First off, I'm not that sage about tech stuff, but I appreciate the knowledge some folks on here have.

I'm fed up with my Dell desktop and am looking to move into the laptop age. 17" screen for sure, but also will be using my external monitor,keyboard, and printer connection on it a lot of the time, perhaps through a docking station or port replicator.

The speed test I get for ISP = Midrivers is 1.72 Down and .18 Up, 25 ping.

Now that being said, this is all I want the danged thing to do:
Run Windows 7
Run my MS Office 2007
Surf the net without having to refresh, reload, retry so much (yeah I'm using IE)
I'd like to occasionally stream a certain out-of-state radio station from their website and finally,
I'd like to load a You Tube or Jay Leno's garage video without it getting such a headache that the little "loading" doohicky just keeps spinning and spinning and nothing is actually loading.

#1 will more RAM, power, etc even help me with net-based viewing as long as Midrivers has us over a barrel on speed? That's probably a computer 101 question for you guys, but I honestly am ignorant on the issue.

#2 what laptop do you suggest? Is HP that bad as long as it doesn't have the evil chip in it?

Any help would be much appreciated.

I had an HP that had nothing but problems. I actually had to take it back THREE times to the store before I got one that was able to run properly. I now have a Gateway NV59C that I bought at Costco. They have a longer warranty. You have 90 days to return it if it has a problem, unlike places like Best Buy where you have 30 days. Costco will just give you your money back or a new computer without any problems. I also bought mine on American Express and got an additional year warranty for free. So mine is covered for three years.

I love my Gateway. It does everything I need and then some. I can be downloading videos of my grandkids while having three and four other windows open at the same time. Nothing bogs it down.

It has the Intel Core 3-30M processor, 320 GB HDD, 4GB memory. Built in webcame which is nice to Skype with, and a blue-ray player.

I will never buy an HP again after having this Gateway.

#1 will more RAM, power, etc even help me with net-based viewing as long as Midrivers has us over a barrel on speed? That's probably a computer 101 question for you guys, but I honestly am ignorant on the issue.

#2 what laptop do you suggest? Is HP that bad as long as it doesn't have the evil chip in it?

#1. The slow internet is a function of your connection. More computer horsepower isn't going to change that issue.

#2. I am a mac fanatic. If I was going to buy another PC Laptop I would most likely buy Lenovo. I had the best success with them of any PC laptop I owned. They used to have a few quirks of their own, mostly network card issues, which I believe have been resolved. But they are a solid machine.

I would never consider another HP anything. I have owned several HP computers (very high end stuff) and HP laptops. It was all junk.

Honestly, though, I would never even consider a PC for what you are doing. Go buy a mac and put Parallels 6.0 on it and run Windows 7 on that platform. I have been very satisfied with that setup for the last 4 years.

[This message has been edited by Richard Bonine, Jr. (2/4/2011)]

See, I knew you were a smart, smart fellow, Richard.

Appreciate the help and suggestions. I don't go to Costco, so there's a problem with that. Would prefer to buy local and have a make that has a local authorized service provider, not a mail-in.

How old is your current laptop? It does sound like your problem is your internet connection and not your computer but it is possible that you have some malware or something that is slowing you down.

Lenovo makes a great laptop. So does apple but the downside of a mac is that you're going to pay roughly double what it would cost for an equivalent Windows PC spec-wise.

Gateway is now owned by Acer and they are really just another logo but I think both Acer and Gateways are fine computers. Computers are getting to the point now where they are really just a commodity though. Companies like HP, Acer, Dell, etc. don't make much of their own hardware, they just buy cheap components, assemble them and put their logo on the case. The good news is that the cheap stuff is pretty decent these days, so personally I wouldn't be afraid to buy a cheap laptop.

Chances are though, that a new computer won't solve your problems. You could always find a friend with a newer laptop and have them come over to your house and plug their computer into your network and see if they have better luck doing the things you're trying to do.

excellent post, Levi. I currently have a Dell desktop. It's probably really quite good considering it's 4 yrs old:

Intel Dual core,
[email protected] Ghz,
1.79 Ghz 1.99 GB RAM
Runs XP Pro

I ordered it from Dell with perhaps more bells and whistles than I needed but I was just thinking I wouldn't replace it for 7 years that way. I know a lot of the problem is continued user fubar, but I've learned from this forum that most may be frustration with a limited ISP.

I have an HP G71 yada yada yada model laptop at work that I've used at home with slightly-to-significantly better internet performance than the desktop.

I do have a use for this Dell as a secondary data entry machine at work because the old dinosaur there now can barely RAM up the software, so to move to a more convenient home device (laptop) would be a win-win. I was just wondering about suggestions on what to buy.

I just came up with another question: For a limited-knowledge user like me, is it best to buy the biggest/fastest/meanest machine with dreams of keeping it 7 years or should I pare that down to a good current machine and plan to replace once the warranties have run their course on a newer machine with new technology?

Before you spend any money, you might try downloading the Chrome browser or perhaps Firefox and see if that helps any.

When my family members ask me about computers I usually tell them not to break the bank on high end stuff. The uses you mentioned (Web surfing, Microsoft Office, email, etc.) are pretty effortless for a modern PC. Even a netbook can handle things like that without breaking a sweat. The computer I'm typing this on has to be pushing 6 years old and has no issues whatsoever with anything I do on the net. The only reason you need a high end computer is if you play serious 3D video games, do a lot of HD video editing, want to be able to have 10 programs open at once, do simulation, etc.

is it best to buy the biggest/fastest/meanest machine with dreams of keeping it 7 years

I believe that in a business, the IRS allows you to depreciate the machine over 5 years, which is an eternity in terms of computer technology. If I can get three years out of a computer I am pretty happy. More power to ya if you can get 7 years out of one.

You guys are so helpful. Thank you so much. I tried to download Chrome and it told me there was an unspecified error. Augh. Monday will be laptop shopping day. Have a great weekend.

For what you are using it for, if you don't want to spend a fortune a walmart brand laptop would be more then enough. Its when you get into video editing, or gaming that you would want a real beefy machine. I had a toshiba laptop from walmart. I bought it like 9 years ago, and it still runs, I have not had any problems with it. I currently have a acer laptop that I got off newegg.com. I have been happy with it in the 2 years that I have had it. No problems with it.

My family and I own a Dell desktop [XP] two Dell laptops- Studio 15 and Inspiron- and a new HP G62 laptop. We have had no trouble with any of them, and I actually like some of the features on the HP better than the Dell's. For what you want, I saw a HP G62 on sale at walmart for $298 the other day. You can go to the company website and get a higher end machine for a great price-either Dell or HP-if you surf their sites regularly. They have great sales at times like Fathers Day, back to school, black Friday etc... There is no use paying retail for any laptop, but I have found the company sites to usually have the best prices on the most current models, and you can get software at a large discount if you purchase it with the computer.