A Question for College Students and Recent Graduates

[adam4925]

Simple question:

Do most people use their notebooks for standard work (typing papers, email, web surfing, music) or do people also use them for gaming? I'm not talking about the computer engineering people either, just non-engineering students.

Thanks.

 

[Tikerz]

I don't use my laptop for gaming. That's what my desktop is for. I use my laptop to be productive. For some reason I find that I get more done on my laptop. Probably because I can't game on it.

 

[Bloodstein]

A bit both i would say. I'd say 'bout 90% work and 10% gaming.

 

[adam4925]

Yeah, thanks for the input.

I was just thinking, if I'm not going to use my laptop for gaming then I really don't need the top of the line notebook just something small, light and that will allow me to type up a few reports, nothing fancy. However, if I do want to do something more with it, I guess I'm just going to have to shell out more for a laptop with a really good video card, considering that I won't have any room for a desktop (freshman year at least.)

Thanks.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

i do everything on it most of the time. i just got my notebook. i use it as my main computer for work. but the only game i play is warcraft3 so it's not too demanding. otherwise it's mostly for all my programming work and paper writing and music/dvd entertainment. for $1200 area, i consider it a pretty good deal. at least when i compare it with my friend's ibook.

 

[vegetation]

Pay the extra money for a sweet graphics card and better cpu on a laptop, you'll find yourself gaming on it more often than you think. Once you get a laptop and enjoy the freedom of it, you don't ever want to go back to a fixed computing position.

 

[Looney]

Yeah, i used mine for standard work. No gaming though, that's what my desktop is for.

 

[Bloodstein]

When it comes to gaming, it's really a personal question. I dun really game that much. So a flash graphics card won't even be worthwhile on my desktop, let along my laptop. But, if ur an addict, then it'll prolly be worth the money for u to get a flash graphics card...

As for cpu...I hve a golden rule I always follow. Buy a cpu a few clock speeds lower than the fastest currently on the market. That way, u'll get true band for ur buck!

 

[ceo2b]

Originally posted by: Bloodstein
As for cpu...I hve a golden rule I always follow. Buy a cpu a few clock speeds lower than the fastest currently on the market. That way, u'll get true band for ur buck!

That is a really good tip. Yesterday I was questions should I get the 1.6 over the 1.4 ghz P-M. Sometime was like the performance difference was negligible and to save the 300-400. Now hearing your tip and realizing that even when I bought my desktop I settled fro the 800 or 900 Mhz versus the 1gig systems.

I love this place man!

 

[HokieESM]

I don't think I've EVER played a game on my laptop (other than Snood... damned addictive game). Work (anything from typing a report to browsing the articles in the library to post-processing an FE run) and browsing are about all that I do. Oh, and give presentations at conferences (can't forget that).

 

[CoBRaXT]

I was thinking of this exact same question.

I'm going to be attending college this fall and I'm not sure if I want to bring my full monster tower pc with me =/.

I'm going to be majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Computer Engineering so would it be
worth my time and money to get a laptop?

Are the dorms really that small that you don't have enough room for a desktop/monitor?

Thanks for any advice

David

 

[TKHDebater]

I've played very few games on my laptop as a college freshman... I think you'll find that there's a lot of better stuff to do depending where you go; then again, i was never a huge gamer to begin with. I'd say just go with a laptop that can handle most stuff but not get top of the line video as you probably won't end up playing as much as you think you will. Good luck and have fun

 

[adam4925]

CoBRaXT-

Yeah, I was thinking about these three computers (all Centrino)

1) Acer 803LCi
2) Dell D800
3) IBM T40(p)


As for gaming performance, the Dell takes the cake followed by the Acer and then the IBM. Only issue is that the Dell has a really nice 15.4" widescreen but is not that thin and light which makes me a little reluctant to get it. The IBM is great on the weight/size side but it has middling graphics performance and only a 14" screen. The Acer, I think, gives the best of both worlds. At under 6lbs and not too bad in size, it has a 15" screen, great performance and a really sweet video card. It is also the cheapest of the bunch. However, I have heard some not-so-great things about Acer in the past and I'm worried that it won't be the best quality (even though I've heard from many that they've really improved.)

You see my problem?

Oh well. I'm just sitting on the topic for a while since I'm probably not going to get one until later this summer.

As for the dorm size, at my school the size of the room isn't the problem. The desk space, however, is. They're just regular desks (not meant to have a space for towers) with a shelf space above the work area. That means that I'm either going to be putting the tower under the desk where my feet are (or up on the desk itself) plus find room for a monitor that will fit on the desk and under the shelf. If I'm lucky, I may have a few square inches left on which to write on my desk! A laptop simply takes up less space. (Much less, regardless of the size.) Plus, I want to have the ability to take my notebook with me if I go home over the holidays, or if I just don't want to do work in my room!

Adam

PS: Where are you going? UMD here.

 

[sparkyclarky]

The word of the day is loft. I've got a full receiver and surround sound setup, 21 inch monitor, and all of the other trimmings in my double. The space is there, you just have to find creative ways to utilize it. Use your desktop for games, and be productive on the laptop. That's what I do

 

Originally posted by: Tikerz
I don't use my laptop for gaming. That's what my desktop is for. I use my laptop to be productive. For some reason I find that I get more done on my laptop. Probably because I can't game on it.

 

[Gibson486]

Well, I am in Engineering, but my roommate is not. He uses it for everything. Gaming, work, movie.

 

[igowerf]

I found that getting a laptop for gaming is a huge waste of money. I got an Inspiron 8200 in September with a GeForce 4 440 Go. It was already outdated when I finally got the laptop. On top of that, I can't really upgrade without voiding my warranty. It's big, heavy, and loud too.

The 600m seems to have changed things, but I still suggest against spending the extra money for the faster video card. You could use the money to get a faster CPU or hard drive. In the long run, you'll be happier with a laptop that can load things quickly and can hold a good amount of files. On a university campus, you'll probably end up using it to surf the web wirelessly.