Tips for buying new laptop

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I am in the market to replace my 5 year old Dell laptop. This laptop is used as a genuine 2nd computer, so does not need to be super-powerful, as the desktop will be used for gaming, photos, and music.

This one just needs to be reliable, portable, preferably light and portable, with a good battery life, and connecting well to the home wireless network.

So what sort of things should I be looking for in the specs in the current market? Any other advice to consider in this purchase? Any brands to avoid?

 

Depends. Would a netbook do or do you want something a little larger with more power?

 

Depends on what a netbook is. I don't know how much power I need, but I do want all the components, like an optical drive and all the right ports.

 

A netbook is a pc powered by a weak but cheap processor that will just run a linux or windows version whit only the bare basics. Many brands make them, but vary on the processor from atom to dual core and still call them netbooks to confuse us, the resellers and the competition. so, some netbooks are called netbooks but have a lot of extra's.

To illustrate: netbooks from Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=772&name=Netbooks

it is not clear were the netbook becomes notebook. Your first choice is to decide on the size of the screen. If you want a fair screen, say 15,4 inch a cheap celeron notebook will do fine for basic needs. Even 17 inch can be found. Size matters for a second reason namely the keyboard. How big are your fingers? Do you want a full keyboard whit the numerick at the side?

The notebooks from newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=32&name=Laptops-Notebooks

You can see they blend into each other. Returning to the question what do you want and how much do you can/will/want/are able to pay? After that question the choice is easy.

I think that in your case you will drift to the low end notebook/laptop section. What brand is tricky. Fanboys/girls of some brand will advertise those. All I can say is that every brand has it models to avoid.

 

I think 15.4" is probably where I would aim. From a quick look at the smaller netbooks, they seem to lack the space to put in all the necessary features like a DVD RW and a suitable number of ports.

 

For a 15" notebook, I'd recommend a HP Pavilion dv5t. I'd actually really recommend you get a Netbook....they're dirt cheap, and they can handle internet/word processing with ease. The HP Mini 1000 series of Netbooks are highly rated in almost all the geek mags I read.

 

Go the HP mini 2140 over the Mini 1000 if you want a netbook. Kicks the crap out of it. Ive been doing a couple of months worth of research into netbooks and it seems to be the best thus far (only just though. The MSI Wind, Samsung NC10 and the Asus 1000HE arent too far behind). Though, i would definately recommend either a 12" or at 13" for what you want it for. will have enough grunt to run most apps and will have an optical drive.

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/advsearch.aspx?pcid=1624&spcid=1788

This site lists most laptops that come into the market under different categories and has a full review for each.

Hope this helps

 

Before I recommend anything it is important to have a rough idea on what is your budget for the new portable PC; once that is known, it is much easier to make a recommendation.

 

I ended up getting an HP Compaq Presario CQ60 because the price was right.

 

Good choice for a non gaming notebook.