Ineedinfo
I am trying to figure out what computer to buy my daughter for college. I want to get it now for her birthday so she can get used to the new windows 7 (she currently has vista).
I would like recommendations on:
Screen size for a student (not too small or too big), processor brand/type, how much RAM, how big of a hard drive and any other information such as brands or places that have good deals.
She uses it mostly for internet research, writing papers and downloading photos from digital camera. I have researched walmart.com and have seen Dell and HP for $500 to $800 and look like they are similar with regards to whats under the cover so I can't tell what I should be looking into.
They have this one for $800
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Dell-17.3-Inspiron-1750-Laptop-with-Intel-Pentium-Dual-Core-T4300-Processor-Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Microsoft-Office-Home-Student-Editio/12960906#Specifications
and a couple just like it for just over $500 without microsoft office. I think I know someone who can download that for me or can get it at my sons college for pretty cheap though unless this is just a great deal or something with it already installed?
Any suggestions would be great. And should I buy the extended warranty? They seem to be so darn expensive compared to the computer.
Thank you for looking
She does have music on her computer, but doesn't do gaming.
Answer
Thanks to netbooks, the prices of laptops have been forced down quite a bit--so that means your $800 will actually get you a lot more bang for your buck.
So lets gets started, why dont we?
1. Find it online - here are a couple of excellent places to find some good deals:
http://slickdeals.net/ http://www.newegg.com/ http://www.tigerdirect.com/
and currently my favorite -- http://dealnews.com/ because it separates the deals into categories.
As a matter of fact, their first category are laptops!
2. If you're more of a touchy-feely type of shopper, then BestBuy might be a good option for you.
They have a group of laptops they call the "Blue Label" laptops
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Misc/Blue-Label/pcmcat161100050036.c?id=pcmcat161100050036
that fits right into your budget. Check it out online first, then go to the store to actually see the laptops in action.
Based on the type of use that you are expecting from the laptop, what I most recommend is juicing the memory to as high as you can muster without incurring too much extra cost. Any processor in that price range will work just fine; if deciding between two laptops, always pick the one that has more memory rather than a faster processor (the processor difference will be unnoticeable to your kid). So bottomline, dont settle for less than 4GB of RAM.
As for the necessary software basics like MS Office, etc, they get student discounts on that, so get it separately. Bundled software are annoying, and they tend to add other stuff they want to sell to you, hence, theyre called bloatware. Plus, there's a bunch of free alternative software on the internet anyway.. You really should check out www.download.com <-- owned by CNET, they have tons of free software available.
Lastly, should you get the warranty? My answer, YES and NO. It depends.
YES-- if first of all it covers screen replacement protection, and if it covers you for at least 3 years. Sadly, I consider only 3 years as a reasonable lifetime for a laptop. If it lasts longer than that, just be happy and continue using it till it decides to croak. Having a warranty gives you peace of mind, so that in case something goes wrong with your purchase at the mid-way point (1.5-2 years), you're not stuck with the problem of having to buy a brand new laptop all over again.
NO--if you're cheap like me =) and somewhat adventurous with your investment money. A lemon laptop, just like most devices i would think... would show its true colors (under regular use) well within a year, and therefore within a standard manufacturers company. I would say that if a laptop survives its first year, chances are it will survive for the next couple of years. Needless to say, your daughter has to take good care of it though--go buy a nice padded case, not much rough handling, etc. you get the idea.
Sorry for the lengthy answer, but I wanted to make sure that all the points were covered. Hope this helps.... Curious George.
Thanks to netbooks, the prices of laptops have been forced down quite a bit--so that means your $800 will actually get you a lot more bang for your buck.
So lets gets started, why dont we?
1. Find it online - here are a couple of excellent places to find some good deals:
http://slickdeals.net/ http://www.newegg.com/ http://www.tigerdirect.com/
and currently my favorite -- http://dealnews.com/ because it separates the deals into categories.
As a matter of fact, their first category are laptops!
2. If you're more of a touchy-feely type of shopper, then BestBuy might be a good option for you.
They have a group of laptops they call the "Blue Label" laptops
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Misc/Blue-Label/pcmcat161100050036.c?id=pcmcat161100050036
that fits right into your budget. Check it out online first, then go to the store to actually see the laptops in action.
Based on the type of use that you are expecting from the laptop, what I most recommend is juicing the memory to as high as you can muster without incurring too much extra cost. Any processor in that price range will work just fine; if deciding between two laptops, always pick the one that has more memory rather than a faster processor (the processor difference will be unnoticeable to your kid). So bottomline, dont settle for less than 4GB of RAM.
