What is the overall best laptop for a college freshman?keep money in mind but dont let it limit you. pc please
355277
Now a days, quite a few computer companies are targetting college students as a potential market for their laptops. Companies like DELL have introdeced a whole dedicated range that meets this new breed of consumers. But what does one keep in mind to buy a good laptop for college purposes. Lets analyze.\n\nFirstly, one needs a laptop for email, browsing, making and submitting assignments etc. For this one would typically need a wireless LAN, a good processor (Probably a Centrino Duo), atleast a 256 MB RAM and a CD writer (preferably with a DVD Rom to watch those occasional DVDs in your room). A dedicated graphics card will be handy if one is also an occasional gamer, but it not really required for college purposes. \n\nBut most importantly one needs to buy from a company that provides very good after sales service. Laptops are more complex than desktops and spares are not easily available in the open market. This is where DELL beats most of its competetiors. With thie on site next business day service, one really doesnt need to bother running to the store etc.\n\nHowever, the choice of a laptop is pretty personal and individualistic. The above analysis will help one to make the right decision.
333203
A notebook is better because you can take it around. A desktop you can't take around. But the desktop will be much cheaper and it will be faster. A desktop can do more stuff. If your in college or going to college or do work where you move around a  lot then it's worth getting a laptop. But whatever you get make are you have a lot of RAM-memory. The more RAM you have the faster your computer will perform.
983591
Dell comes to mind. Everybrand has good and bad models it mostly melts down to the stats.\n\n\nI suggest you get an AMD or Intel processor most of the new laptops will have powerful AMD or Intel processors. Of course I would grab dual core processor witch should be no problem almost every knew PC or laptop uses dual cores.\n\nYou will want at least 1GB of ram.\nYou will want at least 80GB of hard drive space probably more around 160GB.\n\nIf your main desire is gaming DO NOT get a laptop even the best and most expensive laptops are only half as good as the average desktop at gaming.  Many laptops can handle medium end gaming quite well but you will need to look into that before you buy it.   If your looking for something to web browse , play light or medium end games well , and look at video or pictures what I listed above will be enough.\n\nAlways research a PC before you buy it and get advice from at least 2 people because any 1 person can be wrong.\n\nSo ASK twice buy once....\n\nEdited--- I have not used much Laptops but I hear dells are ok. The one you hate will probably be a lot different from a new modern laptop or desktop but If you looking at a desktop dells suck. Go with HP if you can they rock!  But I away custom build myself witch if you were into gaming I would for sure go custom but your not.  From what you say your looking for almost any average laptop or Desktop thats HP or Dell will be good.  I like HP over dell for sure when it comes to desktops I would never touch a Dell desktop. But when it comes to laptops Dell it high up on the charts right now.   \n\nRemember AMD or Intel dual core CPU. 1GB or ram or more and at least 80GB hard drive place.  Get that and you will be laughing from viewing videos , pictures and web browsing. Note with this setup you can also multitask this is no weak PC.  Remember the newer the better.
975453
Get Alienware.....awesome machines....as long as you don't mind spending a little bit more for it. If money is an issue and you want something cheaper, I recommend a Dell. Don't go with Compaq or HP if you can avoid it, they are just proprietary, production machines.
1168001
DELL & HP is always a good brand to select and make sure it has microsoft on it! If you need to have a look at some reviews on various laptops go to http://www.cnet.com/\n\nalthough, Lenovo 3000 N100 (Core Duo 2GHz, 512MB RAM, 100GB HDD) is a great laptop at a middle of the range price ($1364) and delivers excellent preformance! \n\nHowever if you are looking at a more cheaper laptop then the Lenovo 3000 N100 (Core Duo 1.66GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD, DVD Writer) is what you need at a cheap price of anywhere from $800 to $1000. This laptop may be cheap but its preformance still packs a puch and would be perfect for someone just starting University or a Small Business owner!\n\nGOODLUCK WITH UNIVERSITY AND BUYING A NEW LAPTOP, I HOPE THIS INFORMATION WAS USEFUL FOR YOU :):):) AGAIN GOODLUCK!
990311
With a desktop, you can get a more-powerful and versatile computer for less money.\nWith a laptop, you can bring it to classes and meetings.\n\nIf you don't care enough to get a *better* computer, get the laptop, but if price and capabilities are important, get a desktop.\n\nIf you just need a computer to take notes in class and other such functions, you could get a desktop and a cheap, used laptop for the same price of a good laptop.
