ES: Laptop Configuration

[ES]

I am considering the following:
1. Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64 bit)
2. 15.4" diag WXGA HIgh-Def HP BrightView Widescreen Display 1280 X 800
3. 2 GB DDR2 Memory
4. 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9200M Graphics Card
5. 160GB Hard Drive
6. Intel Next-Gen Wireless Mini-card (networking)
7. No Modem
8. Lightscribe 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support DVD/CD Drive
9. 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
10. Norton 360 for 15 Months
11. Microsoft Office Small Business

Price after rebate from HP $1,272

I will use the laptop for word processing (Letters and booklets - possibly a book) Excel, CV products (practice and simulation) and websurfing. Is the proposed configuration adequate; is it excessive? Is the price reasonable? What extended warranty or other security products should I get?

Thanks in advance.

[Parker]

You didn't mention the CPU, which is, um, kind of important. :-)

Assuming that it is an Intel Core 2 Duo at at least 2 Ghz, then the price is reasonable, but not a steal.

You're paying at least $200 for the Nvidia graphics card. Unless you're planning on serious video gaming or doing video editing, you don't really need this, and would be just fine with an Intel shared memory graphics chip.

I would look for a system without the Norton (resource hog) and install AVG antivirus and some free anti-spyware such as Spybot Search & Destroy.

Likewise, I would skip MS Office and use Openoffice.org (a free Office alternative), saving another $100 or so.

A laptop with the above should be under $1000.

[ES]

Thanks for the quick answer.

> You didn't mention the CPU, which is, um, kind of
> important. :-)

> Assuming that it is an Intel Core 2 Duo at at least 2
> Ghz, then the price is reasonable, but not a steal.

It is an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 2.26 GHz.

> You're paying at least $200 for the Nvidia graphics
> card. Unless you're planning on serious video gaming
> or doing video editing, you don't really need this,
> and would be just fine with an Intel shared memory
> graphics chip.

The Nvidia graphics card is standard. It can be downgraded to an Intel card for a savings of $100. What do you mean by serious video gaming? I suppose that CV products and the Windows hearts game do not count. What about Madden Football? I have never played it, but it seems interesting.

> I would look for a system without the Norton (resource
> hog) and install AVG antivirus and some free
> anti-spyware such as Spybot Search & Destroy.

What is AVG? Is it Avast? I had it once and had problems with it. The company is located in the Czech Republic. The only support is by email. This may be fine for someone who is very computer literate, but I am not overly computer literate.

> Likewise, I would skip MS Office and use
> Openoffice.org (a free Office alternative), saving
> another $100 or so.

Is Open Office a free download from Microsoft? How does it compare with Office for functions, ease of use and learning, documentation, phone support and compatability with existing Office documents?

> A laptop with the above should be under $1000.

[Parker]

> Thanks for the quick answer.

You're welcome.

> It is an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P8400 2.26 GHz.

That should be more than adequate for just about anything.

> The Nvidia graphics card is standard. It can be
> downgraded to an Intel card for a savings of $100.
> What do you mean by serious video gaming? I suppose
> that CV products and the Windows hearts game do not
> count. What about Madden Football? I have never played
> it, but it seems interesting.

If you were a serious gamer, you'd know it. :-)

I was referrring to games such as World of Warcraft. The Madden website says it requires an Nvidia or ATI graphics card, but with only 64 MB min RAM, so I think it would play just fine on the Intel card. CV products definitely work fine on the Intel card.

I'd save the $100, but that's just me.

> What is AVG? Is it Avast? I had it once and had
> problems with it. The company is located in the Czech
> Republic. The only support is by email. This may be
> fine for someone who is very computer literate, but I
> am not overly computer literate.

AVG is not Avast. It is a large US-based company. It takes a little digging on their website to find the free version (free for non-business users only), but it works just fine. It is not necessary to be computer literate, as essentially you install it, set it to update automatically, and forget about it. However, if you want support, they also offer paid versions that are less expensive than Norton (and don't hog your computer's resources as much). Check them out at www.avg.com.

> Is Open Office a free download from Microsoft? How
> does it compare with Office for functions, ease of use
> and learning, documentation, phone support and
> compatability with existing Office documents?

