Advising a laptop purchase.

[PUnitBabyDaddy]

My friend is going back to his college in two weeks and he wants to buy a laptop before then. He wants to spend in between 750-1500 total. If you anyone knows of any great deals please let me know. HD space isn't crucial but atleast 40gb, RAM atleast 512mb ddr and preferably expandable, dvd+/-rw and I believe that's it...

This is one he found that I think is nice...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1118839462978

Found another 512mb RAM stick for only 65 bucks too!!!

Thanks!

Also interested in this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1118839463450

Edited July 16, 2005 by PUnitBabyDaddy

[svasutin]

First, no one is ever dissapointed in IBM, but that is out of the question.

As for notebooks, get a Dell. Their service and quality is the best; they actually have knowledge. Ask about student discounts from Dell, but also go into the campus book store. Some online vendors offer Office 03 Pro (full version) for $25 and xp pro for $80; yes, they are legitmate and activate.

Stay away from Sony, they are slow to update, hard to get support from, and it is nearly impossible to navigate their site.

Finally, I've dealt with many other major manufacturer aside from Dell who have fake support. Every component of "my notebooks" are marked in ways most people, including advanced techs, miss. Only with Dell and IBM, have faulty parts always been replaced. With several other companies, the mfr's only reformatted the hdds, shipped the notebook back, and stated they replaced parts. I should CYA and type, Sony is not one of the companies (i just don't like their support site).

I gotta say, if you don't build it yourself, buy a Dell or IBM. Also, go for the 4 year support plan. When they replace notebooks, you will get a newer, better model.

Always get the largest cell battery possible

always purchase an extra battery when buying your notebook (this saves up to $150 USD).

get the slowest CPU.

don't get onboard wi-fi or bluetooth as it just drains the battery and are not as good as USB/PC Cardbus devices.

ATI cards have really good power management and hardware mpeg2 decoders (saves power).

More USB ports are better

Side Note:

Any version of windows and office can be installed on 1 desktop and 1 notebook. So when you purchase your notebook, you can use the same CD for your desktop.