My current computer is rather old and rusty; I’ve managed to install Windows XP, a DVD player, and extra memory, but it’s slow, very prone to crashing, the video card is awful, and the DVD player never works.
For Christmas, my family and I are going in on a new computer–that we’ve decided, no matter what.
Now…
I go to university, and a lot of kids use laptops to type up their notes in lectures. I’d love to be able to do the same–to carry my own personal computer around, instead of having a desktop. All my files, all my notes, all my games and music–right there.
The problem? A laptop is expensive–close to $2,000!
What should I do? Should I stick with a desktop? Should I go for a laptop? Help!
I’m not sure where you’re looking for laptops, but you can get them for much less than $2K. Your problem may be that you want a high-end gaming machine, in which case you are going to pay a bunch. If you want a perfectly competent note-taking, music-playing machine, you can get a Dell Inspiron for $700.00 or so dollars (plus a couple of hundred for a bunch of de rigeur add-ons like a bigger screen and something besides their miserable stock battery). The Dell is just one example – I’m sure other people will suggest alternative brands.
Or you can get an Apple iBook for anywhere from $1K - $1.2K. The 12 inch iBook is light and small which would be an advantage for schlepping it around to class.
Thanks–great suggestions!
My problem is that I have the Sims 2 on my machine, and it crashes / goes re-e-eally slowly every time I try to play. I’ve talked to EA Tech and done everything I can, short of installing a new graphics card and rewiring the machine. I’d like to be able to play the game on my new computer,
but it’s not important–the note-taking and music is, and your advice has been great.
May I suggest the Emachines M6810. It has an Athlon 64 processor, 512megs of RAM, and a Radeon 9600 video chip (which should run Sims 2 very nicely) - and this laptop has a pretty good reputation on the net.
