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Laptop for college?

redskins0756

By redskins0756
in The Tailgate

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redskins0756

redskins0756

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I'm doing some research on a laptop for college and I'm not sure what brand, size, features, ect. I should get. I will be attending Virginia Tech in the fall as a business major and I'm trying to do a little research now so I know what I'm looking for. Here are the requirements posted by the Pamplin College of Business:

* Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate (PC Platform highly recommended).

* 2009 Pamplin Business Microsoft Software Bundle (only available to business majors)

* Intel Core Duo 2.4 GHz (or faster) processor

* Memory - 2 GB Ram (or more)

* 160 GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM minimum)

* Audio Card (Speakers or Headphones also required)

* 128 MB+ Video RAM (or more)

* DVD+-RW drive

* 802.11a/g/n Wireless NIC

* 10BaseT Ethernet Card

* 2 GB (or more) USB Flash Memory Card(Vista ReadyBoost Capable recommended)

* 160 GB External USB Hard Drive (for backups)

* Inkjet or Laser Printer

* Warranty - 3 years Parts and Labor On-Site

My budget is up to $2500 which includes the computer, external HDD, USB drive, printer, warranty, mouse, ect. Basically everything that you need. I've never owned a laptop because I used a Dell desktop at home so I'm not sure which brands would be the best. My sister owns a Lenovo Thinkpad which she purchased last year for school and it's pretty good. I don't think a Mac would be a viable option because I would have to run Parallels or Bootcamp which I don't think would be worth the hassle. The interesting thing is that I've been seeing is that some companies like Sony are really trying to push these new 16.4" and 18" laptop sizes because they offer better viewing for widescreen movies (not necessarily something I need but the laptop itself was very nice). Obviously 18" would be too big but I don't know if 16.4" would be too big as well or if it's only a marginal difference between the standard 15.4". Also weight is another issue. The laptops I've been looking at generally range from 5 lbs. to 7 lbs. Would 7 lbs. be too heavy or is it again only a small difference from 5? Sorry about this being longwinded but I don't want to drop $2500 on something that will go dead within the first year or turns out to not have certain features I'm looking for.

Any suggestion appreciated :)

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ChocolateCitySkin

ChocolateCitySkin

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I'd probably suggest one of the new Latitudes. You should be able to go through your school for a discount. The Thinkpads are reliable but it doesn't look good at all.

A good resource.

http://www.notebookreview.com/

my x-41 is arguably the best computer i've ever owned. the thing is a freaking tank. i don't think i've turned it off in 3 years... i've dropped it like a 100 times... it never runs hot unlike the dells and hp.

i would say if you want something to play music, watch some movies, do some word processing and excel get a low end ibm. it'll last you like 5 years.

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[[ghost]]

[[ghost]]

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For the time being, stay away from HP.

I love HP, but being a PC Salesman I can assure you that their current crop of PCs aren't up to par. My shop is a certified HP Repair shop (which means anyone with a manufacturer's warranty on HP can come in), and we've seen an influx on teh amount of HPs needing to be fixed.

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Cooked Crack

Cooked Crack

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];6291133']For the time being' date=' stay away from HP.

I love HP, but being a PC Salesman I can assure you that their current crop of PCs aren't up to par. My shop is a certified HP Repair shop (which means anyone with a manufacturer's warranty on HP can come in), and we've seen an influx on teh amount of HPs needing to be fixed.[/quote']

My sis has a dv6000 and all of a sudden her sound went out. Looked on the internet and it's quite common. You get alot of those? Sucks that she's outside of her warranty.

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Spec138

Spec138

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I have a little Dell Inspiron 600m that I purchased in 2005 and it's still running strong. I did have to replace the battery recently and the power cord but the power cord was my fault.

Yeah, my battery is done as well.

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redskins0756

redskins0756

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You should PM SLAcky he's computer smart.

Also, VT OMG how exciting!!! LETS GO HOKIESSSSS!!!!

Hell yeah let's go Hokies!

But back to what I was asking about. I looked at the Dell laptops and they seem to run a little bit above my price range for the features they offer. While I do like that they offer 4 year warranties on their products, they seem to get you in some of the configuration options. They also hype up some of these computers as having Blu-Ray, but require you to add that on extra for $100 or so. Now I'm not going to use Blu-Ray necessarily, but I don't like how Dell misleads you in some ways with their advertising. Here's what I'm looking at so far:

Apple MacBook ($1839)

2.4 GHz

4GB RAM

320GB HDD

Apple Care (3 years comprehensive service plan)

Pros:

*Comprehensive protection plan

*Run both Leopard and Vista

*Apple reliability

Cons:

*Price

*Does not run Vista natively

*HDD is a little small considering dual boot w/ Vista

Dell XPS M1530 ($1569)

2.4 GHz

4GB RAM

500GB HDD

4 year warranty

Pros:

*Large HDD capacity

*Price is fairly reasonable

*Protection plan is 4 years

Cons:

*Reviews have called it "unreliable"

*Battery issue still prevelant?

