Which laptop for Basic Home/Shop Usage

Hello All,

Clearly we are always put under a dilemma whenever we decide to buy a laptop. With all the varieties out there, it is sometimes almost impossible to find the perfect laptop that falls under your budget. There are 5 Major companies that provide laptops for our market, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer and Sony. There are many other brands as well, but 98% of the East African market is flooded with these 5 brands. Now most of them have the same quality of build. Some just charge premium for their name. What you should actually look in a laptop is the specifications. I am here to help you what specifications you should choose if you are looking for a Basic laptop for Home and Shop use.

Screen Size = 15"

Ok so if you are planning on browsing the internet and watching movies, then we have narrowed it down to the fact that you want a 15" laptop. Mind you a 15" laptop isnt very easy to carry around. But most of the time you will get used to it. There are portable laptops like the 13" and 10", but they are solely for business purpose and watching movies and browsing isn't much fun on those laptops.

Hard Disk = 250 GB

This is where everyone thinks , The Bigger, The Better. While i agree with that, i still don't think the extra price is justified. So the minimum hard drive size you should look for in a laptop is 250GB, that is going to be more then enough storage for you. For those who don't understand the GB factor , here is what a 250GB can hold, combined.

200 Movies + 5000 Songs + 10,000 Pictures + Your Documents = 250 GB

So 250GB should be more than enough for an average user. If a seller tells you to add 100 USD for 500 GB hard disk, then you would rather by an External 500GB hard disk for the same price and keep your 250GB as well.

RAM/Memory = 2 GB

This is usually the major component that you shouldn't skimp on. My advise is that a minimum of 2GB RAM is a must. 3GB is good too. But dont fall for the trick if the seller tells you it has 4GB. Because most 32bit Operating Systems (Vista, XP, 7) dont use more than 3GB of RAM, unless its a 64bit Operating System, which is highly unlikely on laptops in the average price range market.

Processor = Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz or higher.

This is the brain of your computer and will do all your work for you. There are other variants like AMD Athlon X2 , and Celeron, but i strictly advise that you buy a Core 2 Duo. There is another variant called Core Duo 2. DONT BUY THAT. Go for Core 2 Duo. The AMD Athlon X2 are good, but the Core 2 Duo has the best battery usage and heat management. I have seen people make a mistake of buying a Celeron , because its cheaper. My personal advise is that DON'T buy a Celeron, it will not last you long.

These are the standard options that always come with a Laptop these days;

Wifi - Wireless Network Connectivity

LAN - Wired Network Connectivity

Modem

DVD - Writer.

I have given you this advise based on what i feel a basic consumer would need. If you think you have the extra cash to spend and want everything latest and greatest, its your decision.

The last time i checked the laptop with all the above specification i mentioned was priced at 650 USD in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Here is an advertisement i received on my E-Mail last week

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DELL VOSTRO A860

CORE 2 DUO 2.0GHZ

2GB RAM MEMORY

250GB HDD

DVDWRITER DL+/-

15.6” TFT SCREEN,

WIFI,

LAN ,

WINDOWS VISTA HB,

1YR WARRANTY TO BASE