Laptop Ideas?

[Starshine]

If all goes well, within the next 30 days ... I will be going and purchasing a new laptop.
I would like some ideas for finding a good laptop.

Requirements I need :

Lots of memory ( at least 2gig if possible )
Good Video-Graphics card
Has Windows XP ( or XP media Edition ) *Its not a laptop for me, and prefer to have XP, not Vista )
Has Office or Works on it ( as it would be used for school functions at times )
Has to be under $1100.00
Has to have wireless ability.
US purchase ( so I can't order from anything outside the US )

 

[Spartan Erik]

I suggest you check for deals on DealCatcher: Free Online Coupons Dell, Amazon, Best Buy, Overstock; I've helped several of my friends find computers for up to $200 off retail price. It's just rare to see XP machines, but a few do come along every now and then.

Just remember that the best laptop processor is Core 2 Duo, and that the more higher-end your graphics card is, the worse the battery life will be

 

[Corey]

They just had a crazy deal on Dell the other day. I'll keep an eye out for you.

-Corey

 

[Starshine]

Thank You.
I guess the graphics card doesn't have to be top notch, but a decent one as my fiance' ( who this is for ) will be playing on it and the game she plays is kinda graphic intense - just wanted something nice.

I know the RAM, OS and having a good wireless connection was the major points, plus being somewhat inexpensive as my financial aid is paying for the computer.
Edit:

They just had a crazy deal on Dell the other day. I'll keep an eye out for you.

-Corey

Thanks Corey. I should ( if all processes fast enough ) have my financial aid check by first week of Sept, and hopefully can purchase the computer soon after. I just know I have about 1100 - 1300 I can put towards a laptop ... figure I can probably go as high as 1500, but don't want to blow my entire check on a laptop.

 

[Spartan Erik]

I can probably go as high as 1500, but don't want to blow my entire check on a laptop.

Well with your current rec's, I estimate you can find a laptop for $600-700 (excluding Office; I imagine that software would cost an additional arm and a leg). I managed to get my friend a 15" Dell with 2 GB RAM, 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, 128 MB nVidia for graphics, 160 GB HDD, multimedia card reader, and a built in 802.11g Wifi card. Downside was that it was Vista, but it didn't bother her too much since she's used to even laggier machines that had XP

 

[Starshine]

Well with your current rec's, I estimate you can find a laptop for $600-700 (excluding Office; I imagine that software would cost an additional arm and a leg). I managed to get my friend a 15" Dell with 2 GB RAM, 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duo, 128 MB nVidia for graphics, 160 GB HDD, multimedia card reader, and a built in 802.11g Wifi card. Downside was that it was Vista, but it didn't bother her too much since she's used to even laggier machines that had XP

I guess I don't need office. Just a good Word processing program to type up school work. But mainly its going to be for my fiance to use to play on toontown.com and her computer games that she has ( nothing fancy like WoW or like that - but still, want it to be nice )

 

[KowKing]

MacBook with iLife '08?

 

[halohalo]

MacBook with iLife '08?

Yah, considering your budget, you can get a nice Apple macbook with good specs. But that means considering *switching* from Windows machines. I own a G3 iBook and I love it (as old as it is even). If you do buy an Apple, navigate through their links for "education" - it will let you select your school and provide you with a discount on your purchase. If you're a student, make sure you make your purchase through their website for students.

If you want to stick to Windows PC's consider an Alienware PC these machines are built for gaming capability and sport very hefty specs (up to 4 GB memory for screaming fast performance), 256 MB Video card, wi-fi, dual core processor... if you're concerned about the slowness that Windows Vista is known for, you can get above average specs on an alienware machine to make up for it. Their lowest end laptop is just below your budget.

The other route would be to get an opensource system. System 76 sells laptops (with wi-fi capability) loaded with Ubuntu Linux. Because it's linux, you don't have to waste money on antivirus, anti-spyware and other nonsense software. Their machines don't need nearly as high specs to get excellent performance and their best laptops are at half your intended budget. You can play flash and java based games using the Firefox browser and for your schoolwork, there's Openoffice (the opensource equivallent to MS Office). But of course, you'd need to buy in on the whole open source idea...

