Laptop advice

[george]

Is 256mb memory enough nowadays, or best to go for 512mb? Reason I ask is we're getting one to drag around the store to help when picking orders, etc. Whats the battery life like? Hoping to get something at the cheaper end of the price range, since its not for myself Makes to avoid, etc.

Any advice gratefully recieved.

Oh, and I don't have my forums mixed up, I know what a kind, knowledgable and helpful bunch you are...

[jont]

We have had several brands over the years and it is fair to say the big names tend to fair better than the no-names... especially in terms of battery life... batteries are an expensive item and are often cut back with some of the lesser brands. Sony have always been a good brand for us - pointless naming models as they change twice a week

The other thing I would point out is durability. We found a laptop does not have the same durability (keyboard especially) as that of a desktop is used 8 hours a day 5 days a week for serious work loads. Replacing broken keyboards is not as simple as a £5.00 replacement from your local PC store.

I would go with the 512mB as a minimum - especially if you have a large database or find yourself wanting to do other tasks in the future.

[pinbrook]

Ideally XP needs 1024+ memory.

But you can get away with 512mb

[jont]

Ideally XP needs 1024+ memory. But you can get away with 512mb

Yep - my patience of having Actinic, Firefox, Thunderbird, Explorer, Dreamweaver and PhotoShop open at the same time on 512mb finally wore thin last month