Solved! Question on Processor and Memory

[mrmark27]

Hello all. Its been a while since ive looked into notebooks, however my dad is looking to replace his current one sometime during the holiday season. I was looking into them and know that his requirements are pretty minimal, however I wasn't sure how basic to go. His general needs will just be internet, streaming video, and email. Nothing to crazy, no gaming and probably not even watching dvd's. My general requirements are a C2D processor, 3 gig ram, and wireless N(we have a N router).

However, here is my question. I was looking into the different processors and noticed that Intel's processors really vary depending on which model you pick. Based on what he will be using the laptop for, how important is the 1066 v 800 FSB and 3 v 2 mb L2 Cache? Also, for what he'd be doing, is there a need to go with DDR3 v DDR2 ram?

Thanks for the help. Just trying to find a decent system for him for the next 2-3 years.

 

[frozenlead]

None of those specs are important for your Dad. Almost anything goes for an internet/office machine these days.

 

[HappyBison]

I agree with frozenlead, any modern machine will do.

I would take the lowest possible C2D with at least 2GB of RAM (DDR2 or DDR3 -- does not matter). This machine will serve for a good time in case if your Dad will decide to watch DVD and something a little bit more than just e-mail.

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Get a netbook with a 10-11 inch screen. It'll be plenty for what he needs. Get an atom processor at 1.6ghz or 2ghz with windows 7.

If you think that is too small just get a pentium dual core at 2ghz with 2gigs of ram, lowest drive you can find with a 5400rpm drive, and an intel video card should be sufficient.

you don't really need a core 2 duo for browsing the web a pentium dual core is plenty.

Anything more than this is overkill. The above is overkill. A netbook is just right. Can usually find a 10 inch one for 350.

Hello all. Its been a while since ive looked into notebooks, however my dad is looking to replace his current one sometime during the holiday season. I was looking into them and know that his requirements are pretty minimal, however I wasn't sure how basic to go. His general needs will just be internet, streaming video, and email. Nothing to crazy, no gaming and probably not even watching dvd's. My general requirements are a C2D processor, 3 gig ram, and wireless N(we have a N router).

However, here is my question. I was looking into the different processors and noticed that Intel's processors really vary depending on which model you pick. Based on what he will be using the laptop for, how important is the 1066 v 800 FSB and 3 v 2 mb L2 Cache? Also, for what he'd be doing, is there a need to go with DDR3 v DDR2 ram?

Thanks for the help. Just trying to find a decent system for him for the next 2-3 years.

 

[mrmark27]

Thanks. I had thought about the netbook but he wants something larger, with a 15" or 16" screen since he usually has multiple windows open.

 

[mrmark27]

After looking around some, I found this HP notebook bestbuy. It has 3 of the 4 things I wanted(C2D, 3+ Gig Ram, HDMI Output) and only item it lacks is Wireless N, however it has a PC Card slot and I have a wireless N pc card that was bundled with my router. Does anyone have an opinion of how this looks, or if they know of a better build/brand for similar price?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9553985&type=product&id=1218123211141]
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=4057208&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us]

Thanks for all the help!