What is the best type of computer to buy for nursing school that is not a Mac I am mainly using silverlight microsoft office internet adobe and ebooks?

Answer 1

If you're looking for a desktop, something like a Dell Inspiron "Small Desktop" would be good, although I would recommend NOT getting one that contains a Celeron CPU, they are very underpowered.

For a laptop, a lot of HP and Dell laptops are good choices, used or new, and are more than good enough for your purposes.

Answer 2

The brands that I find best and most reliable for my clients are Hewlett Packard (HP) and Lenovo (formerly IBM). Both brands are built with quality and have excellent technical support. Brands I recommend avoiding due to high failure rates are Dell, Gateway/eMachines, and Asus. In my computer repair firm, I find these machines coming in constantly for failed components with the most common being hard drives, motherboards, and power supplies. If you want something that is going to serve you well and not get in the way of your successful academic career, avoid Dell Gateway/eMachines, and Asus like the plague.

As for the specifications, I highly recommend avoiding AMD processors, instead sticking with Intel, ideally one of the Core i3, i5, or i7 families of CPUs. The reason for this is that they run faster, cooler, and give you more performance for your dollar. Additionally, get a machine that has at least 4GB of RAM, if not 8GB. The more modern operating systems will get by with 4GB but will be quite happy with the greater amount of RAM and will reward you with improved operational speed.

Speaking of operating systems, while most machines that are coming out nowadays are burdened with Windows 8 (whether 8 or 8.1), I recommend looking for one that has a "downgrade" to Windows 7 or that comes with Windows 7 directly. (The difference is that some will say "Windows 7" while others will say "Windows 7 Professional with Windows 8 Pro License" or something to that effect.) You will receive more stability, compatibility, and ease of use with Windows 7 than you will with Windows 8.

Finally, no matter what version of Windows you get, make sure that it is a 64-bit edition as that will allow the greater amount of RAM to be accessed as well as larger hard drives to be used. Most machines that have 4GB of RAM or more will have the 64-bit edition but check to make sure, especially if you elect to purchase a used or refurbished machine.

I hope this helps give you a bit of guidance. If you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a line and I will see what more I can do to get you to a machine that will serve your needs well.