I am in need of some brainstorming here: what is your checklist when it comes to choosing a laptop? Any brand preferences? The price-to-quality relation?

Ideas and biased opinions are welcome

Thanks.

I always look for a laptop that has a good screen and comfortable keyboard. I also check to see if there is a warranty and what it covers. I'm a bit partial to sony because they have really nice displays. Although, it really depends on what you will be using the laptop for. If it's for gaming, you will want a good processor, memory, and graphics card... etc...

screen-because that's what you'll be stuck with.

Battery is a close second

There are many things to consider. better CPU, ram, GPU with dedicated memory, Screen off course, battery life is very much important if we are at move.

I am a PC fan. I generally go for HPs. I look for processing power and speed. I like them to be a little bit larger screen.

i think a good laptop is one with a good processor,GPU,RAM more than your desired purpose a bright and clear display ,and ofcourse a good abttery..

I always take note of the RAM, hard disk, and the battery life. The last thing I check is the brand; but then again this is not a priority.

I look for one that is quiet, light weight and reliable.

I think that is why i recently swapped my laptop for a netbook. :-)

size, usability and specs...

i got a nice laptop from best buy a few months back and its the one i see on all the tv commercials its an Hp dv7
4 gigs ram
2 hard drives 750 gigs total
remote
hd 17" screen
i love it totally
and it was super cheap $649!!!

Thanks for all the feedback, but what I was most interested in is manufacturers - I mean which ones do you consider the most reliable?

Hello friends,

If I am going tobuy a laptop then firstly i'll look for brand and then processor,RAM n HDD.

As it is the brand that provides support after sale. eg. Dell provides door to door service and its rates are very competitive.

Originally Posted by Earnest

I am in need of some brainstorming here: what is your checklist when it comes to choosing a laptop? Any brand preferences? The price-to-quality relation?

Ideas and biased opinions are welcome

Thanks.

Well I am a newbie here but this is my thought. Choosing a Laptop will require your needs if you are a web developer you would probably need a laptop with dedicated video card, but if you are a writer for example you need a laptop even without dedicated video card but quality processor.

But for my for me I used to have both of this criteria when buying a laptop, I want a centrino processor with dedicated video card that has 64 bit capability.

For me, what is important is the screen resolution and color. Although laptop display clarity has improved tremendously over the years, there are still certain brands which fail to improve in this area. Of course after that, price comes next.

I would give importance to battery and then to the after sales service.

Basically everything that's inside the machine I want to know about first (video card, memory, processor, etc)...I hate it when you go out to the store, buy a new machine, and find out something is incompatible with your os.

Then I would pay the cashier if the computer was in my budget. Funny I know, but I know what I need, that's for sure...

I have bought laptop and now I understand that I had not thought about some things I needed etc.

I believe that is quite difficult to think over all issues before hand beforehand.
Do not do that at once. Just create a list and time by time add there some important points

One that feels sturdy, solid and not too heavy.
a keyboard with comfortable with its touch and responsiveness.
a laptop with at least two USB 2 connections and at least one Firewire (IEEE1394) connection.
A laptop with an antitheft device.

Decent sized screen, not too large, core 2 quad cpu, 500GB HDD, hdmi connector, bluetooth, wifi, at least a 4GB RAM

I would say CPU, GPU and HDD size are important for me when choosing a laptop.