I need a laptop reccomendation for College

[niwi7]

Ever since ive been in 6th grade i've dealt with Desktops - building them, upgrading them etc etc...now I need to buy a laptop for college and I'm new to the whole go out and spend 1000 bucks and have a computer for you that takes no effort to...create lol

Anyway I don't know where to start looking... my price range is like 1000-1300ish and I am going to be using it mainly for multitasking word, aim, and itunes. I'll play the occasional game but nothing major. I just want it to be fast when I'm doing my regular routine of aim/word/itunes. I also don't want it to be real heavy. Help me out thanks alot

 

[niwi7]

1 more thing- my whole life i've hated macs...but i was in the apple store and i was playing with them..they actually are pretty cool. anyone think this could be a good option?

 

[Commodus]

http://www.apple.com/macbook

Now's the perfect time to buy, as there are an absolute ton of discounts you can get as a college student. You get $50-100 off the regular price if you go through the educational route (the online Apple store, for example, has an Education link on the right). Apple also just started a promo where you can get up to a $179 rebate if you buy an iPod at the same time (that means either a "free" 2 GB nano, or a major discount on more expensive models). There's also a Student and Teacher Edition of Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac that costs $149.

You can still play games on it - just don't expect to play many modern games, since it's using Intel GMA950 graphics. It's certainly going to be very fast for what you'll usually be doing. The most important thing is that a MacBook is great at doing what a student needs most. It's thin and light, so it won't add much strain to your bookbag; it lasts a long time on battery (3.5 to 4 hours with wireless on, more if you're in class typing notes with wireless off); and you won't have to load up on antivirus/antispyware/firewall software. It also has the neat trick of instant sleep/wake by closing or opening the lid with the power on. I also find iChat a better AIM client than... well, AIM!

Lastly, if you absolutely need it, you can run Boot Camp to dual-boot Windows (it's in public beta, but it works well so far). You'd need a copy of Windows XP SP2, but it could be really handy if there was a Windows-only game that you 'needed' to run. 🙂 Again, most modern games wouldn't run very well, but if that's not your focus then you don't have a problem!

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Originally posted by: Commodus
http://www.apple.com/macbook

Now's the perfect time to buy, as there are an absolute ton of discounts you can get as a college student. You get $50-100 off the regular price if you go through the educational route (the online Apple store, for example, has an Education link on the right). Apple also just started a promo where you can get up to a $179 rebate if you buy an iPod at the same time (that means either a "free" 2 GB nano, or a major discount on more expensive models). There's also a Student and Teacher Edition of Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac that costs $149.

You can still play games on it - just don't expect to play many modern games, since it's using Intel GMA950 graphics. It's certainly going to be very fast for what you'll usually be doing. The most important thing is that a MacBook is great at doing what a student needs most. It's thin and light, so it won't add much strain to your bookbag; it lasts a long time on battery (3.5 to 4 hours with wireless on, more if you're in class typing notes with wireless off); and you won't have to load up on antivirus/antispyware/firewall software. It also has the neat trick of instant sleep/wake by closing or opening the lid with the power on. I also find iChat a better AIM client than... well, AIM!

Lastly, if you absolutely need it, you can run Boot Camp to dual-boot Windows (it's in public beta, but it works well so far). You'd need a copy of Windows XP SP2, but it could be really handy if there was a Windows-only game that you 'needed' to run. 🙂 Again, most modern games wouldn't run very well, but if that's not your focus then you don't have a problem!

seriously, if you want to, get a macbook. they are VERY nice. well made, solid little buggers. i used to be just like you - i hated macs. but for laptops atleast and from a form + functionality point of view... macs are real nice.

 

[AmigaMan]

If you do go the macbook route, bump the memory up to 1GB, you'll be happier. My wife just went back to college to finish her degree and she's been threatening to take my MacBookPro to do work on (papers in Word and internet research). She absolutely hates my old Inspiron 9200 which she lovingly refers to as "the beast".

 

[pkme2]

You can checkout a Dell Inspiron E1505. Combined it with a "Dell Discount Coupon" and you can get an excellent laptop for college. Pick the coupon that fits your needs and use it at checkout. Don't worry about expiration dates, they do renew again shortly.

Couple suggestions:
Get at least 1GB RAM and do get Windows XP Pro. Better suited for college programs. Win XP Home is just that 'HOME'.

