Q: specs I should be looking for (memory, processor, etc.). I don't want to do too much with it, but would like to be use internet, e-mail, and all the basic stuff. I'm not huge into gaming and currently have Itunes on a seperate computer. I would like this laptop to be able to handle Itunes/MP3's in the future so that I don't need to upgrade again in a short time. Hopefully that all kind of helps answers my question fully. I've been looking at the HP DV5-1044.
A: Personally, HP seems to be your best bet for an "entertainment" PC. Considering most new PCs ship with Windows Vista, you want to build your basics around that. Figure at least 1GB of RAM, with 2GB preferred (since Vista uses a ton..). Your current music, video and photo storage amounts come into play when deciding the size of your hard drive. Bigger is better, however, it can make files harder to find when most of your drive becomes filled (needle in a haystack situation.. lol). A 1600GB hard drive should be plenty of space if your just listening to music and editing family photos. You can upgrade to 200GB if you work with video alot, also. As for processor speed, faster is always better. 2.0GHz is a great starting speed as it surpasses the minimum system requirements for almost any program you'll ever use. You will, however, have to make the ultimate decision that all PC buyers have to make... Intel or AMD? Although Intel has been around longer than AMD, and just by looking at them they seem to be faster, however, 9/10 Intel chips are only 32-bit. This means that the motherboard only has a 32-bit address bus, meaning slower speeds than say a 64-bit chip. All AMD chips for laptops (as well as desktops), are 64-bit, meaning the address bus which transmitts data between the CPU and RAM are almost twice as fast as the 32-bit Intels. Basically, AMD's are your best bet. Lastly on processors, most laptops come with a dual core processor standard, so its not something you really have to look out for. Screen size, basically 15" or 17". On HP's I know that the trackpad is off-centered on the 17" models, but this is because the 17" supports a full-fledged keyboard (like you'd get on a desktop with the numerical keypad on the side and everything). 15" models usually come with a standard laptop keyboard, lacking the fullness of a standard keyboard. Graphics wise, a dedicated card is better than "shared graphics memory". Shared memory means just as it sounds, your graphics processor shares your main memory (RAM) with your operating system. So even if it says "up to 1GB of shard video memory!", that doesnt mean much if its fighting for memory with Windows (and with only ~2Gb inside, that can cause some big problems with Vista). Dedicated cards not only have their only dedicated memory chips away from main memory, but they also provide better output when watching videos or playing games as they aren't located "on" the motherboard, so they act separate from the rest of the system. With wireless, get a card that supports 802.11 b/g at minimum. If your willing to splurge out a couple more dollars, you can opt for an 802.11 b/g/n card which allows you to access the full features and speed of some of the new N-routers out there. With that, you typically get Bluetooth of some kind, which comes in handy if your looking to quickly and wirelessly sync your phone/PDA to your computer. CD/DVD drives are a must if you plan to install any program from a CD (or burn one with pics of your recent trip to Europe to impress your friends). There are so many options out there for drives, with read/write/re-write speeds, it can be overwhelming. Look for a drive that can burn DVDs, as it will also be able to read DVDs and CDs, as well as burn CDs also. Any drive labeled as a DVD+/-R/RW is a good drive as it will write and re-write to DVDs. Lightscribe (as you'll see from HP) is an optional feature and totally un-necessary (considering the disks cost like $20 for a 10-pack and all it does is write in black and white on the front of the disk). Webcams, like Lightscribe, are totally un-necessary (unless you plan to use it alot) and can raise your price by as much as $25. Lastly, all the optional software that they'll try and hit u up for at the end can all be purchased online for $20-$50 cheaper as OEM disks from sites like Newegg.com or TigerDirect.com. Thanks for reading my rambling, I hope it helps! Best of luck!