Choosing the Right Laptop

clonazepam

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Jul 10, 2010
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1. What is your budget?

Up to $500-600.

2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?

Any 16:9 or 16:10 format

3. What screen resolution do you want?

Standard, I don't want to pay extra for more pixels than necessary.

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?

Definitely a desktop replacement.

5. How much battery life do you need?

Average is fine.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

Only browser-based games

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo/Video editing, Etc.)

Web browsing mainly, viewing photos and videos, without feeling sluggish.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

I don't want to pay a premium so whatever's the 'norm' these days.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.

I'm pretty sure I'll be going with newegg.com (2nd choice would be tigerdirect.com)

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

As long as it lasts

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

DVD writer

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

I'm open here, the brand only matters in terms of service and warranty available.

13. What country do you live in?

U.S.A.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

I'm buying it for my mother. Last year I bought her the Asus Transformer, and its mostly good, but its pretty clear some things are just best on a real computer (laptop). She spends a lot of time reading websites and occasionally playing browser based games. I just want a relatively inexpensive laptop she'll be comfortable with as far as typing and reading the screen. I don't want to spend more than $500-600. I think I can get a decent one that doesn't feel sluggish with photos, videos, and multiple browser tabs with your help / suggestions.
 

clonazepam

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Jul 10, 2010
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I ended up getting her:

It's a Dell Inspiron N7110 (Win7 Home Premium 64-bit)
Intel Core i5 2450M (2.50GHz)
integrated Intel Graphics 3000
17.3" monitor (1600x900 resolution)
8GB RAM
750GB HDD
DVD+/-R/RW
Built-in 1.3MP webcam

It's a refurbished model from newegg for $557 after taxes and shipping. It's in immaculate condition.