bluebutton wrote:I think Miles' question is really important: What do you imagine you'll be doing with your computer? Other than keyboard feel and longevity, you haven't otherwise given any info that would meaningfully restrict the field of possibilities?
Questions that might help:
What's your budget?
Don't really have one. I mean, I don't want to go over, say, $5k, but if the perfect laptop is $3k, I'll spend it. OTOH, if there's something just as good for $1k, I don't want to get taken out behind the woodshed, either.
What do you do with your computer beyond web browsing and email?
Write novels. Edit and print photos and burn dvd videos of the kids. Need HDMI and firewire for camcorder. Help kids with projects.
Do you watch streaming videos on your laptop?
Absolutely.
Do you watch DVDs on your laptop?
Once in a while. Blu rays too. It would be nice, but not necessary. I do, however, listen to music cds. <gasp>
Do you take a lot of photographs and intend to store them on the laptop hard drive?
Yes. See above.
Do you use photoshop or other programs like that to manipulate photos?
Yes. See above.
Do you work with video recordings?
Yes. See above.
Do you or any of your users play video games?
Not generally on the laptop, but mostly because I've yet to find a laptop that can handle them. Of course, I haven't been in the laptop shopping game for eight years (inherited the dell from my mom when she passed).
How often and how far will you be carrying your laptop?
Very seldom. It goes from the kitchen table to the couch or to the bedroom upstairs once in a great while, but that's about it. Goes in the closet when there's company.
Oh, and I do have an old desktop, but it's in my office in the attic, so I almost never get up there with the kids around. Maybe when they're all in school in another two years. Mostly, it's there to run the printer for the laptop. And yes, I know that's archaic.
How would you rank the following in importance: (I'll do 1-5, 1 being most important)
Price. 5
Weight. 5
Processing speed. 1
Screen size. 2
Keyboard feel. 1
Battery life. 4
DVD or BluRay player. 3
Hard drive space. 2
I'd go higher on the hard drive space, but I've never come close to filling my 100 gb hardrive, and most of the laptops these days seem to have 3-5x that. As for screen size, at least 15.6". I'd really like full 1080 resolution if possible though. I know, my ideal laptop doesn't exist, does it?
