Expert: Bobbert - 9/7/2008

Question
Need help buying a Laptop.
My use would be Internet,online banking ( Microsoft Money ) & i want to Network it to my Pc.
So i can access files for the Programs i want to install on the Laptop.

I really liked the NEW Dell Mini 9
But it does not have a Optical drive & it only has 16mg HD
Which means i would have to buy a external optical drive.
What do you think about this new Dell?

Also what do you think about a AMD Semperon processor wich dell has for $499.00

My other choice is the quality & relability of Acer Laptops.
To get a DEll it would cost at least $500.00
I saw a Acer for $379.00 with the specs i would need.

Are Intel Celeron any good & whats the difference between Celeron & Pentium ?
What about AMD, How do they compare to Intel ?

Answer
Asus, Acer, and HP also offer mini sized notebooks, I would look into those, such as the Asus Eee series, which offer larger harddrives than the Dell does. As far as Celeron vs Pentium vs Core 2, and so on, generally Celeron is slower than Pentium, and Pentium is slower than Core, this isn't a bad thing, in your situation, as any of them would be capable of your needs. AMD will compare fairly well to Intel, depending what you're comparing, again, for your needs, there isn't an issue. Another processor you'll likely see is Intel Atom, which is also more than suitable for what you need out of the system. For a lot heavier processing loads, such as use in a professional animation environment, or gaming, there is more of a defnied difference in the models, however for office tasks, there isn't much of a difference except in price.


-bob