Buying a new laptop? Help?

Question

What are the main things that i need to know about buying a new laptop. What is a good hard drive space? How much RAM do i need? I need to know a lot! I need to use this computer for storing a lot of photos and music. Watching DVDs. Have room to download applications. ....

Answer 1

Things you need to know:



1: Ram > ( at least 1GB | 2GB is better )

2: Processor ( Speed should be at least 2Ghz for dual core processor )

3: Video Card > Prefer dedicated video card and not integrated video (Speed should beat least 128MB GDDR3 - 256MB GDDR3 is better)

4: Hard Drive > regardless of the size, what matters most is the speed > prefer something running at 7200rpm and not 5300rpm or lower.



This 4 things are really the most important things to check when buying a new laptop > every other aspects are futile and usually deceptive to make you purchase something outdated.

Some will offer big hard drive that run so slow it will drive you mad so watch out!



Good luck

Answer 2

A good hard drive space may be ranging from 160gb and up for music and photos. For watching dvds you need the correct disk drive. If you want you computer to run amazingly buy the one with a better proccesor which is depicted by the gigahertz and at least 1gb of ram. Ram is very important for finding files, opening files, using programs, and downloading. If your laptop contains these specifications it will be very good and run amazingly. More ram would be much better if possible.

Answer 3

The best way to decide on a new laptop is to evaluate HOW and FOR WHAT you will be using it...if you need a lot of space for storing photos...then a larger hard(80Gb) drive could be the answer, but remember you can also purchase External Hard drives(with much larger hard drives(120-500gb) for less...depends on the size.



If I were you I would buy a reasonably priced laptop...with decent memory and hard drive size...and purchase and external hard drive as the back up...just in case anything should happen to your laptop you have a backup of everything...it may also help 3-4 years from now if you choose to get a new computer(makes the transferring of files much easier)

Answer 4

Dont buy a MAC, not because they're not good, just because they have a reputation for side-stepping thier customers....MAC's a relatively expensive for the customer service you get.



What you need, depends on what you want to do with your laptop. Are you editing digital photos, digital movies, music? Do you just want to surf the net? Are you a gamer?



With today's technology you should expect to have the following for a decent all around experience :



Processor : 2.5Ghz or better, 1.8Ghz or better if dual-core



RAM : at least 1GB (512MB is skimping)



Video Memory : 256MB minimum if you plan on doing ANY video editing or gaming (512MB would be ideal)



Hard Drive : this can vary depending on what you want to hold, 80-120GB is enough for the average user who is just using the PC to surf the net, word process, and store photos and music. but if you are using your PC to edit videos and music and the like, you probably want at least 200GB



Also with a modern laptop, you should expect to get an Internal WLAN Card, Bluetooth would be nice, and a built-in webcam is nice as well.



Average retail price is about $699 for a decent laptop, but if you search hard enough you can find it for about $500-550. And if your willing to take a refurb, check geeks.com

Answer 5

The things you need to watch out for, while buying a new laptop, are the RAM size, the hard-disk capacity, the functionalities and features that would enhance your specific usage pattern.



Ideally, a 256 MB or 512 MB RAM should serve your purpose with a 60 GB hard-disk. Maybe, you could go for additional (external) hard-disk drive to increase the drive's capacity.



As for the brands, my personal suggestion would be to explore a Dell machine (because you can actually customize the computer as per your requirements and pay accordingly) or a Toshiba laptop. H-P and Compaq are good as well. Go to their websites or to a store and do a detailed comparison of the features, functionalities, get details about after-sales service and warranty, etc, and fit them to your budget and usage pattern before making a final choice.

Answer 6

Look at weight, screen size, and get at least 1GB of RAM with a 80+ hard drive. If you want to burn DVDs or get a DVD burner. If you want to burn CDs and only watch DVDs, then a CD burner/DVD player combo drive will save you some money. I would look at Dell first, and then HP. You should be able to get a nice laptop for about $1000 or a little less.

Answer 7

Laptops bought from any retailer will meet any space demands you have. MP3's and images take up very little space. Most people burn media to DVD's for long term storage though. 1GB of memory minimum will be fine.



For watching movies get a laptop that has a decent GPU and sound.

Answer 8

Well if you don't have an issue with the price this would be good for you ---> http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=8198552921665254239

It's a Sony VAIO.

Then there are also other good companies for you like:

Dell

HP



I hope that i helped a little...

Answer 9

Get the black Mac Book Pro. It is really good.

Dont get the white one (i learned the hard way) You can see the dirt on your hands and it looks bad after a few months.

Answer 10

Dell and HP websites allow you to customize your laptop. They go step by step and explain to you what each feature means and what you need it for. Check out their sites, customize your own.



www.dell.com

www.hp.com

Answer 11

well i just bought four new dell labtops from their websites they work perfectly. they are the only kind i ever use. i have 7 labtops from them and 4 desktops and i ahve had no problems

Answer 12

Macbook definitly



http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html

Answer 13

acer is a great laptop



i have a like 2000 pictures on it right now.



it holds alot of songs

Answer 14

macbook pro is a really good laptop.