How to get the Best Buy Notebook PC

There are so many choices when it comes to looking for the best buy notebook PC. Do you want a Dell, Acer, HP / Compaq, Gateway, or IBM? Maybe a custom built?

Let me see if I can help you in looking for a great deal on a notebook PC. There are so many factors that need to be looked at. Of course, price is always a big issue. However, what about the purpose of the laptop, what is the size of the hard drive, how much RAM does it have, what is the size of the screen, or how heavy is?

I think the first thing you need to do is to set a budget. If you don't set a budget you will be overwhelmed in looking for the best buy notebook PC. There are so many choices out there -- so many options -- that without setting a budget you would go crazy trying to sift through all the data. I think a budget is also important because you don't have unlimited funds. Most other "things" can be found on notebook PCs at various price points.

In general, a laptop that is used for word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, and surfing the Internet is pretty inexpensive. You can find a laptop that would fill this need for under $500. If you're looking for a laptop for gaming then the price will go up to $700 or more. Anything that is intensive in processing -- gaming, graphic design, video editing (significant editing) -- may cost $1000 or more. Remember your budget as you look for the best buy notebook PC or you'll be sorry!

You really need to think about what your needs are when it comes to the best buy notebook PC for you. As related to the paragraph above, your needs may dictate the price range. For instance, I travel a lot international. My first laptop weighed about 7 pounds and I thought this was fine and would give me a lot of exercise when traveling. It only took one trip to find out that this weight was totally unacceptable. I know there are skeptics out there who think I'm a wimp because 7 pounds is nothing. Just wait till you have to travel constantly carrying this and all your other items. I now carry a laptop that just barely tips the scales at four and a half pounds. This has proven to be my best buy notebook PC. A two and half pound difference is significant.

If your laptop is mainly going to stay at home with a few trips outside then you don't have to worry about the weight as much. If you're a college student, depending on your major you may need to get a more powerful laptop. I speak of those of you needing to do intense graphics or video editing, audio compilations, computer aided design, you get the picture. These are all situations where the ability for the laptop to process intensive applications is required. Your best buy notebook PC will be determined by your needs.

Some other things to consider - best buy notebook computer

• Screen size. The lighter laptops typically have smaller screen sizes. The one I'm using right now is 12 1/2 inches diagonally. Some people really like large sized screens. There are usually two things that can greatly affect the price of a laptop PC. One is the size of the notebook. The smaller the notebook the more expensive it will be typically. The other one that affects price is the size of the screen. The larger the screen the larger the price. If you have a hard time seeing then you'll need to have a larger size screen.
  
• Processor speed. There are all sorts of processors. Right now most of the best buy notebook PC will have a dual core processor. The speed will range anywhere from 1.4 GHz to over 2.0 GHz. For general use, getting a processor that is slower is okay. For those of you who need to be able to process very intense applications, you want to get as fast a processor as you can for your budget.
  
• RAM. The best buy notebook PC will have at least 1 GB of RAM. For those of you using your laptop for graphic design, video editing, and the like, you'll need to get as much RAM as possible. Remember though that laptops only have one, maybe two, slots for RAM. It may be cheaper for you to purchase the laptop with a minimal amount of RAM and then purchase the RAM from a different vendor and then install it. Just make sure you get the right RAM for your laptop. Kingston.com has a RAM selector to help you out.
  
• Hard drive. Most laptops will come with the least 80 GB of hard drive space. This is enough for most users. Once again graphics, video, and raw audio will take up more space. An alternative is to buy an external hard drive for all your data. Also, most laptop hard drives only spin at 5400 RPM. Some graphic applications will only work with hard drives that spin at a minimum of 7200 RPM (the standard speed for deskptop hard drives).

One last thing is to look FatWallet.com to get the best buy notebook PC. If you are patient, you'll find some great deals at FatWallet.com. Read this for instructions on how to use FatWallet.com in looking for the best buy notebook computer .