# What is your recommendation?



## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

We are planning to buy our first ever laptop. Currently, we just surf the net, send emails, do photobucket, do wordprocessing, Skype, etc.....pretty basic stuff. No gaming, no fancy graphic stuff, etc.

HOWEVER, we are thinking that someday in the future we may want to do streaming videos and streaming TV programs using the new laptop. And use the laptop to send the videos/programs to our TV screen. What do we need in the new laptop to do that? What are your recommendations?

Processors???? i3, i5, i7? Second generation?

WiDi???? I don't even know what that is?

Memory?? 4MB, 6MB, 8MB? How many gigahertz?

Graphics card?

TV card?

Any input is greatly appreciated. We are such novices at this stuff.


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## Travis in Louisiana (May 14, 2002)

About every 6 to 8 years it seems I have to buy a computer. Maybe it is just because I want to. Anyway, I usually buy the most GIGS, RAM, and HERTZ my money will buy. The last computers have been DELL. I have had all the others from the box stores, and there is nothing wrong with that, but I tend to like the DELL better. Video streaming will need a lot of all I mentioned, so load it up. I am no expert on computers. There are also so many ways to can buy them now, MONITOR sizes, types of programs you may want, it is just mind boggling! But yes, load it up will all you can afford!!


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Win7 Media edition. I'd go with an i5 or i7 and as much RAM as you can afford.

I have an i7 with 8GB RAM


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

mnn2501 said:


> Win7 Media edition. I'd go with an i5 or i7 and as much RAM as you can afford.
> 
> I have an i7 with 8GB RAM


I guess there is i7 and i7-Second Generation. Do you know if there is a difference?


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

Cabin Fever said:


> We are planning to buy our first ever laptop. Currently, we just surf the net, send emails, do photobucket, do wordprocessing, Skype, etc.....pretty basic stuff. No gaming, no fancy graphic stuff, etc.
> 
> HOWEVER, we are thinking that someday in the future we may want to do streaming videos and streaming TV programs using the new laptop. And use the laptop to send the videos/programs to our TV screen. What do we need in the new laptop to do that? What are your recommendations?


Of course you can get an i7 processor if your heart is set on it, but it's going to cost you. For your uses I would be looking for a modestly priced dual core processor laptop with Windows 7. Really, this is a good time to look at used laptops because good dual core machines are coming off corporate lease for very little. That's what I would be looking for in your position. I would insist on these minimum parameters.



Dual core processor
1 gb memory, expandable to at least 2 gb
Wide profile monitor, at least 14" (I prefer 15" to 17")
100 gb hard drive
Windows 7 operating system

On the low end of the spectrum is this Lenovo (IBM) laptop at $119 ($139 delivered) with 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 80 gb hard drive, 1.5 gb RAM, 14.1" wide profile monitor, DVD burner, Windows 7.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-3000...73554344?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item3f11526da8

I'm confident that would make a nice machine for you.

I expect a lot more of this kind of machine to hit the used market over the next 6 months. Even today you have a lot to chose from with those specifications at eBay in the $125 to $175 price range. But I don't think you need a $500 i7 laptop for your purposes.


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## Windy in Kansas (Jun 16, 2002)

The killer requirement will be a connection so that you can stream video to your television. What connection options does your television set have? How new, etc. 

All computers will have a graphics card (monitor picture) but are far from being equal. I added an upgrade to my PC so that I can easily stream to my television or to a second monitor. VGA and HDMI ports are on the card that plugs into an expansion slot with the ports on the back of the computer. Not sure how you do something like that on a laptop.

Expect the knowledgeable folk here can get you headed in the right direction as to a proper connection. 

This 21st century stuff is pretty nifty isn't it? Now when we were down on the Brazos a decade ago------


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Windy in Kansas said:


> This 21st century stuff is pretty nifty isn't it? Now when we were down on the Brazos a decade ago------


I foundly remember those days. I was connecting to the internet via a Vax computer and could only read alphanumeric characters. No pictures, no colors, just print. Didn't even use a mouse!


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Nevada, you've given me confidence that the model I am currently eyeballing will be very sufficient. Thanks


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## notthereyet (Nov 17, 2011)

Processors... i3/i5/i7. If you have to ask, it doesn't matter. You need a high-end processor for things like computer generated animation, media encoding, and other highly intensive and time consuming processes. A faster processor will NOT have an impact on using the internet, creating documents, processing photographs, etc...

RAM... this can be upgraded very easily and cheaply. For most users, 4GB will be plenty for Win7 and Win8.

HDD... are you planning on ripping movies from DVD/BD and storing them on your HDD? If not, then it doesn't matter. 250GB should be more than enough.

If you want your laptop to double as a DVD/BD player, then look for something with HDMI output (I think most laptops will have this, except maybe the bottom of the barrel).

You mentioned "WiDi." Did you mean WiFi? This is how your computer connects to your home network so you don't have to have an ethernet cable strung all over the house.

Shopping... stick with a name that's well known in consumer electronics. Dell, HP, Compaq, Samsung, Toshiba. I was VERY impressed with Samsung's laptop my MIL is getting for Christmas this year, and I've always been a huge fan of Toshiba laptops. Every other brand I mentioned will be a fine choice.

Even if you plan on buying online, I still highly reccomend going to the stores (all of them in your area), and get hands on with the laptops. Find one that's a comfortable weight, has a decent keyboard (assuming you're a touch typist), and a screen that's easy on your eyes (this gets much more important as your eyes get older).

If you're buying at a big-box store, do NOT let them talk you into spending money on any extras. Most of the stuff they push is complete garbage and completely unnecessary.

Office - Every new computer will come with Office Starter Edition, which is perfectly acceptable for most home users. When/if you need to upgrade, go to Microsoft's site to determine which features you really need.

Security - There are several FREE antivirus programs out there. AVG and Avast do a great job, my current favorite is actually Microsoft's Security Essentials.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Notthereyet, thank you for that info. It really helped educate this novice. 

And, I did mean WiDi (i kinda know what WiFi is). It has something to do with streaming to the TV, I believe. Some computers have it and some don't.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Nevada said:


> [*]1 gb memory, expandable to at least 2 gb
> .


Don't even think of running Win7 without a minimum of 4GB of RAM, its a memory hog.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

mnn2501 said:


> Don't even think of running Win7 without a minimum of 4GB of RAM, its a memory hog.


I'm running Win7 with 2 gb of memory. I seldom get over 1.2 gb. No plans to upgrade yet.


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

Cabin Fever said:


> We are planning to buy our first ever laptop. Currently, we just surf the net, send emails, do photobucket, do wordprocessing, Skype, etc.....pretty basic stuff. No gaming, no fancy graphic stuff, etc.
> 
> HOWEVER, we are thinking that someday in the future we may want to do streaming videos and streaming TV programs using the new laptop. And use the laptop to send the videos/programs to our TV screen. What do we need in the new laptop to do that? What are your recommendations?
> 
> ...


.......................I purchased a new Toshobia with 17" screen this time last year , had a 500 Gig HD and 4 gig of memory ! I have no regrets , fordy


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Cabin Fever said:


> We are planning to buy our first ever laptop. Currently, we just surf the net, send emails, do photobucket, do wordprocessing, Skype, etc.....pretty basic stuff. No gaming, no fancy graphic stuff, etc.
> 
> HOWEVER, we are thinking that someday in the future we may want to do streaming videos and streaming TV programs using the new laptop. And use the laptop to send the videos/programs to our TV screen. What do we need in the new laptop to do that? What are your recommendations?


With what you want to do Just about any new laptop with HDMI output will do the trick. Figure out how big a screen you want on the laptop and how much you want to spend. Dont get hung up on the processor. The price point will determine what you get. Most laptops are at least 4gb now so memory shouldnt be an issue, but more is better, The average non/gaming PC uses on average less than 30% of the CPU horsepower so processesor isnt an issue. DISK are big enough now that most folks will never fill it, Unless they are horders.


HDMI output is the key to what you want. Many laptop (and a few netbooks) have HDMI now a days.


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## Capt Quirk (Sep 24, 2011)

New hardware is always coming out, so it is very hard to stay on the bleeding edge. That said, most newer machines will be ok, so don't worry there. Only real hardware requirements you should worry about, are memory. Lots of ram, lots of hard drive space, at least 15gig of storage... more would be better, especially for video. aside from that, I prefer AMD over Intel processors, and will never, ever, own another Asus or Dell.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Nevada said:


> I'm running Win7 with 2 gb of memory. I seldom get over 1.2 gb. No plans to upgrade yet.


It can be done, but its a real dog. 
I stand by my opinion. 4gb RAM minimum


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## notthereyet (Nov 17, 2011)

Just a followup... my laptop at work, running Win7 is using just over 1GB of ram. This is with approximately 80 processes, which might be a little on the high end of normal for a laptop, as I've not bothered to clean up unnecessary processes.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

notthereyet said:


> Just a followup... my laptop at work, running Win7 is using just over 1GB of ram. This is with approximately 80 processes, which might be a little on the high end of normal for a laptop, as I've not bothered to clean up unnecessary processes.


Then you are only running it in 32 bit mode
Heres what MS says are *minimum *requirements
1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

And there's really no sense in having Win7 if you're running in 32 bit mode. (I understand its a work computer and that's what they gave you)


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