Laptop/P.C Spec's

Hey all,
I will hopefully be buying a new laptop in the next week or 2, its been a few years since last computer purchase and I have no clue as to what is good in terms of specification on a computer these days.
if someone has the time could they post a reply as to what I should look out for and avoid when looking. I will be looking at both P.C's and laptops. and as for price... well hopefully no more than €800/€900 but would hope to pay less!
we will be using it for a good few things ie: photos and videos. internet surfing to keep an eye on aam! powerpoint, word etc. watching dvd's and maybe a game or 2. also, how can you tell how good a battery on a laptop is?

thanks in advance.

the laptop coming up in Aldi on thursday has a very good looking spec and a 3 year waranty as well.

check out

I agree the Aldi laptop has a good spec for your requirements. Basically you need to look for a good processor e.g Core 2 duo, 3-4 GB RAM, a large hard drive 320 GB fine, a dedicated graphics card, wireless, built-in webcam & microphone, blu-ray dvd drive, windows vista home premium. Look for MS Works included but you will probably have to pay for Office 2007 if you want Powerpoint. You will also need a good anti-virus package - Kaspersky or Avast (free). The normal battery life on laptops is about 2 hours. Look for a 5-in1 card reader also.

BadSanta said:

we will be using it for a good few things ie: photos and videos. internet surfing to keep an eye on aam! powerpoint, word etc. watching dvd's and maybe a game or 2.

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Rois said:

Basically you need to look for a good processor e.g Core 2 duo, 3-4 GB RAM, a large hard drive 320 GB fine, a dedicated graphics card, wireless, built-in webcam & microphone, blu-ray dvd drive, windows vista home premium.

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I think that is overstating BadSanta's requirements given what he has said. If you discount playing games (which type?) everything else would be covered by a basic processor, 2gigs of ram, a normal 160/200 gig drive. There's a 17" Athlon processor laptop which covers all this in powercity for €499.

Powerpoint and Word could be covered by Openoffice if he wants to keep costs down. Office 2007 home and student is now only €69 though.

appreciate the replies on this. very handy info. a friend of mine recommended the aldi p.c thats currently for sale. he said its a top spec machine. 1 thing that spring to my mind is that iv never heard of the brand... anyone bought one of these or have any thoughts on it?

There are two Medion Laptops in my house both are running perfectly.A great machine IMO

I agree with the above and add....

A computer is a consumable item IMO, it just loses money as soon as you buy it. Therefore unless you've money to burn, I'd pay a little as you can. Especially as if they break the costs to repair can be more than is worth while. Therefore a machine from Aldi or Lidl can be great value as they include 3 yrs warranty and in general have a good reputation. The PC on offer doesn't come with a screen so be aware of that.

I'd go with 3GB ram and 250GB HD. No reason to scrimp on that. But the spec would be different depending on what games you mean.

The Dell outlet can be a good deal at times.

caff said:

There are two Medion Laptops in my house both are running perfectly.A great machine IMO

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My two adult children also have bought Medion lap tops from Aldi (some 2 years ago) and swear by them. Never had any problems.

i went about buying the aldi P.C.... tried most of the stores in cork! sold out. the recession isnt evident in cork!! ha. il keep an eye out for something similar. if ye see anything along the same lines... drop me a msg! thanks for all the advice/info.