Shopping for a comp?

I never buy anything without doing a tremendous amount of market research on it. So here I was, shopping for a laptop for my sis - and here's my tips to buying computers in India.

Firstly: Assembled or Branded?

This is a no-brainer. Unless, un' the very less, you really know the assembler, as in beer buddies/best pals.. do not trust any assembler. There are folks who swear by proffesional assemblers and for the most part they appear to have no problems - but they do eventually. I now think, that may be more due to the rampant use of pirated software especially among assembled pc's.. be that as it may, but I don't trust just anyone.

Branded folks..

Ads keep coming in newspapers - Dual Core Pentium for 30,000.. Vista PC for 35,000 etc. Things to note..

1. Is the monitor included?
2. If it's a Pentium.. is it a 'Dual Core' or 'Core2Duo'? BIG difference
   
3. How much RAM? Minimum 1 GB in today's scenario.
   
4. Is the OS included? Which one is it?
5. Integrated Graphics or Standalone? Not very relevant unless you're a hardcore gamer.. in which case you wouldn't even be reading this. Anyways, Integrated graphics are pretty good these days so not much worries..
   
6. Peripherals like speakers..
7. Which sound card?
   
8. 160GB Hard Disk is minimum
9. Bundled software to be noted

Additionally for laptops..

1. Bluetooth and WiFi are MUST.
2. What are you paying for? Mobility at the cost of features or vice versa? Do you really need the slim Vaio or a chunky but full featured Toshiba/Lenovo?
   
3. Consider the price of a good case as well.
   

So what did I get?

In the Indian scenario, no matter how you look. The best value for money pc/laptop, as of 14/11/2007 is..

A Dell.

Pricing is spot on. Go to their website and you'll see the professionalism lacking in the sites of Acer, Lenovo, Zenith and even Compaq/HP.
They advertise prices including OS, monitors, and peripherals. And best of all, its all customizable.

There were some battery issues with Dell Laptops so I'm given to understand that has given them some flak. But they have also provided replacements promptly, as I know from a friend of mine who has one.

Here's the config. Remember, its for my sis who's use it for academic purposes (I hope!)

Dell Inspiron 1420 Notebook
Intel Core2Duo T5250
Windows Vista Home Basic
14.1" Widescreen Display
1GB RAM
Intel Integrated GFX X3100
160GB SATA HDD
8x DVD R/W
McAfee Security Center
Bluetooth, WiFi,
Remote Control
Belkin Messenger Bag

Price: Rs.41,500. (tax included)

Oh yeah, and it's pink.