Laptop Shopping Help

[Malthorn]

So once again Im looking for a computer, but this time I'm looking for a notebook, and I figured LotV would be able to help me out. Im a comp nub overall so, was hoping for some suggestions .

I only just started looking a bit today, but dont totally know where to start.

Im thinking I want the following so far:
- XP and not Vista cus Vista sucks from what I've heard? My dad said with Dell I can get XP and not Vista, he doesnt know if I can do this with anyone else.
- Id like to not get a totally cheep one, Id still like to get something with Quality, since I dont plan on buying another comp (desktop or notebook) for quite a while.
- I wanna be able to game with this (WoW of course ), so Id like to have w/e 1+gigs of RAM for sure, and whatever else would help with that (video card?)
- My plans are to use this for w/e school, gaming, taking to class, taking home with me on weekends so I can still play WoW and get work done, and whatnot, if that matters. I dont want a huge/tiny screen since ill be in classes with it, and still playing WoW on it.

Anyone got suggestions? Any help would be appriciated, and cupcakes for anyone who suggests the notebook I end up buying!

I <3 LotV

[falorn]

If you are looking for a laptop/notebook to carry around with you, note the weight of the computer. I hesitate buying Dell unless you can see it first. Remember that if you are carrying your comp, books and other things, you've gotta do that ALL DAY.

It can wear on the shoulders sometimes.

As for functionality, I run on a Macbook Basic since last year. Just had the fan die in it, which was unfortunate, yet fortunate the thing was still on warranty. A 3 year (4 if you can get it) is well worth the cost. It can extend the life of your machine by a year or two. The fan dying is not a likely thing.

I enjoy my mac, much more than any PC laptop. If you are looking to run your basics without needing a huge amount of PC-based programming, go with a Macbook Pro so you can game efficiently. They are bitches for heat, but they also don't weigh as much as the PC's with the nice big heat sinks. And they look pretty.

Also if you are gaming, and want better than average performance, go with any system that doesn't have "integrated video". Make sure you have an actual mobile Vid Card in there.

Vith can tell you a lot more specifically than I can. All I know is unless you are mixing and mastering your bands own records or doing intense multimedia editing or intense gaming, you really don't need a large or very powerful computer. Light with a comfortable and nice feeling keyboard. You'll be writing a lot of papers.

I've heard Vista doesn't really suck as much as people are complaining about, its just that its different and all the functions of the OS are in different places so it takes a little exploring and getting used to. I hear the "Are you sure?" msgs can get really annoying though but the whole thing can be set to "Classic" which is now XP defaultish settings.

[Malthorn]

Ok Falorn, thanks for the help, Ill be looking into that stuff.