<p>Money’s definitely an issue, so it looks like PC’s going to win. I’ll just have to find a model I like.
I actually can’t tell whether that macbook is weak or not, I’m dumb when it comes to computers.</p>
<p>goodguysm: Is there a specific PC (or Mac) model that you recommend?</p>
<p>I’ve written two books on the weakest MACbook and both my kids have gone through college with them. D is now graduating.</p>
<p>I am not saying not to get a PC, but the lowest model MAC is good for most things except huge memory eaters like a an entire wedding of pictures. (H is a wedding photographer and has a more powerful model.)</p>
<p>I spent four years at Williams on a relatively inexpensive mac…beefed it up with a little extra memory, I think. Spent about $1200, and it served me very well.</p>
<p>If you want to find a good deal, you’re gonna have to do some searching.
[Slickdeals.net</a> - The best coupons, lowest prices, and hottest deals.](<a href=“http://www.slickdeals.net%5DSlickdeals.net”>http://www.slickdeals.net)
On their front page, they have some awesome laptop deals (they usually come up twice a week or so, for example, there was a Lenovo Thinkpad deal on May 7th, a Dell Vosto deal on the 6th). That’s if you’re willing to shop online.</p>
<p>If not, shop around at [Less</a> than $600 : Laptop Computers - BestBuy](<a href=“http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a~~cabcat0502000%23%230%23%23o~~nf518||4c657373207468616e2024363030&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=%2Bbrand+skuid&usc=abcat0500000]Less”>http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a~~cabcat0502000%23%230%23%23o~~nf518||4c657373207468616e2024363030&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=%2Bbrand+skuid&usc=abcat0500000) and you can choose to pickup at the store.
Some general things to look for, try to choose Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion x2 (as opposed to Intel Dual Core or AMD Athlon x2), since they’re the newer CPU’s.
I’ve had good experiences personally with Toshiba and HP. But it’s hard to go wrong, most computer companies have improved their laptop lines tremendously recently.</p>
<p>Those $599 laptops far exceed the specs of the $1299 Mac.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips, I think I need to learn more about what the specs actually mean prior to buying a laptop.
I’m primarily concerned with speediness of Internet, strength of anti-virus system, Microsoft Office, just smooth functioning overall.
I don’t need a ridiculous amount of space, and I’d like it to be small and easily manageable (and one that doesn’t overheat REALLY quickly!)</p>
<p>Whew. Yeah, I’ve heard that Toshiba and HP are the better PC’s. I used to have a Dell and it was complete crap. The Inspiron line is just awful overall, in my experiences.</p>