What you need to be careful of is that inexpensive lap tops sometimes come at a price: noisy fans.
When buying a laptop look for a "business" lap top. Dell makes it easy with its small business web site.
Originally Posted by
nkedel
If you're thrifty, the best balance of "cheap, portable, versatile" in a full power machine I know of is the Dell Vostro 1320.
+1 After my HP died (well it is still in the shop, after two months), that's what I bought and am using as I type this. I had stayed away from Dell for years after the incidents with battery fires, but presume this issue is taken care of. I do like buying from Dell; very simple to order and configure gear, and stuff ships within 24 hours, for free.
Originally Posted by
nkedel
A couple of more general pieces of advice:
1) Decide on the size/form factor you want before looking at models. While most close sizes are basically interchangeable (11.6/12/12.1, 13/13.3, 14/14.1 and 15.4/15.6), this is the decision to make first.
The other thing to think about is wide screen versus standard screen. If you go to a retail outfit like Best Buy, you will pretty much only find wide screen. Wide screen is nice for movies, but a total pain for packing in a back pack. Again, buying a business laptop mitigates that issue.
Originally Posted by
underpressure
Unless the fan is noisy.