I sent this off to my SIL, but thought I'd post it here for posterity....
Buying a computer is like buying a car. Everyone has their favorites. I might love Toyotas, but someone else will swear they are the worst car on the planet. It all depends on your last experience with them. I might have gotten the best support and assistance from the dealer. Someone else bought a lemon and talked to a jerk at the shop. The moment you buy it, the next model year is out and your brand new baby is old news. At the same time, there are a few things that everyone will agree on. You need tires and a steering wheel. Gas/Electric/Hybrid; 2 or 4 doors; compact/midsize/SUV/truck.... Those just depend on what you plan to do with it.
With that in mind-
Quick answer:
Windows Laptop
Processor: 2.0GHz (2.2-2.6GHz is better)
RAM: 2GB (3GB is better)
Hard Drive: Minimum 80GB 5400RPM
Screen: 15" (aka 15.4")
Battery: 6 cell/standard
Wireless Network Interface Card (NIC): IEEE 802.11b/g
Long answer:
1. I don't know much about Macs. I haven't used a Mac since the late 90's when I was supporting 33.6-56K modems and the iMac was still new. I'm not sure any of that still applies today. Some say the MacBook is the only way to go. I do know they're cute as a button! All the advice I give is for a Windows PC, Vista or XP (if you can find anyone who will still sell you XP).
2. Laptops are very convenient, but for their portability, you sacrifice a bit of performance. For hardcore gaming and graphics/video manipulation, a desktop might be better. For mainstream users, this is not a problem and you'll never notice a difference. Based on our conversations, I'll assume you're going with a laptop.
3. Steering Wheel and Tires: In my opinion, you need at least 2GB Ram (3 is better) and at least 2.0GHz processor.
With a Windows PC, you don't need more than 3GB since the OS won't recognize it anyway (exception is Vista 64bit - but I do NOT recommend 64bit - it's not ready for the public and you'll have problems finding compatible software). It's just a waste of $, and if they improve Vista to see 4GB, you can upgrade later.
2.0GHz processor is pretty much standard. Get the most you can afford (2.2-2.6 if possible), but disregard the fastest/most expensive. It'll be significantly more expensive than the others, for the smallest amount of improvement. Almost all are dual-core, which is good. Some people have strong preferences on brand (Intel Pentium, AMD Turion, etc), but that's just Toyota/Volkswagen/Chevy. Processors are very difficult to upgrade, especially on a laptop. You're more likely to buy a new computer instead.
To see what you have now, on your computer right click on the icon "My Computer". Select Properties. The General tab should describe the RAM and Processor speed.
4. Hard Drive: Range from 60-500GB of space. With the cost of external drives, flash drives, etc, this isn't too important. It depends on what you have, what you plan to store, etc. In general, go with 80GB or bigger. The first 40GB will be taken up with applications and the operating system, maybe. Drives do have a speed. This how fast it can read and write data. Avoid 4200RPM. Too slow. You'll actually notice a difference. 5400RPM is common and works fine. 7200RPM is the fastest, but is more expensive.
Solid State: This is super cool! Normal hard drives are discs that spin. RPM = Revolutions Per Minute. Solid State are like USB Flash Drives (kind of). They're chips. They don't spin. Manufacturers say they're faster, more rugged or damage resistant, and quieter. They're also more expensive because they're new and not yet the standard. But they will be one day. For people who travel a lot, this is a good idea. Up to you on this one. It might depend on the suite of options you select on if you get solid state or traditional spinny.
Hard drives can be upgraded later, but since most computers don't ship with the OS installation CD/DVD, it's a major pain for home users. Fortunately, external storage is getting cheaper. You can move pictures, video, documents to external hard drives or flash drives to back them up and to free up space on your laptop hard drive.
As a Desktop Support person, there is where I insert my rant on backing up important files: Every time a bell rings, another hard drive gets it's wings. It goes to play with other hard drives on a farm in upstate New York. It goes to hard drive heaven or hell, depending. Back up your files. Or else. Rant over.
5. Screen: The screen size will dictate how big the laptop is. Ultra portable laptops will have 9-13" screens. Portable desktop replacements might have 17" or bigger. The extreme small and big have the largest price difference. 14-15" is mainstream. Many are wide aspect displays, like wide-screen movies aspect - very rectangular, not so square.
Check these out in a store to see what you like. If you get something you end up not liking, you can always plug in a normal monitor. It makes the laptop not so portable, but it is a workaround.
6. Keyboard and touchpad: For these you have to play with it in a store. Some feel better to the touch. Some are harder to type. Usually you just have to get accustomed to the feel. Remember that store models might be used and abused, so if it's broken it might not be a sign of the quality of the device. If you don't like the feel once you get it, you can always plug in an external keyboard and mouse. An external mouse is almost a requirement for laptops.
7. Other stuff:
With the invention of USB, the ports on the computer are not as important as they used to be. Some laptops come with SD card slots, FireWire, serial ports, VGA video ports, , PS/2, etc. This is where you need to inventory what you have and what you plan to attach to the laptop. For some you can get Readers, other's you'll need to have internal. Like SD/MiniSD, etc, you can get a reader. FireWire you want built in. Check your printer. Most are now USB, but if you have a serial and you're not planning on getting a new printer, be sure your laptop has a serial port. It might look like a VGA port, but it different. Verify before you buy.
