pcmag best laptops for college students image
alexisxnoe
I'm turning 15 years old, so my laptop would mostly be used for school work.
I spend most of my time on myspace, and have a site on there, which means, I need something to store a lot of memory, and for me to work easily with HTML.
I also need a webcam, because I want to get a Stickam account.
I was interested in a Mac, but I can't afford it.
I'm trying not to go over $800.00
My second chice was an HP.
Any ideas?
Answer
Go easy on the warranty and look for the best deal for about 599 to 699 and spend the rest on good software through your local community college or your school - you are a student so you can get the student pricing for Office or you can save the money and use Open Office plus your necessary website development tools. Consider the Microsoft Partner membership where you get all the commercially available business software four times per year and it is good for several PCs, and just 300.00 US per year for the subscription. Most PCs at retail stores will have an operating system but not much else, and the best pricing at pricewatch and Auctionfire.com and eBay - new PCs - may be for a bare computer with no software at all.
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.pcmag.com
http://www.techrepublic.com
http://www.pricewatch.com
http://www.dell.com/smb
http://www.dellauction.com
http://www.hp.com
http://www.toshiba.com
http://www.asus.com
http://www.factfan.com
http://www.fujitsu.com
Go easy on the warranty and look for the best deal for about 599 to 699 and spend the rest on good software through your local community college or your school - you are a student so you can get the student pricing for Office or you can save the money and use Open Office plus your necessary website development tools. Consider the Microsoft Partner membership where you get all the commercially available business software four times per year and it is good for several PCs, and just 300.00 US per year for the subscription. Most PCs at retail stores will have an operating system but not much else, and the best pricing at pricewatch and Auctionfire.com and eBay - new PCs - may be for a bare computer with no software at all.
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.pcmag.com
http://www.techrepublic.com
http://www.pricewatch.com
http://www.dell.com/smb
http://www.dellauction.com
http://www.hp.com
http://www.toshiba.com
http://www.asus.com
http://www.factfan.com
http://www.fujitsu.com
Can you help this computer illiterate buy a computer?
pigglet_pr
Ok. Here we go. I am buying a computer for college. I will use it to type papers, browse the internet, stream videos, and itunes. I have narrowed it down to these two...
http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/E4T18AV?HP-ENVY-TouchSmart-15t-j000-Quad-Edition-Notebook-PC
http://shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/C9G48AV?HP-ENVY-TouchSmart-15t-j000-Select-Edition-Notebook-PC
I am worried because I have not found any professional reviews (cnet or pcmag) and the select version does not have any customer reviews either (both computers came out this summer). I get the student discount which makes the quad $795 and the select $669.
I was just going to buy the quad, but after doing some research, I am not sure I need all of the power it has. The biggest difference I can see between the processor (i7 or i5). I have an i3 now, so I am sure either would be faster.
I am also worried about the difference in graphics (4600 vs 4000). Is it a big difference? I want the videos I watch to be pretty good, but I probably don't need top of the line (I'm assuming).
So basically I am asking if the extras on the quad would even be used with what I am doing on a computer.
I would prefer cheaper, but if it is worth it to pay the extra money, I will pay for it.
(I am upgrading to a full HD screen)
Answer
Most professors hate cell and smart phones, don't care for computers in a classroom, have little reference to video outside of those shown in class and have little space/time requirements for units on desks and time to set them up. Most classes are eighty minutes and it's hard to get that kind of battery performance without being plugged into the wall, and think if you have two to four classes per day what the ramifications are. Colleges provide computers in their libraries and computer labs to assist in completing homework. They are slow to upgrade browsers and major software. There is little need for a laptop at all. A home PC is where to put your money and you will need Microsoft Office 2010 and above. It will suffice for dorm or home. The college bookstores and Microsoft offer the academic software at a significantly reduced price, but only if you are enrolled in a class requiring it, like Excel, Access, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Publisher. Microsoft polices their products-diligently. An inexpensive laptop with 3G RAM and Windows 7 is the best investment. One good drop can send a laptop to the junk pile; don't go for a high end machine that can go south just as easy, when a cheaper unit will do all the necessary things for you and it is not as likely to be stolen. Hardware will be more economical and available for any necessary replacements as you go down the road. It is unlikely institutions will go for another operating system for several years and most of them just recently switched to Office 2010-I doubt there will be any changes from now, until when you get a Bachelors Degree in about 2016. The key to college is between your ears and requires ten hours of homework, weekly, for each class attended and is mostly about sticking your nose in the book. It would be best to invest in a digital recorder with Dragon capability dictation quality and record all of your classes. It can be discreet if needed, easy to use, cheap to operate and/or replace and help with your note taking, especially when the lights are out during a class video. It allows you to attend the class multiple times, doesn't forget anything, can be kept on all digital storage devices and emailed to any classmates unable to attend, or that cannot afford a recording unit. Sony wrote the book on dictation/Dragon capable digital recorders. Several hundred hours can be accumulated on the recorder in multiple folders or downloaded after each use. Your book bag will be plenty heavy and the laptop will be even more to carry, whether it is shouldered or in a rolling case, and become quite a burden. Left in a vehicle to extremes of cold and heat, as well as risk of theft, can be detrimental to a laptop. Wi-Fi