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computer guru's... laptop question

3K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  ComposiMo 
#1 ·
i'm looking for a laptop. i have no idea what are good features to have now a days!?! if this helps i'll be using it for school and datalogging. what i care about the most is: i have access to the net anywhere any time.

any suggestions/help?

thanks
 
#2 ·
that really does not give enough information.... internet anywhere, anytime.... will require additional services... look into verizon's mobil broadband. basically you buy a card that goes into your computer and it is basically a cell phone.. . then you can access verizon's high speed data services where ever you are at.. as for notebooks. i have had really good luck using and selling the averatec brand. they are priced very reasonably and have alot of good features and they are cheap... check them out at averatec.com
and you can buy them at staples or at newegg cmputer
www.newegg.com

they are a nice quality laptop with a good price... .
and a nice comprimise betewwn the 499 walmart junker... .and a 1500 dollar higher end dell
 
#4 ·
Yea like toxiclows says, more info would help a lot to help you pick a laptop. Nowadays there are a ton of wireless hotspots across most cities, including starbucks and most schools/universities will have wireless internet access. So I'd say that you probably wouldnt have to get a plan from a cell phone company for internet if youre in the city, or atleast try with the laptop in the city and see how often you need internet/cant get it. As for a brand of laptop I would try to stick with either a namebrand(dell,hp,acer) just for ease of warenty and service. If you buy a cheaper laptop you might not be able to get it repaired easily or have longer waits for it to come back. Lastly another choice is to go to best buy or some other big box store and get their extended warrenty, as that helps. Basically I'd say when it comeos to laptops, the most important thing is how easily you can get it fixed, serviced, or whatever. That usually comes with a name brand.
And also what will you use laptop for? If you plan to watch videos/dvds you might want a larger screen(more money), or if you want a purely mobile laptop with minimal tasks you could get one with a smaller screen and probably cheaper/less extras. Hope that helps, but more info will help us help you : D

-Sulk
 
#5 ·
thanks for the info and link!

as for more info. i live in maine theres limited "hotspots". i'm going to college at the University of Pheonix online. i might watch a movie or 2 with it. but basicly i'll need it for school and datalogging. as for "features". i would like it to run fast and have descent amount of memory. i hope that helps you guys out!?!

thanks
 
#6 ·
The specs I would look for for that kind of usage:
`Pentium M/Turion 64 mobile proc (speed varies alot)
`1gb of ram (more of a standard now that 2gb is becoming more popular)
`80gb-120gb hard drive (try and get 7200rpm cause' 5400 writes a bit slower if you're saving large amounts of data)
`Get a 17" if you don't plan on carrying it to class alot, if you do plan on moving it around alot go with the 15.4" widescreen.
`Get a higher resolution screen (1600x1200 looks AWESOME) if you're into video/gaming.
`Don't get integrated video if possible, integrated audio is fine but integrated video sucks IMO. It's worth the extra $$.
`Acer makes good laptops for the money, I'd look for those if I were you.

I just checked newegg and for the money this laptop seems to be what I would like in a laptop and just under $1,100 isn't too bad, NOTE: No software included:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834115246

Hope this helps,

Steve
 
#7 ·
I got a Dell Inspiron e1505 and I love it. Speed is amazing, especially for a laptop. Dual-core 1.86 Ghz CPU, with 1GB RAM. This thing rocks! I highly recommend it. I also got it with Windows Media Center Edition with the high-rez screen. Movies look great on it.
 
#8 ·
crxfisher said:
I got a Dell Inspiron e1505 and I love it. Speed is amazing, especially for a laptop. Dual-core 1.86 Ghz CPU, with 1GB RAM. This thing rocks! I highly recommend it. I also got it with Windows Media Center Edition with the high-rez screen. Movies look great on it.
i was looking at that one earlier today. it's definitly a choice!!
 
#10 ·
crxfisher said:
I got a Dell Inspiron e1505 and I love it. Speed is amazing, especially for a laptop. Dual-core 1.86 Ghz CPU, with 1GB RAM. This thing rocks! I highly recommend it. I also got it with Windows Media Center Edition with the high-rez screen. Movies look great on it.
I just picked up an 640m (basically an e1405, with the 14" vs. the 1505's 15") with the same specs. I love it. Great size if you're looking for portability, easy to carry in a backpack.
 
#13 ·
FooFighter said:
You could always just goto futureshop and tell them what you want to do and they will hoook you up with a computer that will work for you.
Futureshop is only(im pretty sure) in canada, so in the states itd be best buy their parent company or any other big box electronics store. Usually with them they have sooo many different models that youll find one with the stuff that you want.

-Sulk
 
#15 ·
My next laptop will be a Mac too, since that's what I use at work all day and I can do some work at home that way (I use an older Powerbook that we have here at the office now for doing work at home on the weekends, etc.)...but I assume your datalogging software runs only on a PC laptop.

I've used laptops almost exclusively since back in 98 when I headed off to college. I used to like Toshiba laptops a lot, but the last laptop I got was a cheap Toshiba and it's *terrible*. The battery was always crap, but a year after I got it the battery had become worthless, it flat out won't hold a charge at all. The thing overheats all the time, too, so if I use it without sitting it on some little spacers at all 4 corners to let some airflow underneath it, it eventually gets too hot and craps out. It's way slower than it should be, too -- basically I'll never buy another Toshiba.

Dell makes a solid laptop, and I agree with Acer being a good machine for the money. For what you're going to be using it for, you won't need to spend a ton of money -- I wouldn't spend over about 7 or 800 bucks just for a machine to use Office and surf the web and datalog with. Post any laptop you're considering here and we can offer some better advice.
 
#16 ·
By the way, i just noticed that you want to use it with datalogging... an often overlooked component that most laptops do NOT have these days, is a proper serial port... make SURE that it has one. Just like most computers these days not even coming with a 3.5" floppy drive, they started phasing out the serial port on laptops in favor of USB connections. The problem with that, is that while you CAN get a USB-to-Serial converter, they usually are buggy and have problems, and half don't work right. If you can get a laptop with the right port, you won't have to bother with all that nonsense... just a thought.

And yea, by the way, the laptop that i use for that stuff, and surfing the web at home, i bought used from a friend for like $350. its an older Compaq, but still P3, and it has like a 40gig HD, and it runs better than my fathers $3500 Toshiba he has for work... it doesn't take much, and deals are out there. The best thing about it? It has the elusive serial port on it :p
 
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