I've never owned a laptop before and I'm now in the process of looking to purchase one to help with the driving (directions, logging etc. and maybe
some games). Can someone give me some ideas as to a good laptop for trucking purposes? Brand names, storage capacity, durability, that kind of thing as well as price ranges. Can I get what I'm looking for in the $1500.00 range?

for about $800 dell offers the e1505 inspiron laptop w/ intel duocore processer,dvd burner, 1gb ram,tru-brite screen,tech support,built in wireless card,ect....ive had no problem with mine and i consider it a solid investment.i have an extended 4 year warranty for an additional $400 just in case it gets run over by a truck or i drop it or throw it out the window c'mon back?

Thanks for the info.....I really didn't want to go into Best Buy with no idea of what I wanted. Those salesmen would see me coming. I appreciate your help.

Yep Dell is a good product. I had a Dell for over 3 years in the truck and it took everything I threw at it. I have a Compaq now and I am not happy with it at all. I will be selling it soon and using the proceeds to get another Dell.

A MINIMUM of specs you want to look for in a laptop is 60 gigs of storage, 1 gig of RAM (more if you get a Vista machine) and at least 1.5 gig Duo. If you don't get a Duo processor, then you want at least a 2 gig pentium4 or celeron or better. If you can find better specs, then by all means, get better.

I would also suggest purchasing direct from the manufacturer if you can. If you go through a major dealer like Compusa or Staples or places like that, then you may be paying a bit more then you need to. Dell is a good place to buy from because you can spec out a laptop with what you want right in their website and you can see the price change with the additions and removal of various things.

A word of advice about purchasing one. Whatever you do...DON'T purchase one of the ones you see for sale in truckstops. They are, on the average, more then 3 years old and in very bad shape. They claim them to be "refurbished" and they may well be but they aren't worth more then $150. I see them all the time for sale for $599 or more and they are using pentium3 and slower processors. They usually have less then 10 gig HD and 128 or 256 megs RAM. Very substandard worthless equipment for the price they ask. By all means, Purchase a brand new one. Don't try to "get a deal". Only one getting a deal in that sort of situation is the seller

I'm glad you confirmed my suspicions about truck stop computer sales. I've seen them at Flying J and I'm glad I didn't bite. I know that "you get what you pay for" is so very true in this case. Thanks much for the solid info.

If I may, I took up as a hobby back in the mid 90's PC Reapair and Upgrading, did a home study course. Now days prices of Laptops have come down pretty good. You can get a half way decent one at Wally World for $800. If your not planning to do those "high end games"
Here's a few things you want to look at when you purchase a Laptop or PC....
Processer speed: Now days anything under 2.5 Giga Hertz is slow
Ram: Random Access Memory. It's the temp memory the computer use's while processing info, this does affect the speed of the computer. The more ram the better.
Hard Drive Space: the main storage area. Now days you can get 80 plus gigs or better.
Those are the most important things to look for.
Other things iclude, modem for the internet, ports to plug things into like a printer, etc.
Here's the minium specs I'd Suggest:
Processer speed: 2.8 Gig
Ram: 1 Gig
Hard drive space: 80 Gig
CD burner (or if you want to watch movies, DVD burner) That way you can back up your info on a disk.
Check around and post what you see as for the Specs on something your intereted in, and someone around here will let you know if it's a good buy.
Also look at battery life, how long will it run on a battery if need be. And the warenty. 1 year parts and labor is good, but more is better.
Happy hunting.
Also I suggest tigerdirect.com. They at times have great buys at low prices. I use them alot for my PC I have at home, and they saved me $$$$$$. I built mine for $700 and Dell, IBM, Etc quoted me $3000 plus.[/b]
Just don't let them preasure you into buying before you check back with us, if your not 100% sure if it's worth it.

__________________
Be safe and God Speed,
Reverend Matthew "The Dragon" Koscielski
!!!Proud to be a gear grinder!!!

Faith, Hope, Love. The Greatest is Love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Can anyone tell me what the middle peddle in my truck does, cause i never use it.

PS: How durable is it. Bouncing around inside a truck can cause premature wear and tear especialy on the hard drive. That bouncing can cause the heads to contact the plate causing damage, cause those are mechanical parts. Now days they do build them better for that purpose, but double check.

__________________
Be safe and God Speed,
Reverend Matthew "The Dragon" Koscielski
!!!Proud to be a gear grinder!!!

Faith, Hope, Love. The Greatest is Love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Can anyone tell me what the middle peddle in my truck does, cause i never use it.

Well my two cents worth as a register certified Microsoft OEM system builder
Some of the higher end models of Dell are OK but will not stand up to the vibrations, bouncing etc. IF you are buying a laptop to do everything including replacing your desktop, then spend the extra money and get a top of the line model.
I prefer MIL-STD 810F certification on a laptop period, especially for in the trucking environment, they can stand more than anything the mass marketed ones can, are more upgradeable. I never recommend any one manufacturer as no one but you know what you expect from it.
Do a google search and look at the manufacturers sites, call them and ASK questions.

I probably shoud know this, but what is OEM?

It means that I am certifide and registered with Microsoft as a system builder and I build systems just like Dell. Original Equipment Manufacturer which means that I provide support and the warranty on the boxes I build.
P.S. Don't tell any one.