Need help buying the right Dell Laptop

I thinking about buying my first laptop computer and I'm considering a Dell.

I have little computer experience so I don't know what factors are important when chosing a laptop. Of course I am trying to chose a computer that fits my style of useage, and stay within a reasonable budget.

I don't play games at all. I plan on mainly use my computer for email, web surfing, digital photos, watch movies, rip cd's, and possibly some beginners video editing. I'd also like to go wireless if possible.

I've read some online buying guides and reviews at several other sites, but I wanted more feedback and opinions.

Right now, I'm considering the Inspiron 8600 but they seem quite pricey. Is there a cheaper alternative? Do I need that much computer?

I don't need top of the line but I do want something reliable and decent quality.

Any input would help.

Thanks

 

No, you really don't "need" the 8600 for the uses you listed. How mobile do you want your notebook to be and is battery life important to you? Lastly, what's your budget?

Editor in Chief http://www.bargainPDA.com and http://www.SPOTstop.com

 

Stickey,

Please give us your budget, and we can guide you further. Also, I will tell you this up front, you will want to get an extended warranty with whatever Dell laptop you choose. Their computers have been hit or miss lately as far as quality goes.

 

I want to spend under $1500

Battery life is important, but not the most important factor. Although I travel alot, I'm mainly buying this notebook to replace my desktop computer (it is an old Compaq Presario that I used to mainly to type papers and check email).

I've just recently bought my first digital camera (Sony P8) and my first MP3 player (15g iPod). And I'm getting a digital video camera for my birthday this year. So needless to say, I am a beginner when it comes to electronics and technology.

I'm not set on buying a Dell, but it's more a starting point until I learn more about what's available/comparable.

 

wow under $1100 sounds great!

I've read that adding RAM to a notebook is difficult because it often requires factory installation

so i was thinking that i should buy as much as i can the first time around

how much RAM and hard drive space should I get? i want to build a decent music library, photo album, and MAYBE do some light video editing.

 

If you want Dell, I think the Inspiron 5100 would be good for you. It has a nice, quick 2.8 ghz Pentium processor. However, keep in mind that this is a desktop processor, so it can get pretty warm. For a desktop processor, the battery life for this brand is pretty good. You can get as high as 3 hours.

If you want a little bit more battery life, you can look at the Inspiron 5150, which uses a Mobile Pentium processor and is extremely fast.

Both of these will be between 7 and 8 lbs.

Right now the 5100 has a little bit better track record (seems to be less complaints about it than the 5150) I think that would be a very good choice for you, and you can get it pretty loaded for about $1100 ore less.

Other brands to consider would be Acer and Fujitsu. IBM is probably out of your price range. These 3 have good quality (usually).

 

Actually, if you a buy a dell, it's incredibly easy to upgrade memory on your own. I upgrade mine (Inspiron 5150) in less than 1 minute.

What I suggest is just buy the standard amount and purchase extra memory from Crucial.com (free shipping) You will save so much more money. Dell really overcharges for their memory. Ultimately you are going to want at least 512 MB. However, if you think it will be more convienient to have Dell do it, that will be fine, but I do believe you are just giving them extra money.

As for hard drive space...you will probably want at least 40 GB...60 GB is getting cheaper now.

Hope that helps.

 

thanks for the advice