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Acer, HP, Samsung, Dell, Toshiba, Compaq, Sony, Asus, Lenovo, Fujitsu, Apple(<-overpriced) are all solid.
You really can't go wrong with brand anymore, better quality control now.
From there's it's all about choosing the best specs for as little as possible.
So will she pretty much only be browsing/using basic programs? With that in mind you could pick almost anything, just factor in how fast you want things to load. 
Edit: Rawr browsing site so slow t_t
This one looks good. It was the best I could find (processor-wise) under 8000 with the 16"-20" screen filter on
http://www.fortress.com.hk/fortress/jsp/sys/Sf_render.jsp?hf_s_id=FT11&hf_srv_id=Pv_fpdt_dtl&hf_rand=1073351180&hs_from_srv_id=Pv_fpdt_list&hs_srch_keywd=&hs_pdt_id=ATOSL500004004
HK$6,299
i3-330M processor
500GB Hard Drive
2 GB RAM
16" LCD 16 aspect ratio
ATI 512mb video ram
no pictures though =/ I'll keep looking. (it'll look probably like this)
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
oh cool dude, thanks a lot! O_o yeah pretty much just browsing shit and watching tv shows online hahah.
whats the differnece between intel and AMD processors anyway o_O
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
also , is 2GB ram enough ? and how does video ram work..
doesn't windows7 or whatever take up like 1GB of ram already? would it be enough ram for the comp to be like loading a bunch of youtube videos or whatever at the same time and not get all laggy?
and i could probably just get 2 more gb of RAM maybe? o_o
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http://www.fortress.com.hk/fortress/jsp/sys/Sf_render.jsp?hf_s_id=FT11&hf_srv_id=Pv_fcmpr_list&hf_rand=679348786&hs_pdt_id=ASUSK61ICJX026V&hs_pdt_id=ATOSL500004004&hs_pdt_id=ASNYVGNFW53GFW&hs_pdt_id=ASNYVPCF115FGB
This is probably what you'll be deciding between at the 16" screen range. I didn't spend time looking through 15.6" monitors because my guy feeling if I put myself in this position would to buy the biggest screen possible while staying under budget.
The 2 Sonys are nice, but I feel like although it's still under the 8k budget it's a bit extra than what you need. The main reasons their prices are higher are because of the video card, RAM(~$25 USD/1GB), and i5 processor in the 2nd Sony. It's stuff that's not really needed for just browsing the internet and would probably drain more battery life.
For the Toshiba yeah you could add another 2gb of RAM if it feels a bit clogged by too many programs. I'd test out the laptop first before making any unnecessary additions, though. It also depends if the Windows 7 installed is 32bit or 64bit, which it doesn't say, and how many RAM slots it has. 32bit is limited to 3.5gb RAM or so, but sticking another 2GB would be better than a 1GB stick.
The Asus is fine too for your needs, but I like the i3.
Video RAM is just the graphics card, it doesn't specify which in the description though (sketchy!!).
Intel and AMD are just processor manufacturers. There are differences, but simply put it's not something that should matter if you're just buying a laptop. Just find the fastest one.
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
hmm thanks a lot dude  im gonna have a look. yeah sony ones seem a bit more expensive for similar specs.
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I always always always recommend Lenovo for non-gaming laptops, very cheap for the specs and the newer (non-thinkpad) series look very sexy ;D
8000HKD is like 1000 USD right? That's ample for a non-gaming laptop. Just look for a decent dual-core processor (centrino, i3, i5, or whatever AMD equivalent), a 7200rpm hard drive, 3GB+ RAM (or more if the OS is set to 64-bit), and a cool outer design. Like R04R said, you really can't go wrong with brands nowadays, just look for the right specs.
Also, I don't see why you would want to get a laptop with a >15.6" screen, they're massive and don't serve any purpose other than gaming.
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For no gaming, I don't think the specs really matter that much at all. If anything, you want something without a discrete video card and with a weaker processor, so it has more battery life.
You should just go around the store and see which one has the best build quality, keyboard, trackpad, etc. Those are things that we can't determine for you over the net, sorry. 
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On August 02 2010 23:58 synapse wrote:
I always always always recommend Lenovo for non-gaming laptops, very cheap for the specs and the newer (non-thinkpad) series look very sexy ;D
8000HKD is like 1000 USD right? That's ample for a non-gaming laptop. Just look for a decent dual-core processor (centrino, i3, i5, or whatever AMD equivalent), a 7200rpm hard drive, 3GB+ RAM (or more if the OS is set to 64-bit), and a cool outer design. Like R04R said, you really can't go wrong with brands nowadays, just look for the right specs.
