Laptop recommendations.

Laptop recommendations:

The wife needs a new laptop used mainly for Internet and online low-res
gaming (java board games *not* Duke nukem and the like) along with the
occasional home business app. Word processor & spread sheet can be had
for free so pre-loaded MS stuff isnt' needed here. It must run Windows
as she seems allergic to Linux and is about as far from a techie as one
can get.

I really don't want to spend more than $500 and she prefers a medium
sized comp in the 14" range as its almost always on her lap rather than
on a desk. She says the 15.6+ sizes are too large and the 10" notebooks
too small.

Good battery life is a concern but more importantly strong WIFI
reception as she is normally uses it on the floor above the home WIFI
modem. I had to hook up a USB antenna receiver to her current laptop (an
old Dell) to get acceptable reception. That can be pain on a laptop as
the antenna is always in the way and prone to getting knocked out of the
port.

A responsive keyboard and mouse pad are also concerns.

Win7 PRO is preferred by me (the reluctant administrator) but I suppose
I could settle for home premium. 4GB RAM seems to the sweet spot for
that operating system. A method of reloading Windows is an absolute must
as she knows nor cares much about viruses (despite my lamentations) and
is usually online 4+ hours per day.

If I can get it for $400 then I could get a backup enclosure & hard
drive for use on both of our comps, so Estata capability to match my
work station would be a plus!

A high density (>4GB) smart card port for transferring pictures from
cameras is also a need. Yea, I have a USB adapter but the little bugger
seems to either be hiding somewhere about the house -or- left at home
when she and the computer are out.

To reiterate:

1. 14" laptop
2. Win7 w/ 4GB RAM
3. Esata port (not a necessity but would be nice).
4. HD camera card port
5. Quality keyboard and mouse pad
6. Excellent WIFI reception.
7. Average (business range) graphics and processor.
8. Better than average battery life (4+ hours).
9 $500 or less.
10. And of course the usual accessories like a CD/DVD burner/reader,
USB2 ports, etc.

Any satisfied consumers out there using recently purchased
lappies/notebooks that could satisfy most or all of the above criteria?

Thanks,
John

> Win7 PRO is preferred by me (the reluctant administrator) but I suppose
> I could settle for home premium.

Just out of curiosity: What does Pro give you that Home Premium does not?

On 6/25/2011 2:39 AM, Grinder wrote:
>> Win7 PRO is preferred by me (the reluctant administrator)
>> but I suppose
>> I could settle for home premium.
>
> Just out of curiosity: What does Pro give you that Home
> Premium does not?
Mainly ability to join a domain and encrypting file system.
http://www.intowindows.com/differenc...mate-editions/

On 06/25/2011 02:39 AM, Grinder wrote:
>> Win7 PRO is preferred by me (the reluctant administrator) but I suppose
>> I could settle for home premium.
>
> Just out of curiosity: What does Pro give you that Home Premium does not?

XP app. compatibility to start, home premium does not have it.

John

Somewhere on teh intarwebs John wrote:
> Laptop recommendations:
>
> The wife needs a new laptop used mainly for Internet and online
> low-res gaming (java board games *not* Duke nukem and the like) along
> with the occasional home business app. Word processor & spread sheet
> can be had for free so pre-loaded MS stuff isnt' needed here. It must
> run Windows as she seems allergic to Linux and is about as far from a
> techie as one can get.
>
> I really don't want to spend more than $500 and she prefers a medium
> sized comp in the 14" range as its almost always on her lap rather
> than on a desk. She says the 15.6+ sizes are too large and the 10"
> notebooks too small.
>
> Good battery life is a concern but more importantly strong WIFI
> reception as she is normally uses it on the floor above the home WIFI
> modem. I had to hook up a USB antenna receiver to her current laptop
> (an old Dell) to get acceptable reception. That can be pain on a
> laptop as the antenna is always in the way and prone to getting
> knocked out of the port.
>
> A responsive keyboard and mouse pad are also concerns.
>
> Win7 PRO is preferred by me (the reluctant administrator) but I
> suppose I could settle for home premium. 4GB RAM seems to the sweet
> spot for that operating system. A method of reloading Windows is an
> absolute must as she knows nor cares much about viruses (despite my
> lamentations) and is usually online 4+ hours per day.
>
> If I can get it for $400 then I could get a backup enclosure & hard
> drive for use on both of our comps, so Estata capability to match my
> work station would be a plus!
>
> A high density (>4GB) smart card port for transferring pictures from
> cameras is also a need. Yea, I have a USB adapter but the little
> bugger seems to either be hiding somewhere about the house -or- left
> at home when she and the computer are out.

I find it odd that people use card readers. Every camera that I've used has
a mini / micro USB port. <shrug>

> To reiterate:
>
> 1. 14" laptop
> 2. Win7 w/ 4GB RAM
> 3. Esata port (not a necessity but would be nice).
> 4. HD camera card port
> 5. Quality keyboard and mouse pad
> 6. Excellent WIFI reception.
> 7. Average (business range) graphics and processor.
> 8. Better than average battery life (4+ hours).
> 9 $500 or less.
> 10. And of course the usual accessories like a CD/DVD burner/reader,
> USB2 ports, etc.
>
> Any satisfied consumers out there using recently purchased
> lappies/notebooks that could satisfy most or all of the above
> criteria?
> Thanks,
> John

I wouldn't buy a 'new' laptop at all. I'd buy a 14" T60 ThinkPad (the last
with IBM input, best ThinkPad made) in good condition, one with integrated
graphics would be sturdier even than an ATI-equipped one, and get an eSATA
expresscard for it. Max RAM is /only/ 3GB but they're bulletproof machines.

Also there's that certain cache about using a *real* laptop rather than the
flimsy bling things that everyone's making today.
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche