Finding the best laptop for you

Determine your needs

There are literally thousands of laptop computers to choose from, but we can quickly eliminate 70% of them by narrowing down your choices to the type of laptop that best suits you.

How often will you be carrying the laptop farther than from your desk to your garage?

If you will frequently be carrying your laptop on campus, in an airport, or more than a football field's length. I absolutely do not recommend you get anything other than an Ultraportable or a very light standard laptop. Always remember that unless you purchase an extra power supply and leave it at your destination, you will be carrying the weight of the laptop PLUS the weight of a power supply which adds up to an additional pound to your travel weight.

If you only infrequently carry your laptop, you can choose any of the three types.

Do you want to play 3D games, do video editing, CAD or other very high end work?

If so, that pretty much leaves you with the Desktop Replacement and Gaming laptops. These laptops are typically MUCH heavier (up to 11 lbs travel weight), MUCH more expensive ($2,500 - $3,500) and have dramatically shorter battery life (less than 1.5 hours).

Decision Chart

Use this chart to match up your choices with some sample computers.

	Ultraportable	Standard	Desktop Replacement/Gaming
Main purpose	Presentations, Note taking, e-mail, web surfing	Same as Ultraportable, plus photo editing, music ripping and office applications.	Same as Standard, plus high end video games, large photo editing, basic video editing, 3D graphics, CAD, etc.
Weight	Light < 4 lbs	Moderate 5-8 lbs	Heavy > 8 lbs
Screen size	Small < 14"	Medium < 15.4"	Large > 15.4"
Cost	Moderate	Low to Moderate	High
Laptops in this category	Dell XPS M1210 HP Compaq nc2400 Lenovo ThinkPad X60s Sony VAIO VGN-TX670P	Acer TravelMate 4650 Lenovo ThinkPad Z60m HP Pavilion dv4000 Dell Inspiron E1505 Toshiba Satellite A105	Alienware Area-51 m5700 Dell XPS M1710 HP Pavilion dv8000 Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV650

If you've decided against a laptop after all, then jump to the Desktop Page.

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Computer Sales Myths

Myth #1: A computer with built-in wireless will allow you to surf the internet, send e-mail, print, etc. without wires.
Truth: See my wireless page for the answer.

Myth #2: Buying an expensive "Internet Security" software package is the best way to protect your new computer investment.
Truth: See my Spyware and Viruses Page for the truth.