I was going to just piss the money to dell and get the cheapest one I can find. I don't feel like waiting for delivery. All the major chains have some decent deals out.

I'm not familiar with any brands so I don't really care who gets my money. I just need at least 500 watchamacalits for memory and the max amount of hard drive I can get for my money.

I don't want to spend much over $500. Less if possible.

I know 90% of you bastards are tech geeks and would know better. I would appreciate the advice.

I don't mind upgrading an older computer if you know of a secondhand place in the city. Just let me know what to look out for so I don't get screw over.

Thanks in advance.

Oops forgot to stick in the "OT" in this OT thread! How embarrasing!

Before buying a laptop you have to know what kind you want. The most important question probably is screen size. Thin/Portable(14.1"), Desktop Replacement(17"+), Mainstream(15.7") and other sizes. Most laptops nowadays are widescreen and you should consider getting the glossy screen.. just cause it looks cooler. Past that the questions get either picky or obvious: Intel vs AMD, Battery Life (obviously everyone would want more), are you gonna play games or do intense computing stuff on it, etc.

A good site for this is www.notebookforums.com (although it seems kinda slow right now for some reason). Just browse around and you'll get the gist. You should post in their forums, too. They have a quick questionaire you fill out and then the laptop-experts (who just sit around waiting to answer these questions i guess) will recommend a laptop for you.

My recommendation: Back when I was buying a laptop a year ago the Compaq V2000Z was a really good deal meaning lots of bang for your buck. The Z in the name just means an AMD processor rather than Intel. Its 14.1" widescreen. Hasn't given me any problems. Compaq/HP (HP owns Compaq) actually aren't half bad in the laptop industry. But of course Dell is probably the mainstream leader.

Anyway, the current model of the Compaq V2000(Z) should probably still be a good deal.

Posted by BigSm00th:

just call up marcus williams he'll hook it up

You beat me to that punchline.

the one VDesai just posted sounds like a good deal... u won't find much better on Dell's website.

Posted by JrZyHuStLa:

120 GB Hard drive or more (the more disk space on the HD, the faster applications will load)

I'm not sure I agree with this. Memory, HD speed, Processor speed will make apps load faster. Never heard of free space having anything to do with loading speed.

Eny I got one more for you, but this one isnt a dual core. Falls right on your budget though. I'm not sure if you have to do it bestbuy.com or if you can just go to your local store:

Acer Aspire AS5100-3372 15.4" Notebook $500 at BestBuy.com
BestBuy.com has the Acer Aspire AS5100-3372 15.4" Notebook with AMD Turion 64 Mobile Technology MK-36 for $500 + shipping. Free Lexmark X1200 All-in-One Printer with purchase.


AMD Turion MK-36 2.0GHz, 1GB Memory, 100GB Hard Drive, DVD±RW/CD-RW Drive

ATI Radeon Xpress 1100, 10/100 + 56k + 802.11g, Windows Vista Home Premium

I'd still get the dual core for a bit more, but this is not a bad deal either. Acer is an ok brand.

Posted by Andrew:

Eny...if you go with that dell I'd recommend upgrading to the TrueLife glossy screen for the $10. I like mine. Its a little reflective, but nice.

Cool.

You know the main reason I wantyp get a laptop right?

So I can stop triple posting all the time.

Posted by Andrew:

Posted by JrZyHuStLa:

120 GB Hard drive or more (the more disk space on the HD, the faster applications will load)

I'm not sure I agree with this. Memory, HD speed, Processor speed will make apps load faster. Never heard of free space having anything to do with loading speed.

I actually thought the same before I read that on a "What to look for when buying a laptop" article. It was a pretty legit source too.

Perhaps the article was referring to Hard Drive Buffer Cache Size. The larger the cache....the better performance you will see.

Jessica Alba is like Cyalis for computer users.