Another laptop thread. But I think this one has enough to differentiate it from the others to justify it’s existence.
By a strange twist of circumstance I’ve been volunteered to help a chap buy a new laptop for his daughter (for homework). He’s special forces so I’d really rather not put a foot wrong. I asked exactly what he was after and what budget he had. He’s looking to spend under $1000/£600. And the list of required specs probably won’t push any B3D buttons but here they are:
“Big screen” (I’d guess 15.6”+)
Built in wireless
Built in camera
Built in CD-ROM drive
Remember I’m only listing what he asked for... :|
Anyway, so far so good. The problem is he’s taking me to a local and slightly dodgy, but well known, tech-market. I’m wary of the place but I’m sure bargains are there to be had. Is there anything outside of checking stickers/labels/packaging and the hardware profile through Control Panel that I should do to ensure he (we) don’t get a machine that’s below the stated spec?
And for the budget what’s the minimum GPU and CPU spec I should expect? My HP has a 17” screen, all the other stuff listed above, 3GB, a dual core @2.13GHz and a nVidia 9200 and I purchased it for around £600. But as I'm now overseas I'm not sure I should expect similar specs (for some reason he's in a real rush or I'd have pushed him to order online).
Finally any particular machines or manufacturers you good people can recommend? I’ve heard good things about Acer.
Thanks in advance. If it’s any help my paragraph 3 is where the real meat of the thread is...
By a strange twist of circumstance I’ve been volunteered to help a chap buy a new laptop for his daughter (for homework). He’s special forces so I’d really rather not put a foot wrong. I asked exactly what he was after and what budget he had. He’s looking to spend under $1000/£600. And the list of required specs probably won’t push any B3D buttons but here they are:
“Big screen” (I’d guess 15.6”+)
Built in wireless
Built in camera
Built in CD-ROM drive
Remember I’m only listing what he asked for... :|
Anyway, so far so good. The problem is he’s taking me to a local and slightly dodgy, but well known, tech-market. I’m wary of the place but I’m sure bargains are there to be had. Is there anything outside of checking stickers/labels/packaging and the hardware profile through Control Panel that I should do to ensure he (we) don’t get a machine that’s below the stated spec?
And for the budget what’s the minimum GPU and CPU spec I should expect? My HP has a 17” screen, all the other stuff listed above, 3GB, a dual core @2.13GHz and a nVidia 9200 and I purchased it for around £600. But as I'm now overseas I'm not sure I should expect similar specs (for some reason he's in a real rush or I'd have pushed him to order online).
Finally any particular machines or manufacturers you good people can recommend? I’ve heard good things about Acer.
Thanks in advance. If it’s any help my paragraph 3 is where the real meat of the thread is...
