Need Help!! Laptop suggestions

[ILMORdude]

I have never owned one, am good with a computer but have no idea whats what
when it comes to a laptop. Its for my girl, shes getting back to school and needs one for the college life, again. Steer me in the right direction

Thanks!!

[Mark]

I'm not a pro, but you might want to see if a Tablet PC would be a good idea for her needs. Just something to consider. First, find out what and how she will use it, etc., etc.

[Chris]

I've bought a load of Dells and had virtually zero problems. Lenovo is also a good brand and Toshiba is as well.

[phragle]

delloutlet.com the do dells refurbs, come with the standard dell warrenty. youcan get a lot for your money and dells service has been first rate. I ordered one, last spring, it was about a $700 laptop. box came in 3 days, opened it and the screen got bsted in transport, called dell imed., 3 days later a new box showed up with a new laptop (this time a $1500 laptop, no extra charge for the upgrade, no extra shipping (put the old one in the new box, with there shipping label, called them and they sent dhl to pick it up again no charge.) it has been working flawlesly other than that you/she wants pretty much any dual core processor out, 2 gigs of ram minimum, 200 gig hard drive, built in wifi and a dvd burner, shouldnt be more than $550~600. Im running vista hme premium, no complaints, but if you dont have it allready, she will need microsoft office for school.

[ILMORdude]

good looking out fellas, thanks!!

[Perlmudder]

being in school, i can def say that a laptop is so clutch. although i spend a lot fo time in class surfing other sites (like this one), the fact that at the end of the semester when it comes time to study for exams and you can just print your notes is the greatest thing ever. i have a 14.1 inch hp with the extended battery, and its alright. i find the keyboard is nice, once you figure out all the short cut buttons, but the touch pad is wayyy to sensitive. i've put it on its lowest level of sensitivity and sometimes you just barely touch it and it will move the curser while you are typing. its a real *****. i have learned to change the way i type so its not as bad anymore, but for a newb its a pain. the biggest thing i would suggest is getting a laptop with super long battery life. mine started out getting about 4 hours now i get about 3 or so depending on what im using it for. the fact that i can take it to class on most days and do not have to carry a charger, or worse try and find a seat near a plug is the best part. everybody i know who has a macbook absolutely loves them once you get the hang of it. as far as getting one for university, i would check with them first and make sure that their essay submission programs are compatible. i know our schools is not, and you have to email it to someone with a pc so they can submit it for you. as someone else said, ms word is a must have, i've dicked around with enough of the writing programs and finally just downloaded a copy of it when mine expired. one last thing, if you are buying it to take to school, dont get anything over 15 inches, they are to heavy and usually get poor battery life. when i buy a new one, i will most likely go with a 12 or 13 inch mac book or pc because the 14.1 inch laptops dont have a case that fits properly (you have to use a 15.4 and its to big). if she is only using it for school, i would check out the 7-9 inch ones they make, i kinda dig them if i only had to type on them a couple hours a day. they are also cheap, like 300 bucks which makes them disposable after a year.

cheers,
josh

[insanity]

I had to buy a new one a couple weeks ago, working out of town and didn't realize I forgot my work laptop until I was 6 hours away from home (DOH!). Too many things on my mind I guess....Anyhoo to get me through the week I bought a Sony Vaio vgns130 from Circuit City for about $550. I don't remember all the specs on it but its a pretty nice machine for the price. 15.4 screen, intel dual-core, I think 3 gig ram and 160 gig hd. Luckily my cousin is looking for one so I'm selling it to him and getting some money back :D

[phragle]

DONT RUSH TO BUY!! the semester doesnt start untill mid jan. best buy, dell, circus city and everyone else under the sun will be having big sales over the next couple weeks. stick with name brands mentioned and a reputable dealer or reliable online (dell etc) NOT bubba's back room computer and auto detailing. you should easily find what you need for sub $500, so the advertised $450 one is out of stock and they want to sell you the $525 unit, make em throw in ms office. REMEMBER this economy, a new laptop is a discretionary luxury item. your the boss not the pimple faced kid at best buy, talk to his manager, they want to sell it more than you need to buy it.

[fund razor]

I went through this last year at this time. Laptop for college bound daughter. I got great advice from Chris and CigDaze and ended up buying a Dell after Christmas. I think it is a 1521 and I put the bigger battery, faster co processor and dvd burner in it. Added student 2007, a couple other software apps, better wireless card, wireless mouse, and a photo printer and was out the door for about 850.
A year later... it rocks and everybody loves it. No problems.

Like many things these days, a problem would land you on the phone with a nice Indian person. But... they tend to go out the door working.

[bluellama]

Another vote for Dell.
I have 3 desktops and a laptop from them, and just ordered another laptop Wednesday. I have a small business account, so I get to talk to my rep in Toronto, not India.
I ordered the last one on Wednesday, and the courier was here at 1:30 PM Thursday.... :D

[MarylandMark]

Don't buy the top of the line, newest model with all the features you will ever need to run a small country. I see people wasting money on $1500-$4K on laptops all the time.

Buy the $500-$900 one and get a new one every 12-15 months. Ebay the old one for $200-$400 to offset the cost, the $500 a year later will be 2000% times faster/better/quicker than the $4K one bought only a year prior.

I alternate- new work laptop every 12-15 months and then new personal laptop every 12-15 months so only have to buy one a year. I buy whatever looks like a deal- all of them will last 1-1.5 years. Last year went from a Toshiba to now on a HP, just got a Panasonic a few weeks ago to replace my Dell.

