laptop advice

dobh

i wish to buy a laptop for myself which i will use mostly for e.mail, internet, photos and fairly regular stuff like that. Some administration for a sports club will also take place on it. I wont be playing games on it, personally but there is a chance that one of my offspring may do so in the future.

I would be in the market for a price in the region of 500 to 700 euros approx but would pay more if it would make a huge difference to the quality of the laptop.

I have read various sites and opinions about laptops but all that happens is I become more and more confused as sometimes I dont understand the lingo involved. I believe, from advice I got, I will need 3 to 4 gbs of ram.

I would like it to be reasonably portable but , as I have a car, it does not have to be ultra lightweight.

I would like some advice as to what to purchase, and where also, if possible.

My husband is about to purchase a fancy one for his work which will be quite expensive. I presume if we purchase both at the same time some shops might give us a bit of a deal on both. Which stores would be more likely to do this ?

I am sorry for all the questions, but I know there are persons out there who will prob be able to answer most or all of them in an instant !!

Thank you in advance.

PS3 HERO

i have a hp mini i think it cost475

dobh

does a mini hp do all the regular things a standard laptop does - can you print from it etc etc. please excuse my ignorance in this regard.

deco nate

hi, i would go for a laptop a net book is very under powered only good for surfin net really.try watch a movie and itll jump stutter,3gb of ram is fine,but like you say if you can spend 600-700,you will get a great middle range lap top,it will have a cd-dvd burner,make sure it has a graphic cards it helps when burnin movies so the processor has less work to,meanin that it wont slow down as much,so you can surf the net(look at youtube,edit pic,play music,etc,also for that price it should have bluetooth,saves hookin up cables from your phone,and wifi,use anywere in your house(needs wireless router)maybe a 15 inch will be good for you,i was in the same boat as you at xmas,an i got myself a acer aspire 7540 has the above except bluetooth,tbh i wish i had it now makes it so much easier,
as were to get it just go into a few shops,you know the main one,and maybe harvey norman,(haggle)take a note of price,and spec and take your time,oh and most laptops now have hdmi connections now so you can hook up to tv,record tv(some only)and jjust compare price an what the specs are,take a week or two and you will get your head around it,and dont buy 2nd hand(it will not be worth it,outdated)oh and at least 320 gig harddrive(but for 600-700)maybe 500gig harddrive
deco
ps:if you can use afriends,try youtube and look at reviews of laptops,might help you make your mind up

dobh

Deco nate - Thank you very much for your brilliant reply. I will start hunting around now.

Alanstrainor

deco nate wrote: »

hi, i would go for a laptop a net book is very under powered only good for surfin net really.try watch a movie and itll jump stutter,3gb of ram is fine,but like you say if you can spend 600-700,you will get a great middle range lap top,it will have a cd-dvd burner,make sure it has a graphic cards it helps when burnin movies so the processor has less work to,meanin that it wont slow down as much,so you can surf the net(look at youtube,edit pic,play music,etc,also for that price it should have bluetooth,saves hookin up cables from your phone,and wifi,use anywere in your house(needs wireless router)maybe a 15 inch will be good for you,i was in the same boat as you at xmas,an i got myself a acer aspire 7540 has the above except bluetooth,tbh i wish i had it now makes it so much easier,
as were to get it just go into a few shops,you know the main one,and maybe harvey norman,(haggle)take a note of price,and spec and take your time,oh and most laptops now have hdmi connections now so you can hook up to tv,record tv(some only)and jjust compare price an what the specs are,take a week or two and you will get your head around it,and dont buy 2nd hand(it will not be worth it,outdated)oh and at least 320 gig harddrive(but for 600-700)maybe 500gig harddrive
deco
ps:if you can use afriends,try youtube and look at reviews of laptops,might help you make your mind up

I really don't like calling people out on it, but man, sentences and paragraphs are a must! The above is impossible to read.

A graphics card will do nothing for burning cds/dvds. It will help with movie playback to some extent.
The spec you should be looking out for.
*A dual core processor, preferably a core i5.
*2GB of RAM or more.
*Windows 7 Home Premium or better.
*250GB+ hard drive (This is pretty standard, either way capacity will have no impact on performance, so i wouldn't be overly concerned with it.)

That is all you need, integrated graphics would be more than adequate, although a dedicated card would be preferable but for your needs it really isn't necessary.

dobh

Alanstrainor , thank you also.