smarter to go with that, rather than just locating one with a dvd/cd-rw combo, since most laptops don't let you interchange the drives. DVD's hold so much more data, and one day she may want to tackle the joys of making her own mini-movies for her websites.
I've heard the ML-32 is good, but the ML-34's were faster and, when we were looking for ours a year ago, they still had overheating problems.
Also look for a processor that is at least 2 gigs or so. The bigger the number you have for that, the faster it will be able to perform tasks.
Wi-fi is almost standard with a decent laptop nowadays. I'm not sure about bluetooth, we haven't gotten that high tech yet. lol
Brands - Most brands are nothing but the brand name labels on them, because most laptops are made overseas by the same companies. I've heard too many negative things about dell laptops. Example, the exploding batteries. The Gateway we have right now (which was around $1,500) is a bad mamma-jamma. Granted, it crashed within the first month we had it, but we reinstalled windows, and it's worked perfectly since. First, I'd visit best buy, or circuit city, or whatever you have around you, and play with the laptops they have there. Go into their "my computer" and scan around it, play a game or two, browse the internet (if you can!) and get a feel for what they are, and what they have under their "hood". Ask a LOT of questions. You can never ask too many questions when it comes to computers. Maybe even take notes to compare later. Then, when you found what you like, check www.tigerdirect.com and see if they have the same laptop. They're prices are great sometimes!
Another suggestion: Once you get your laptop, uninstall and/or delete everything unnecessary that the manufacture puts on it. Prime example is AOL. AOL comes with a lot of junk that is unnecessary like spyware and bugs up the system easily. (we don't use AOL, so we deleted it all off the system first.) Gator is usually there too. Get rid of that. Take it to a pro, or someone who knows computers inside and out (like my husband and I) to get rid of buggy programs that won't be used or are unnecessary for it. You really don't want to get a brand new machine, and have it pop up "the dreaded blue screen" every time you start doing something! It sux, trust me! Been there, done that, don't want to do it again! lol
Anyway, I hope this helps. Good luck in your search, and take your time to do some research. Don't hastily grab one because "it was on sale at Walmart".
2006-11-15 03:29:48 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
http://www.epinions.com is a great site for all types of review. cnet also will offer laptop reviews (it is computer related and done by pros) I would trust epinions first though, as the pros probably get paid for good reviews.
I have an Acer laptop (they range from 600-1000 at circuitcity and tigerdirect.com) Their laptops are great for the money. $1000 is a very decent budget for a laptop, so you have a ton of options.
2006-11-15 02:34:33 · answer #2 · answered by Strategic Sourcing Expert 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would recommend a mac, it doesn't get viruses and it is very reliable. Try the mac store web site. I got my ibook G4 for around 1,400 with blue tooth and and many others. It also has Iphoto, safari (Internet provider) mail, the works, I highly recommend it!
2006-11-15 02:37:12 · answer #3 · answered by anna_bananna121 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
relies upon on what you prefer to spend. i offered a HP DV6220EA for £500, a surprising computer, yet sluggish on springing up restoration factors and setting up updates, may be a Vista problem or HP. (250GB HD - 2GB - AMD 64D) The Dell M1330 XPS sequence looks stable and mild-weight and that they have got only dropped in cost to start up from £599 for 160GB HD 2GB RAM and an Intel twin middle. (would desire to be well worth a glance) Dell now seem to be on sale in direction of the Dixons, Currys merchants in spite of the undeniable fact that they are greater high priced, yet have greater proper spec. in case you have plenty to spend the Apple Air looks beautiful, in spite of the undeniable fact this is costly at £1100 and could no longer be like minded inclusive of your artwork.
2016-10-15 14:05:51 · answer #4 · answered by spurr 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Where are you looking to buy?
$ US or AUS??
2006-11-15 03:18:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
try here:www.pcworld.com
2006-11-15 02:36:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