My son is starting college in the Eng. field. Recommend laptop that can handle large & fast programs?
491351
THE DELL PROMOTIONS ON LINE ARE HOT...EVERYTHING IN DELL IS COOL I HAVE 2 AT HOME AND THOUSANDS AT WORK AND ALL LAST LONG ....COOL FOR WORK AND HOME...
789519
I've had Dell, Gateway & a Think Pad by IBM.  \n\nThey are all pretty good.  How about an Apple?  I hear rave reviews regarding the Apple.\n\nGood luck..........study hard & have FUN!\n\n:-)
894506
The 1 GB of RAM will allow the system to run fast and should have no problems with multiple applications running. Size of HD is good for a laptop.
515928
Not bad, but here's what I'd look for:\n\n- Processor: Intel Centrino or AMD Turion 64. Sempron or Celeron are just too limited.\n\n- RAM 512MB is OK, but I'd go at least 1GB if possible.\n\n- I'd also consider some of the better-known brands like HP or Dell or Lenovo (IBM) Also, if you'd consider refurbished models, ecost.com has some good deals...
1038159
Hello,\n\nI have a new 15" MacBook Pro 1.83GHz / 512 Ram (upgrading to 2G when I get time and $) / 80GB HD / 4x Superdrive and I absolutly LOVE IT!\n\nI'm getting a program called parallels to run windows on it without rebooting.  And then cutting off all internet to windows.  It's true, once you go Mac you never go back.\n \nI'm a new Mac user as well but I've had a laptop (Compaq) for a few years now.  I wouldn't go for a laptop with less than a 15" screen because I use it for a long time and hunching over like that, squeezing your arms to type just isn't what I call fun.  I believe the MacBooks only come up to 13" if I'm not mistaken.\n\nMy laptop does get very, very hot but I have a cooling pad for it so it's not bad.  And it's comparable to my old Compaq, it would get very hot as well.\n\nIf you're a light user, you could go MacBook, if you're a student like me or you're going to be using it for long periods of time go MacBook Pro, your back is worth the extra $$
890757
Compaq is quite good. The ideal one would be an Intel Celeron though-great comp!
1060359
HP makes excellent all-around laptops. However, if it's for a student, I'd go with Dell simply because of their great warranty and support. Whatever laptop you decide to buy, make sure you also purchase an extended warranty. Things happen all the time to laptops when kids are at school. Beer spills on the keyboard, they drop them, they never update them or take care of them, etc... \n\nYour student needs to have the following software: Microsoft Office, Norton Internet Security (Firewall and Anti-virus), Spybot/Adware, and Mozilla Firefox. \n\nThe best kind of processor for a student is a dual core one. Students are often managing multiple tasks at one time, whether it be engineering, math, physics, etc... they need power. I suggest going with AMD Athlon Dual Core. \n\nThe expected life often depends on how good of care the laptop receives. It must have regular maintenance done to it, much like   a car. But keep in mind, anything can go wrong with a laptop. Batteries die, keyboards stop working, cables become bad, etc...like I said before, get the extended warranty and you'll be fine. Often times with those, if something is seriously wrong, the store in which you purchased it will give you a brand new laptop.
8189
Depends on what you want to use your laptop for, and how much you want to pay!\n\nAlso depends on choice of operating system - Windows or Linux or Apple !!!!\n\nIn my experience i suggest you take a look at the following which have performed excellently and good to high reliability -\n\n- Power Graphics, for Gaming - Alienware\n\n- For Multimedia: Sony Vaio\n\n- Desktop Replacement, including P4 processor - HP\nBut Heavy and Hot\n\n- Portable Laptop, long battery life, for business use: Dell\n\n- Ultralite portable: Toshiba Portege\n\n- Roadwarrior, Resilient, Longest Shelf and Battery Life, Most Optimized Performance : IBM Thinkpad\n\n- Rich schoolkid whose parents buy you a laptop and they have kind hearts but not too much idea of the real world or stuff on computers (or they work in education) - Apple :o)\n\nLowest reliability was Toshiba, then Dell, then IBM and Sony. Some Dell models such as Dell D400 (no longer available new) has been as rock-solid as the Sony and windows XP Professional on it has never crashed. Overall best performer is IBM Thinkpad series, but their speakers are not that good.
