As you begin to search for a new $300, $400 or $500 Windows based laptop there are a few things you want to look for:
You are going to want at least duel-core processor ether from AMD of from Intel.
I have no real preference between AMD or Intel other than price. You get more bang for your buck with AMD but with laptops, performance will be about the same on all fronts with a laptop in our price range.
Intel: No less that an i5 processor of an equivalent model. The i3 is underpowered and the i7 alone cost $200 – $300.
AMD: A duel-core Turion or a duel-core Athalon will both do very well.
You are also going to want a “stand-alone graphics card”. This will most likely make the biggest performance difference now and as the laptop ages. For a 3, 4 or 5 hundred dollar laptop, you’re not going to get the pinnacle of GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) performance; however, as stand-alone will work better than an integrated GPU (i.e. Intel integrated graphics). Again, I have no preference between ATI or nVidia; they both produce good GPU’s but I have found the nVidia works a little smother than ATI but ATI is cheaper. If you go with an AMD CPU, you will most likely get an ATI GPU. For Intel, it could be anything.
As for the size of the laptop, for the price range, you will be able to get 10″ 13″ and 15″ laptop. I would go for the 15″ just because it will server your needs better and it will be reasonably easy to travel with. The bigger the laptop, the more you will have to pay and the less options you will have; i.e., you will only be able to find higher end (and more expensive) components like the CPU and GPU.
Hard drives cost $100.00, so don’t worry about the hard drive size. Use it and if it turns out you will need a larger hard drive, it can be upgraded fairly easily.
I would go for just a DVD R/W combo drive. It’s more than enough for watching movies and storing data and if you wanted to watch blueray movies and have them look good, too; would have to buy a laptop in the 800.00 to 1,000.00 range.
Battery life is going to be on pare across the board at 3 – 5 hours unless you get into the higher end laptops; the faster everything is, the more power it takes. If you wanted more battery life, you can usually buy a higher capacity battery from the manufacture.
As for USB ports, at least two but I would shoot for three and defiantly one on each side. If you have both USB ports on the same side, depending on the size of the USB connector and the placement of the ports, you will only be able to plug one thing into it at a time. Trust me, you might not think about it now, but when you want to plug in a mouse, keyboard and USB flash drive and don’t have enough ports or they are to close together you might just launch your laptop across the room or curs the person who thought it was a good idea.
As for keyboard layout; I love my ten-key! With a 15” laptop, you should be able to find a keyboard with a ten-key and a little extra spacing. The only drawback to having the ten-key is that the mouse pad is off center. It is centered based on the spacebar and not the width of the computer. To me, it doesn’t feel right and I find myself pressing the right-click button instead of the left one. But I still love my ten-key!
I know that there are a lot of things to look at but most come standard on laptops. If you stick to what I wrote and are patent, I’m sure you will find a good laptop for a reasonable price.
I have found some of the best deals at OfficeMax, Staples and sometimes Fry’s (most of the time, in that order).
I also offer and recommend the new computer setup service. (Prices vary depending on services needed)
This includes:
- Initial startup
- Computer optimization
- Removal of manufactures installed bloat (which slows down your new computer)
- Installation of security software of your choice
- Installation of productivity software
- Data migration
Good luck in your search for a new laptop. Please, let me know if you have any questions or need some help.
Thank you for reading.