 

[Ionizer86]

It's easy to fulfill your wishes for good performance on Word, AIM, iTunes, etc. Any new laptop you buy would be fine for that. Now, you're looking for something light too. What kind of weight range are you looking at? Most 15.4" laptops (like the E1505) are around 6.5lb, 14" laptops go down to around the 5lb range, and then 12" laptops are usually around 3lb to 4.5lb.

It's also a good idea to look at battery life when buying a laptop too. Is 3 hours good? Or do you need 4, 5, or even 6?

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: pkme2
You can checkout a Dell Inspiron E1505. Combined it with a "Dell Discount Coupon" and you can get an excellent laptop for college. Pick the coupon that fits your needs and use it at checkout. Don't worry about expiration dates, they do renew again shortly.

Couple suggestions:
Get at least 1GB RAM and do get Windows XP Pro. Better suited for college programs. Win XP Home is just that 'HOME'.

OP, before you make your choice between XP Pro and Home, you should checkout the AT FAQ about the differences in the two: http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.aspx?i=74.

If you can live without those features in the FAQ I linked to, then just get Home. FWIW, XP Home works just fine for my wife who's in college right now and I have yet to find a "college program" that requires XP Pro. It's been my experience that unless you're connecting to a Windows Domain server, Pro is a waste of money. That being said, my work MacBookPro has XP Pro 🙂

edit: actually I may have to eat my words. I just re-read the differences in the FAQ, and it appears XP Home doesn't have SMP/multi-processor support. I wonder if this means that your CoreDuo will only run with a single core enabled? That would really suck.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan
edit: actually I may have to eat my words. I just re-read the differences in the FAQ, and it appears XP Home doesn't have SMP/multi-processor support. I wonder if this means that your CoreDuo will only run with a single core enabled? That would really suck.

I think it is the following: Home can run with up to two cores, Pro can go up to 4. I'm typing this on my XP Home, X2 3800+ machine - XP Home recognizes both cores.

 

[gus6464]

I second that recommendation on the macbook. I recently got one and its great. Only thing i added was 2gb of ram and it flies. Even winxp through bootcamp runs very well, all drivers work fine and only thing that doesnt work right now is the built in isight, but winxp still recognizes it as usb webcam so it will only be a matter of time before apple releases a driver for it. And also recently they released an app that makes the eject button and the right click work like in osx.

 

[pkme2]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: pkme2
You can checkout a Dell Inspiron E1505. Combined it with a "Dell Discount Coupon" and you can get an excellent laptop for college. Pick the coupon that fits your needs and use it at checkout. Don't worry about expiration dates, they do renew again shortly.

Couple suggestions:
Get at least 1GB RAM and do get Windows XP Pro. Better suited for college programs. Win XP Home is just that 'HOME'.

OP, before you make your choice between XP Pro and Home, you should checkout the AT FAQ about the differences in the two: http://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.aspx?i=74.

If you can live without those features in the FAQ I linked to, then just get Home. FWIW, XP Home works just fine for my wife who's in college right now and I have yet to find a "college program" that requires XP Pro. It's been my experience that unless you're connecting to a Windows Domain server, Pro is a waste of money. That being said, my work MacBookPro has XP Pro 🙂

edit: actually I may have to eat my words. I just re-read the differences in the FAQ, and it appears XP Home doesn't have SMP/multi-processor support. I wonder if this means that your CoreDuo will only run with a single core enabled? That would really suck.

Being a former educator, it is common knowledge that the Win XP Pro is the best choice for programs used on campus. I can't explain it more than that XP Home should be used at home and not in a professional environment like college or the like. The additional cost is negligible when it comes to education. One could never go cheap when other factors require professionalism.

 

[lazybum131]

A non-Mac alternative to look at would be the Dell Latitude D620. 14" widescreen that weighs 5lb with the 6-cell battery and optical drive. It should get almost the same battery life as the MacBook with the 6-cell, but you also have the option of an extended 9-cell battery and you can swap the optical drive for an additional 6-cell modular bay battery. The 9-cell + 6-cell modular battery would easily get you 7+ hours.

I just configured this for $1282 US:
Intel® Core? Duo T2400 (1.83GHz) 667Mhz Dual Core
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2, with media
14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel
256MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 110M TurboCache?
1.0GB, DDR2-533 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
80GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM
8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio Digital Media? and Cyberlink Power DVD?
Intel® 3945 802.11a/g Dual-Band Mini Card
Dell Wireless® 350 Bluetooth Module
6 Cell Primary Battery

Comes standard with a 3-year warranty. Has the option for a higher resolution WXGA (1440x900) screen. The NVS 110M is based on the go7300, so a low end dedicated card that's definitely better than the GMA900. Build quality is reportedly good, has a mostly magnesium alloy chassis.

