Need help with purchase of new laptop for son?

Question

His college recommends the Acer Travelmate 4230-6704 - 1.66hz intel core duo with 1gb ram, built in 10/100 network card and XP Professional operating system - does anyone have any recs for me?

Answer 1

You know every body has different opinion. I will suggest that you should make your mind what type of laptop you need and then make your budget , then compare prices for every laptop according to your budgets and requirements, then buy it. Spend some times on search. Try out this website to compare prices between all laptops. I used this website to compare prices.

http://www.weeklybin.net/m~c-PC_Laptops~b-9007.aspx

Answer 2

There could be a lot of reasons the school reccomends that computer. It might just be because it's the cheapest one that meets all the requirements, or it's known to be compatible with certain software or devices the school uses. And, since the Acer is a known item to the school. it would be much easier for them to help the kid out with it or troubleshoot issues. Macs are fine, and I'm typing on one now, but you'd have to pay $200 for a copy of XP Pro to put on it, since the Mac OS isn't going to run most of the software he'll need.

Answer 3

There are better and more reliable laptops other than Acer. Sony/HP/IBM are much better and more reliable.



XP Pro is probably the best thing out there.



More processor speed, memory and video capability will make the system more compatible for a longer period.



Good luck

Answer 4

try so see also into the amount of hard drive space he needs. this is important because he might require the memory for large software applications that are to be installed. this could include for music or video content. in addition, you might need to look into a video graphics card that is at least

128 Mb because that is great for the soft ware out there in the future.

The processor is great though on that ACer you spoke about

Answer 5

If he is just using it for word processing and basic media [storing and listening to music and looking at and storing pictures] that will do fine. But, if you want to fine tune it a little bit more, call up HP or Dell, which ever you feel more comportable with, and tell them what he does with the laptop and they will reccomend what to buy. Dont spend extra money on parts he doesnt need. That rig sounds fine though, maybe a little slow on the processor clock speed though.

Answer 6

Unless the collage says you shouldn't do so, get a Mac. They are great hardware (have a sturdy feeling that all other laptops I have seen lack), and Mac OS X is far superior to Windows in features, security, and stability.



Here is a link to a Mac laptop with the closest hardware to the Acer. They do not make anything as low end as that thing. You really do not want to buy anything that slow, it is a piece of junk.- http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=2F15A1DE&node=home/macbook/macbook

Answer 7

Instead of getting an Acer, you should get a Toshiba Satellite M65-S9092.

Answer 8

i would recommend HP, dell, or Toshiba built in with wireless card.