Laptop vs Small Pc w/ LCD

[Xenon14]

My sister is going to college and she needs a new computer. I don't want to build anything, or at least keep consruction to a minimum so that if anything goes wrong she has tech support or warranty, instead of me.

In any case I'm looking at an Averatec. They're selling an awesome one at Walmart for $998. Here's a link: Averatec @ Walmart.

This thing is fully loaded, it has pretty much everything for a nongaming laptop. I was thinking of getting this or those small computers that are used for LAN gaming due to small case, etc (I just don't know of any pre-built models and how much they cost, i've just seen barebone setups). And then a 17" LCD which go pretty cheap $300-$400. Also keep in mind she just needs to be able to do basic stuff, word processing, internet, music, and video playback (so for the desktop a good/cheap 2D video card w/ DVI is all that is necessary).

What would you guys recommend? Any ideas/suggestions? Thanks.

 

[music]

ibook. she'll love it.

 

[imported_justbrowzing]

For that budget and her needs you just can't beat a laptop. It's one-stop shopping and she can move it wherever she wants.

In a small barebones system the only thing that comes close is the Msi megas, they're tiny & not so expensive & they've got cd/fm tuner off MB so you can have music w-out a boot. Kinda mini htpc. But they're little vaccuum cleaners when they get all hot & bothered.

 

[Frightcrawler]

Get a laptop. There will be less of a hassle for her, since it isnt as upgradable as pcs.
I recommend any IBM (The G or R series will fit your budget).

As a general rule, no gaming + no apple OS = IBM.
If you can afford it, of course.
IBM's customer service is better than everyone else, so you'll get peace of mind. The build quality is also better.

I recommend a pentium-m derivative (celeron-m, dothan are apart of pentium-m) laptop. She can go on battery for quite a long time if need be.
Good luck.

 

[DainBrammage]

Forget apple.... Everything she will want to buy including software will cost 2 to 4 times as much. If she is truely going to use the laptop make it a tablet so she she can actually use it outside in the sunlight when she gets tired of looking at the four walls in the dorm.

 

[Wuzup101]

Originally posted by: DainBrammage
Forget apple.... Everything she will want to buy including software will cost 2 to 4 times as much. If she is truely going to use the laptop make it a tablet so she she can actually use it outside in the sunlight when she gets tired of looking at the four walls in the dorm.

Um... no offence or anything but apple laptops use the same peripherals as pc laptops, hence they cost the same price. iBooks come nicely loaded from the factory with a host of decent programs so you don't really have to buy any more if you don't want to. Also, Panther has X11 support so linux programs will run on it. Open office will cover all her word processing needs if she doesn't want to shell out the money for an education edition of office 2004 mac. Then again my school charges $50 for that per lisence which isn't too bad and IMHO is well worth it. Bottom line is don't say stupid crap like that... because we all know that most companies (all the big players like adobe, microsoft, macromedia, etc...) charge the SAME PRICE regardless of the platform. It's hardly 2x to 4x more. An iBook or 12" Powerbook would probably fit her needs perfectly, would be easier for her to configure the way she wanted it, and would give her less problems with viruses and the like. I've only been a mac user for a few weeks, but I can tell you that as PC user for over a decade there are obvious benifits to the mac OS especially when running on a large virus ridden network like those at most colleges.

BTW... with cram and jam you can get a 12" iBook w/ cd-rw/dvd combo drive, 60gb hdd, 256mb ram, airport wireless g, bluetooth, a 20gb iPod, and applecare 3 year warranty for $1434 after the $200 rebate... that's hardly anything to laugh at. If you choose to drop the bluetooth it's under $1400... (these don't include taxes of course).

I'm not saying PCs are bad, but don't overlook the iBook, it's a hell of a deal. They also come with the whole iLife '04 suite, a radeon 9200 w/ 32mb of ram, svideo, composite, and vga out, powered firewire, usb2, etc...

If she wants a PC IBM would be my choice. Also make sure you invest in getting a decent Anti Virus program as if she's on a large network she'll end up getting a few.