Took her to Best Buy so she could find one she likes that met my limited-knowledge-of-Vista requirements. She found this. It will be used mostly for word processing and internet access by her. And may be the occasional FPS by me. Nothing more modern than F.E.A.R. most likely.
What say ye? Good choice?
Oh, and the bulk of the purchase price, if not the entire, will be payed for by her mother or aunt. So it'll be free. So cost isn't as much of an issue but I'm still not wanting to get something too expensive.
My recommendation is always to stay away from in-store hardware. You can get a laptop typically for hundreds less online than what you get from a store. I always recommend Dell's, they're a personal favorite of mine for the hardware you get for the price.
The only thing I would advise is to wipe the computer as soon as you get it and install the OS and drivers fresh without all the extra useless junkware.
My recommendation is always to stay away from in-store hardware. You can get a laptop typically for hundreds less online than what you get from a store. I always recommend Dell's, they're a personal favorite of mine for the hardware you get for the price.
The only thing I would advise is to wipe the computer as soon as you get it and install the OS and drivers fresh without all the extra useless junkware.
can't always do that. for example dell includes a restore partition that reinstalls all the junk, unless you specifically order a windows disc at checkout
Im ready to open the flame fest.... if this is your wife, i would recommend a macbook... i know i know everyone and their mom hates macbook BUT! just listen to these facts before you decide to say no...
-The Macbook was deemed the "Worlds Fastest Windows XP running laptop" by Gizmodo
-The Macbook has the ability to run Windows XP and Mac OS.X at boot up
-Macs have <1% chance of getting a virus
-There are almost NO mainstream programs that run on PC that will not run on a MAC
-The MacBook has features built in for a price that you will spend close to double for a PC
I got my Macbook refurbished by from apples website for $850. Since it was a Refurb, they gave me a 1 year applecare warrenty that covers ALL issues.
for $850, mine included the following
Refurbished MacBook - White
Processor 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
L2 cache 3MB shared
System bus 800MHz
Memory 1GB (two 512MB) of 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300); supports up to 4GB
Hard drive 120GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Graphics Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared with main memory
Video Built-in iSight camera; mini-DVI output port with support for DVI, VGA, S-video, and composite video (requires adapters, sold separately)
Display 13.3-inch (diagonal) glossy TFT widescreen display, 1280 by 800 resolution
FireWire One FireWire 400 port (up to 400 Mbps)
USB Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Audio Built-in stereo speakers, built-in omnidirectional microphone, combined optical digital audio input/audio line in, combined optical digital audio output/audio line out
Networking Built-in 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
Wireless Built-in AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n draft specification)2; built-in Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) module
Hardware accessories 60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord, lithium-polymer battery
Height 1.08 inches (2.75 cm)
Width 12.78 inches (32.5 cm)
Depth 8.92 inches (22.7 cm)
Weight 5.0 pounds (2.27 kg)
thats wonderful that you’re a Mac sysadmin... you apparently must be new or don’t kno enough to get your junior G man badge... you said there was little to no support for the XP/bootcamp setup for the macbook... yet mine is working, 100% with touchpad tap, full video and mic using only the leopard cd drivers that were included. Vista may be as secure as Fort Knox but it takes as much power to use it as well. The processor management in vista is worse then any other operating system ever released! Its been proven! I guess if you plan on processing word docs all day and not harnessing the locked down network features that vista decided to do away with that was ever present in XP, then vista is for you.
actually i got quite a few years under my belt. wish i knew why the drivers *i* have wont let me tap the touchpad or why using the camera blue screens it.. of course its apple hardware so its not like i have much of an option.. it works or it doesn't.(or you replace it with only apple [overpriced] parts)
the cpu usage in vista isnt bad at all. it puts more resources to use, yes, but it knows when to fall back as well.
personally im glad to see my $300 video card being put to use within the desktop ui.
actually i got quite a few years under my belt. wish i knew why the drivers *i* have wont let me tap the touchpad or why using the camera blue screens it.. of course its apple hardware so its not like i have much of an option.. it works or it doesn't.(or you replace it with only apple [overpriced] parts)
the cpu usage in vista isnt bad at all. it puts more resources to use, yes, but it knows when to fall back as well.
personally im glad to see my $300 video card being put to use within the desktop ui.
i guess me and the 3 other ppl i know with macbooks running bootcamp just got lucky... as far as vista "putting more resources to use".. thats an excuse for the horrible management that causes computers to slowdown and requires 2gigs of ram...
can't always do that. for example dell includes a restore partition that reinstalls all the junk, unless you specifically order a windows disc at checkout
I wrote that with the idea that every PC person has a Windows XP/Vista OEM disc floating around somewhere. Everybody I know has one...
Whatever the case, if you don't have a disc it's best uninstalling as much garbage as you possibly can.
Oh and btw, Google "Dell coupon codes", you can generally get an extra 10-30% off any laptop just by using one.
i guess me and the 3 other ppl i know with macbooks running bootcamp just got lucky... as far as vista "putting more resources to use".. thats an excuse for the horrible management that causes computers to slowdown and requires 2gigs of ram...
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Wife wants a new laptop
So cost isn't as much of an issue but I'm still not wanting to get something too expensive.
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