college laptop

[rolofung]

i will be entering college this fall, and i need a laptop by the middle of august. i've been looking around am having trouble weighing the different options and prices, so please help me out.

important:

-durability/ build quality (my old compaq laptop screen broked after one trip on the plane)
-battery life, battery friendly processor
-relatively good portability (for bringing to the study lounge or library often)
-integrated wireless (b/g would be best, otherwise just b)
-3 year warranty or at least a warranty upgrade that is cheap
-CDRW drive
-of course, price! i have a $2000 limit, including the upgrades (ram, etc) and accessories (usb mem stick) i'll need

not that important:
-big hard drive
-DVDrw
-ram (always upgradeable for cheap)
-graphics (i don't game, but need enough for large picture editing/scanning and dvd viewing)

im looking for this laptop to last (hopefully) the next 3-4 years.

 

[Chello02]

I would reccomend Toshiba or IBM....

Basically i would stay away from Dell just because i deal with them alot as i work in the tech department at my school and all the dells that come in just dont have that "feel" to them. Seems like there not made very solid. Just my opinion.

I would reccomend Centrino as well... forgot that.. heh

 

[rolofung]

what about fujitsu? some people have told me their laptops are pretty solid...

 

[Wuzup101]

The three brands mentioned above (IBM, Toshiba, and Fujitsu) are all great manufs. Their notebooks are quite high quality (even though IBM's tend to be a bit pricy). If you're considering a dell don't consider anything but a Latitude. Personally I would also look into Apple's Powerbook line. I just purchased a 15" powerbook (see sig) for a hair under 2k w/ my ADC discount program ($99 initial/year includes latest OSes as they come out... so I'll get a free copy of OSX 10.4 "tiger"). Well worth the cash IMHO...

 

[Sahakiel]

Any way you cut it, a Centrino based system will fit your needs. Pentium M plus integrated wireless is pretty much the same.
If portability is important (IMO it's #1 for college) then get a subnotebook. They weigh less than 3lbs and some will have an optical drive. X40's are about 3.2 lbs with a 6+ Hr battery. However, optical drive only in docking station/media slice. If an optical drive is really important to you, T42 would be about the same weight and similar battery life, but bigger screen. If a T42 is too expensive, older T40's are almost exactly the same but cheaper, especially a refurb. I'm not really familiar with non-IBM notebooks except Dell (unreliable, but cheap w/ complete care) so can't really comment on much else.

 

[OdiN]

I would recommend a Dell. I have a 600m and it's great. I've owned several Dell laptops and the only problem I had was the HD failed once in one of them which isn't atypical of laptop hard drives. I had the replacement on my door next day.

I don't know why some people don't think the Dell's are built well. Compared to Compaq/HP and most other larger name brand books they are much better. They are no IBM or Toughbook or anything, but don't have the same price tag either. I'm a tech and I've completely disassembled and reassembled just about every brand of laptop and have found Dell to be built quite well.

 

[aswedc]

Originally posted by: Wuzup101
The three brands mentioned above (IBM, Toshiba, and Fujitsu) are all great manufs. Their notebooks are quite high quality (even though IBM's tend to be a bit pricy). If you're considering a dell don't consider anything but a Latitude. Personally I would also look into Apple's Powerbook line. I just purchased a 15" powerbook (see sig) for a hair under 2k w/ my ADC discount program ($99 initial/year includes latest OSes as they come out... so I'll get a free copy of OSX 10.4 "tiger"). Well worth the cash IMHO...

I wouldn't even get the Latitude if you're looking to keep the same machine for 3-4 years. I'm sitting on a Latitude D600 right now in class and the build quality still feels very cheap, I can make the casing creak just by picking it up. My PowerBook is much, much better.