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Laptop—now is the time to buy, and here’s why

 

 

Buying a new laptop aug12/06

 

Friends

For those in need of a new Desktop computer or Laptop ("Notebook") read the article below from ZDNET which discusses how this is a great time to buy one. I went to www.dell.com and found one for $485 US (if you are not located in the USA you can purchase it online and then get it shipped to a friend in America, and then they can relabel the box, and then ship it to you in Australia (you will have to pay for GST when it comes thru Au. Customs)

(posted by Brian E)

 

The laptop market is undergoing dramatic changes right at this very moment. My answer to youtoday is different in some regards than the answer I would have given to the same question just 3 weeks ago. What appears to be happening RIGHT NOW, is that laptop vendors andretailers are both “clearing the decks” for the introduction of laptops using the Intel “Core2 Duo” processor, which was previously known by it’s code names “Conroe” and “Merom”. Thedesktop version of this radically new CPU (Conroe) is out right now, although not all modelsare actually shipping and supplies are short. The laptop version, which was code named“Merom”, will begin appearing in late August. This processor is the greatest advance in CPUsin 6 years, and it is both more powerful (a LOT more powerful) and lower power than anythingpreviously offered by Intel or AMD.As a laptop buyer, there are two ways you can take advantage of this:-Wait for a laptop using Core 2 Duo (Merom)-Buy now and get a true bargain on a current model

The intensity of the pre-Merom price cuts and discount is almost breathtaking. Sixty daysago, a “Centrino” system was AT LEAST $799. Today, $549 to $599 is not hard to find if you look, and this is in systems with other advanced features as well as the Centrino chipsystem. There are lots of coupons, lots of discounts, lots of rebates.

 

Best Buy has a couponfor $100 off ANY laptop, good to August 19th, at:http://emailinfo.bestbuy.com/pp/editor_NET/v3/CampaignWrapper.aspx?E=5698;188232;765145480;1;02&R=T1_CMP_5684&A=1007&ci=5684

[I have no connection with Best Buy, but it’s a good example of the promotions that are goingon right now.]

There have been fantastic deals at Best Buy, CompUSA, Office Depot and Circuit City; you canget terrific laptops with advanced features for $549 to $699, and possibly even for $449 or$499. These are not stripped down models, you can meet ALL of my suggestions below in theseprice ranges.***IF***, that is, you don’t feel that you have to wait for Core 2 Duo and that you will besatisfied with current technology.Another consideration is Vista, the new operating system coming from Microsoft coming outnext year. Just about any laptop that you buy today will run Vista (you may have to addmemory), but the real issue is Vista’s “Aero” interface. All laptops will not run Aero, so ifyou buy now, be sure to ask about this if it is important to you. If you can wait (ah, backto the waiting game), you will probably be able to get a laptop this fall that comes with XP installed and a coupon for a free upgrade to Vista next year. This could possibly be the bestof both worlds ... again, if you can wait.[Unfortunately for all students going off to college in August and September, both Vista and Core 2 Duo are really both happening too late for most of these students to be able to wait.]

 

Anyway, here are some general suggestions:

1. Buy a “Tier 1” laptop only .... made by the major manufacturers. Personally, I’m partialto Toshiba, Dell and Lenovo (the IBM Thinkpad line). There are several other Tier 1 vendors(Acer, Sony, Gateway, HP/Compaq and perhaps I missed one or two). But I would not buy a “2ndTier” or “3rd Tier” laptop. Parts, service and support issues are just too important on alaptop.

2. At this point, don’t buy a laptop using a Celeron processor. There are just too many gooddeals right now on models with “full performance” CPUs. Go for Pentium M or a “Core Solo” or“Core Duo” CPU (note, “Core Duo” is an older CPU and is not the same as “Core 2 Duo”, the newCPU coming next month). Any of these CPUs will meet typical needs, but obviously more money(and not much more) will get you a faster CPU. But note that in a laptop, a faster CPU oftenmeans shorter battery life and more thermal issues.

3. Get a model with a DVD BURNER, not just a “combo” drive (burns CDs but only plays, doesnot burn, DVDs)

4. Get at least 512MB of memory, and preferably a gigabyte (note, however, you can expandthis yourself later if needed, and it’s cheap to do ($30 to $50))

5. Get at least a 60 gigabyte 5400rpm drive, but in general the larger the drive the better.I don’t know how you will use the laptop, so I can’t say how much space you need. Drives areavailable up to 160 gigabytes, but the cost really starts to climb fast past 80 or 100gigabytes. Similarly, 7200 rpm drives are faster than 5400 rpm drives, but the costskyrockets.

6. Get a laptop with internal wireless networking that supports at least 802.11b and 802.11g(almost all will today)

7. Card slots: Some laptops have no or only one single expansion card slot. Somemanufacturers have totally replaced PC Card slots (incorrectly called “PCMCIA Card slots)with “Express Card Slots”. Personally, I think that this is premature, and the arrangementthat I prefer is that found in some Toshiba models (the A105 in particular) that has two cardslots, one of each type.

8. Pay attention to the video display system, especially if you want to run Vista with Aeronext year. Chipset shared video systems CAN be ok, but not all are. Look for at least 128Megabyte memory capability and support for “Pixel Shader 2”. Intel GMA 950 is ok, but GMA 900 won’t run Aero due to lack of a driver (which may or may not get fixed). Discreet videosystems by ATI or NVidia may or may not run Aero. If you get a video system that uses sharedmemory, then the need for a Gigabyte of memory (instead of only 512 Megabytes) becomes fargreater.

9. The screen is too personal a choice for anyone to give valid advice; there are normal (4:3aspect ratio) and “widescreen” displays, matte and shiny displays, and different resolutions.It’s a personal preference. There is no one single “best”.

10. You also need to consider size; is it going to be traveling much? There are compactlaptops (with screens down to 12”) and there are laptops with 17” screens that are almost toobig to fit in most laptop cases. It’s all personal preference.

11. If you buy a Dell laptop, spend the extra $10 to get a restore CD. For other models, findout what type of restore provision is included. Personally I avoid models whose only restore capability is from a hidden partition on the hard drive. Toshiba still includes restore CDs(actually DVDs) on all models, as far as I can see. Dell, as noted, uses both hard drivepartitions and an optional (extra cost, $10) CD (but ordering it is obscure and most buyersmiss the chance to get the CD). Many if not most other brands/models use a hidden restorepartition, which is useless if the hard drive itself has failed.And a final comment: Although I’m no fan of extended warranties in general, for laptops in a student environment, they can make a lot of sense.

 

But there are some rules.

Here are myadditional recommendations for extended warranty rules:

1. ONLY buy the extended warranty directly from the manufacturer, not from the store whereyou bought it. That excludes some brands, but the manufacturer extended warranties haveproven to be better than the store warranties, in my experience.

2. ONLY buy an extended warranty that includes “accidental damage coverage”, so that you arecovered if the screen is cracked, the laptop is broken or you spill a liquid into the laptop.Again, that excludes some brands (and it may exclude buyers in some states that define anextended warranty plan as insurance and require it to be sold by licensed insurance companiesand agents).If you buy a laptop from Dell or Toshiba, 3 years of extended warranty coverage withaccidental damage coverage will run you about $220 to $290. I have not checked rates oravailability from other vendors.

Note that even from Dell and Toshiba, not all of theextended warranties have accidental damage coverage, so know what you are getting. Mostlaptop repairs past the first couple of months are due to accidental damage, not to “normal”component failures.

Best of luck, this is a great time to be buying a laptop.

Sincerely,Barry--Submitted by: Barry W. of North Canton, Ohio