Computer Advice

[hope54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hope54]

I am a novice on the intricacies of computers - think preschool level. So I am asking for some feedback on buying a laptop that will be used for the basics - e-mail, web browsing while out of town.

A Sunday ad has a compaq for $300 at Office Depot. It has a 40GB hard drive and 256MB DDR2 memory. Tell me why I shouldn't buy it.

Thanks,

Hope

[Spence Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Spence]

So I am asking for some feedback on buying a laptop that will be used for the basics - e-mail, web browsing while out of town. A Sunday ad has a compaq for $300 at Office Depot. It has a 40GB hard drive and 256MB DDR2 memory. Tell me why I shouldn't buy it. Thanks, Hope

Sounds like that should be all you need, make sure it either has wireless internet or you can get a card to stick in it. You'll want that for hot spots on the road.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

I've been advised that Compaq and HP are short life laptops. I think that the 256mb memory is a bit short and would go for a minimum of 512 with 1 GB being more like it. But then, as said if you aren't going to do much with it- I guess the minimums might just do (at least for a while).

[Steamboat Bill Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Steamboat Bill]

256MB RAM is unacceptable!

You really need 512MB as a minimum. You can probably upgrade for about $50

I also agree with the wireless connection as this is great on the road.

[dawg Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dawg]

You might also check out this one from Walmart. Walmart is advertising a Compaq for $398 thta has 60GB HD and 512 ram

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5238476

Dale

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

You might also check out this one from Walmart. Walmart is advertising a Compaq for $398 thta has 60GB HD and 512 ram

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...uct_id=5238476

Dale

Great Deal, I would go with this one.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

I got a hp Pavilion zs8230 us, 1G Ram, 100Gb hard drive, 17" widescreen laptop from Woot during the last Wootoff. It is a refurbished machine but very very good. It's price was $899. The originals were over $2500 a couple of years ago.

Woot also had some other very laptops for sale. You might want to check them on a daily basis. Remember, if you live in Texas you will pay sales tax, as I learned.

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

Dell has some great starter laptops and I am currently typing on our six-year-old Dell laptop with really low memory and small hard drive. I think it is great, but it might be time for a newer, faster model. With high-speed internet, with the card and the 80211g router, you would never know it is a turtle because everything on the net is fast FAST FAST That is such a funny word.

Rick always says, "some people think I am fast, some think I am half-fast."

[Guest Close Quarterbore]

As for laptops, there are a few levels. My business laptop is what they call a desktop replacement machine and it is really awsome! It has 2.5GB RAM a huge hardrive and a fast processor but it costs about $1700 these days. The slower machines may get outdated pretty quick if you try adding much to them but if you really won't use it much they are a good option and I would consider used IF YOU KNOW THE SELLER.

I bought a nice Dell off EBAY and I got it for a "steal"... well,about $800 for a business level Dell! Well, as luck turned out the seller had stole the computers from the Navy and I got a visit from NCIS and they took my laptop. I never got a penny and it would cost me too much to take the seller to court so learned a painful lesson!

With a laptop, the one thing you want is LOTS of memory! The more memory that it has the less the computer needs to keep going back to the hardrive which means the battery will not last as long as you like. Memory is cheap and I would lok for a laptop that can hold at least 1GB and I would recommend even more. A hard drive is another critical if you will use the laptop to store images while on vacation but I would put RAM over a hardrive myself but confirm that you can upgrade your hardrive later if you need more space.

Good Luck... My work laptop is a Dell and it is a nice machine but my personal business laptop is a gateway and that is a much faster and more powerful machine but I write code on that machine and tend to have a lot of applications and windows open so I really like having the power.

[Icarus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Icarus]

I bought a nice Dell off EBAY and I got it for a "steal"... well,about $800 for a business level Dell! Well, as luck turned out the seller had stole the computers from the Navy and I got a visit from NCIS and they took my laptop. I never got a penny and it would cost me too much to take the seller to court so learned a painful lesson!

That's what small claims court is for. Didn't NCIS track down the seller?

-David

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

I bought a nice Dell off EBAY and I got it for a "steal"... well,about $800 for a business level Dell! Well, as luck turned out the seller had stole the computers from the Navy and I got a visit from NCIS and they took my laptop. I never got a penny and it would cost me too much to take the seller to court so learned a painful lesson!

Ken,

Did Mark Harmon and Cote de Pablo show up? Now that would have been something.

[m61376 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close m61376]

Even for an entry level machine you should have 512 MB of RAM to run Windows XP comfortably. You will see a big difference in surfing the net and running simple applications.

As someone else posted, you will want wireless Internet in it (look for one with an integrated b/g card).

Laptop prices have come way down. I would wait a few weeks- Black Friday will see all sorts of deals and you should be able to get a decent one for your needs under $400. All of today's current models are probably faster then you will need. A few things to look for are a comfortable keyboard- try typing on it and make sure it doesn't feel like it is bending (many cheaper models are flimsy) and that the screen looks nice. Screen quality can vary greatly and make sure the one you get has nice looking text (for example, last year we bought an inexpensive HP as an extra one and the screen is very nice. While I like Dell laptops, the cheapest entry machines, last year at least, did not have nice screens).

Size/weight- if you are not going to be carrying it around much, then get a 15" screen- nice screen real estate. If you are going to be carrying it a lot, then get a 14" or smaller. Similarly, if you are using it at home then battery life and size/weight of hte charger are not an issue; for travel that can be a consideration.

HTH!

Oh- one more tip- if you are intending to use it in bed, get a lapdesk to put it on so the covers don't block the air vents- much better for the machine.

[hope54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hope54]

Thanks to all for the great advice. I will study your answers and try to be intelligent about this.

Black Friday is a good thought, but I don't want to sit in a parking lot half the night waiting to be first. But i might be able to pay my son to do this.....


HOPE

[Guest Close Quarterbore]

That's what small claims court is for. Didn't NCIS track down the seller?

-David

Yea, but the seller is in California and juristiction issues are a problem and I asked my attorney while addressing other issues and his advise was that while I have a case that the hastle and costs would make this an exercise.

So, I ate the loss and spent the time on other projects (this site). My wife is pissed as she thinks I should have went after the guy.

NCIS found me because of the seller. Our guess is that part of his plee was to provide a list of who he sold the computers to. I just should have denied everything but the NCIS investigator go me to admit that I had the laptop before I realized he was interested in the laptop.

Here is my old thread:

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...hlight=stollen