Quote:
Originally Posted by happygeek
- Which would be most important: larger graphic card memory, processor speed, or RAM?
- Which graphic cards should I avoid / look for?
- I don't understand the difference between 32 and 64 bit -- is that important? What should I look for?
- I have no experience with WIndows 7 -- does that mean hands off or get because I'll have to deal with it soon anyhow?
- Any concrete tips appreciated, thank you! Please, however, note that I am a windows idiot, and am generally not computer-saavy. Sorry for that.
|
I haven't really paid attention to specific models lately, but with 1k e you should get a good laptop that lasts long enough. You didn't specify if you wanted a laptop for gaming or for casual use + some dominions and such small games. For the latter you might not need to spend the whole 1k. If you don't need it for the games and are not afraid to try to learn new things, I've heard MacBooks are very good laptops, but it indeed has a Mac OS and not a Windows, and might go over the 1k limit.
Generally: If you are going to move around with the laptop a lot, I'd suggest a 15" screen. It weighs less and takes less space - most laptop carrying bags/backpacks are designed for the normal ~15" screen. If you plan to watch a lot of videos or need it for work use, the 17" might be a better choice. Also you might want to keep in mind that 17" uses the battery way faster, and if you are going to go around with the laptop, you'll want to have a long battery life. There are models with +6h battery life expectancy in normal use in the 15" range.
Graphics: Memory is not really the only thing you are looking for if you want it for gaming, but when running high-end video and game applications, it matters. ATI and nVidia brands are a good bet with ½-1gig of memory.
Processor: Intel makes very good dual or quadcore processors. I don't know much about AMD laptop processors, so can't say anything about them, but I'm confident you could live with one
32/64bit+OS: Mainly has to do with the OS (Windows in this case) - 64bit supports more memory (RAM) than 32bit, which can only support up to 4gb of it. Most older programs are made for 32bit platforms, new ones should work in both, but not all. For a gaming computer you'll want a 64bit with plenty of RAM. I'd suggest going for 64bit Win7 if you can - I've heard that it's better than vista, eats less resources and so on. It shouldn't be a huge change from vista to win7.
Memory: 2-4gigs, more the merrier.
Hard drive: You'll want something with good enough read speeds and sufficient size (160gb and 320gb seems the norm). Usually you don't have to care about anything else than size though.
WLAN is a norm in laptops nowadays, don't get one without a WLAN
Producers: ASUS does quality products. I think they have 2 year warranties by default. Acer does good laptops too, like Gregstorm suggested. For a concrete example, there's an
Acer Aspire Timeline 5810T - which (from a Finnish retailer) costs bit less than 700e, has Vista with win7 upgrade possible, and has around 8 hours of battery life. Should be a very solid choice. If you are willing to attempt to dig out some information (the components are mostly in english),
here you go.