Need laptop info

[dbrandel]

I will be a senior in college next fall, (IS Major) and my school is starting a new program that requires all upperclass IS majors to rent a laptop from the school. The school is going to charge us $1200 a year for a (I am sure) 2 to 3 year old used laptop that graduated Aviation students had before. Anyway, I don't want to spend that kind of money for a used laptop that I can only have for 1 year and not be able to keep after that year. I have been looking around the 'net for good laptop reviews/comparisons, but haven't had much luck. I am willing to spend around $1500 on a laptop (up-to, but not exceeding $2000). Any suggestions?

 

[Oyeve]

Dell has decent models starting around 1000. Check em out.

 

[apoppin]

I just got a very nice Inspiron 4100 from Dell for $1200 including extra battery and DVD-ROM. Search the Hot Deals forum, I think there is a promotion right now. (I got an external USB CD RW for those all important copies and backup)

It is a 866Mhz P-III-M/14.1" TFT 1024x766/320MB PC-133/(most importantly for gamers) ATI 16MB DDR Mobility Radeon. It is very powerful and will play Max Payne with no slowdowns @32 bit color and all details set to mid. If you require better gaming graphics the GeForce 2 Go is still more powerful (and expensive).

It is much better than I expected and I suspect I won't miss my desktop for the 10 weeks I am in Hawaii beginning next month.

EDIT: I am having trouble getting used to the smaller keyboard.

 

[Gunbuster]

"****requires**** all upperclass IS majors to rent a laptop "

You sure you have a choice? Some schools make you use the one they picked out

 

[GSOYF]

Everyone seems to like the Dell laptops, but I may be careful with buying them...My college also required the use of laptops for all students, however they forced the students to get a dell latitude through the school....needless to say that all the kids that i know who purchased one of those computers have had serious problems with them ranging from a simple bad HD all the way to a complete system meltdown.

The only other advice I can give you beyond that is that I owned a NEC laptop around 3 years ago, and I must say that I didn't have any real problems. My HD crapped out 2 times over 4 years, but NEC contracts airborne express to come directly to your house to pick up your unit, and then they fix it and get it back to you usually all within 3 business days. I do think that I heard compsuck bought NEC, and compaq sucks IMOP, so I may be weary of that. I am sure someone else can clear that issue up.

That is all the experience I have with laptops...I hate them so I do try to stay away.
-Mike

 

[Zenmervolt]

Here is what I put together last year before I got my ThinkPad:

Dell is decent if you buy a Latitude (the business model). The Inspirons have a spotty track record at best.
Sonys are nice, but nothing extra special.
Toshibas are rock solid (at least the Tecras) but tended to be slightly behind in terms of screen size and HDD size when I was looking.
IBMs are the most expensive, but also the most trusted. IBM's service and support is so good that it's almost unbelievable (based on my own experiences and the experiences of others), and the machines are astoundingly solid.

I went with an IBM ThinkPad A21p. You should be able to get a decent deal on an A-Series ThinkPad (I would reccommend the A22m) right now and I have to say that in my opinion you can't go wrong with a ThinkPad.

ZV

 

[dbrandel]

"****requires**** all upperclass IS majors to rent a laptop "

sure you have a choice? Some schools make you use the one they picked out

Yes, my school 'requires' that we buy a laptop through them, but I am sort of exempt because I work for the school's Help Desk, and will end up 'supporting' my own system. The only reason my school is 'requiring' a laptop for IS Majors is mainly as a source of extra money for the ISYS School...a fund raiser of sorts. I talked with the Dean, and he said it would be okay as long as I have PowerPoint and Word installed on my laptop.

 

[sciencewhiz]

I pretty much agree with Zenmervolt's assesment. I have a refurbed thinkpad A21m that I couldn't be happier with, cost less then a thousand too

One good place to look is the IBM ebay store:
http://www.ebaystores.com/store=23983696

 

[Siddhartha]

Keep an eye on laptops being auctioned on ebay. Every now and then there are new IBMs being auctioned by IBM and have full warranties easily within your price range

 

[jschuk]

IBM and Toshiba, not that I have much experience with IBM's. Do you know what the school is renting? It might be beneficial (as far as support) to stick with the same brand, but something newer and better of course.

 

[Ionizer86]

Build your own laptop

Anyway, there are some laptops out there that have Duron with the Morgan core. They cost around $1100 or so, and that sure looks nice for a mobile solution.