(I posted this here because this might wind up being related to my music business...)

My wife is in the Masters Program at Wright State University here in Dayton, OH. She will be a "Certified Nurse Specialist" once she finishes this degree...she then plans on returning to obtain the "other half" of a RN/Nursing Masters degree as a Nurse Practioner...She then intends to obtain her PhD in Nursing. Virtually ALL of her classes are now MASSIVE, DENSE research projects that somehow inter-twine towards her Masters Thesis.

I want to buy her a lap top for Christmas. She needs only to do MS Word/Power Point for her coursework. She also will need to be able to surf the net for her research. No games...no heavy video/audio demands are expected.

I'd like a pretty fast processor and a large viewable screen size (15.4") I've done some digging and it seems there are endless number of units out there that would fit her well...

Price wise, I'd like to stay in the $500-700 range...BUT, I can go as high as a grand or so if need be...

I'm curious if anyone here has reccomendations of a particular make/model?

Finally, if it makes sense, I may look at somehow integrating it into my performance setup, but that would be down the road in all likelihood.

Thanks as always for the forthcoming expertise!

Bill



[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 11-28-2006).]

Hi

Hard to recommend a particular model. They are all fine and suitable for the use you describe.
But get at least 512 MB RAM. 1 GB is even better. And get a larger screen. At least 17".
Processor speed not that important for the use you describe.

Just my opinion.

Regards
Jørgen

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The Unofficial YAMAHA Keyboard Resource Site

Hi Bill,

Have a look at the Dell Outlet store. They have some nice deals on overstock and refurbished Laptops at great prices. the inventory changes daily, but you get quality at a decent price:
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales...s=22&l=en&s=dfh

I'm sure other manufacterers have similar Outlet stores you can try.

Good Luck and your a very thoughtful husband!
Regards,
Al

Bill there are many good choices and many opinions. Let me leave you with a couple of thoughts. You may want to purchase a laptop that does not have MS Office pre installed, the reason being you can purchase a Teacher/Student Edition for MS office (powerpoint, excel, word and outlook included) for just over $100 vs. well over $200 for a preinstalled small business edition. So you'll save some money there.

Earlier this year I got a great deal from Dell for a laptop with 100 gig hard drive, 1 gig of ram and a core duo processor for $799. Keep shopping and you're bound to find a good deal somewhere.




[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 11-28-2006).]

You can also use the software from Open Office, which I've found is every bit as good as MS, and is FREE!
DonM