Laptop Advice

[pfunk880]

Ok, so I need a laptop for college next year. I've got a $1500 budget, I can go around $200 or so over if I really have to. I'm trying to sqeeze the absolute most I can out of my money, something that's going to have the power to still be a good machine four years from now.

What would you guys recommend for me to get the most for my money?

[nyyanksfan20]

Re: Laptop Advice

Ok, so I need a laptop for college next year. I've got a $1500 budget, I can go around $200 or so over if I really have to. I'm trying to sqeeze the absolute most I can out of my money, something that's going to have the power to still be a good machine four years from now.

What would you guys recommend for me to get the most for my money?

Considering I was in the same position as you last year I can tell you what I did. I got a 9300 Inspiron from Dell. It has a Geforce 6800 Pro in it if your into playing PC games. It cost around 1400. When I was looking around last year I found Dell to be the better value than the rest. And I love my 9800 so i'd def recommend it.

The only problem is its kinda big 17" widescreen and all so if you plan on carrying it it may not be the best option.

[Herbsinator]

Re: Laptop Advice

Have you thought about a Mac?

[TheMatrix31]

Re: Laptop Advice

Whatever you're gonna do, if it's from Dell, make sure to use one of those fat coupons (20% off, 30% off) they have.

[pfunk880]

Re: Laptop Advice

Have you thought about a Mac?

Aren't they generally more expensive?

I don't want to sound ignorant, I've just never been much of a Mac guy. And I would like to do a little bit of gaming.

[billmatic]

Re: Laptop Advice

Whatever you're gonna do, if it's from Dell, make sure to use one of those fat coupons (20% off, 30% off) they have.

agreed.

i got mine when they had the $750 off $1500 deal going. every once in a while they have some ridiculous deals, i guess when they want to clear inventory.

[Herbsinator]

Re: Laptop Advice

Aren't they generally more expensive?

I don't want to sound ignorant, I've just never been much of a Mac guy. And I would like to do a little bit of gaming.

Well...where are you going to college at? Chances are you can get a student discount and that will lower the price of a Powerbook to around 1500 bucks.

[pfunk880]

Re: Laptop Advice

Well...where are you going to college at? Chances are you can get a student discount and that will lower the price of a Powerbook to around 1500 bucks.

Bradley.

They have a discount with Dell, not sure about Mac.

[nyyanksfan20]

Re: Laptop Advice

agreed.

i got mine when they had the $750 off $1500 deal going. every once in a while they have some ridiculous deals, i guess when they want to clear inventory.

Yeah that too forgot to mention that.

[pfunk880]

Re: Laptop Advice

I'm looking at Dell, HP, and Sony right now.

Leaning towards Dell, especially since they always have great sale prices, and I can add like a 6% student discount on top of that.

[dieselboy]

Re: Laptop Advice

I have a Dell, Inspiron 600m (with upgraded specs), that I bought in August of 2004.

[DXZeke]

Re: Laptop Advice

When i saw the Thread Headline, seriously, I thought it said "Lapdance Advice"..... im not kidding. Sometimes working 3rd shift makes you see things crazily. Mad Cow

[Silverstring]

Re: Laptop Advice

Aren't they generally more expensive?

I don't want to sound ignorant, I've just never been much of a Mac guy. And I would like to do a little bit of gaming.

Apple might SEEM more expensive, but thats only because they don't offer one of those bargain-basement Dell-type $500-$700 laptops that you see eligible for those huge coupons or in some compusa clearance sale. Apple's cheapest laptop starts at $999.

If you take a Dell laptop and price it out, spec-for-spec, to what an Apple laptop offers, you'll see the difference is negligible(see here for one example: http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/02...on2/index.php). Add in the included software that comes with a Mac, which is very difficult to match on the PC side, and the value becomes clearer. I know it would be a little past your price range, but with a student discount, the new 15'' Macbook pro base model is $1799 after student discount(Bradley DOES have an educational discount with Apple). Compared to a Dell, build quality is better, the laptop is lighter and thinner, and some specs can't be had with a Dell.

If you decide Mac is not the way to go, I would recommend Lenonvo or Sony, but NOT HP or Dell. I know some people swear by them, but I know more than a handful of people who went in a different direction(mostly the Apple route), because their Dell laptops failed. And I hear horror stories about HP laptops all the time-they're big, heavy, creaky monsters.

My biggest piece of advice would be this, as someone who bought a new laptop specifically for going to college, and am now on my second: don't sneeze at one or two pounds of weight or an inch or two of size, because you're seduced by specs and price. THose small increases may not look like much on paper, but the minute you have your laptop in a bag with a couple of other books, you WILL feel it, and regret it. You don't want to be leaving your laptop behind because its too heavy, or struggling in class to pull your monster out of your bag and place it on one of those half-desks most college classrooms have. Battery life suffers with the bigger and heavier laptops too. Regardless of which manufacturer you go with, I wouldn't recommend going with anything over 15.5 inches and 6 pounds MAX.

Good luck with your decision.

[MC Fatigue]

Re: Laptop Advice

In my opinion, stay the hell away from MAC's.

One thing I'd look for is battery life, if you're going to be possibly using it a lot while not plugged in.

The battery life on my laptop is shameful - but I almost never use it where I don't have power, so it wasn't a big deal for me.

I have a VAIO - it's ok, but I don't know if I'd go for one again.

[bergie56]

Re: Laptop Advice

If you are buying a laptop, make sure you allow the battery to die from time to time. Having it constantly plugged in can kill the battery. I have always found battery life to be sustained in consumer electronics by not charging them everyday and letting the battery get really low. Maybe it has just been conincidence though.