bobos thanks very much, i have been reading through most of the postings. please, i would like u boys to advice me on the make of laptop to buy, (ibm, acer, dell, toshiba or anyother). the criterias 4 judging are the battery life, power consumption, availability of the parts in computer village and less amount of trouble involved in managing and maintaining it (that is, i don't want a troublesome laptop)

Questions for peclint:
- What is your budget for the laptop?
- What's the primary purpose of the laptop: entertainment (games), business (MS office), web or software development?
- How often do you expect to use the laptop on the road or in the absence of NEPA?

Questions for others:
- Is it advisable for me to buy this refurbished PIII 1 GHz laptop for 72,000?

Thanks.

d budget is between 90k to 120k. it wuld b used for software development and educational purposes.it has to stay many hours without nepa too

@Seun: 1 GHz? 75K? I'm uncomfortable about that. Other stats?
RAM? HD space? Age?

What are u using it for anyway? It depends? You might be better of saving a bit more, or waiting a few months.

I would advice you to get an IBM, though  they are pricey they are much better then other laptops in terms of quality
They come equipped with a functionn that turns on a light for use in the daRK!!!
To me they are better then they clones, but APPLE LAptops are good to though they are expensive, !!!

I purchased an IBM for my uncle 900 mhz p3, 384 mb of ram, 32 bit video card, infrared, dvd/cdrom combo drice nd much more
I use a dell laptop(lattitude series) and i hate it ( 2.2ghz p4, 256 mb of ram, 32 bit video card, infrared nd much more)

I definately recommend aN IBM, best LAptop out there, but if you want something cheap go for one of the clones prefereably dell/toshiba

@PEclint: YOu should specify exactly what type of specifications you are looking 4

i use a Toshiba PIII 500 mhz with 192 mb of ram and it serves me because i have regular NEPA. I wont recommend an IBM for you because of their think pad experinment which was a huge failure. Most second hand laptops have battery life that can go for only 90 minutes so you be careful. Another thing to look out for is the storage capacity and the clarity of the screen.

I have never really liked a dell and its not much different from our zinox. For second hand laptops and that is what your price range can get you. Go for compaq or toshiba as they are the tested and proven brands. Buy a spare battery if you can; better still have someone bring in the second hand from the US for you cos its cheaper there.

otokx:

i use a Toshiba PIII 500 mhz with 192 mb of ram and it serves me because i have regular NEPA. I wont recommend an IBM for you because of their think pad experinment which was a huge failure. Most second hand laptops have battery life that can go for only 90 minutes so you be careful. Another thing to look out for is the storage capacity and the clarity of the screen.

I have never really liked a dell and its not much different from our zinox. For second hand laptops and that is what your price range can get you. Go for compaq or toshiba as they are the tested and proven brands. Buy a spare battery if you can; better still have someone bring in the second hand from the US for you because its cheaper there.

What thinkpad experiment? IBM laptops are called Thinkpads. I am using my second IBM thinkpad so far. I bought each one second hand. COmpared to the Toshiba I bought for new, they are miles ahead. IBM laptops are the rolls royce of laptops. The engineering is something to die for. I am thinking of getting an ultra portable IBM now, maybe the X24 or the X30. IBMs go regularly for over £1500 new and for just reason. Researh about IBM thinkpads on this forum http://forum.thinkpads.com/index.php

For battery life however, you cant do much better than Apple notebooks which will give you up to 4 or more hours of battery life. If your battery life is less than 2 hours on any modern laptop, you definitely have a bad battery.

Another tip for keeping battery life as long as possible, do not use your laptop with the battery and the power source on all the time. It decrease the battery life. Also try to regularly discharge the battery by using it down competely and charging it up again.

@ Seun, how much is that in ££?

i will place an order for another battery from the US. In Port Harcourt, IBM thinkpads have been a failure of sorts, its toshiba then compaq that peeps are comfortable with.

thanks for the comment about the battery and the power source cause we are still used to the desktop mentality.

after losing one toshiba battery, three dell batteries and two IBM batteries, I should know better shouldnt I? I know the right thing to do but even as am typing, my battery is fixed in my laptop, and das Y i can barely get an hour out of it. I would buy another one but since am buying another laptop soon, I cant really be bothered. IBMs might not be popular cos they are expensive compared with other brands.

Try HP Compaq nx 6110, though you have to safe more, because the brand new which I am using cost me as much as N195,000. It is very reliable, I practically use it for everything, software, MS Office, games etc. The battery life is okay, can still be on for about 3 hours. What is more, they have 15" monitor and centrino technology for wireless technology.

thanks everyone,u guys just told me why i shd take one brand or the other, thereby confusing me .anyway, i have made up my mind by critically examinin each ones comment .does anyone have an addy in otigba where i can get my specifiction on thinkpad or compaq