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: pkme2
Being a former educator, it is common knowledge that the Win XP Pro is the best choice for programs used on campus. I can't explain it more than that XP Home should be used at home and not in a professional environment like college or the like. The additional cost is negligible when it comes to education. One could never go cheap when other factors require professionalism.

Forgive me, but this sounds like a load of bull. It is not common knowledge that XP Pro is the best choice for college laptops. Name a program used on campus besides Visual Studio .NET that won't run on XP Home.

 

[pkme2]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: pkme2
Being a former educator, it is common knowledge that the Win XP Pro is the best choice for programs used on campus. I can't explain it more than that XP Home should be used at home and not in a professional environment like college or the like. The additional cost is negligible when it comes to education. One could never go cheap when other factors require professionalism.

Forgive me, but this sounds like a load of bull. It is not common knowledge that XP Pro is the best choice for college laptops. Name a program used on campus besides Visual Studio .NET that won't run on XP Home.

Hey, I not trying to tell you anything new. If any want to use XP Home, it's up to them,
Even Microsoft agrees that Home is for home applications. You can augue until the cows come home, but the pros all use XP Pro. Enough said......🙂

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: pkme2

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: pkme2
Being a former educator, it is common knowledge that the Win XP Pro is the best choice for programs used on campus. I can't explain it more than that XP Home should be used at home and not in a professional environment like college or the like. The additional cost is negligible when it comes to education. One could never go cheap when other factors require professionalism.

Forgive me, but this sounds like a load of bull. It is not common knowledge that XP Pro is the best choice for college laptops. Name a program used on campus besides Visual Studio .NET that won't run on XP Home.

Hey, I not trying to tell you anything new. If any want to use XP Home, it's up to them,
Even Microsoft agrees that Home is for home applications. You can augue until the cows come home, but the pros all use XP Pro. Enough said......🙂

Wrong. You're just talking nonsense without a lick of support. How is the extra "professionalism" shown-- is a Word document differently formatted or something when you edit it on a Pro machine?

You wouldn't look so foolish if you offered even one way in which XP Pro is more "professional" than XP Home. It's an operating system, which runs programs. The running of those programs is exactly the same on both. XP Pro has AD support, etc., but that's got nothing to do with your claim.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

lol pkme2 go home.

 

[6000SUX]

After pricing up different machines, I think the MacBook may be your best bet! I also think you can save a little more money by using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Word. I've never used it on a Mac, but on Windows it's great. Put the money towards RAM or something.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: pkme2
Being a former educator, it is common knowledge that the Win XP Pro is the best choice for programs used on campus. I can't explain it more than that XP Home should be used at home and not in a professional environment like college or the like. The additional cost is negligible when it comes to education. One could never go cheap when other factors require professionalism.

Forgive me, but this sounds like a load of bull. It is not common knowledge that XP Pro is the best choice for college laptops. Name a program used on campus besides Visual Studio .NET that won't run on XP Home.

at the risk of going further off-topic, why doesn't VS.Net run on XP Home?

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: AmigaMan

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: pkme2
Being a former educator, it is common knowledge that the Win XP Pro is the best choice for programs used on campus. I can't explain it more than that XP Home should be used at home and not in a professional environment like college or the like. The additional cost is negligible when it comes to education. One could never go cheap when other factors require professionalism.

Forgive me, but this sounds like a load of bull. It is not common knowledge that XP Pro is the best choice for college laptops. Name a program used on campus besides Visual Studio .NET that won't run on XP Home.

at the risk of going further off-topic, why doesn't VS.Net run on XP Home?

I think you can install it, but you wouldn't be able to run many features. For instance, since XP Home doesn't support IIS, installing Visual Studio wouldn't let you do local ASP.NET development at all. You can, of course, do web development all day long on XP Home-- you'd just be using Apache or some other web server.

 

[Commodus]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX
After pricing up different machines, I think the MacBook may be your best bet! I also think you can save a little more money by using OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Word. I've never used it on a Mac, but on Windows it's great. Put the money towards RAM or something.

OpenOffice might be an option. It will certainly open and save common MS Office formats, and it's Intel-native while MS Office still needs to run in Rosetta. I would worry about getting MS Office if I was deeply worried about compatibility or listing MS Office in my resumé, but that's not necessarily likely. And you can always buy it later.