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How to buy a first laptop.


Bago

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This may be a silly question to some, but I guess I still have to consider it, cos it's money after all, and I'm on a tight budget at the moment.

 

What factors do I need to consider when buying one ?

Some people talk of batteries lifetime.

Should I be weary of some models more than others ? Is it important to buy one that has a good cooling system ?

 

I'm looking for something that's value for money, and would last me a couple of years for now.

 

Dell has been recommended to me as a cheap brand to get here, but I'm uncertain. I'm oversea at the moment, and would love to get my hand on a copy of PC World, but I can't. Any help is much appreciated.

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Good cooling system is important in laptops particularly because they have very little space and can overheat easily.

 

Definatley agree with that - I bought my laptop about 4 years ago, it came without a mobile processor and boy can you tell! It gets very hot.

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Battery life is only an important factor if it's something that matters to you.

 

If you can explain what you're expecting to use it for, then requirements can be drawn from that.

 

I've got a dell laptop, about 2 years old now and it's still going strong, my SO and brother also bought dell on my recomendation and both of them are happy with what they've got.

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I agree with Cyclone that it depends on your overall requirements.

Since I plug my laptop in most of the time when I use it battery life is not that important to me.

 

A full sized keyboard was important to me as was a lot of RAM and a decent processor (speed and make) and HDD space.

Also wireless internet was a major requirement too.

 

It really does depend on what you need it for.

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We've got a Dell laptop. When we managed to break a key on the keyboard, Dell's technical support was first rate and the replacement part (keyboard) was with us within 48 hours.

 

Whereas when the screen on one of ours was broken, they (Dell) wanted over £750 to replace it. Got a screen from Jockland for £250(ish), fitted it in less than 10 minutes.

 

 

As mentioned above (and is the case with any computer purchase) the specs required are entirely dependant on the type of use it is to be given:thumbsup:

 

 

Cooling in a laptop is always going to be important (as is air flow within) due to the number of components in such a confined environment:thumbsup:

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  • 2 weeks later...

My budget is no more than 500 really. Preferably looking at the entry-level area, but however, I would like it to be compatible with 64 bit softwares which are out now (?) The size, and comfort factor is secondary. Pricing is important, and the compatibility issue.

 

I'm just basically gonna use it for surfing, typing doc etc. Not development, or any memory crunching exercises.

 

By the way, is Dual Core the latest CPU on the market ? What's the AMD equivalent ?

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