laptops...

[morbidstorm]

Hi all,
I am planning to buy a laptop very soon, but I do not know what ram, processor, clock speed (?), brand etc etc I should be looking at. The laptop will be used for daily internet use, for keeping all my files in one place and some minor word processing and excel usage. It has to have wireless internet access.
Where do I begin? Is there a way I can tailor my requirements?
Thanks

[vehelpfulguy]

This is always a difficult one to answer. It is like buying a car, and then looking at all the hundreds of cars available.

The things you say you are going to do with it mean almost any laptop will do the job. If you said you were going to play games, or do video editing, that would be a different matter.

First I would settle on a price you want to pay. This will narrow down your choice a bit. The low end starts at about �400, but they go up to over �1000, so decide how much you want to pay.

Next try to go for a "name" brand. Places like PC World and Curry's stock no-name brands, and you have no idea of the quality. So stick to Toshiba, Sony, IBM, HP, Acer, those sorts of brands.

I think all laptops have wireless access howadays.

If you plan to carry it around a lot consider the weight. If it is going to be in the same place all the time this is less of a worry.

Most laptops screens are 15.4", but they can go up to 17". Again, if you do not plan to move it around a lot then maybe go for a 17" screen.

more....

[vehelpfulguy]

Some things to look out for....

Most laptops come with Windows Vista nowadays (although you can get Windows XP if you hunt round a bit).

DONT get one with Vista Home Basic, go for Vista Home Premium (it comes with extra "goodies")

Vista requires 1Gb of memory or more so dont be tempted to go for less (say 512Mb).

Hard disks come in various size, the smallest is about 80Gb nowadays, but you can get some with over 100Gb so check the disk size carefully.

The CPU can be an Intel or AMD. The Intel Core 2 Duo are probably the best at the moment. Avoid an Intel Celeron as they can be rather slow.

Many web sites do laptops nowadays and places to look for laptops include Dell, Tesco, Woolworth, Argos etc, plus specialist web sites.

Altough shops like PC World, Comet, Curry's, Staples do get critisized they all have stock of laptops, Have a look in there but make sure YOU make the buying decision.

Dont let the person in the shop convince you what is best because they may be on commission to sell a certain make or moidel.

I think that is enough to get you going.

[vehelpfulguy]

This is a good site to find laptop deals (in fact all sorts of deals)

http://www.hotukdeals.com/

Press the "Filter Deals" button to make sure it updates with the latest deals.

You can also filter by Category, so just select "Computers and Software" to list only those items (you have to press the Filter Deals button again).

This site is updated all the time so revisit a few times a day so you find out the best deals before they sell out.

There is a guy who updates this site with all the lastest Dell deals on a Thursday so make sure you check during Thursday.

(I have no personal interest in this web site, I just find it a very useful site)