Help with chooding a Laptop

[pussnboots]

Hello there all you clever people, I am thinking of buying a laptop and no nothing of these things, I can manage my faithfull Dell here at my desk, but I really fancy a laptop. Can anyone recommend a reasonable priced one.

[Ethel]

We need to know what you intend to do with it.

If you edit videos, cad or play 'gamers' high spec games you need a lot higher spec than for browsing the internet, playing cds, writing letters and emails.

If you intend to use it as a desktop replacement and not move it around much, weight won't matter and you can have a much bigger screen.
On the other hand, if you want it to be more portable, you need to consider weight and will need a smaller screen.

It is an absolute waste of money to buy a high spec laptop if you are not going to use most of the high end features you've paid for.

It is also frustrating to buy a new laptop or pc and find it's not up the job.

So, a bit more info please.

[vehelpfulguy]

You say you really fancy a laptop, but pound for pound (money not weight) you get more with a dekstop PC than a laptop.

If you spent the same amount on a laptop and a dekstop PC the dekstop PC would be FAR better spec than the laptop.

Processors are often not as fast in laptops as desktops.

You often get get less memory in a latop than a desktop.

Hard disks are smaller in a laptop than a desktop (and often spin slower as well)

Screens are smaller in a laptop than a desktop (15.4" or 17" if you are lucky in a laptop, 19" or more on many desktops).

Laptops are VERY difficult to upgrade. About the only things you can upgrade are the memory and the hard disk.

If a desktop goes wrong it is fairly easy to take out the broken part and replace it, if a laptop goes wrong it often means expensive repairs and you can rarely buy replacement parts "off the shelf".

It may sound like I am totally anti-laptops. Not true, they have their place, but you sound as though you just fancy having one rather than having a real technical or business reason for having one.

If you are going to get one just be aware of the limitations I have listed above.

[pussnboots]

Thanks for the info. You are right in what you say. I am going to stick with my desk top. I am glad that I posted this question and got some neutral advice. The reason that I did post the question is that both my son and daughter keep saying "why dont you get a laptop", then they give me all the reasons why I should get one, but they are not for me. Thanks.