Topic: Notebooks?

[Hexx]

Hi all
Quick question- My sister is planning on buying a notebook for scholastic use, keeping notes, etc etc.
Since it won't involve playing games- I have no idea what to put in it ot what to look for.
Right now she's looking at one with..
Product Specifications Processor
Processor Type*  Celeron® M    Processor Number*  430    Processor Speed*  1.73GHz 
Operating System **
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic (32-bit) 
Memory Size *
512MB 
Display Size *
15.4" widescreen 
Display Type *
Widescreen XGA 
Display Resolution *
1280x800 
Graphics Engine *
Radeon® Xpress 200M 
Graphics Memory *
8MB-128MB dynamically allocated shared graphics memory 
Hard Drive Size *
60GB 
Hard Drive Speed
5400rpm 
Optical Drive *
CD-RW/DVD-ROM 
Wireless LAN *
Atheros® Wireless LAN (802.11b/g) 
Bluetooth *
No Bluetooth (No Antenna) 
Input Devices
85 key US keyboard, Hot Key Functions, Windows Key Function, TouchPad pointing device, CD/DVD Buttons, Application Launch Button 
Security
Password Security, Security Cable Lock Slot, Hot Key Security 
Modem
V.92 Modem 
LAN
10/100 
Audio
Standard stereo speakers, Headphone jack (stereo), Microphone jack (mono), Windows Sound System 
AC Adapter
65W (19V 3.42A) Auto-sensing, 100-240V / 50-60Hz input 
Battery Type
Li-Ion (2000mAh) 
PC Card Slots
1-Type II PC Card Slot 
PC Express Slot
No PC Express Slot 
USB Slots
4-USB (2.0) 
iLINK
i.LINK™ IEEE-1394 
S-Video
TV-out (S Video) 
Software *
Microsoft Works, TOSHIBA ConfigFree®, TOSHIBA Disc Creator, TOSHIBA Game Console, Microsoft® Money 2007 Essentials, InterVideo® WinDVD® 
Weight
Starting at 5.83 lbs. 


-Is this decnet?
Anyone heard of or encountered issues with Toshiba books?

It's only about $600 (and thats baout her budget), so she's not expecting top of the line performance, but as I dsaid- I have no idea of how books stack up.

The only serious processing power she might need (I have no idea ) is that she takes alot of pictures with her digital camera, so wil likely also use the book for phot touch ups and things.

Anyway- as always any info or suggestions you can provide would be gretaly appreciated.
Thanks!

[Mr_Tricorder]

I have a Toshiba Satellite and it works fine.  From what I understand, Toshiba is one of the better brands for notebooks.

However, that Celeron processor makes me shudder.  Mine has an Intel Centrino Duo processor, and I would recommend you get the same even if she isn't planning on doing anything as memory-intensive as gaming.  That 512 MB for RAM seems kind of small, too.

I wouldn't want to get anything with Vista on it yet, but that's hard to avoid now, especially with laptops.  What kind of school work is she planning on doing with it, exactly?  Is she going to be using it on a campus network?

[Dash Jones]

That computer comes with Vista.  If she wants it to run...she wants at LEAST a gig of RAM and a faster processor, otherwise it will run like molasses in whatever she does.  (Vista is NOT a really good OS in my opinion in it's current state by the way).

Otherwise, since she isn't doing much gaming, it should be fine unless she goes for video creation or editing or something to that task.

I would suggest she upgrade from a CD-RW/DVD-ROM to a DVD-RW instead as the medium is slowly moving in that direction.

[IAF Lyrkiller]

That computer comes with Vista. If she wants it to run...she wants at LEAST a gig of RAM and a faster processor, otherwise it will run like molasses in whatever she does. (Vista is NOT a really good OS in my opinion in it's current state by the way).

Otherwise, since she isn't doing much gaming, it should be fine unless she goes for video creation or editing or something to that task.

I would suggest she upgrade from a CD-RW/DVD-ROM to a DVD-RW instead as the medium is slowly moving in that direction.

I have a Toshiba Satellite and it works fine. From what I understand, Toshiba is one of the better brands for notebooks.

However, that Celeron processor makes me shudder. Mine has an Intel Centrino Duo processor, and I would recommend you get the same even if she isn't planning on doing anything as memory-intensive as gaming. That 512 MB for RAM seems kind of small, too.

I wouldn't want to get anything with Vista on it yet, but that's hard to avoid now, especially with laptops. What kind of school work is she planning on doing with it, exactly? Is she going to be using it on a campus network?

What they said.

[Commander Maxillius]

<shrugs>  I bet she could find a good used iBook for the same money and it's largely furtureproof

[Nemesis]

If it is for school use then find out what the school uses software wise and make sure that you can run the same.  Even if that means Vista.  If its a University or college they likely have a computer store from which students can get deals on the student editions of software and you can be pretty sure the hardware matches what the school uses.  It does you no good to buy a top of the line Windows system only to find that you must use OS/X (or vice versa).