Mblah is going to the Dark Side.....PCs. Need help.

a reply to: mblahnikluver

"Not even sure what a video card is nor am I sure if I will need it. Is that for graphics? Does it make them look better?"
Basically, yes. You have various parts that go in a computer, for example the hard drive. If you use the computer for programs that are very graphics-intensive, such as playing modern video games or modelling homes, you usually need a "video card", otherwise known as a "graphics card", "gpu", etc etc, which basically just allows the computer to actually process those graphics. You might want to check with your school and see if your aeronautical engineering program will involve such graphics-intensive applications.

"See I don't get all of this stuff. Why don't they just build the computers with all this built in instead of having to download it and pay for all of this protection?"
Avast and Malwarebytes are both free examples, and as good as or better than anything you might pay for, virus-protection wise. They're very easy to install and set up. There's not really any reason for an average computer user to use a paid antivirus software.

"sharing is super simple. I want it to be that way with a different computer"
What kind of sharing do you have in mind, exactly? Like what would you specifically be doing by the act of "sharing"? DropBox is one example of an easy way to share files between computers.

"Also backing up your entire computer on an external HD, how do you do that?"
Current windows versions (7, 8, 10) come with built-in backup utilities. In Windows 7, you go to Control Panel and click on "Back up your computer" in the "system and security" section. All you do is select what you want to back up (your pictures folder, for example) and then select where you want to back it up to (the external hard drive) and you set a schedule for how often you want to back it up, ie daily, once a week, etc etc). Or you can use free or paid software to give you much greater control of how and what you back up.

Anyway, if you're looking to buy a laptop, here are my recommendations on what to look for. You don't have to follow these, it's just my personal advice.
Operating System (OS): I'd recommend skipping over Windows 8 and going with either 7 or 10.
Processor: I'd recommend quad-core, but dual-core is usually fine.
Memory (RAM): NO LESS THAN 4GB. 4GB is the minimum that you want to run a modern Windows system on. Anything less will behave like junk. 6 or 8 is good; you won't do any harm by having more, and RAM is relatively cheap. Basically as long as it has more than 4, you're fine.
Hard Drive: You'll generally see things like 320gb, 500gb, 1tb... It all depends on what your usage will be, but I'd get at least 500gb, 1tb if it's available and you're willing to spend the money on it. Another thing to consider with the hard drive is the "rpm". Try to get one with 7200rpm rather than 5400rpm. It basically just means how fast the hard drive itself can access the data on it. 5400rpm works but it isn't very impressive.
Display (screen resolution): Absolutely no less than 1366x768 (720p). I would recommend a 1920x1080 (1080p) screen, but laptops with these are usually a bit more expensive. The display will make a huge difference on your viewing experience though. Simply put, you have more room on the screen.

Don't worry about included antivirus software, you should be using other options such as Avast and Malwarebytes rather than what the computer comes with. If you're using any kind of paid antivirus service, you're being ripped off.

Hopefully that helps a bit, if you have any other questions just ask and we will try to help