*Dell "technical support"

Sony Vaio VGN-FW390 ($1735)

2.4 GHz

4GB RAM

500GB HDD

3 year warranty

Pros:

*Large display (16" widescreen)

*Long battery life

*Sleek design

Cons:

*Heavy, 6.7 lbs.

*Vaio has a stigma of unreliability

*Some complain about keyboard problems

So those are basically the choices I have right now. My mom owns a Toshiba laptop and I am very underwhelmed with what they offer. Like I said my sister owns a Lenovo Thinkpad which I would be open to getting, but it seems very expensive when you add the protection plan in compared to these computers with comprable features (and in some cases better). I don't know if 6.7 lbs. is too much for the Sony laptop, but right now that is what I'm leaning toward. I may take a trip down to Microcenter soon to try out some of these models. Until then I'm still open to suggestions.

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Ned Flanders

Ned Flanders

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Apple MacBook ($1839)

2.4 GHz

4GB RAM

320GB HDD

Apple Care (3 years comprehensive service plan)

Pros:

*Comprehensive protection plan

*Run both Leopard and Vista

*Apple reliability

Cons:

*Price

*Does not run Vista natively

*HDD is a little small considering dual boot w/ Vista

Dell XPS M1530 ($1569)

2.4 GHz

4GB RAM

500GB HDD

4 year warranty

Pros:

*Large HDD capacity

*Price is fairly reasonable

*Protection plan is 4 years

Cons:

*Reviews have called it "unreliable"

*Battery issue still prevelant?

*Dell "technical support"

Sony Vaio VGN-FW390 ($1735)

2.4 GHz

4GB RAM

500GB HDD

3 year warranty

Pros:

*Large display (16" widescreen)

*Long battery life

*Sleek design

Cons:

*Heavy, 6.7 lbs.

*Vaio has a stigma of unreliability

*Some complain about keyboard problems

I have been selling Dell laptops for 6 years now, and can tell you that if you require repair they are the BEST. I highly recommend the Dell BUSINESS Precision laptops. Most bang for your buck. I'd order that with an XP Downgrade, a docking station, monitor, and quad core processor for under that $2500. Dell Business support is US based also.

Mac's are great as well. Out of all of the ones I've setup over the years, I never have complaints. I own a macbook too, and have nothing bad to say about it. Their repair policy is a little tougher, as you have to bring it in for service - most don't break, so it's not really a concern.

Sony Vaio - they do break a lot. They are very nice/overpriced. If you require repair, most of the time, the whole laptop needs to be sent in for service - downtime can be two weeks.

That being said, it kills me to say it - I'd go with the Mac. Put parallels on it, and run Vista or XP. There are easy ways of upgrading the hard drive to a 500Gig if that's what you care about.

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redskins0756

redskins0756

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I have been selling Dell laptops for 6 years now, and can tell you that if you require repair they are the BEST. I highly recommend the Dell BUSINESS Precision laptops. Most bang for your buck. I'd order that with an XP Downgrade, a docking station, monitor, and quad core processor for under that $2500. Dell Business support is US based also.

Mac's are great as well. Out of all of the ones I've setup over the years, I never have complaints. I own a macbook too, and have nothing bad to say about it. Their repair policy is a little tougher, as you have to bring it in for service - most don't break, so it's not really a concern.

Sony Vaio - they do break a lot. They are very nice/overpriced. If you require repair, most of the time, the whole laptop needs to be sent in for service - downtime can be two weeks.

That being said, it kills me to say it - I'd go with the Mac. Put parallels on it, and run Vista or XP. There are easy ways of upgrading the hard drive to a 500Gig if that's what you care about.

"Easy ways" that also include voiding your warranty? I could buy a Mac laptop HDD online and have it installed by Microcenter or the Apple store, but they charge an inordinate amount of money to install. Just wondering also if your experience with Vaio laptops is related to the FW series specifically or older models?

if you're gonna get a windows computer get a lenovo thinkpad

That's one of the ones I'm considering. They have a huge selection of different warranties which I really like.

I have a HP Dv9000 and its money and was around $600 with 2G Ram and 160G HD, has webcam and microphone, Intel Pentium processor, and have had it for 2 yrs with no issues.

Someone already pointed out that the HP's right now are not as good because they will break down quite a bit. I'm looking for reliability and performance which from that makes me question their reliability. Also I've tried out a few of my friends' HP laptops made recently and their performance has been pretty underwhelming in my opinion.

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