I'm going to college this fall and I'm planning to buy a new laptop. What would be the best bet for me?
494196
It depends on how much you want to spend. If you're on a budget get Dell. If you have money to burn, get Dell.
263760
Dell is pretty good overall, but not the best.  For general use, you can pick Dell, HP, Toshiba, Acer ... etc.  Recently, I bought a Acer 8200 for school and for general programming stuff, and a Sony SZ-120 for business and they're both are very good computers.  As to the 6400, the 6000 has received great reviews, and 6400 is so new that not too many reviews are out yet, so why don't you wait a bit longer.  What is your major?  Most laptops last about 2 to 3 years, and a bit less on the battery.  Good luck!
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.
138206
yes, depends on what your looking for.\n\nTo be portable then go Centrino and make sure you get a Pentium or the newer Celerons which 512 cache, SATA drive and at least 512MB ram.\n\nTo get a desktop replacement which will be faster but heavier and have less battery life you go with a P4, 2.6 or higher but watch for the price break at over 2.8.\n\nBrands are another matter, each has a plus and a minus. Dell has great prices and quick turn around if your notebook dies however their support is lacking in my book. 90% of the time their first action for any support call that they cannot figure out in a few minutes is to reload your OS. This does not seem to matter what the problem actually is, a reload will fix it, Not. IBM which sold off to Lenova still makes a top of the line notebook but I have heard some issues surrounding support. You'll still pay more for a Thinkpad but it might be worth it. Gateway still makes some good stuff however everyone is scared they might not hang around much longer, I tend to disagree and they are pricing stuff pretty well.\n\nOf course there are still Acer, Compaq, and dozens of others out there including "whiteboxes" which tend to be just as good as well. Truthfully they are all pretty good but as with most things you get what you pay for. That said for $500 you can get a pretty good machine from Staples during their sale tomorrow and Monday. With a one year warranty on a name brand system for $479 how wrong can you go.
685216
The MacbookPro is definately worth the money.  The "overheating" that is spoken of is due to it working so dang fast (in not so technical terms).  People that complain of it are most often using this portable computer as a laptop... don't put it on your lap... the bottome does get very warm.\n\nThe new 17 inch has some more amazing features, such as better stereo speakers, remote,  and amazingly large lcd screen.  It comes with Tiger OS and ilife '06 bundled in.  \n\nI agree the Macbook is a large investment (get the applecare protection plan on it), but you may get a lower price if you have anything to do with a local school or university (attend, teach, alumni).  Their student pricing is extremely reasonable.
881931
Go to a reputable computer store and ask to speak to someone who is knowledgable on laptops.\nTell them what you need the laptop to do and how much you have to spend. They will show you alternatives. Do that in 3 or 4 stores, then go on the Internet and save yourself up to 10%.\nIn other words, get the best that you can afford. All manufacturers have good and bad models. A shop assistant who deals with them everyday will know the best (and worst)
51672
I would suggest that you either go for a Dell, HP, or a Toshiba.  Sony Vaio are pretty expensive and the most over-rated laptops.  IBM Thinkpads and Apple iBooks are good on performance, but far too expensive.\n\nI have a Toshiba and I have worked for HP, so I would definitely recommend these.  Toshiba laptops are pretty rugged, quiet, have beautiful screens (among the very best), have terrific multimedia qualities like good speakers, multimedia buttons for playing DVDs without booting the computer, a host of media ports like SD, XD, MMC, Compact Flash (for transferring photos from your digital camera), etc., decent sized keyboards, 100 GB hard drives for storing your data, wireless network adapters, etc.  I haven't had issues with them and the customer support is fantastic!\n\nI would recommedn the Toshiba Satellite series and the HP DV series.\n\nDell lately has been having a lot of problems with their batteries and have been recalling many defective laptops.  My roomies have had problems with brand new Dells too.\n\nFor better reviews and customer ratings visit this website.  It will be a good guide.
1124217
I agree Toshiba and Sone and HP are great.  Be very careful if you buy online to not buy from the huge warehouses like TigerDirect.  They buy up all the old stuff, sell it cheap and don't offer good customer service or parts.\nLaptops are expensive and not easy to upgrade.  So unless mobility is your motive don't get one.  Save ur money and invest in a nice flat screen and box.
40548
There are many things that you need to look for when buying a laptop. One is how much RAM is there (512MB at least). Another one is, what is it proccessing speed ( I would say 1.4GHz or better.) Something else that you want to look for is, how big the hard drive is. Depending on what you are going to do with your laptop probably I would say 60GB should be good you can always go bigger!!! One of the last thing I could tell you to look for is What type of video card does it have. This also depends on what you are going to do but a video card with 64MB of RAM or more.\n\n     Another option that you might want to look at is how long the battery life is. Also if it has a laptop expansion slot.\n\n  I hope this helps you on your decision.
918090
I would say do some research on your own. Each laptop is different  and you should get one that best for you. My friend and I did and we loved ours. He got a Acer and I got Gateway.
328737
If you want a PC laptop, the best choise is Acer! \nBut Apple is the best on the music and other staffs!(If u can use macOS)
62151
If your primary activity will be internet browsing you don't need to buy a $1300 laptop of any brand. I agree you only need to make sure it has good connectivity options. After that, just think about the size want and you'll be good to go. The best deals right now are in 14" and 15". I would recommend a sub-$1000 H-P/Compaq or Dell. Acer will work as well, although their service isn't as responsive as H-P and Dell.
502249
Notebook for as low as $500 won't get you a new computer.  I find it impossible to find it, but you can still find notebook, refurbished or used in that price.  It depends where you bought the refurbished notebook as different stores has their own policy - some would even carry the same warranty as a new one.\n\nIf you're looking for used, try www.Craigslist.org\n\nIf money is no object, electronic stores or Dell for instance has great price usually around this time (graduation gift) or near school starts.
750202
I would not purchase a laptop from Walmart.  \n\nEasiest thing to do would be to buy one from CompUSA, Circuit City or BestBuy.  I do not recommend one of the other but they are all retailers that sell a large number of systems and many times have reasonably knowledgeable representatives.  I would stay away from any system with a anything lower than the following specs....\n\nRAM Storage 1 GB (1000MB)\nHard Drive 120 GB\nOS - XP Home or Pro\nDVD \nIntegrated Wireless Card\nI also AMD chips but you could make an argument that Intel Chips are just as good.\n\nRAM is Random Access Memory - basically it is work space.  When the machine is turned off anything in RAM is lost\n\nHard Drive is where your data is stored including your operating system, word processors and any papers you may be writing.\n\nProcessor - AMD/Intel is actually the brains of your machine.\n\nOperating system - Windows - this is your graphical interface you use to navigate the computer\n\nDVD - allows you to install from DVD and watch DVD's on your laptop.\n\nWireless - will allow you to easily connect at Wireless Hotspots (i.e. on campus, airports, hotels, etc.)\n\nHope this helps!
523058
The specs are great. Make sure you shop around for the best deal first try PC World and http://www.dabs.com but you can't get a laptop of much better quality than that.\n\nHope this Helps!
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
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!