# Which computer is right for me?



## JoeyMack (Jul 14, 2009)

Price: fair, would love great deal
Screen size: 15-16"
Condition: New or redistributed
Use: Internet browsing in many tabs, AIM, minimal photo and video editing, music, movies and Microsoft Word, with may of these tasks running at the same time
Glossy
Hard Drive: fast, 7200 RPM
RAM: at least 2 GB, 4 GB would be nice
Quickly boots and connects to the internet
Optical Drive: Burn CDs and DVDs, maybe Blu-ray

I would like a laptop that will run quickly and not slow me down, be able to play movies and music well, and one easily carried around.

Thanks


----------



## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

IMO the best computer for the price, currently available, is the $298 HP laptop being offered this week by Walmart. No, it isn't a 'great' PC, but at that price you're really comparing it to a netbook-and it beats heck out of them, except for portability.
Can't seem to find it on Walmart's site, hopefully they aren't yet sold out, but some info is available here: http://www.blackfriday.info/sales/wal-mart-black-friday-ad.html

Of course this is an HP so you'll need to clean the garbage off to get any sort of performance...but that's true of most computers these days (except custom builds).

If you want better performance & are willing to pay more just about any PC will do. I'd go for a Dual Core processor with either ATI or discrete graphics. (IMO the 'standard' Intel GMA 4500 graphics impede performance of Windows itself, much less of games. ATI makes an integrated graphics 'card' that does much better-Radeon 4100, IIRC, and just about any non-integrated graphics will also beat it.)

As with the above-mentioned laptop, you'll need to clean the garbage off for good performance. IMO hardware isn't as important to performance as keeping it clean (i.e. it can impose an upper limit, but even good hardware can bog down if the PC is loaded with garbage).

You didn't mention reliability, but that doesn't really figure into my 'recommendation' anyway. IMO no one brand stands out for reliability so I'd choose based on support. (Unfortunately, no brand stands out for superior support, IMO, either-but some, such as Gateway, do stand out for inferior support. IMHO.)


----------



## JoeyMack (Jul 14, 2009)

Thanks for responding. I am willing to spend more money and do not know anything about graphics. I am interested in watching movies on my computer and will not be using it for any gaming. When looking for a laptop what should I be looking for? I know I want to have a few Gigabytes of RAM (but not which kind) and think I should get a hard drive with a high writing and reading speeds. So, I should be looking for a Dual Core processor with non-integrated graphics to run movies and preform the other mentioned tasks? How much, if all, do computers with the same processor, RAM, hard drive, and graphics differ?

Thanks and sorry for all of the questions.


----------



## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

Wish I could be more helpful on graphics but I'm not big into them myself. I used http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html to compare graphics adapters. Note that the highest rated are for gaming. I'd say anything in the upper 2/3 will probably do for average use.

I think, but can't quite remember, that some of the reviews on that site mention ability to handle Blu-Ray so the graphics might factor into that, too. But if you buy a laptop with a Blu-Ray player then it should have graphics that can handle the playback.

Processors: I prefer Core 2 Duo over Dual Core, or AMD's Turion II Ultra X2. Until I found a deal on a laptop with an i7-720QM (Quad core) I was looking at a P6600 or the M600. The key, IMO, is sufficient L2 cache. But that's MHO.

Like you, I prefer multiple GB of RAM. The type depends on the processor & mobo, i.e. you choose those (in laptops, usually all you choose is the processor) and that determines your memory type. Not always, but usually.

Be aware that you can't use more than 4GB of RAM with a 32-bit version of Windows. In fact you can't actually use all 4GB but it's close enough to be worth getting the extra, IMO. Or you can get a 64-bit version of Windows & use more than 4GB-but at the price of some compatibility. So far I haven't found any incompatible software (other than device drivers) but I've had to replace my scanner & PDA.

I never found very much info on read/write speeds of laptop HDD's. About the best I could do was choose one with a 7200 RPM drive & an 8MB cache. SATA, of course, but I don't think they install anything else these days.

I realize I'm not being all that specific, but there are just an awful lot of laptops out there that will fit your needs. Choice pretty much depends on price and, particularly this time of year, there are lots of sales going on-so all I can suggest is that you decide on some criteria & look around for the best price. That's what I did. I kept looking for over a month before I ran across a better deal than I'd expected. So just keep looking & good luck.


----------



## JoeyMack (Jul 14, 2009)

Thank you so much again! You have been very helpful and I will be checking out that link. I will continue looking around to find a laptop with these specs and will hope for the best.


----------



## pedroguy (Jan 28, 2001)

When you settle on a few choices,try Amazon.com.to check their prices.No taxes or shipping.
I buy quite a bit from them and have never been disappointed.They also include user reviews of the product,so you can get a feel for what others rate it.


----------



## indianacarnie (Nov 24, 2009)

i love my toshiba satellite. support is better than i expected too. (and free for a year) have no problem watching movies or anything else i've tried to do on it. reliable but came with TONS of crapware on it. took a couple of days just to get it all off. i dont reccomend many things but i think you ought to at least give em a look.


----------



## calvin-c (May 17, 2006)

Generally I agree that Toshiba is a good brand. Not always cheaper than other good brands, but as I noted prices vary constantly, not only over time but also by location. (Recently I've seen some good prices from HP's Home Store-but those were coupon deals. I don't know if any of them are still on-check some of the coupon sites, I guess.)

My last Toshiba disappointed me however. Granted, it was a cheap one (don't remember the model but it was a Celeron processor) but what disappointed me was the graphics. As far as I could tell it was locked into one resolution (not a bad resolution, but if you didn't like it, tough) which resulted in several games that played 'full-screen' not actually filling the screen. The games played fine on a Compaq with the same graphics adapter-the difference was in the driver. The Compaq's driver allowed a choice of several resolutions, the Toshiba's was locked into the one.

I tried updating the driver and, because it was an Intel chipset, was directed to Toshiba's site-where they didn't have anything but the basic driver. I wish I could remember the details (specific chipset, etc) because that might explain why this happened-it surprised me both that Toshiba didn't install a better driver (it was a new model so I'd like to say the better driver wasn't available, but if that were the case how did Compaq get it?) and that they didn't have the updated driver available on their website-but they didn't. So I returned the Toshiba & bought the Compaq instead.


----------



## indianacarnie (Nov 24, 2009)

had a compaq before this toshiba and was totally happy with it. was actually looking for another one when this caught my eye..... plus was on sale!  love saving money


----------

