Help me pick a laptop.

[bluedogz]

Thanks for the many replies, lots of good info to ponder. havent decided what we will get but leaning towards the lenovo. everything i have read backs up what you guys are saying, They are bulletproof machines. Im not opposed to still using this machine for surfing and using the new one for everything else. Is this one worth keeping around. it's really slow to open programs and is generally frustrating to use. takes forever to do simple stuff it seems.

Here is some specs on my current machine.

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition ^- Obsolete
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation

System Manufacturer Hewlett-Packard
System Model Presario R3200 (PR472UA#ABA)
System Type X86-based PC ^-- BAD
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 10 AuthenticAMD ~1595 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Hewlett-Packard F.34, 12/23/2004
SMBIOS Version 2.31
Windows Directory C:WINDOWS
System Directory C:WINDOWSsystem32
Boot Device DeviceHarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"

Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB ^--- IMO insufficient for anything but fingerpainting. Probly why none of ur stuff works right.
Available Physical Memory 76.87 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB ^--- also a speed hog.
Available Virtual Memory 1.95 GB
Page File Space 1.35 GB

If you want you can try some cheap RAM from a place like Crucial.com. Also, if you have a small HDD and have VM turned on that is a boat anchor too.

 

[Fifi]

I'm thinking of getting a laptop soon, I have a small netbook at the moment which is great for taking on holidays but somewhat limited.

I'm not too concerned about make, I think the advice of go look and get hands on is good, for me a big factor in choice will be the feel of the keyboard as I'm a typist.

As these days there are more and more things to cram onto it I want a fairly big hard drive (might go for 500 GB). I'd have at least 4GB RAM.

One thing I want is to play back downloaded movies through connecting to the TV so an HDMI port is a must, I suggest having one of those. With my mobile phone (Orange) they do a free movie download each week.

Consider battery life (will you take it out of the house a lot)?

They run Windows 7 now, I prefer the old Windows XP but you will soon get used to it. I wouldn't get a pre-owned that runs Windows Vista it wasn't very popular.

Fifi

 

[southbalto]

search for laptops over at slickdeals.net

All the deals are rated by users. I'd try to get into the newer generation intel line i3, i5, i7. I imagine you can get a pretty solid i3 machine for under $400.

 

[Adabiviak]

Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 10 AuthenticAMD ~1595 Mhz ... Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB

Yeah... I'd get a new one. Like most posters here have already mentioned, almost anything in the $200-$300 range at your local brick and mortar should be fine. If you find one you're interested in and aren't sure about it, post the specs here, and we'll look it over.

 

[Cazimere]

My preferred laptop.