Also, I don't see why you would want to get a laptop with a >15.6" screen, they're massive and don't serve any purpose other than gaming.
Centrino? That's pretty old isn't it?
Or maybe I'm thinking of Celeron.. ><
For $1,000 you could easily get a decent dual-core processor, a 500GB HDD, and 4GB RAM. Video cards don't make much difference at all unless you're designing or gaming.
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I would find / suggest exact laptop models from fortress.com.hk but the site takes forever to load for me 
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On August 02 2010 23:58 synapse wrote:
I always always always recommend Lenovo for non-gaming laptops, very cheap for the specs and the newer (non-thinkpad) series look very sexy ;D
8000HKD is like 1000 USD right? That's ample for a non-gaming laptop. Just look for a decent dual-core processor (centrino, i3, i5, or whatever AMD equivalent), a 7200rpm hard drive, 3GB+ RAM (or more if the OS is set to 64-bit), and a cool outer design.
Please do not listen to this advice. Lenovo is consistently the most expensive non-Apple laptop provider, go search it up on the site if you don't believe me. HP is pretty bad too so I would stay away from that. Also if your gf doesn't game, there is no reason why you would need more than 2 GB of ram, in fact I'm gaming with 2 GB ram (alien swarm, starcraft 2, wc3, portal, etc) with no problems at all. Nor would you need to spend anywhere near 8000 HKD, unless you are going for a 7200 rpm hard drive. In fact only a few days ago I bought a computer with i3-330M, 14" monitor, 2 GB ram, 320 GB hard drive and a 512MB ati card for 4000 RMB. I prefer getting a 32-bit OS for compatibility reasons. 14 inch monitor is plenty and try to get a discrete graphics card; an integrated one will use your RAM so it's nice to have a card with its own memory. 7200 RPM hard drive is a nice luxury to have if you are willing to pay the extra buck.
I would search up a model that matches the specs above (i3, 2gb ram, discrete card, 7200 rpm) but the site is a pain and doesn't offer rpm as a filter tool.
This looks like a pretty good value.
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On August 03 2010 09:50 writer22816 wrote:Show nested quote +On August 02 2010 23:58 synapse wrote:
I always always always recommend Lenovo for non-gaming laptops, very cheap for the specs and the newer (non-thinkpad) series look very sexy ;D
8000HKD is like 1000 USD right? That's ample for a non-gaming laptop. Just look for a decent dual-core processor (centrino, i3, i5, or whatever AMD equivalent), a 7200rpm hard drive, 3GB+ RAM (or more if the OS is set to 64-bit), and a cool outer design. Please do not listen to this advice. Lenovo is consistently the most expensive non-Apple laptop provider, go search it up on the site if you don't believe me. HP is pretty bad too so I would stay away from that. Also if your gf doesn't game, there is no reason why you would need more than 2 GB of ram, in fact I'm gaming with 2 GB ram (alien swarm, starcraft 2, wc3, portal, etc) with no problems at all. Nor would you need to spend anywhere near 8000 HKD, unless you are going for a 7200 rpm hard drive. In fact only a few days ago I bought a computer with i3-330M, 14" monitor, 2 GB ram, 320 GB hard drive and a 512MB ati card for 4000 RMB. I prefer getting a 32-bit OS for compatibility reasons. 14 inch monitor is plenty and try to get a discrete graphics card; an integrated one will use your RAM so it's nice to have a card with its own memory. 7200 RPM hard drive is a nice luxury to have if you are willing to pay the extra buck. I would search up a model that matches the specs above (i3, 2gb ram, discrete card, 7200 rpm) but the site is a pain and doesn't offer rpm as a filter tool. This looks like a pretty good value.
The best deals are never on a brand's actual website, you have to look for customizations at retail stores / sites like newegg. Sony is consistently the most expensive non-Apple laptop provider; Lenovo (while not the cheapest brand out there) is known almost solely for its T series (Thinkpads) that have very high specs for the cost. You can almost always get a 25%-40% price drop from the list price on Lenovo laptops, though Lenovo's newer laptops are much more pricey.
RAM is almost never a problem with gaming, laptops usually bottleneck with GPU power. Discrete graphics cards eat up more energy => less battery life, so integrated graphics are preferred on a laptop that isn't for gaming. 3GB is said to be optimal on both vista/windows 7, running XP doesn't require more than 2GB. 1000USD is quite a bit, 7200rpm HD should be expected.
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EPT
