PoliceLink

I am wanting to buy one, but know little about the computers anyway. What should I be looking for? What kind on Ghz, Ram, memerory and what ever else? Please let me know what you think. I need a top of the line that will do its job for the next 3-4 years? Please contact me, and hive me what you know!

PoliceLink, BTV, paperwork for work, down loading songs, EBAY!

Naturally, you'll want wireless internet, wireless router, iTunes (depends on if you want it) and probably about 100GB of memory. That's what I have. I have 3,000 songs and over 100 hours of video on iTunes.

There are many computers out there with many well known names ie: Sony, HP, Dell, Gateway, ACER, Toshiba just to name a few.  If and when you finally decide on a brand there are some things you need to consider. 

1 Processor or CPU Intel DUO Core 2 or AMD Duron the higher the number the faster the processing power.

2.. Amount of Memory  AKA  RAM or Random Access Memory.  I personally have 1.25 GB Gigabytes on my laptop. HP DV4150 which i'm in the process of upgrading the the full amount of 2 gigabytes.

3 HDD or Hard Disk size, again the larger the size means more space for applications, files, photos, music, whatever you want. Additionally you can always purchase an external drive.  You can get a (1) terabyte drive for just over $225.00

4 Video size 15, 17 inch monitor again larger is better= for pixels which are used to create the image on the screen.

5 CD/DvD burner this is a must have if you want to watch a DVD or create one or listen to a music disk.

6 Operating System, Now this one can be tricky.  The newest version of Windows= Vista and the older version= indows XP.  I personally prefer Windows XP because most of the bugs have been corrected.  Windows Vista is new and in my opinion is still buggy but it has many new features and has a new interface.  It is fairly straight forward and if you have probems the help menus are very informative. But coming from a background of writing applicatons for Windows and Windows XP and building and repair computers for over 20 years, I find the new Vista problematic.  I recently was advised Windows XP will not be supported after November 2008.  So whatever you choose remember this, a new computer you purchase today is obsolete tomorow!  Being in the business for this long, I have found this to be completely true.  If you would like any further information send me a pm.

I bought a Dell Inspiron 1726 earlier this year and am very happy with it.  I like the 17" screen.  So far, I've not had any problems with Vista.  Mine came with 3 GB of RAM and a 300 GB HD.  I run iTunes, Word, etc. and have not had any problems.  My eyesight is not that great, so the 17" screen was the way to go for me without having to get a desktop and a big flat panel.  Others might be just as happy with a smaller screen.

A 2 GHZ processor is ok I guess. The last laptop I bought had 2.4 GHZ and it is super fast. The .4 GHZ makes a difference. You want at least 2GB of memory but if you get 4GB of memory it will run faster. You can get laptops now with 150GB hard drivers and bigger. I guess it is all what you are willing to pay though.

Panasonic Toughbook. I use it for work and play (model cf-29). They are expensive but you get what you pay for!!

moilepo808 says ...

 I've had a mac book pro for over a year and a half and it still runs as great as the day I bought it.  No problems and great speed.  A bit pricey but worth it IMO.  Takes a bit of getting used to if you only used windows before though.

 

I have had a Mac Book Pro for a while now and I love it. However, there are numerous programs for report writing etc. that do not work on a Mac. You can run Windows on it though, it just gets kind of complicated. Mac is DEFINITELY worth the money!