Buyers advice on laptop

[imported_ceefka]

Our neighbour wants a laptop, so he doesn't have to be in the attic everytime. He already has a wireless router installed, so he is pretty much ready.

He will be mainly surfing. Besides the basic USB 2.0, LAN, wifi (at least 802.11g), I don't think there is a pressing need for additional connectors like eSATA or DVI, but DVI might be nice in the future. His video editing will be done in the attic. He says he doesn't mind if the battery life is short, but I think he'll regret that like I did, getting 1,5hrs with an Acer 1500. Maybe we're just unlucky, I don't know.

Though it doesn't look like he'll be doing much, I'd still like to consider a dualcore if it will help to run Vista. Especially since Vista, I am a bit at a loss for notebook specs. Does he need 1GB RAM? Should he have Vista or XP?

Thinking of him as a Formula 1 junkie, he'd probably like an Acer Ferrari, but I'll only recommend that if it really is what he needs.

What do you think would be a good choice? If you don't have a make and model in mind, what specs should I be looking for?

Thank you.

 

[alimoalem]

i would go for a dual core just so it could last a bit longer. 1gb is definitely a yes if he'll be going with vista. as for whether he should go with vista or not i can't comment. i would say yes, go with vista if it comes pre-installed. if it doesn't, no biggie. but if there's two laptops that are equal in the eyes of your neighbor, go with the vista one as the XP one may cost him in 6 months when vista's a little more stable.

so he'll just be using this for surfing the web...what's the budget?

also, will he be moving this laptop around?

 

[imported_ceefka]

I'll have to check both your questions to be really to be sure.
My guess on budget: Around 700 euro will be OK. If it takes more to run Vista smoothly, he'll accept it. He's no poor man.
Guess on moving: He'll start in the backyard and then take it with him on holidays. He'll be needing a bag for sure.

Many of today's laptops come with Vista pre-installed. Even those don't always have 1GB, but I'd never risk 512MB with Vista. Most with XP are on sale right now.

 

[lobbyone]

Avoid Vista-laptops with 512MB memory!

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: lobbyone
Avoid Vista-laptops with 512MB memory!

unless they're cheap and you add your own ram

ceefka, what i meant by moving it around is whether portability is a significant factor. if he'll be moving it around once a month, then a 17" wouldn't be bad, per se.

700 Euro is the budget, i'm not sure how good a laptop he can get. 700 euros converted to US Dollars will definitely get you something vista capable, but i'm not sure how pricing in europe is. do you have any links you could provide for online retailers or will your neighbor be able to purchase a laptop from the US?

if your neighbor does want to have Vista at one point, make sure he gets a laptop with it pre-installed or at least with a free upgrade. i haven't used it yet so i'm not sure if there are many bugs but even if they are, the first service pack should take care of most of them so your neighbor won't have to suffer for a really long time

 

[imported_ceefka]

I just wonder if there are any differences in performance/watt between the Turion and Centrino Duo that would make you choose one over the other. These Core2Duos are nice, though a bit more expensive than Turions.
Thank you for chiming in.

 

[alimoalem]

core duos are better on the battery and performance is pretty much equal between the core duo and the turion x2 (don't confuse turion with turion x2).