Just a few ideas...

 

[Insanenight]

Yah, considering your budget, you can get a nice Apple macbook with good specs. But that means considering *switching* from Windows machines. I own a G3 iBook and I love it (as old as it is even). If you do buy an Apple, navigate through their links for "education" - it will let you select your school and provide you with a discount on your purchase. If you're a student, make sure you make your purchase through their website for students.

If you want to stick to Windows PC's consider an Alienware PC these machines are built for gaming capability and sport very hefty specs (up to 4 GB memory for screaming fast performance), 256 MB Video card, wi-fi, dual core processor... if you're concerned about the slowness that Windows Vista is known for, you can get above average specs on an alienware machine to make up for it. Their lowest end laptop is just below your budget.

The other route would be to get an opensource system. System 76 sells laptops (with wi-fi capability) loaded with Ubuntu Linux. Because it's linux, you don't have to waste money on antivirus, anti-spyware and other nonsense software. Their machines don't need nearly as high specs to get excellent performance and their best laptops are at half your intended budget. You can play flash and java based games using the Firefox browser and for your schoolwork, there's Openoffice (the opensource equivallent to MS Office). But of course, you'd need to buy in on the whole open source idea...

Just a few ideas...

Great this really helps! and also thats cool taht few comps come with linux =D...

 

[Starshine]

I've never considered an Apple computer before, because I spent my entire life on a PC ( DOS, Windows ) ... but with the new Apple's being compatible with Windows ... may consider.

Although I would be using it for schooling, its mainly being bought for my fiance' ... So our PC games that I have for her would have to work and I just looked up the requirements (specs) needed to run the one game she would play most often :

• PowerPC 450 MHz or any Mac with an Intel processor
• 256 MB of RAM
• 300MB free space on your hard drive
• A 32 MB video card
• A 56K modem, or a faster Internet connection
• OS X 10.4.6 (Tiger)
• Safari Browser

But for me, I need a word-processor and wireless connection ( and ability to plug into my home network either wirelessly or wired into the router )

I looked up on Apple and found one, I am not well versed in Mac's - so if someone can tell me if this is a good deal :

• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM - 2x1GB
• 120GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
• Combo Drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
• Keyboard/Mac OS - U.S. English
• iWork '08 preinstalled
• AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook/iBook - Auto-enroll
• AirPort Extreme Card & Bluetooth
• Total : $1456.00

 

[jsobeck]

I would call that a good deal. How big is the screen? Also - FYI, that doesn't have a DVD burner, just a CD burner and DVD player, you would need to upgrade to a Superdrive for that. Other then that, it has everything except Office, and Windows of course.

 

[Starshine]

I would call that a good deal. How big is the screen? Also - FYI, that doesn't have a DVD burner, just a CD burner and DVD player, you would need to upgrade to a Superdrive for that. Other then that, it has everything except Office, and Windows of course.

I noticed about the DVD drive. Again, the computer will mostly be used by my fiance, and all she does is play games or chat with her family on IMs. Otherwise, it will be used to type of school work for me. CD burner is all I really need ( Already have a lightscribe CD/DVD burner on my tower.
I'd have to look it up again. I think it said it was 17 inch.

 

[KowKing]

The best part about using a Mac for gaming is Parallels. It runs a virtual Windows OS on your OS X desktop and you can just tab between them without the need to reboot.

 

[jsobeck]

If that's 17", then absolutely that's a good deal.

 

[blitzkrieg]

Yes that's a nice mac computer but don't forget that if you need to use programs meant to run on PCs, you can still have problems with your mac. Parallels, bootcamp, etc... are great solutions but not as good as WindowsXP on a PC.

It looks like you want to buy a mac now but I still want to add something about laptop PC. Most of the time, you can get low priced PC with the same specifications as a mac. A lot of open source programs exists for Windows (OpenOffice as your office program, etc...). If you have to connect to your school's wireless connection, you might have to install some program that will allow you to connect yourself (it's the same with printers) that won't work with anything else than a PC.