Question about laptop computers

#1
KB5252

KB5252

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#1
We will be taking advantage of the tax free holiday tomorrow evening and buying a laptop. I am not particularly well versed in these matters.

I have a few questions:

a) does the amount of built in memory (2 gig vs 4 gig) make a better computer?

b) I have seen Acer brand computers and have heard mixed reviews, they are a little cheaper but some of the stories have me wary, is my fear well founded?

c) what is the best computer for the money, I don't need anything fancy, just something my son can use for college.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
#2
#2
Acer sucks! When I worked for Seagate, it was well known that Acer was a joke. You will get what you paid for.

Gotta believe that 4GB of RAM is a lot better than 2. Makes everything run faster, I think.

My daughter got a Toshiba Satellite (I think that was the model) for college. Hasn't had a problem with it after a year.
 
#3
#3
a) simply, yes. More RAM means it will run faster/be able to run more things at once. That being said, it depends on what you will be doing with the computer as to whether you need 4 gigs of ram or not.

b) I personally wouldn't go that route. I would avoid them. You could get lucky and have no problems with one, but the odds are safer with other brands. It's your call on the risk/reward.

c) That's a very broad and difficult question. I got an HP a couple of years ago and it has worked well for me.
 
#5
#5
brand of processor might be something to take into consideration as well.
 
#6
#6
KB - a lot obviously depends on what the laptop will be used for, but to me some of the most important criteria are weight, size, and battery life. 7 lbs can feel quite heavy if you're lugging it around all day, and even though a 19" screen is great for watching movies it's overkill for college. Some are starting to use the little notebooks but again that depends on how you will be using it. One other major consideration is the keyboard layout... since you will be doing a lot of typing. Here's a url to a site that gives some other things for consideration... How to Choose a Student Laptop | eHow.com
 
#7
#7
kev20 said:
Acer sucks! When I worked for Seagate, it was well known that Acer was a joke. You will get what you paid for.

Gotta believe that 4GB of RAM is a lot better than 2. Makes everything run faster, I think.

My daughter got a Toshiba Satellite (I think that was the model) for college. Hasn't had a problem with it after a year.
Click to expand...
I got the Toshiba Satellie and its an excellent machine, haven't had a problem with it, mine has 3 gigs of memory and runs smokin fast
 
#8
#8
Thank you all. I have been leaning toward Dell, HP, and the Toshiba brands. I looked at a Toshiba Satellite recently, it had plenty of memory and seemed to have all that would be required by my son for a very reasonable price compared to many others I have looked at.
 
#9
#9
If you end up with a 64bit vista machine then you will need 4gigs. I have had a dell 4gig for about a year and have had zero problems. I know that some hp's have had screen issues in the past so you might want to research that as well.
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#10
#10
KB5252 said:
Thank you all. I have been leaning toward Dell, HP, and the Toshiba brands. I looked at a Toshiba Satellite recently, it had plenty of memory and seemed to have all that would be required by my son for a very reasonable price compared to many others I have looked at.
Click to expand...
I got my Toshiba at Wal Mart 17" screen for 398+ tax...came to around 450 with the warranty
 
#11
#11
Can't believe nobody has made a ksush joke yet. Wasn't it the toshiba she was talking about?
 
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