sites are famous for hackers to mess with your life by chasing laptop compromises and glitches. Spend some more good money getting good anti-virus software-contracts on the units with IYOGI would do you well each year you are in school, on the home PC and a laptop for sustained and high quality use. I still go to college for five years straight, now, and will finish my current degree this December, 2013. I, also, work in the Science Dept. for all of the Biology, Microbiology, Physiology, Chemistry and Physics professors and take care of all the labs and environmental cabinets. All of the students I witness in these and my computer labs, I am a Computer Science major in programming skills, do not use laptops in classes, nor do I see them being carried. Geek guys like me have one, but with wireless keyboards and conventional mouse. The laptop has a compromised keyboard arrangement and the wireless is just like all others-eliminating having to learn two different patterns. A laptop keyboard wears out in about a year and is a pain to change. I can spend thirty bucks and get a new wireless keyboard and mouse quickly, leaving my laptop looking like new and less likely to have problems like dead keys and such. Don't pre-suppose the laptop issue. They are inherently slow, no matter how much RAM they have, and are very short lived. You will need competent Word skills immediately in all of your classes-go there get that right now! Take this class first and get the software and take little else as you do, preferably math or other computer class, like PowerPoint, or Excel. Note: pick a good minor that will employ you anywhere at a decent wage entry level, like Accounting, Office management courses, and management or Economics. This way you can work as you need and it will let you look for the big job when you're done, instead of low or zero pay internment. Lots to know before you go. Luck!
Most professors hate cell and smart phones, don't care for computers in a classroom, have little reference to video outside of those shown in class and have little space/time requirements for units on desks and time to set them up. Most classes are eighty minutes and it's hard to get that kind of battery performance without being plugged into the wall, and think if you have two to four classes per day what the ramifications are. Colleges provide computers in their libraries and computer labs to assist in completing homework. They are slow to upgrade browsers and major software. There is little need for a laptop at all. A home PC is where to put your money and you will need Microsoft Office 2010 and above. It will suffice for dorm or home. The college bookstores and Microsoft offer the academic software at a significantly reduced price, but only if you are enrolled in a class requiring it, like Excel, Access, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint and Publisher. Microsoft polices their products-diligently. An inexpensive laptop with 3G RAM and Windows 7 is the best investment. One good drop can send a laptop to the junk pile; don't go for a high end machine that can go south just as easy, when a cheaper unit will do all the necessary things for you and it is not as likely to be stolen. Hardware will be more economical and available for any necessary replacements as you go down the road. It is unlikely institutions will go for another operating system for several years and most of them just recently switched to Office 2010-I doubt there will be any changes from now, until when you get a Bachelors Degree in about 2016. The key to college is between your ears and requires ten hours of homework, weekly, for each class attended and is mostly about sticking your nose in the book. It would be best to invest in a digital recorder with Dragon capability dictation quality and record all of your classes. It can be discreet if needed, easy to use, cheap to operate and/or replace and help with your note taking, especially when the lights are out during a class video. It allows you to attend the class multiple times, doesn't forget anything, can be kept on all digital storage devices and emailed to any classmates unable to attend, or that cannot afford a recording unit. Sony wrote the book on dictation/Dragon capable digital recorders. Several hundred hours can be accumulated on the recorder in multiple folders or downloaded after each use. Your book bag will be plenty heavy and the laptop will be even more to carry, whether it is shouldered or in a rolling case, and become quite a burden. Left in a vehicle to extremes of cold and heat, as well as risk of theft, can be detrimental to a laptop. Wi-Fi sites are famous for hackers to mess with your life by chasing laptop compromises and glitches. Spend some more good money getting good anti-virus software-contracts on the units with IYOGI would do you well each year you are in school, on the home PC and a laptop for sustained and high quality use. I still go to college for five years straight, now, and will finish my current degree this December, 2013. I, also, work in the Science Dept. for all of the Biology, Microbiology, Physiology, Chemistry and Physics professors and take care of all the labs and environmental cabinets. All of the students I witness in these and my computer labs, I am a Computer Science major in programming skills, do not use laptops in classes, nor do I see them being carried. Geek guys like me have one, but with wireless keyboards and conventional mouse. The laptop has a compromised keyboard arrangement and the wireless is just like all others-eliminating having to learn two different patterns. A laptop keyboard wears out in about a year and is a pain to change. I can spend thirty bucks and get a new wireless keyboard and mouse quickly, leaving my laptop looking like new and less likely to have problems like dead keys and such. Don't pre-suppose the laptop issue. They are inherently slow, no matter how much RAM they have, and are very short lived. You will need competent Word skills immediately in all of your classes-go there get that right now! Take this class first and get the software and take little else as you do, preferably math or other computer class, like PowerPoint, or Excel. Note: pick a good minor that will employ you anywhere at a decent wage entry level, like Accounting, Office management courses, and management or Economics. This way you can work as you need and it will let you look for the big job when you're done, instead of low or zero pay internment. Lots to know before you go. Luck!
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