Everyone is always looking for advice on what notebook to buy. The real question is not what to buy, but what do you need. For example, a business person will need some different from a gamer. Here is an easy way to determine what you need to get.
1. Establish your budget.
This does not mean what you are wiling to pay if it has feature x. This means find out what it is the max you want to spend on a system. For some this is less then $600, for most less than $1500, and for a lucky few, this step doesn't really matter.
Tip: This is for the whole system, software, carrying case, and anything else you need.
2. Determine what your Needs and Wants are.
This is the real tricky part. You have to decide, do you really need 4 gigs of ram, or do you just want it. A need is something the you have to have on the system or it will not work for you. A want is something that would be nice, but not vital.
3. Do some research.
I think 3rd party product reviews give you a lot of insight into exactly what to expect from a system. Remember we are not looking at price quite yet, just looking based off of our needs and wants.
4. Now is when you can start comparing prices.
Look at comparable products that have all of your NEEDS and compare price for price. Don't include wants just yet as those are going to be a tie-breaker. Remember, we are trying to get a notebook that has everything we need at the absolute best price possible.
5. More research.
Now that we have our list narrowed down to computers that have what we need and are in our price range we are going to start looking for discounts. A great place to find dell deals, or than here of course, is Dell's Smart Values. Also check for the same notebook on the business side.
6. By now you should have a great idea of what system is going to be the best deal for you and meet all of you needs. There is only one thing left to do, make sure a better deal is not around the corner. Check places like Froogle and ebay to see if the system can be bought for less, or if it has at one point sold for less, a good indicator it will go back on sale. Once you have completed this step you can be certain you are getting the best deal possible.
While following these 6 steps will ensure you get the best deal possible, you may find you only need to do a few of them before you are willing to get the computer. Remember though, and this holds true at Dell, you could be charged several hundred dollars more for the same computer, or even less, just because you didn't know about the other deals!