24500
It depends on what you are looking for but I would get one with at least 512MB of memory. In that category there is the Acer Aspire with an AMD Sempron 3000+ processor, 512MB of memory, 60GB hard drive, a 15.4" WXGA display (1280 x 800 resolution), a CD-RW/DVD-Rom drive, you aren't going to find a DVD burner in this price range and of course, 802.11b/g wireless for $600 (after a $200 rebate).  You will have to enter your zip code to see if a Circuit City near you has it because it is only available in store.\n\nThere are several other choices but none of them have the value that the one I have listed does, if you can find it, it is a very good value and should suit your needs provided you don't intend to do any heavy gaming on it.\n\nNewegg has something very similar for $769 but if you can find it at Circuit City, I would highly recommend doing so, buy it online if you can't find it in store.\n\nI wouldn't even consider a Dell or Gateway. I like laptops from Acer, Toshiba and HP.
450363
Speed is overrated, as you can't type faster than a Pentium 90 MHz CPU, unless you want to play game.  Same thing about memory unless you games are important.  256MB is plenty for most typical needs.  Your connection speed is more important. Lots of people like the Macs, but the market is far larger for Windows based PCs.  All the new ones have wifi and most have DVD-CDRW.  IBM and Toshiba are the best PC based laptops.  Now size is major.  Laptops weight between 4 to 10 pounds.  All the major manufacturers have products in that price range.  I like the latest from IBM the model T60.  However, they are expensive.
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).
753674
Go for the intel core2 duo processor. I prefer it more than AMD Athlon. I dont have an Athlon but I have seen people regretting their decision to buy AMD. Go for intel as your needs are quite simple. And by the way, which college offers degree in software engineering?
247158
neither - you should buy a dell!  i had an HP laptop and then bought a dell to replace it - its just better bang for your money!\n\nspecifically you should get an inspiron 6000\n\nEDIT::\n\ni just configured an inspiron 6000 with a 100gb hard disk and a DVD-RW/DL burner for $714.00 before tax and shipping (free for a little while)  Also this system has a dedicated graphics card unlike the 2 systems you are looking at
595417
Your question is very common, and this is what I have been telling all my friends when they want to buy a laptop:\n\n1. What are you gonna do with it? Typing papers, playing video games, editing audio/video, email, browsing internet?\n\n2. Based on your answer above, you can start looking what kind of laptop that suit best for your need\n\n3. When looking, make sure you consider the following:\n\n- Quality and support are number 1. I assume you are gonna use it for awhile. So you need "a tool" you can count on to get your job done anytime, anywhere\n\n- minimum hardware specs:\n\na. While some offer Celeron processor for budget oriented people, I recommend you at least get Pentium 4 or Pentium Centrino (if you need internet wireless capability)\n\nb. RAM at minimum of 512 MB\nc. Hard disk at min of 40 GB\nd. Windows XP\ne. Microsoft Office for student edition (if you are)\nf. Ethernet adapter (which is usually already built in)\n\nThe rest of configuration is up to you and...your budget :D\n\nHope it helps...
732703
My choice would definitely HP Pavillion (the dv1000 and dv 2000 series).\n\nI have had Toshiba (cpu heats up in 8 months)\nI have had Sony (too expensive for brand sake)\nI have had Gateway (little cheapo on keyboard.. keys fall out in 5 months)\nI had DELL (stay away !!! beware )\n\nThis is the 7th laptop I am using in last 3 years (my company provides me with all these gadgets) of which I had 2 HP pavillions. I have had no problems with them. light weight, looks slick-n-sexy, remote control,.. best ever ! )\n\nHope that helps.\nhappy surfing :)
880251
Compaq models are the best, you can get in the entry level model in that price . if you are in chennai and want to buy immediately please send me your details to contactsynergysystems@yahoo.co.in, i will help you
887708
You can find what you want on E-Bay.  I don't know how fast you want it but E-Bay will have it.\n\nI got a 650 mhz IBM Lenovo for less than $200 and it serves me well.