[fund razor]

Don't buy the top of the line, newest model with all the features you will ever need to run a small country. I see people wasting money on $1500-$4K on laptops all the time.

Buy the $500-$900 one and get a new one every 12-15 months. Ebay the old one for $200-$400 to offset the cost, the $500 a year later will be 2000% times faster/better/quicker than the $4K one bought only a year prior.

I alternate- new work laptop every 12-15 months and then new personal laptop every 12-15 months so only have to buy one a year. I buy whatever looks like a deal- all of them will last 1-1.5 years. Last year went from a Toshiba to now on a HP, just got a Panasonic a few weeks ago to replace my Dell.
With this plan... skipping the extended warranty is assumed.

[cigdaze]

Anothe vote for Dell from me. We have hundreds in the office, all working flawlessly. The only one that broke was one of my colleague's laptops because when his old lady threw him out of the house she punted the laptop across the lawn about 10 yards. The screen busted off, but amazingly the machine still ran fine plugged into a docking station.

I just got rid of my last Dell, I bought it in 2001, and it still runs fine, gave it to a buddy of mine, it was just too slow for me anymore.

The new one I bought is definitely sweet. I'm a fan.

[Tommy Gun]

Have had Dell, IBM and now a Sony Vaio; all worked fine, but the Vaio is by far my favorite...very compact, lightweight and loaded with features. I carry it home evey night, its been in the boat, dropped in my briefcase and have had it 2 years now without a problem.

Intel Centrino Duo, Windows XP, Nvidia graphics

[clayinaustin]

Buy a Dell (http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/top_picks?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=anavml)!

4GB of memory is a must. Also get Microsoft Office (not Microsoft Works).

Make sure it has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Built-in Mobile Broadband is nice, but not a must. If you get this option, make sure you have an unlimited data plan for the Laptop.

Good luck! :cool:

[MarylandMark]

With this plan... skipping the extended warranty is assumed.

LOL. Depends- I'm a fan of the "open box specials" big box stores have. 20-30% more off the sales price and come with a free 3 year in-store warranty (most of the time) which reads well on the eBay ad when I go to get rid of it. Floor models do very little computing- screen is where the failure most likely would be but I've never had one fail or go dim.

[Perlmudder]

LOL. Depends- I'm a fan of the "open box specials" big box stores have. 20-30% more off the sales price and come with a free 3 year in-store warranty (most of the time) which reads well on the eBay ad when I go to get rid of it. Floor models do very little computing- screen is where the failure most likely would be but I've never had one fail or go dim.

i spent 300 dollars on a 3 year extended warrenty. my charger broke, and they said they will replace it. i ordered a kockoff on ebay for 20 dollars in the mean that works fine. i guess we will see if anything will go wrong in the next year and a half.

[DollaBill]

I look in the "after-xmas" flyers on the 26th and buy the cheapest one advertised at Staples or Best Buy or whatever. Get a new one every year for 300-400.

[tommymonza]

Get her up with the times and buy her an Apple Macbook Air.Light and powerful.My girl has been an Applehead for years the best part is they are impervious to viruses.

[Andrew]

[/URL]
Get her up with the times and buy her an Apple Macbook Air.Light and powerful.My girl has been an Applehead for years the best part is they are impervious to viruses.

While MAC's are great machines (especially the one you mentioned), if you can afford one, but it's urban legend that they can't get viruses. Because MACs comprise a much smaller world market share than PCs, would be hackers don't spend the time because the reward would be so much less.

Getting back to the OP topic; have you looked into the new line of netbooks? My son is in college and these things are the rage where they are primarily used to take notes in class and portability and long battery life are priority.

I bought [URL="http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11312484&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US"]this one from Costco (http://http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11312484&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US)in store for $350 (it's $380 online :huh:) and he loves it. I've seen it go for $350 a lot (Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon) but got it at Costco because of their liberal return policy and 2 year warranty.

[Perlmudder]

[/URL]

While MAC's are great machines (especially the one you mentioned), if you can afford one, but it's urban legend that they can't get viruses. Because MACs comprise a much smaller world market share than PCs, would be hackers don't spend the time because the reward would be so much less.

Getting back to the OP topic; have you looked into the new line of netbooks? My son is in college and these things are the rage where they are primarily used to take notes in class and portability and long battery life are priority.

I bought [URL="http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11312484&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US"]this one from Costco (http://http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11312484&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US)in store for $350 (it's $380 online :huh:) and he loves it. I've seen it go for $350 a lot (Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon) but got it at Costco because of their liberal return policy and 2 year warranty.

thats what i was saying, those things look like they would be the bomb for class!

[Andrew]

thats what i was saying, those things look like they would be the bomb for class!

Sorry I didn't read the of end your post where you mentioned these types of laptops.

The keyboards are compressed somewhat so there is a learning curve to typing efficiently with one of these. Battery life is six hours with the standard battery and longer with an extended one ($50 more).

My son says he just kind of "free types" notes during class then later cleans them up, corrects any mistakes and saves them. Then like you said when he needs to study for an exam he prints them out to make a study guide.

[SHARKEY-IMAGES]

Speaking of keyboards.

Keep in mind some manufactures offer the number keyboard on the right. Most don't. If she will be working alot with numbers, look for a laptop with the keyboard that has the number keys on the right.

I know HP has them....

[ILMORdude]

Damn, i love these forums. Thanks for all your input!!

[phragle]

Speaking of keyboards.

Keep in mind some manufactures offer the number keyboard on the right. Most don't. If she will be working alot with numbers, look for a laptop with the keyboard that has the number keys on the right.

I know HP has them....

you can also get usb #pads.....