As for the necessary software basics like MS Office, etc, they get student discounts on that, so get it separately. Bundled software are annoying, and they tend to add other stuff they want to sell to you, hence, theyre called bloatware. Plus, there's a bunch of free alternative software on the internet anyway.. You really should check out www.download.com <-- owned by CNET, they have tons of free software available.
Lastly, should you get the warranty? My answer, YES and NO. It depends.
YES-- if first of all it covers screen replacement protection, and if it covers you for at least 3 years. Sadly, I consider only 3 years as a reasonable lifetime for a laptop. If it lasts longer than that, just be happy and continue using it till it decides to croak. Having a warranty gives you peace of mind, so that in case something goes wrong with your purchase at the mid-way point (1.5-2 years), you're not stuck with the problem of having to buy a brand new laptop all over again.
NO--if you're cheap like me =) and somewhat adventurous with your investment money. A lemon laptop, just like most devices i would think... would show its true colors (under regular use) well within a year, and therefore within a standard manufacturers company. I would say that if a laptop survives its first year, chances are it will survive for the next couple of years. Needless to say, your daughter has to take good care of it though--go buy a nice padded case, not much rough handling, etc. you get the idea.
Sorry for the lengthy answer, but I wanted to make sure that all the points were covered. Hope this helps.... Curious George.
Best Laptop For College Student?
Q. I will be starting college in the fall and could use a new laptop. I currently have a Toshiba Satellite A505-S6005. It still runs and I have no "big" complaints with it except for the fact that over the past few years it has become sluggish and glitchy despite hardly any memory being used, etc. The three main names I have looked at are Toshiba, Lenovo, and Dell. Unfortunately, I'm no expert on technology, so I need help deciding what I should invest in.
I have a decent amount of music and pictures, I am not a fan of touch screen so whether or not the laptop has one does not matter, I need a DVD/CD player, and nothing too heavy and bulky (my current laptop weighs a ton.) I'm not sure if it matters, but I'm not going to be using much math/science programs with it either.
I definitely can not afford a Mac, nor do I want one considering a lot of the Microsoft systems I would need to use are not as compatible on them and I am not a fan of their set-up. (I have also been told by several students they do not work as well on the campus.)
I am sorry if this rambled on, but I figured the more info to help direct me somewhere the better. Which brand do you think is best to last a four/five year college student and maybe even a particular model? Thank you!
I have a decent amount of music and pictures, I am not a fan of touch screen so whether or not the laptop has one does not matter, I need a DVD/CD player, and nothing too heavy and bulky (my current laptop weighs a ton.) I'm not sure if it matters, but I'm not going to be using much math/science programs with it either.
I definitely can not afford a Mac, nor do I want one considering a lot of the Microsoft systems I would need to use are not as compatible on them and I am not a fan of their set-up. (I have also been told by several students they do not work as well on the campus.)
I am sorry if this rambled on, but I figured the more info to help direct me somewhere the better. Which brand do you think is best to last a four/five year college student and maybe even a particular model? Thank you!
Answer
Mac is really expensive as compared to other laptops but it does not means others do not have good features. The preference you have mentioned are Toshiba, Lenovo and Dell. My vote would be for Dell because they have really reliable and durable laptops and particularly it has a model of Dell Inspiron i15N-3910BK which is really good for its features and affordable price of under $500.
It has Intel Core i5 3210M 2.6 GHz with 6 GB DDR3 RAM which is really good processor for an efficient performance. It has a huge storage capability with 1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive and it has 15-Inch Screen. So overall nice laptop for a college student like you.
Look at this for further details:
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i15N-3910BK-15-Inch-Laptop/dp/B009FX7CGS/ref=zg_bs_565108_5&tag=faowiw-20
Here is a comment from an actual user:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1ENRFTEJTOH6R/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B009FX7CGS&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=faowiw-20
Mac is really expensive as compared to other laptops but it does not means others do not have good features. The preference you have mentioned are Toshiba, Lenovo and Dell. My vote would be for Dell because they have really reliable and durable laptops and particularly it has a model of Dell Inspiron i15N-3910BK which is really good for its features and affordable price of under $500.
It has Intel Core i5 3210M 2.6 GHz with 6 GB DDR3 RAM which is really good processor for an efficient performance. It has a huge storage capability with 1 TB 5400 rpm Hard Drive and it has 15-Inch Screen. So overall nice laptop for a college student like you.
Look at this for further details:
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i15N-3910BK-15-Inch-Laptop/dp/B009FX7CGS/ref=zg_bs_565108_5&tag=faowiw-20
Here is a comment from an actual user:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1ENRFTEJTOH6R/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B009FX7CGS&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=faowiw-20
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Title Post: What laptop is best fit for new college student that is under $800?
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Rating: 100% based on 9998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown
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