recommendation thread...since i may have to buy one soon for observation/field notes input.

price range: ~ 1000 bucks
processor - high end; 64 bit maybe?
RAM - i don't know if they make laptops w/ > 2 slots, so probably 2 x 1028 chips
HD - average (60 - 80 G)
vid card - at least 128 MB, probably 256 if possible cheaply
ethernet - of course
screen size - meh?
dimensions - light; maybe thin -i don't really care
input device -touchpad or red dot

i like bestbuy and dell b/c of warranties, but would a tigerdirect or newegg be cheaper?

tia

2/26/2006 8:18:44 PM

What are you going to use it for?
How often do you want to travel with it?
How long of a battery life do you need?
Do you already have a "gaming" desktop?

2/26/2006 8:23:43 PM

Just so you know...companies like Toshiba, Acer, Gateway, etc. also carry warranties. My Toshiba laptop has a warranty that is similar to Dell's and better than Best Buy. So, if you find a laptop you like then take a look at that manufacturers site and see what they offer for warranty.

2/26/2006 8:27:10 PM

http://laptopmag.com/Features/The-War-on-Warranties.htm

2/26/2006 8:31:50 PM

i've got a home gaming system

average to long battery life

probably haul it around w/ me to work off campus and maybe use at work

yeah, i was thinking about a toshiba...

2/26/2006 8:34:06 PM

what do you consider light? because with what you're asking for, it sounds like a brick to me

2/26/2006 9:03:22 PM

my friend had a toshiba satellite laptop and had heating problems with it. seems like a lot of the toshibas have heating issues from researching the problem when she had it. might wanna check into that so u dont have that problem.

2/26/2006 9:06:23 PM

as light as possible, but after surfin around tonight, looks like ~ 8 pounds is avg based on compaq, toshiba on tigerdirect and newegg.

i'm likin this so far:

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto/computer_customize_components_continue.do

2/26/2006 9:07:14 PM

look at dell 700m's for portability and long battery life.

[Edited on February 26, 2006 at 9:13 PM. Reason : .]

2/26/2006 9:13:26 PM

8lbs is NOT light, in the grand scheme of things. ~5lbs is the average.


You have to realize that in order to get power, you sacrifice battery AND weight.

2/26/2006 11:34:40 PM

dude...

64 bit "high end" processor
1 gig or memory...
60-80 gig laptop hard drive...

around $1000...

does not compute.

2/27/2006 11:26:31 AM