New Laptop Advice

Abbie

I'm thinking of buying a new laptop but am not at all technical so wondered if someone could give me some advice as to what I need to look out for, specification wise.

I've currently got a Dell Inspiron 5160 which is about 6 or 7 years old.

I'd like to stick with Dell as they seem to be pretty good quality.

I will need to use the laptop for surfing the net (I presume WiFi will come built in now?), plus burning and playing DVDs and CDs, editing photographs and playing and editing video clips. I'd like something with a lot of memory so I can grow into it.

Any advice? Should I be considering other makes of laptop? I do need a laptop due to space restraints.

Thank you.

tomsutton529

basicly go for the bigger numbers. Dual core processors have some nice prices at the moment so i would go for one of those. Lost of places are having an Easter sale so get looking at the big places, PC world, Comet, Currys etc. All laptops are pretty much the same these days but dell do have a rep for being average (which is quite good).

you want decent RAM, 1GB + is now expected
Dual core processor
Adecent screen is a plus, but if there is alot in price then realy think if you need it.
CD/DVD bunrers are found in nearly all laptops now.

Abbie

Thanks for the advice. I'm currently looking at the Dell Studio 15 laptop and will make sure I get the highest figures memory etc wise I can.

Valli

Can I leap in to ask a really nerdy question
***hangs head in shame***
If I buy a laptop how can I connect to the internet? ie can I do it (with a wire presumably) through the router I have for the PC and use the same connection/account?
It's a speedtouch with 4 ethernet sockets only one of which is in use by the PC.

Abbie

I've found a Dell Studio 15 Laptop which using a 10% voucher code I can get for £656. Any good?

Spec is -

Base - Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8600 (2.40Ghz, 3MB, 1066MHz)
Vista Home Premium
MS Works 9.0
4yr in home warranty support incl evenings and Saturdays
15.4" wide screen WXGA WLED (1280 X 800) Display with True Life
2.0 mega pixel integrated web camera
4096MB 800MHz dual channel DDR2 SDRAM (2 X 2048)
Hard Drive - 500GB (5400RPM) Serial ATA Hard Drive
Video Card - 256MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3450
Optical Devices - Blu-Ray ROM Drive (read/write CD/DVD & read Blu-Ray Disc)
Intel WiFi Link 5100 (802.11 a/b/g/n 1x2) 1/2 mini card
etc....