Need help picking the right Laptop.

[Vince5002001]

I'm trying to buy a good mid-grade laptop that is not too expensive.

The Toshiba - Satellite Laptop (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/ol...duct&id=1218011767070) was one of the ones I was considering getting but it is out of stock.

I have a couple of questions regarding laptops. (Because I?m not exactly tech savvy)

-Should I wait for after Christmas deals?
-What is a "mid-grade" laptop now a days and how much is a good deal?
-I know laptops have limited upgradeability so how long would one last?
- Should I buy retail?
- Anything else I should be looking for other than processing power, battery life, video card stuff etc?

Any suggestions of laptops and any other help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Vince5002001
I'm trying to buy a good mid-grade laptop that is not too expensive.

The Toshiba - Satellite Laptop was one of the ones I was considering getting but it is out of stock.

I have a couple of questions regarding laptops. (Because I?m not exactly tech savvy)

-Should I wait for after Christmas deals?
-What is a "mid-grade" laptop now a days and how much is a good deal?
-I know laptops have limited upgradeability so how long would one last?
- Should I buy retail?
- Anything else I should be looking for other than processing power, battery life, video card stuff etc?

* Bad BB link.
* Wait if you can stand it for another week.
* "Mid-grade" is all in the eye of the beholder...
Accordingly, a "good deal" for one person may not be the same deal for another.
* A laptop will last as long as the components don't fail (even then they can be repaired), or until you drop and break it.
* "Should I buy retail"? As opposed to buying "used", building your own or what?
* You should also be reading customer feedback about the individual models,
considering screen size and resolution
and considering the companies customer service reputation.

 

[JackMDS]

Why Mid range Laptop is better for you than an Entry Level Laptop?

There is No really significant differences between the Major Brand.

When come to Laptop I usually advice people to go into few Big Stores and actually try few devices.

Then the purchase can be done at the store or online according to price.

Waiting for Post Hollyday sales might or might Not save a little, but the selection of what is on sale would be smaller.

 

[Denithor]

General -

Make sure you get a laptop with a dual-core processor. Probably hard to find these days without this but it's a noticeably different experience single versus dual core. And Intel is winning the performance/watt battle right now, so you get cooler performance with better battery life versus similar AMD processors.

If using Vista make sure it has 3GB or 4GB of memory (64-bit Vista machines often come with 4GB while 32-bit systems will never have more than 3GB included). If it only has 2GB you may see some slow-downs depending on your uses. And if it has less than 2GB, don't buy it unless you plan to add more yourself later (easy to do).

Jack's got the right idea, go to a store and see what features you like. Specifically: screen size, glossy screen versus matte (non-reflective) screen, full keyboard with number pad (only on 17" models typically) or standard short keyboard.