Please help a tech-challenged SCer buy a laptop!

I neeeeeed help!

I'm looking to buy a laptop. I don't care if its new or refurbished, I also don't care much about the size of the screen. I'm looking in the $400-$550 range. This is for simple day to day net surfing and some simple business needs (using email, and excel spreadsheets).

My main questions are about internet connectivity. I have absolutely ZERO experience with wireless internet, so feel free to laugh at me and my naivite :-~:teeth::yikes:

-If I have Bell sympatico high speed internet on my regular home computer, does that transfer over to this laptop, do I need some kind of connector for the two?

-How does a wireless router work on a laptop? Does it need a high speed modem as well?

-Besides the laptop itself, and a wireless laptop mouse, are there any other "extras" that I will need in order to get this to function as an everyday use computer?

-In terms of RAM - how much RAM is considered acceptable in order to have a laptop running quickly and smoothly (keep in mind, I won't have a lot of data stored on this, no music or video files)

Thanks in advance to anyone kind enough to help me! :)

Hi Rhiannon,

Do you have a router now? You would need a wireless router in order to get the laptop to have access and the laptop would need a wireless adapter built in.

As far as RAM, it would depend on the operating system that is on the laptop. Windows Vista would need more memory than Windows XP

Personally, I wouldn't run XP with less than 512mb and Vista with less than 1gb but the more the better :)

ok, the ones I'm looking at have either 1 or 2 GB of RAM.

I don't have a wireless router on my home pc, how much do they usually cost?

I've been looking around the internet today, and found this one:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=T71-15411

The one you found looks fine. I also found this one.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...5000FS10118376

Or you could check in store for a clearance or last one and possibly get some $$ off.

The routers are priced from 40 - over $100

Here is a good brand for only 42 but I'm not sure how this model is but I'm sure it's fine.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...65&catid=19994

Check your router. If Bell supplied it with your internet service it probably is a combo modem/router with wireless capabilities like the Speedstream models.

If this is the case, you need only to enable wireless networking and configure it. The modem manual should have instructions for this.

Configuring your laptop to join wireless is as simple as clicking on the wireless icon, viewing available networks, selecting the one you want and entering the key when prompted. You should only need to do this once, the system will remember the settings for you and connect automatically thereafter.

2 GB RAM is the minimum I would recommend these days.

And if you are planning on using the laptop for everyday use, I recommend using it on a desk with a cooling mat. Also, do not run it continuously off AC power with the battery installed too - this depletes your battery life severely.

Just my 2 cents. Tray has done an excellent job at answering your questions, I might add.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Scooter

And if you are planning on using the laptop for everyday use, I recommend using it on a desk with a cooling mat. Also, do not run it continuously off AC power with the battery installed too - this depletes your battery life severely.

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Thanks for the info on battery use. I just got my laptop in January, plug it in ALL THE TIME.

For my router, Bell (Aliant at the time) told me I'd have to pay a monthly rental fee to use the wireless router capabilities of my modem. So I bought a d-link modem, and often have problems with the connection. At least half the time when I turn on my laptop, my network has 'local' access (meaning no access) or just plain isn't there. I have to go unplug the router for a few seconds then plug it back in to get my network back properly so I can go online.

Z

This is the exact model I just got.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

I upgraded after two days use of this netbook.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

After two days it slowed down to a crawl and I hadn't even put any programs on it. So I returned it and three independent techs at Future Shop told me that these are the crappyest things ever. One even told me that 90% of these are returned because of their poor preformance. It took 10 minutes to startup and I had never connected it to the internet so there was no virus.

This new one though is fabulous. I paid an extra 20 bucks and the techs installed two more gigs of ram, now I run on 3 gigs. It came with a free setup and they didn't charge me for the ram install. It actually is very close to matching my hubby's gaming computer that he had custom made. The graphics card is enough to even play World of Warcraft with no lag or choppy images. I bought it three weeks ago and I am more satisfied with it everyday.

Oh ya, and I bought it just for homework and surfing, but it is so amazing that I use it as a gaming computer and have even got into webpage design again. Best purchase ever.