whats a good computer !

so, i have seemed to have fryed my computer. i am looking for a new laptop, do you guys have any suggestions. cheap is the best but i dont want to sacrufice to much quality. i have a HP now that i realy liked and it lasted 5 years. payed about $1200.00 for it when it was new. i realy dont want to spend that much now. whats in the $600.00 range, any body good with this type of stuff ? (after this weekends ride, i have a few parts to by.) story and pic to come when i get a new computer !

$600 bucks should get you a nice laptop! I just wanted to chime in to say good luck with your search. Kind of made me remember the advice you gave when my Subaru repairs were going on.

Like you said before, I also like to buy above entry level computer hardware. I think it performs longer as technology advances every two weeks.

We got my wife a Compaq (HP) 17" widescreen with ten key laptop a year or two ago, running vista. No problems so far. Pentium dual core 2 or some such thing... When you see dual core or quad core, think single processors stacked on top of each other and capable of doing the work of each at the same time - because that's what they are.

I still believe in Intel processors after almost twenty years of computer use. I was a apple guy before that (motorola processors).

Anyway - best advice I can give you is to pick a dollar amount you want to spend, that's the starting point of your search. Then go out and look at laptop reviews on CNET and PCWorld etc. Look at reviews that fit the type of machine you will be using. Look for the most RAM memory and larger hard drives, look for at least 7200 rpm SATA hard drives because they are faster accessing and writing data, should also come with a DVD read/write drive (they are backwards compatible to CD's etc.)

In a nut shell, think about what you'll be using it for... Are you blind? Get at least a 15" monitor... Don't worry if you find a good deal on a Vista operating system machine. The magazines are saying free upgrades might be in the works to Windows 7 but the IT guys I know are all throwing fits trying to figure out Windows 7. As a consumer we just don't know if its stable yet because its so new. Again, read reviews...

If you like high resolution images/graphics to maximize usage of your desktop real estate then look for a good video board. But most state a specific video chipset that is on the motherboard like its something special. The key is to look how much video memory it has.

If you are a gamer, a video card upgrade is essential. Watching movies etc. the stock video is fine.

If you run a laptop off of batteries, look for at least a six cell battery to get you into the 2+ hr range.

Wireless is pretty standard now

I don't know if any of this makes sense or is helpful but I hope so. The other thing you can do is go to a Best Buy type of store or Costco or something and actually play with the machines. See which one jumps out at you and then see if it meets your basic criteria but most of all pricing for your budget.

Make sure you bone up on research regarding processors (CNET etc.) You can get a lickity split above entry level machine for just a few more dollars that will keep you happy for at least a couple years. Good processor/lots of memory/big and fast hard drive.

Personally, I hate all the crap software they put on new machines. I delete most of it and only keep what I use, add Office, some photo stuff, my mapping stuff etc. That's pretty much all I use... Oh, surfing the internet nowadays is pretty much determined by your internet provider access speed but also RAM memory, another good reason to have at least 4 gigabytes.


Best regards,

griz

And I just typed the above bullshit on my trusty 2003 Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop running a Pentium 4, 1 gig of memory and windows XP.

And yes, I do believe it came in at about $1,400 bucks in 2003. But technology is cheap these days if you do the research and don't impulse buy.

Good luck,

Bill

griz901 wrote:

And I just typed the above bullshit on my trusty 2003 Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop running a Pentium 4, 1 gig of memory and windows XP.

And yes, I do believe it came in at about $1,400 bucks in 2003. But technology is cheap these days if you do the research and don't impulse buy.

Good luck,

Bill

thanks for the advise, i know just enough about computers to mess them up real good ! thats why i dont attempt my own computer repairs. i hapen to have a brother in law that is in this field, so he is looking to get me a deal from his computer suplier, i will wait to see what he comes up with, he basicly told me the same thing you did.

thanks again for the input, buying a new computer sucks because tommarrow it will be a old machine. good thing my DR isnt that way !

Have you considered used? There are tons of used ones for sale on Craigslist etc. I got a used Dell desktop for under $200 which included the remaining factory warranty and remaining antivirus subscription.

As far as laptops, I just got a new one at work, and BEWARE of WIDESCREEN monitors! Keep in mind if you had a 14" standard monitor it will take a 17" widescreen to have the same amount of screen area. Unless you're watching videos I'm not sure why a widescreen is better.

ok, i am back on line at home now, feels like i have been gone for so long. but no pics on this computer yet, still trying to retrive that stuff off of the old comp. is anybody running windows 7 and if so how do they like it. its what is on my new pc and it is diffrent. but so far so good.