1152620
Since you are a collage guy so i am guessing that you will use it to connect to the net to do some research, so your should have a computer having the following (I have listed these according to your specified price. You may get all these features and even more under 40K, but according to me these are of utmost important to a college guy.)\n\n1) At least 2 USB drives (To use your USB peripherals like thumb   Drive or mouse)\n\n2) Ethernet and internet ports (To connect via. Lan or dial -Up)\n\n3) Wireless connectivity (For internet on the go)\n\n4) Card Reader (To read your Mobile or PDA's memory card)\n\n5) CD-RW/DVD Drive or DVD writer (To burn Cd's/DVD's)\n\n6) 40 - 60 GB HDD and 256 MB of Ram\n\n7) Good battery back up (At least 4 - 4.5 hours)\n\nNow according to the above list your best bet is a \nCompaq Presario V2623TS(EX029PA)\n\nIt has got everything i listed above and much more. It cost Rs. 37000 approx. and weighs around 2.5 Kg but the weight shouldnt matter considering you are a student and you wont carry it that much.(you can also try the lenovo thinkpad C series but the features dont seem much appealing)\n\nWELL NOW THE CHOICE IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE\n\nPS: You must consider carrying a USB Thumb drive having a capacity of atleast 1GB so that you can have a backup of all your files because you never know when a Machine will Bug you out.
1081705
Which ever Mac you choose, yes. I just graduated, and did the same research.  Especially if your campus has wireless access all over the campus. All of the best students that I knew had Mac's. You can go to the University website for info about computer requirements. You can also go to the Apple website for special discounts for students.
401551
dude i just bought a gateway intel celeron m, extra wide screen, windows xp edition, has eerything u will ever need for it....its lke only $400....cheap but awesome! it is better than dell, dells are ok but if u buy certain ones they suck...i used to hate freekin gateway more than dell but this one is perfect. i bought it at best buy but if u liv in vermont, which u prolly dont never go there! ok well u can look it up on bestbuy.com or somethin.....but is the cheapest 1 u will get, and the same quality as a stupid dell xps...i kno my cuz haz one an we compared them....they are about equal so just go with the cheaper 1....kk? yeah listen to me.. :)
165922
a laptop bu far. a tablet pc is like an overworked calculator. if you want power performance and quality at a very atractive price go with dell. go for a bussiness laptop instead of a lawer ened consumer one. but a laptop has everything a desktp has exsept shrunk( hence why they cost so much) tablet pcs are more for the fedx man. i mean he only logs what he takes off his truck and what goes on it. not much there.
893637
at your selection chance are you're not going to find oen for under 1200 for a core 2\n\nthat processor itself is alteast $800, 2gb of Ram is around $200\n320gb of hd is aournd $200, if you looking a widescreen a 17 is aournd $100 plus this is only a barebone u still neeed software,video card,sound card ...etc..\n\nusally wait for the holiday to come back, they have great deals on it.:). you will notice they trying to sell as much they can because they need invenotry space. buying during the holidays allow you to get those deals so u can really get a great deal on it.\n\nDepend on what you mainly going to use for and what type:\nI would say if you are jusing for mainly interent surfer,and school/office work \nyou don't need all those power but a good company to go with are \nemac,hp and compaq. they are great for low end users :)\nthey are cheap. you can your spec on those pc and they usally around your price. although they don't have good customer service.\n\nif you thinking  watch movies (movies that are HD support like h.246 XD)  and playing games on it. \nGateway (bestbuy carries a lot of them) is the best way for teh cheapest deal.\nDell has a better costumer service so yoru not a computer techie dell is a great way to go.\nSony is still the best and leading one because they ahve the advance technology in there. they aren't cheap.\n\nif you are a computer techi :)... you shoul djust build it your self ti's nto too hard and you do save a lot of money plus you get to pick what type of motherbord you wana so if your a hardcore gammering ABIt and ASUS are pretty nice compare to Dell Motherboards. \n\nIf you going to get a Laptop:\nget a Dell or a Gateway thsoe usally will fit your budget.\nif you willing to spend more, Sony are the best way to go. Now if your not oging to carry it around with you. like this laptop is mainly stationaly you shoul dget a big one so watch movie on it. if you are carring around try to get a less weight on it.
1013602
dell inspiron E1505.\nits the best!!
