buying laptop-- questions

[andicap]

Buying a new laptop ($1,000 is my budget) and have some questions

1. Should I buy Win XP home or Pro for using laptop for wi-fi network in my home and video. Does it make a difference.?

2. I know 512 MB is better than 256 MB of RAM. If I buy a notebook with 256 MB, can I just buy a 256 MB module to upgrade?

3. If I want to burn CDs, I need a CD-RW/DVD combo drive right?


4. How much video RAM do I need to watch the races optimally? 16 or 32 MB? Does it matter if its shared memory (if I have 512 MB RAM?)?

5. Any recommendations on which laptops to buy? I'm looking mainly at a Dell, but not locked in. I see some great deals on Ebay.

Thanks.

[kingfin66]

$1000 isn't too large a budget.

(1) I run a wireless internet network in my home. It works fine with XP home.

(2) RAM is cheap enough that you should just go with the 512 out of the box.

(3) If you want to burn CD's, you need a CD-RW drive (the RW stands for rewritable). It would be even better to have a DVD-RW drive , but that could be difficult with the $1k budget.
BTW, having DVD-RW v. CD-RW still allows you to play/write CDs.

(4) More always better as far as I'm concerned. It seems like connection speed is equally, if not even more, important when it comes to streaming video.

(5) I was checking into Dells as well. Costco is another option. That's where I got my home PC.

Good luck. I'm jealous.

[cj]

I recently bought a Toshiba 17" widescreen laptop, 512 RAM(I've already uppded it to 1G), 80G Hard Drive, XP Pro, DVD-RW (there is a difference with DVD+RW), etc, etc. Oh, processor 2.8G I believe. I don't know how flexible your budget is, but it is one sweet maching for $1700. Probably down to $1500 by now as that was 2 weeks ago.

[headhawg]

andicap,

1. XP Pro is a better O/S. If it fits into your budget, get it.

2. More is better; get the 512.

3. Agree with Kingfin.

4. Again, more is better. Shared memory only applies if it is an intergrated video card. You are best off with a non-integrated card. Check out the price difference and see if it fits into your budget.

5. All of the name brands are probably of equal quality. Stick with Sony, Dell, or Toshiba and you'll be fine.

If you need long battery life get the Centrino processor, but the cost will be slightly higher.

Check out the Dell Inspiron 5100; it's currently less than $1000 with free upgrades -- but it doesn't meet all of the above recommendations.

HH