I am looking into purchasing a notebook. Things I will be doing with this are

1. Typing lesson plans (I am a teacher)

2. Online Poker

3. Surfing the web, checking e-mail etc. May download a few MP3's here and there, but nothing drastic.

I have been told that the minumum RAM I need is 512 MB, no less. What do you guys think? What about processor type and speed, as well as hard drive space? Finally, what brand? I appreciate any help, thanks in advance!

The problem is, what are your expectations? A am writing this posting on a 1997 Dell notebook - 266 MHz 128 MB RAM 12GB HD connected to the internet and LAN wirelessly, which is more than adequate, since I previously used a 1995 Fujitsu notebook - 120 MHz 32 MB RAM 2GB HD.
Both on Win 98SE. Using the following applications, Word2000, Excell2000, Access2000, VB6, IE, Firefox, MySQL. Plus DOS Apps. I've downloaded up to 650MB CD images. Of course when the drive fills up I have to copy the files off. I seldomly play games, but have tried Online Poker with no problems. I would buy a budget laptop with 256MB RAM if using XP. Any more is extras, nice to have but not needed.

depends on how much you want to spend. I am very partial to IBM Thinkpad laptops. They are extremely durable and IBM uses premium parts but, they are a tad more expensive than some others but,m you tend to get what you pay for. As for the RAM, yes, you should get at elast 512, RAM is dirt cheap right now. If you plan to ever use the PC during class, you might consider a tablet. IBM just released one called the x41 and Toshiba makes a great tablet as well. These are more expensive than a normal lt but, very much worth it if it fits your needs (being able to write directly on the screen). They run about 2000US for a well equiped model.

I really appreciate the responses, very helpful. I was looking at a thinkpad last week, a great deal for $750, but didn't jump on it. The tablet sounds awesome, but slightly out of my price range. I am planning on buying from circuit city (24 month 0% financing). Here are a few models I've found, and am interested in. Let me know what you think.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-Pavilion-Notebook-PC-ZE2113US-/sem/rpsm/oid/126345/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Toshiba-Satellite-Notebook-PC-M45-S165-/sem/rpsm/oid/126032/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Toshiba-Satellite-Notebook-PC-A85-S107-/sem/rpsm/oid/126587/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

You'll regret buying a celeron if you get one. The AMD's run pretty hot. If you want something you'll be happy with long term, get something with a centrino or M chipset from intel. I am one of AMD's biggest advocates but they aren't there yet on laptop chips and celerons just plain suck. You'll spend a little more but,. you'll get tons back. Have you checked IBM's website or even Dell for that matter? I am not a huge fan of Dell's but, you can get a factory refurb (hell new for that matter) for a little more than what you are looking at with a good warranty and a better feature set.

I will agree that the celeron m processors are crap, but for online poker? Not exactly intensive. You could make do with that but for future use definetly go for a centrino...

AMD Athlon64 3500+
1024MB 512x2 Dual Channel Corsair TwinX
Coolermaster Wavemaster
120GB Seagate SATA HDD
Gecube X800XT Platinum
Logitch 5.1 Surround
LG 16x Dual Layer DVD
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