I am planning to buy a laptop for my wife's birthday. It will be mainly used for general surfing the net, checking emails etc.

But if it doesn't cost too much more then i would like to load AutoCAD onto it, which means i could use it for surveying work as well.

What sort of specification should i be looking for, either with or without the CAD capability? Are there any good deals out there just now that are worth checking out? I notice Dell are doing quite a bit of TV advertising for their laptops...

Also, it will need the standard MS Office programmes and some sort of anti-virus software.

Thanks

I got this one (Compaq CQ-50) for just over £300. Decent spec although I'd recommend a ram upgrade from the 1GB standard, ok 15" screen and well enough for what she'd be using it for.

However make sure she doesn't actually use it on her lap (the top left corner gets HOT) and the mouse keys on this are looking like they'll cave in one day, although 8 months down the line they still work perfectly fine just feel a little pushed in.

If it weren't for the heat issue I'd wholeheartedly recommend it for the price