I need help selecting a good laptop.

[LonesomeTriZ]

I have to get a new laptop to keep in touch with my wife and friends. As soon as I get my hazmat switched over to Georgia, I am off to Iraq to work for KBR. I know nothing about laptops (and almost nothing about computers in general). I do not really care about storing a bunch of music or pictures. I will use it mostly for staying in touch and hopefully to work on my Masters degree. Anyhoo, here are my questions:

What should I look for?
What brands should I consider?
I do not want the cheapest or the most expensive so what would be a good value?
Where should I look?

I am sure I will come up with more, but that is enough to get started.

[LonesomeTriZ]

Oh yeah, and how much should I plan on spending?

[MyMistress86R]

I'm quite biased due to personal experience, but you just can't go wrong with anything from Dell. Fantastic quality and customer support. I'd look at the Inspiron line and figure around $1000 for middle of the road grade.

Feel free to PM me if you would like more detail as to why I recommend Dell and some specifics on what to look for as far as components.

[Billy Golightly]

I'd also highly recommend the Dell Inspiron line of notebooks.

[LonesomeTriZ]

What do you all think about Tiger Direct? I saw they have refurbished loptops for half the cost.

[Erics350x]

I got a realy great deal from Best Buy on a nice Gateway

[oldsking86]

Tiger Direct is alright, just refurbs if you don't mind..

Honestly you can grab a good one from around 600 and up if you catch sales at like Office Depot, Best Buy, etc.

Billy, bad! Dell is not a good choice..

You want to stick with pretty much HP or Toshiba because they offer a pretty good computer for the price. If you want real nice and spend a good buck, Sony.

Spec wise you want to look at:
Processor: AMD Turion or Intel Due Core 2 ( not the due core)
1gb of RAM or More; the more the better
HD space is up to you but most are around 100gb or so, depending on the price. You could always get an external drive if need be.

Oh yea Office Depot is having some good sales this upcoming week on comps, hint hint!

[LonesomeTriZ]

I just found a good deal at Tiger for a Gateways but i was told to stay away from them because they went out of business for a reason. I did not even know they went out of business.

Thanks Olds, that is the kind of check list I need. I fianlly had some one explain the difference in the proccessors so now I have a clue.

[oldsking86]

Yea gateways are made like crap, the way the circuitry is done that blows; careful of Acer too they have the same problem. Usually companies like that just merge with other ones. I think they just bought Emachines which are another crap computer. AMD processors are nice because they don't overheat much at all! Intel is the opposite. If you overclock (meaning you increase the voltgage and processing speed of your processor) AMD is the leader in having a COOL and efficient processor.

[Billy Golightly]

I've heard of very very little problems with the dells. My only gripe with them is a lot of the software that comes preloaded on them out of the box. 30-45minutes at Add/Remove programs fixes that though.

[LonesomeTriZ]

What about apples?

[oldsking86]

the new ones are very nice, just a bit pricey but very nice computers.

[pickleweasel_00]

I have Alienware and love it. But depending on what options you go for, they can get pricey fast. But you have to order direct from them, i think it's alienware.com. But they are more geared towards making computers for gamers so might be overkill for what you want

[LonesomeTriZ]

I checked them out and yes, the price is a concern. I liked thier Road Warrior. But I do agree, they are more than what I need.

[oldsking86]

Main key, Processor and RAM those will make your comp run at speeds you'll be happy with... For brands, most the ones you'll have will have JUNK software that you can delete once you get it which I highly recommend. Just shop it out, you'd be surprised what you can pick up at local stores like best buy, office depot, circuit city, etc.

[ScottZJ]

Well I might be just a tad bias cuz I have one, but Toshibas are really nice and have come a long way. I have done tons and tons of research to find the best bang for the buck and seems Toshiba has it nailed on the top 3. Dells are really not hitting the margin when it comes to high end machines. They are good basic systems but for the money you pay to match the other brands you go broke hehe. But remember, if it has Vista (most do), get 2gig of ram! Its a must to really use the system not to mention if you get 1 gig they usually put 2x512 sticks and that makes you have to spend 200$ to get up to 2 gig.

[LonesomeTriZ]

Olds. you just brought up a good point. How would I go about getting rid of the junk and replacing it with the software I would want.

I thought about waiting until I get over there to buy somehting. but I have been over seas before. You can be extremely milited as o what you can get. Plus, I do not want to wait that long.

I have been pricing Toshibas, but I have not found any that fall with in the price range I have set. Perhaps I am not looking in the right places. Also, some places I have spoke to said I should get Vista and others said I should not. Which is it?

[ScottZJ]

You can try Circuit city. My parents actually got a super nice toshiba laptop with tons of extras including the bio metrics login (thumb print reader) for under 900$ and even got a mail in rebate. Of course they bought the 17" like mine so that is why the price is higher but there are other models that are cheaper depending on your price range.

[bassman]

Newegg.com PERIOD. This SHOULD be the only place you buy ANYTHING computer related.

And make sure you keep your eyes on deal websites like these:
http://deals2buy.com/

If I'm not at newegg pruchasing my new pc hardware, i'm looking for good deals on these kind of websites.

[LonesomeTriZ]

I am going to try and hit Circuit City today. but with two year old it is hard to tell when I can get there.

Thanks Bassman, that is a big help.

[oldsking86]

Olds. you just brought up a good point. How would I go about getting rid of the junk and replacing it with the software I would want.

I thought about waiting until I get over there to buy somehting. but I have been over seas before. You can be extremely milited as o what you can get. Plus, I do not want to wait that long.

I have been pricing Toshibas, but I have not found any that fall with in the price range I have set. Perhaps I am not looking in the right places. Also, some places I have spoke to said I should get Vista and others said I should not. Which is it?

It's simply under control panal and your add/remove programs. There you can get rid of ALL that crap software they put on that slows down your comp. Also once you get it MSCONFIG is a good way to turn off unnecessary programs running in the background (this we can help with after you already have your new laptop)..

As for vista, they all have it. Only place I know is Bestbuy and the can order you one with XP on it. Actaully, just get Vista, Home Premium, not Basic because then you'll have problems. Home Premium operates pretty darn well so you'll be happy. Just be aware any peripherals you have (like printers/scanners) will need a downloadable driver to work.

[LonesomeTriZ]

A lot of that was over my head. But I think it will start to make sense onse I get a laptop and start wroking with it.