Dear RS geeksquad, help me pick a laptop :)
 

I've been looking through options and reviews over the last couple weeks but I'm finding it hard to make a final decision.

Plus I'm not to up to date with all the computer lingo, so I'm not 100% sure what I should be looking for.

Here are my basic criteria-
Must be a good speed (For this I look at the processor speed right?) Would there be much noticable difference between say 2.5ghz and 2.8 ghz?

Must be able to run a conseriderable amount of programs at once. (here I'm looking at RAM correct?) Almost all the Laptops I've considered have 4gbs of RAM, I don't think I would need much more than that to run say iTunes, Couple Browser pages, Word and maybe a picture editing program at once without slowing it right down.

Slim, 13" or 14", maybe 15"

Things I don't Need
A lot of hard drive space I Should be fine with 250gbs or less. I don't download a ton of programs or music or anything.

Some crazy graphics card I don't play WoW or watch movies or anything.

Things that would be nice
Pre loaded Microsoft OfficePPT Word Excel etc
Some alright picture editing software Doesn't have to be crazy like photoshop, just basic.




My previous laptop was an Acer aspire one netbook. I basically just used it to take notes at school/browse RS on breaks. It's recently decided to fail a bunch, and my family's home computer that I relied on for all my work/school work stuff has also fallen apart on us now So I figure I'll get a decent all round laptop for my needs.

I've never bought a computer or laptop from anywhere but FS/BB, but I've been reading a lot abotu mem express and NCIX lately, maybe I should check them out?

Budget = $800ish
TIA

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=55...nufacture=ASUS

may be a bit inbetween what u want though, inbetween a netbook and reg laptop but price is good


oops, didn't see u wanted this for all around laptop, the screen on this is a bit small for browsing at home

^ Forgot to mention I'd prefer a disk drive.

Also How much will I notice a difference in 2gb of ram compared to 4 gbs?

Posed the wrong link.

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=55...nufacture=ASUS

I have the same one.

bro Spoonfit bought a pretty good one from NCIX but it was on sale so watch for sales... I just bought an aspire from BestBuy but u already had one soo i dunno. $800 is a lil low for taxes in but if i were you maybe check out visions electronics too!

http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=57...nufacture=ASUS

i have this one but it's probably out of your price range.

absolutely stunning laptop,.

I'm using this right now:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...(ME).aspx?cc=1
the Asus U30JC-B1
- optical drive
- ~5lbs
-13.3" screen
- integrated and dedicated(low-mid end) graphics
- up to 7hrs battery life

It's last year's model and is replaced by the U35J, and it often drops to $749 at either ME or NCIX, which was the price I bought it when ME opened here.

Edit:
Or a Dell
http://www.costco.ca/Browse/Product....A&Sp=C&topnav=

no link for you J but google HP Envy 14 :D

Very classy indeed. My eyes went WOW when they debuted this at CES last year!
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For your needs, a basic laptop is good enough for you. I won't be finding onr for you, there are just too many to choose from for basic things. As for microsoft office, you can torrent microsoft enterprise 2010, that will save you a couple hundred dollars. Also, photoshop CS5 is also out for torrent.
P.S. Stick with the 4gbs ram instead of 2.
Posted via RS Mobile

x2

If you're not gaming or developing or media editing (professionally, simple photo edits don't count) then $400 will buy you a basic laptop that will do everything you want, anything else is gravy.

I would spend the extra on a laptop with an LED 1080p screen. It makes such a difference to have 1920x1080 vs 1366x768. This is why I choose a Dell, this screen was only a $50 upgrade.

There's usually an Acer Laptop price pointed around $550 that will totally fit your needs unless you want the crisper display.

I've yet to ever have a problem with an Acer comp (knock on wood), meanwhile, my HP has already been in for a full hard drive replacement.

from what i've followed on previous threads about laptops, I recall some members here getting the acer aspire timeline, or timelineX or something like that.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...29183(ME).aspx
or
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...31896(ME).aspx

if theres something from memory express that you want, shoot me a pm. I'm in Edmonton for another week so I'm willing to help save you that 7% in taxes as long as your 100% certain you want that one.

check this out

The i5 should serve you well..
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...6%28ME%29.aspx
Acer Aspire Timeline 3820TG-6829 w/ Core i5-480M
4GB, 500GB
13.3in HD
Radeon HD 6550M
Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit
$769.99

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...0%28ME%29.aspx
this is almost the same as the previous one but $829.99 both are 13"


you want something with i5 since you said your going to be running lots of programs at once..

posted that in my post too :whistle:

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm guessing that if I go for an acer, the big brand stores like futureshop will have the best pricing?
Posted via RS Mobile

haha you did too... didnt see that...

I've been using this for about 5 months and it's an amazing computer.

ME price match and i believe they give you 5% or 10% off after the match...

yea the specs on this machine seems nice.. and acer isnt a bad brand but price/performance, this seems good unless you find a better one on sale..

mem express does 5% price match. I generally don't prefer bestbuy/futureshop for computers as i find most of the stuff is crap.. thats just me tho

Even i3 will fulfill this easily. I don't understand why an i5 would be needed for these basic needs. ANY quad core if not dual core processor will run these. I mean come on, itunes, firefox, and word will run fine on a single core. Paying an extra 100$ +/- a few to go from i3 to i5 is not worth the unnecessary speed he needs.

x2

Spend the extra on getting a better screen. The reduced time scrolling will improve perceived performance more than any processor.

but will an i5 outlast an i3 in the long run?

you get what you pay for, especially in laptops. i just formatted a lower-end i3 and it was pretty slow imo. not to mention the OP might be using it right outta the box with all the bloatware.

Who cares @$400, just buy a new one when you need to.

My 10yo laptop would still do everything the OP wants to.

That's a different story, any computer is going to be slow with all the crap that is installed on it.

haven't checked RFD lately but Lenovo sometimes have 30%-50% off coupon? That might make it a better deal than getting the Acer from FS/BBY