If you will just slow down and take time to look around at all of the laptops or notebooks that are available, you'll find that is time that is well spent. If you are like me, then you want to buy the best laptop for your specific needs that you can afford. The following is a list of things you might want to consider before you make your decision.

1. What kind of monitor do you like? Do you want the old-fashioned type that weighs about fifty pounds? I've found that the new LCD monitors which are crystal clear are well worth the extra expense.

2. Do you need this new laptop or notebook to be used mainly in the home, on the road, or at school?

3. Keep in mind that laptops and notebooks are generally much slower than a desktop PC. So you might want to spend a little bit more money to find the right mix of CPU speed and RAM that meet your needs.

4. You will probably need lots of memory, so do not skimp in this department. You'll find that most of these low-priced laptops and notebooks are sold with 128 MB of RAM. This is not near enough memory for most practical applications.

5. Make sure the laptop or notebook that you buy can be upgraded. There will come a time when you'll want to add this to that your computer and you want to make sure that it will be of upgradable.

6. There's all kinds of batteries on the market. But you are probably better off if you stick with lithium batteries. They are far superior to others.

7. Go ahead and get the big hard drive you can afford. In my opinion 20 GB is a bare minimum. Of course if you can afford it, get 40 GB.

When you start checking prices, you'll find that you can pay twice as much for laptop as you do for a desktop PC. So make sure that you really need a laptop or notebook as opposed to a desktop PC. If you're on an airplane all the time or spend a lot of time on the road in motels, you do not have a choice, you'll have to buy a notebook or a laptop.