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Bruce Achterberg · 05-18-2009, 10:38 AM

Hi Angela,

Sorry I didn't make this post yesterday as I said I would.

In late 2008 I bought a laptop. It was a good deal and came with fairly powerful hardware considering what I paid for it, although unfortunately it came with Windows Vista (Vista isn't bad, but it's not that great, either. I did prefer using Xp, but Vista is the newer operating system, so I figured it'd be better in the long run in terms of compatability. Not sure how accurate that belief is--maybe Xp will still be supported for a long time).

These are some things I'd consider when buying a laptop:

A Mac might be worth it, even if they are expensive. If I bought another laptop, I'd seriously consider buying a Macbook. They're expensive, but I have reason to believe a Mac creates a superior user experience. Many swear by them. I'd put in some research before I made the move from PC/laptop to Mac, but it would be high on my list of things to consider. I'm not sure if you can get Mac laptops with Windows. You'd have to look into that yourself.

Get extended warrenty if it's an option. I would aim for, at least, a 1 year warrenty from the date of purchase. 3 years would be great (whether it includeds the factory warrenty and maybe an extended warrenty, or not). 5 years (whether it includeds the factory warrenty and maybe an extended warrenty, or not) would be even better, although maybe a little hard to get. I suggest asking what your options are when it comes to warrenty. My story about the usefulness of warrenty: my laptop worked fine for a few months, then stopped working. I tried to re-install Windows, but it didn't work. I took it back to where I bought it (a retail store) and they looked at it, told me it was an issue with the hard drive, and it had to be sent away to get a new hard drive. This cost me nothing because it was under warrenty. It's a bit of a shame, but these days, things aren't build to last. They're usually built to cost (i.e. made cheaply). I try to get as much of a warrenty as possible, even if I have to pay extra.

You may want more battery life. If you can afford to pay for it and if you need it, it can be nice to get another battery for your laptop, perhaps one with even longer battery life than your original one.

Some retailers can give you hardware upgrades on a laptop that you want. When I bought my laptop, I had the opportunity of upgrading the RAM (i.e. the memory), and I think I could also get another hard drive, but I can't quite remember (so don't quote me on that). Either way, if you'd like to (e. g. if you're looking at a laptop that you like but it's a little slow), you can ask retail sales/service assistants if they are able to upgrade any of the hardware. At least, you can ask them what your options are (which could be handy if, say, you want one laptop because it's priced cheaply, but it might not have much RAM. In that case, you might be able to ask for a RAM upgrade, which might still be cheaper than buying the "next model up." There are lots of situations where the option to upgrade hardware is useful and gives you more options).

05-18-2009, 10:38 AM	#26 (permalink)
Bruce Achterberg Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New South Wales, Australia (GMT+10) Posts: 970	Hi Angela, Sorry I didn't make this post yesterday as I said I would. In late 2008 I bought a laptop. It was a good deal and came with fairly powerful hardware considering what I paid for it, although unfortunately it came with Windows Vista (Vista isn't bad, but it's not that great, either. I did prefer using Xp, but Vista is the newer operating system, so I figured it'd be better in the long run in terms of compatability. Not sure how accurate that belief is--maybe Xp will still be supported for a long time). These are some things I'd consider when buying a laptop: A Mac might be worth it, even if they are expensive. If I bought another laptop, I'd seriously consider buying a Macbook. They're expensive, but I have reason to believe a Mac creates a superior user experience. Many swear by them. I'd put in some research before I made the move from PC/laptop to Mac, but it would be high on my list of things to consider. I'm not sure if you can get Mac laptops with Windows. You'd have to look into that yourself. Get extended warrenty if it's an option. I would aim for, at least, a 1 year warrenty from the date of purchase. 3 years would be great (whether it includeds the factory warrenty and maybe an extended warrenty, or not). 5 years (whether it includeds the factory warrenty and maybe an extended warrenty, or not) would be even better, although maybe a little hard to get. I suggest asking what your options are when it comes to warrenty. *My story about the usefulness of warrenty:* my laptop worked fine for a few months, then stopped working. I tried to re-install Windows, but it didn't work. I took it back to where I bought it (a retail store) and they looked at it, told me it was an issue with the hard drive, and it had to be sent away to get a new hard drive. This cost me nothing because it was under warrenty. It's a bit of a shame, but these days, things aren't build to last. They're usually built to cost (i.e. made cheaply). I try to get as much of a warrenty as possible, even if I have to pay extra. You may want more battery life. If you can afford to pay for it and if you need it, it can be nice to get another battery for your laptop, perhaps one with even longer battery life than your original one. Some retailers can give you hardware upgrades on a laptop that you want. When I bought my laptop, I had the opportunity of upgrading the RAM (i.e. the memory), and I think I could also get another hard drive, but I can't quite remember (so don't quote me on that). Either way, if you'd like to (e. g. if you're looking at a laptop that you like but it's a little slow), you can ask retail sales/service assistants if they are able to upgrade any of the hardware. At least, you can ask them what your options are (which could be handy if, say, you want one laptop because it's priced cheaply, but it might not have much RAM. In that case, you might be able to ask for a RAM upgrade, which might still be cheaper than buying the "next model up." There are lots of situations where the option to upgrade hardware is useful and gives you more options).