Expert: Bobbert - 11/17/2009

Question
Dear Bobbert,

I am looking to buy a new laptop, but don't really know where to start. I'm a student so don't have a lot of cash to spend, and don't want to end up paying for features that I don't need. I'm thinking of spending about £350, but would be willing to spend a bit more if that would make a significant difference to the quality of the product.

I use my current laptop mostly to do uni work on (Microsoft Word) so I need it to be reliable enough that I'm not scared it will crash unexpectedly and delete my work! I also use the internet a lot on my laptop, listen to music and occasionally watch dvds. I would like my new laptop to be fast, fairly light and portable but with a decent sized screen (at least 15 inches).

Do you have any ideas about what would be a good option? In particular, what are your views on the Sony Vaio NR38E?

Thanks,

Lucy.


Answer
Honestly my best advice to university students is to check with your department, see if there are any requirements or suggestions for a purchase, if they're suggesting a very high end machine (such as a Macbook Pro), ask why this is the suggestion. If there is basically no real reason on their part to justify a high end machine, or no requirements at all, then go ahead and purchase whatever you like.

Regarding performance, some things can be determined by the hardware you purchase, such as application load time, storage capabilities, and so on, however some things are determined by external factors (internet speed most notably).

As far as a specific model goes, I don't have an honest view on every model, generally I suggest Dell or HP, but there is nothing wrong with Sony or a number of other brands, so I don't see any inherent issue with the model you'd like to purchase. Just ensure that it comes with a suitable warranty (at most two years though, as anything else is likely wasted money), in order to ensure it can be replaced if the device has failed (not terribly common, but it happens, this is true of all brands).

If you have further questions, feel free to ask.

-bob