I am in need of a new computer system and although I have used both Windows and Macs, I am pretty sure that this next one will be a Windows machine because most of the Software I have is Windows stuff.

Anyways, here is what I do with my machine:

Browse the Internet, post here, I write some Html for sites, am learning some php to enhance the sites a little bit.

Software I run to do all this:

Open Office for Word processing and Spreadsheets
A 2D Drafting program
A 3D Home Design software
XAMPP for php and mysql coding
A couple of editors for html/phpcoding ie: Context

What I don't do:

Graphics, Photoshop or anything similar
Gaming

And this is a list of what I think I should be looking for in a machine:

Laptop - to take it out of the house and to jobsites.
1 gig RAM
2.5 Ghz cpu (dual?)
100 Gig HD
r/w cd/dvd
Wireless capable
17" screen with integrated graphics since the drafting and Home design software have fairly low graphic requirements compared to Gaming.

Anything else I should add to the specs? Should I be looking for any specific wireless cards or Graphics cards? or specific disk types? or any special Hard drive speeds?

I am not a very demanding user. At present, my Laptop is a 233 Mhz processor, cd read-only, and a 7 Gig HD of which I am using about 2 Gigs only, so as you see, my requirements are not severe.
I would expect the cost should be in the $1000CDN to $1200CDN ($800 to $1000US) range I am thinking.

Your input to helping me sort out these specs is appreciated.

well id say get around 1-2 gigs ram (better for the 3d app)

and yeah rest should be fine

MAKE sure the graphics card is good so that way your computer will run faster when doing your 3d stuff

and i dont know if you can stll buy 2.5 ghz but w/e rest sounds good for what you want to do

id also get a dvd r/w so that way you can burn dvds if needed (its like 30 bucks more us dollars and its worth it imo

Wow, you just read off the specs of my laptop. In that case I'll recommend my Acer Aspire 1640 series laptop, I wrote a review here somewhere. The brand of wireless card isn't that important, they're all much the same, unless you intend to use Linux later on, in which case you will have to do some research. Integrated graphics and 1GB of RAM should be fine, I can run Blender, Open Office, Opera and loads of other stuff at once with that, so it should be OK. Hard drive speed, go for the fastest you can, but if it's going to bump the price up a lot then don't bother. A 100GB HDD doesn't take that long to search through, so somewhere around 5,400RPM is fine.

Try and get the screen with a gloss black coating (Acer call it CrystalBrite I think), which makes all the colours stand out better and improves the viewing angle. Sometimes the Sun reflects slightly, but if you are sat in front of the laptop, it isn't a problem.

I would sacrifice the RAM for now and spend it on graphics card. Make sure that the graphics card has DEDICATED RAM instead of sharing system RAM. Most laptops will pass this inferior technology to not so good buyers. ATI makes dedicated DDR RAM for video for mid-high end laptops. My Toshiba came with ATI 9800 128MB for under $800USD. The sacrifice I made was only 60GB hard drive. But I use external storage anyway along with NAS or SAN these days.

DVD R/RW isn't really necessary unless you are going to backup your large data or do video editing and producing. The alternative would be to ensure the laptop comes with IEEE 1394 or Firewire so that you can add external devices, i.e. external hard drive and camcorder. Contrary to what average users might protest, USB2.0 is still slower than Firewire for prolonged operation time. USB is CPU resource dependent and Firewire is PCI BUS dependent. (Oh I just know someone will fight me on this one ). Transferring 1GB over Firewire is faster than USB2.0. However, that doesn't mean you should omit USB2.0. It should be a standard these days.

You're speaking about 2.5Ghz Dual... as in Dual Core or Dual CPU? Intel makes HT chips from 3.06 and higher. This HT chip will operate like dual CPU chips but with only one physical CPU. Dual Core is the next version of HT but since it's very new I doubt you'll find in your price range.

Wireless connection should be standard in almost all 17" + models. You can't pick and choose these days, the manufactures will just give you one from their storage They work pretty well considering how small the actual WiFi chip size.

One design tip I'd like to pass on: try avoiding laptops with speakers near the palm rest area. Not only it's a trap for small dusts etc, but the sweat will damage the speakers or oxidize the finish. My motto is if I am to listen music turned way up with my laptop, I would have purchased excellent headphone, external speakers or a desktop instead. Laptop keyboards are notorious for trapping dirt and other things. There's a website that specializes "keyboard skin" in various colors to fit your model. I think this would be the best $40 you'll ever spend for your laptop protection.

Oh, and one more thing! If you're going to use your laptop for over 2 hours at a time, ask the sales person or research about CPU heat sink. My Toshiba has solid copper heat sink. My sister's Compaq has no heat sink. Needless to say mine runs cooler than my sister's. As you know heat will destroy any electrical thing. And sooner or later you will put your laptop on your lap. There are stories people injuring from hot laptops--especially when CPU speed is high and thus producing higher heat.

Buff hit the nail on that.

Haslip I go will a dell set up. Although the computer i use is a gaming computer (Dell XPS) i don't use it for that this. It is well rounded for what oyu need.

Here is a link to the basic xps system

http://www.dell.com/content/products/produ...;l=en&s=dhs

Thye are bit expensive but with a bit of chopping you could crunch it down to less then a grand.

So if you got questions on the Dell XPS let me haslip i can give you the 411.

Of course Alienware computers beat a dell xps any time but i doubt you want to spend 2-3000 for just hte bare minimum.

Graphics with dedicated RAM will always beat intergrated graphics hands down; not just because of the dedicated RAM, but also because of a seperate GPU. There may be a graphics chip on the motherboard, but a dedicated GPU and memory will really help, even with productivity (computers with dedicated graphics, even the low-end cards, recieved higher scores in PC World's benchmark tests than tose with intergrated graphics).
If you can afford it, get a DVD burner; you can't be too futureproofed (in this case, with your needs, not with upcoming technologies).
Dual core processors aren't expensive anymore - mainstream laptops these days are built around the Core Duo processor, a dual-core chip. They help with multitasking, especially if you run a bizillion apps at once.
WiFi is included in just about every notebook sold these days. If it isn't included, it won't cost that much to add an 802.11g card to it.

My job issues laptops to us to use.

The one upgrade that I requested and haven't regretted ('specially in those long meetings) is an EXTENDED life battery.

Having my laptop last for over 4 hours on one charge is priceless.

Good luck!!

Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions.
I will very seriously consider them all and will let you know how it goes.
Probably won't be for another month or so that it happens (might wait til Xmas, even), but I will certainly let you know which machine I purchase.
Thanks again.