What is a name of a good laptop?

.:scouter:.: What is a name of a good laptop?
This might be pretty impossible to ask, but I am looking for a good quality (high if possible) laptop with a good amount of space, etc.

My mom has a Mac and I love it, the thing is, I wouldn’t want to run Windows on it and I would much rather have a Windows-based laptop because I am familiar with it.

Considering I am younger, I don’t need much, basically just good Microsoft Office and space for documents. I also use Firefox a lot and I am constantly on the web. I make home videos and slide shows so I need an SD slot.

I am really clueless when it comes to buying computers because I have no idea what things are. (What’s RAM?)

So…do ya think you can help me find *the cheapest possible* laptop that also comes with a lot of pluses and, if possible, has a built in camera?

PS: I am willing to pay a lot, but I would much rather prefer cheaper ones (who wouldn’t?)

Answers and Views:

Answer by Michelle
Macs do run windows. You just have to get a program called parallels, and then you can install Windows. So then you have best of both worlds!

But on a Mac, you can get Microsoft office and other programs, and Macs aren’t really that hard to get use to. And they have great programs like iphoto, imovie, and idvd to store pictures and make projects like slideshows and dvds!

Answer by FinalDayOfLight
Dell XPSTM M1530
15.4″ HD Widescreen Laptop….. https://www.dell.com/us/p/studio-n-studio-xps-laptops?scat=laptop_studio&redirect=1&isredir=true

Answer by Jack Hoff
I would suggest you get a laptop from a good company like HP, Dell, Gateway.

HP: is what you need for multimedia tasks and editing like you wanted. It comes with a great amount of memory.

Dell: Is for solid performance and web surfing. It also has some deals where you get Microsoft Office free with the laptop.

Gateway: Extreme performance and multitasking fo r just a little more money : )

I thinks that Gateway would fit your requirements on what you want (just install firefox on your own)

RAM- means random access memory and the higher ram you have (equaled to mb/gb) is better for multitaking (if you have a high amount of RAM like 3 gigs then you could most likely run a lot of programs at once without slowing your computer down)

What you also need to look at is the processor.
The processor is measured in Ghz (the more you have the better)

Since you do home videos then you should get a processor from 2.0-3.0

I hope this helped and remember these are just suggestions and things to look at.

good luck

Answer by Kami-sama
Wow there are a lot of mac-lovers out there!
Come on people, she said she doesn’t want a mac!
Honestly, do you really think it’s convenient for a school girl to run Vista or Xp on parallel/boot camp? You have to deal with all the driver incompatibility.
It is a pretty impossible question to ask. Any computer geeks can probably talk about it for DAYS.
If you value quality over value, then Sony SZ is the laptop for you.
You just CANNOT find a Windows-based laptop in mass production with better built quality. The very popular Dell M1330 just looks too “plasticy” when compared with the SZ because the SZ has an aluminum palmrest and a carbon fiber screen lid (if you get the premium model).
If you use firefox a lot like me, and have 20-30 tabs open at the same time. You would need at least 2 gigs of ram. Most laptops today come with 2 gigs of ram, and 2 gb should be sufficient. But if you want are going to run vista on your laptop, you should definitely opt for 3 gigs of ram because vista have a lot more processes running in the background.
Also, finding the perfect laptop starts with knowing what size fits you the best. 15.4-17 in. are usually for desktop replacement and weight anywhere between 5-10 pounds or even more. But they are generally more powerful than say 13.3 or 11.1 in. laptops. If you need to carry it around, then I would recommend you getting a 13.3 or maybe a 11.1, but be aware that the smaller you go the more expensive it gets. You can get a 11.1 in without sacrificing too much performance, but anything smaller than 11.1 would just be ridiculously expensive and slow. So a 13.3 in laptop would be perfect if you want to carry it around and still demand performance.
Almost every new laptops today comes with build in camera.
I see that you do a bit of video editing. You should definitely get a laptop with a dedicated graphics card.
If you need to do video rendering, then you would also need a fast harddrive, so avoid 5400rpm and opt for 7200rpm harddrive. Just remember the faster it spins, the faster videos render.
I guess that pretty much sums it up, although it’s not every organized at all.
BTW, I don’t how much of this is accurate, but Intel is going to intruduce a new line of laptop processors (Montevina). With new chipsets, laptops will have a bus speed of 1066 MHz, which is quite a leap.
So my point is, if you don’t want to buy a laptop that will be last gen in less than a year, wait for the new processors to come out. If you can wait, you can probably get laptops on sales when the new processors come out.
Sorry for my unorganized writing style. I write by using the technique of “brain dumping”.

ps: I’d appreciate it if you choose mime for the best answer b/c I’ve been spending at least an hour writing this. Thanks!