I recommend at least 2 USB ports (4 is better) and a VGA video port. This will let you attach an external mouse, external hard drive (to back up your files **hint, hint**) and monitor at the same time without buying a Docking Station/Port Replicator.
8. Battery (6 cell vs 9 cell): If you travel, this might matter. You don't necessarily need to buy the extended life battery. You can use that $50-150 elsewhere (like the case color). If you do plan to use it where you can't plug in, consider buying a 2nd battery. Remember, if you get an extra battery, you still have to shut down the machine to swap it out. Mainstream users, just bring your A/C adapter with you. Even Southwest has a place to plug in at more and more airports. Some coffee shops let you plug in now. Parks might be more of an issue. Trees are DC not AC.
9. Wireless Internal Network Card: Quick answer- Check your wireless router at home. Most likely it's an IEEE 802.11b/g. Get the internal network card that is IEEE 802.11 b/g (might be abbreviated to 11b/g)
Long answer: N or Draft-N is the next big thing in wireless standards, much faster that 11b/g, so if you think you're going to get a new router soon, get an internal network card that is a/b/g/draft-n compatible. It's hard to upgrade the internal wireless network card in your laptop, but is easy to disable the internal card and attach an external wireless network card with USB if you need it, so if you opt to save a little $ now and just get 11b/g, it's not a problem.
10. Brand: If you expect to need Technical Support, go with a major player. As of now (might not apply by the time I send this): Acer, Apple, Dell (Alienware), Gateway, HP, Lenovo (IBM), Sony, Toshiba - according to cnet.com and consumerreports.com, but can include others like eMachines, Panasonic, Samsung, Everex, etc.
Today, I'm biased toward Dell and Lenovo (IBM). But I also like Toyota and Volkswagen, and I'm not so hot toward Fords, unless you're talking about trucks.
What did I get? I bought a Dell Studio 15" a few months ago. I went a little crazy and got the Purple. (The color makes it faster :D)
What do we use at work? Oldest laptops are Toshiba M2 (silver). They still work, although they're aging out because of the 1.6-1.8GHz processor, and are no longer under warranty. Our team's on-call laptop is one of these and we have no problems. I don't think the M2 is still in production.
Next we went to the Lenovo/IBM ThinkPad T43 or T60 (no longer being made). Now we use Lenovo/IBM ThinkPad T61 (black) laptops (production ends soon, I'm not sure what the next model will be). They're good. No major problems so far (unlike their M57 desktops that have a bad component on the motherboard). 15" wide screen display. 1GB RAM and 2.6GHz processor. But we only expect users to keep them 2 years before they're outdated, and we have a stash of RAM if we need to upgrade them to 2GB. Corporate support for them is good. I don't know how home user support is.
Glossary (By Mr. Container):GHz - GigaHertz. This is a unit of speed. It applies to the CPU itself--the chip that puts the "compute" in "computer". The more GHz, the faster the CPU. Like Serena says, this is important up to a point. The law of diminishing returns applies, and the fastest speed represents the smallest increase for the cost.GB - Gigabytes. This is a unit of capacity. It applies to the RAM (memory) and hard drive. The more GB, the more information the computer can store. The law of diminishing returns applies to hard drives, but not to RAM.RAM - This is the "workspace" of the computer. The more RAM it has, the more information it can keep handy while it's running. This generally means an increase in performance, especially if you're working with very large files or very complex programs.Hard drive, hard disk, disk, etc - This is the "storeroom" of the computer. The larger it is (in GB), the more you can store on your computer. This applies to programs and to files. Pictures take up more space than text, and movies take up more space than pictures. 802.11 [b/g/n/etc.] - This is an industry standard specification for wireless communications. 802.11 is the basic spec, and the letters refer to subsequent upgrades/extensions of the basic spec. The important thing to keep in mind is that the wireless communication device ("wireless card", "wireless NIC", etc.) supports the same spec as your wireless router. For example, if your router is 802.11b/g, you may have problems using an 802.11n wireless card (on the other hand, the new "n" spec may be backwards-compatible with earlier specs--ask your dealer).
Additional Thoughts (By Mr. Container):Serena presents a brief technical discussion of different kinds of storage devices and considerations. Leaving aside the very wise counsel on external disk drives and backups, the gist of it is this:You are probably already familiar with memory cards, sticks, etc, since they're commonly found in digital cameras and the like. Many computers today--especially laptops--come built-in ports for one or more model of memory card. You should study the cards used by devices you already own, and consider getting a computer with ports for those cards. Another option (if the computer you want doesn't include those ports), is to get an external card-reader. But you are probably already fairly adept at moving files from cameras to computers and whatnot. "USB" is the Universal Serial Bus. It's a very common standard for connecting devices to each other. Whatever computer you get, it will almost certainly have 4 (or more) USB ports built in. Any digital camera, external card reader, hard drive, and cell phone you see today will probably have a USB port and cable. An external USB drive is ideal for backing up important data, and you are probably already using USB cables to move information between cameras and computers.Well, I could go on for days, about this. Mostly, I agree with everything Serena has said. She really is the expert.
