Help with finding a laptop

[shishio64]

Hi
im looking for a laptop that will be used mainly for university needs and oriented towards biology studies, which means it should be able to run basic applications such as Microsoft Office, biology (heavier) applications such as "Matlab" and Java for biologists and should include wireless internet capabilities.
in addition i would like it to be used for watching movies and listening to music and include a DVD burner.
my budget is up to a $1000

Thaks!

[clocker]

Hell, any laptop with a DVD-rw will do what you're talking about.

Of course, like many consumers you're asking for disparate features.
Presumably, "university needs" implies carrying it around to class, etc. which means the smaller/lighter, the better.
"Watching movies"- well, the bigger the screen, the nicer the experience but weight is the cost.

Prioritize your requirements and get the best you can with the budget.

[shishio64]

Hell, any laptop with a DVD-rw will do what you're talking about.

Of course, like many consumers you're asking for disparate features.
Presumably, "university needs" implies carrying it around to class, etc. which means the smaller/lighter, the better.
"Watching movies"- well, the bigger the screen, the nicer the experience but weight is the cost.

Prioritize your requirements and get the best you can with the budget.

size and weight dont realy matter, i just need the best laptop for standard needs within the budget i mentioned...
and when it comes to laptops, i dont realy know what to look for in the specifications, what company is considered good and whats the difference in performance, lets say, between Core Duo and Core 2 Duo.
so can you recommend for me some good models because i just get confused when searching for them...

[clocker]

Where are you located?

[Seedler]

Core2Duo > Core Duo by a long shot.

If weight is not a factor, then go for the 17" wide screen ones.

Any laptop brand will do, such as Dell, Acer, etc etc. Just go with the cheaper ones.

You want a Core2Duo >2Ghz so anything over a T7200 CPU will do. Along with 2 GB RAM as a minimum, and preferably with future upgrade capabilities to 3 or 4GBs. Harddrives are pretty much standard at 100-160GB for laptop at the moment, while you can get away with integrated graphics just for watching movies and running non-graphic heavy apps.

Just make sure to look for these factors when you shop, and just search on Newegg.com, Ncix.com, etc etc. for the one with the best performance / price ratio. Again, to me brand name isn't such a big factor.

[shishio64]

Where are you located?

i live in israel, where computers and any electronical hardware usually cost about twice than in the US and Europe...

Core2Duo > Core Duo by a long shot.

If weight is not a factor, then go for the 17" wide screen ones.

Any laptop brand will do, such as Dell, Acer, etc etc. Just go with the cheaper ones.

You want a Core2Duo >2Ghz so anything over a T7200 CPU will do. Along with 2 GB RAM as a minimum, and preferably with future upgrade capabilities to 3 or 4GBs. Harddrives are pretty much standard at 100-160GB for laptop at the moment, while you can get away with integrated graphics just for watching movies and running non-graphic heavy apps.

Just make sure to look for these factors when you shop, and just search on Newegg.com, Ncix.com, etc etc. for the one with the best performance / price ratio. Again, to me brand name isn't such a big factor.

why so much Ram?
and isnt the processing power too much for my needs?

[Peerzy]

Vista eats RAM for breakfast and after using my laptop for an hour on 1GB I installed an extra 1GB to give it 2GB and it's a lot better. 1GB will do you fine, but it'll take twice as long to do anything I found.

Aim to get any sort of Core2Duo, if you don't mind watching movies on a 15.4" screen then go for one of them, although the 17" is very nice.

[shishio64]

should i consider any AMD processors instead of an intel Core2Duo?

[Peerzy]

I've got a 64bit AMD in my new laptop and it's running great, don't just look at Intel's.

[Seedler]

My advice to you is, use GOOGLE, to find benchmarks for stuff you need.

For example, search for stuff such as Intel T7200 vs AMD TL-55, etc etc.

Then decide based on your price range, go for best price/performance ratio. Although looking at that $1000 budget and how electronic cost twice as much in Israel (really?), you might want to sacrifice CPU power in preference for RAM and HD size, as you'll watch movies and the 1GB extra RAM will do you wonders in vista.