250341
Look.  Forget CPU speed, RAM, all that crud.  Focus on the weight of the laptop and how comfortable it is to use.  Make sure the screen looks good and doesn't hurt your eyes. \n\nMake sure it has a good wireless card so you can connect to the internet from anywhere (there are tens of thousands of unsecured wireless networks out there).  Also it should have a decent battery life (more than 2 hours) so you don't have to plug it in all the time. \n\nThen figure out how much you want to spend and get the most expensive one you can afford with all the above features.  You'll be the happiest if you get a lightweight laptop that you enjoy using, moreso than if you get a heavy one that has a lot of RAM or whatever.  Seriously.  If you get so tired dragging the thing around you'll stop wanting to use it.\n\nMost of the time you'll never even notice if it slows down loading a program.  The only way you can check the relative performance of most current laptops is with a benchmarking program -- with normal usage they're all about equal (unless you're playing graphics-intensive games on them, in which case, you need a desktop not a laptop, silly).
1117124
Software wise, being that you'll probably be connected to some sort of public network to use the internet, I recommend purchasing Norton Internet Security. It has both an anti-virus and firewall applications rolled into one package.  Connection to your college campus network is usually free and only takes a cable and some configurations which I'm sure the information your college will provide for you.\n\nAs far as laptop brands and prices, this is where research on your part will come into play. Prices will vary depending on what comes with the laptop so it all goes to how much you want to spend to get what quality and features you desire. Here's some personal tips on brands...\n\nDo not purchase HP, Compaq, or Gateway. Although they're the cheapest to buy, they're also the cheapest in quality. Built poorly and with many cheap components, you'll find problems with these brands for years to come.\n\nDell and Toshiba can be pricey for medium-grade laptops. They're not bad to have, but each come with their own problems. Toshiba has come down in quality over the years since the company has decided to keep the costs high and use cheaper parts. Dells are the same and have frequent hard drive failures although steadily their products are improving.\n\nThe best, and most expensive are Sony and IBM. Both are quality laptops to own, but with a price. Highly recommended if you want to spend the cash. IBMs, however, aren't the fanciest to look at but it depends if you want something for people to marvel at or quality in parts and product.
57897
i got my laptop at sams club. payed 1300 for it tax and all. It has a gig of ram and 100gig hardrive. Its an hp and has 128mb of memory devoted to graphics. its also a widescreen KILLER FOR GAMES. It a HP Pavillion Dv4000, and it also has a remote.. so try sam's club or cosco's
491512
I used to be a student and I completely understand the budget concern. Here is what I can tell you:\n\n1. Quality and support is your most highest priority because you are going to use it until your graduation (probably longer than that). So you want a laptop that you can count on, right?\n\n2. Get RAM at least 512 MB, assuming you will use Windows XP\n\n3. Processor: You can go with Celeron, but I prefer you go with Pentium 4 or Centrino (if you want to have wireless internet capability)\n\n4. Ethernet port built in (optional modem built in)\n\n5. Hard drive space min 40 GB\n\n6. If possible, get virus software to protect your computer\n\n7. Microsoft also offers different version of Office suite. I believe there is a suite targeted only for students. I think it's called Microsoft Office for students. It has Word, Excell, and some other stuff. This suite is definetely cheaper than the other versions.\n\nThat's all. Just for your starting point, try looking at Dell Inspioron B120.\n\nTips: Sometimes if you go to campus store, they might have special price for students for software and computers. It is well worth of checking, considering every penny counts...
598691
Buy a nice laptop WITHOUT A GRAPHICS CARD. And don't buy anything fancy that will get you distracted.\n\n90% of the students in my college have laptops. Even the few people who use desktops usually have an extra ultraportable laptop. Even though we end up using laptops like desktops most of the time, we still carry them around often enough that getting a desktop would be burdensome. For example, it's extremely useful to be able to carry a laptop back home during the breaks.\n\nAnyways, here's my suggestions for laptops:\n\nMainstream:\n- 15-17" monitor\n- 1GIG Ram\n- Intel Centrino 1.7GHz (dual core or single core) or AMD Turion 1.8GHz\n- 60+GIG HD\n- DVD+/-WR\n- any non-discrete graphics card (unless you're one of the few who can play games and still pull off A's: in that case, get a ATI Mobility 9700 or X1600, or nVidia 6600/7600 go card). If you're really crazy, you can get a laptop with AMD Athlon X2 with SLI 7900GTX's. Yes, such a laptop exists, but in that case, you might as well go with a desktop because extra cooling will allow for higher clock speeds.\n\nOr you can go portable:\n12-14" laptop or tablet pc\nlow power intel centrino or amd turion\n1 GIG Ram (still, doesn't take much space)\n40GIG HD\nDVD+/-RW drive\n\nit's definitely up to you to decide, but i'd stay away from desktops because you'll end up carrying your laptop at least a few times during the year. however, if you end up getting a desktop, you should also get a tiny external hard drive or large flash drive so that you can carry information around.\n\ni hope this helps