Buying a Laptop

I have started shopping around for a new laptop. My current laptop has been turned into a desktop replacement device – it is sitting under a 23″ monitor that plugs into it. The reason for this is because my laptop screen has five vertical stripes right in the centre, where the pixels have gotten stuck. The batteries have a life-span of about 3 minutes and so, it is permanently plugged into the mains. My laptop is almost 3 years old and while it is still a working device, my lifestyle has changed and having a mobility device would be useful.

So, I have started to shop around for a light laptop model – something that I can easily carry around in a small sling bag. Most people would immediately say netbook, but I have never ever thought that netbooks were a good purchase. I fully intend to do some real work on my mobile laptop instead of just surfing the net and reading email. So, I will need a slightly more capable machine than a typical netbook.

As before, I will start to chronicle different models that catch my eye as I go shopping before finally deciding on one. The first model that caught my eye is the Acer Ferrari One. The model sold in Malaysia has the following interesting specifications:

CPU: AMD L310 - 1.3GHz Dual Core, 1MB L2 Cache
RAM: 4GB DDR2
HDD: 320 GB
GFX: ATI HD3200
DSP: 11.6" HD-Ready LED backlit

It comes with wireless and wired networking options, a multi-card reader, dolby speakers and much more. As for my own criteria, for my work purpose, I need to have certain features. The main processor must be a dual-core processor with hardware virtualisation capabilities so that I can run virtual machines in it easily. It should also have more than 2GB of RAM for simulation and virtual machine purposes. I got to test out the keyboard on a demo unit and it seems fairly capable. It claims a 5-hour life on the standard 6-cell battery.

This seems to be a quality machine at a very reasonable price of RM2199 retail.