Openoffice.org is a full featured office suite that is produced by the open source software community, with support from Sun Microsystems. It is designed so that someone accustomed to Office will have an easy learning curve, and is nearly fully compatible with Office.

But don't take my word for it, although I have personally used it for years. Download it from www.openoffice.org and play with it yourself.

[ES]

Thanks again. What is the difference between Core 2 Duo Processor and Dual Core? I'm not trying to cut corners on the processor and over-spend on a graphics card or software. I just want to know the difference between similar-sounding chips.

[Parker]

> Thanks again. What is the difference between Core 2
> Duo Processor and Dual Core? I'm not trying to cut
> corners on the processor and over-spend on a graphics
> card or software. I just want to know the difference
> between similar-sounding chips.

I'm no expert on Intel CPU's, but as I understand it, Dual Core Processors are 32 bit and Core 2 Duos are 64 bit.

[ES]

I was told that laptops (desktops also?) do not come with a system disk or copy of the operating system anymore, and, that if your copmuter crashes, then you are in deep trouble. Is this true? I was told that Best Buy's Geek Squad can make you a copy of the operating system and do other tasks to "optimize" the computer to use their term. I do not know the price. Do you know anything about this? Can I make a copy of the operating system myself. If so, then how hard is it to do this? How do I do it? It should be obvious to you that I am not all that knowledgeable about computers.

Non-related question: I got an email today with a link to download a document. Where should I download it to? My Documents? Desktop? I have tried to download similarly linked documents to My Documents and was unable to recover them. My My Documents consists of my MS Word docs.

[Parker]

> I was told that laptops (desktops also?) do not come
> with a system disk or copy of the operating system
> anymore, and, that if your copmuter crashes, then you
> are in deep trouble. Is this true?

It is true that you no longer get a copy of the operating system, and you may not even get a rescue disk. However, all is not lost, since Vista has a "System Restore" feature.

> I was told that
> Best Buy's Geek Squad can make you a copy of the
> operating system and do other tasks to
> "optimize" the computer to use their term. I
> do not know the price. Do you know anything about
> this?

Not really. Geek Squadders tend to freak out when they see my Linux system. :-)

> Can I make a copy of the operating system
> myself. If so, then how hard is it to do this? How do
> I do it? It should be obvious to you that I am not all
> that knowledgeable about computers.

You don't have to be. Spend another $100 or so for an external hard drive. Get at least 500 GB (you can get them all the way up to a Terabyte these days) and make sure you get one with "One Touch Backup" which is just about as easy to use as the name implies - you plug it in and push the button.

> Non-related question: I got an email today with a link
> to download a document. Where should I download it to?
> My Documents? Desktop? I have tried to download
> similarly linked documents to My Documents and was
> unable to recover them. My My Documents consists of my
> MS Word docs.

Right-click on the link and you should be able to select "Save Link as . . ." or "Save Link Target" and then select where you want to save it. Either My Documents or the Desktop will do, although your desktop will get rather cluttered if you do this on a regular basis.

IMPORTANT! NEVER download any link in an e-mail unless it is from someone you trust, you were expecting it, and you know exactly what it is. This is how viruses get spread.

[ES]

I was told tonight by a salesman in an office superstore that the external hard drive backs up only your data, i.e. not the operating system, that I may be able to get a copy of the operating system from the box maker and that one external hard drive can be used to back up two computers. Does he know what he is talking about?

[Parker]

> I was told tonight by a salesman in an office
> superstore that the external hard drive backs up only
> your data, i.e. not the operating system,

An external hard drive is simply storage space. Many include backup software, which usually backs up data files only, at least in the default configuration. External hard drives with "one touch backup" usually just back up data files with the "one touch."

However, it is easy to backup the operating system and everything on the computer's hard drive with a couple of command line utilities. There are also inexpensive software programs which may be purchased to simplify the process if desired.

> that I may
> be able to get a copy of the operating system from the
> box maker

"May" being the key word here. Depends on the "box maker."

> and that one external hard drive can be used
> to back up two computers.

Yes. Or 5 or 6, or as many as you wish until you use up all the disk space.

> Does he know what he is
> talking about?

Kinda-sorta, yes and yes.