Best laptop for a college bound student?

Haley H

I will be going to college in the fall and have been looking at laptops but im not sure which ones are crappy and which ones are going to last a while and work good. I have been looking at macs but they only come in black and white right? Any suggestions?

Answer
If you want a personalized, reliable and quick advice, you should check out ProCompare.com (http://procompare.com/top/notebooks). They have a recommendation engine that ranks laptops and other tech products based on ratings and reviews from a community of trusted IT professionals. They also have a cool personalization slider that lets you personalize the results based on the criteria that are most important to YOU.

Hope you'll find this answer useful...

What laptop should I get?

Mark

Hi, I am a college-bound freshman and I am having some trouble deciding which laptop I should get for school because there are so many options. First, I would like a PC, not a Mac, just as a personal preference. I am looking for more of a higher end, quality laptop, but nothing too ridiculously expensive, because I would like to have a laptop that will last me a while. Lastly, I would like to have the computer be pretty well rounded in its functional capabilities; I am mostly interested in having it for the basic needs of a college student (word processing, video playback, web searching, etc.) but I also like to do a little bit of online gaming here and there, nothing too serious though. Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Answer
ASUS laptop.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230987
Core i5 3230M(2.60GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory DDR3 1600 500GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce Dedicated 2GB GT 610M 1 Year Accidental Damage/30-Day Zero Bright Dot

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230416
Core i5 3210M(2.50GHz) 14.1" 8GB Memory 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce Dedicated 1GB GT 620M

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230597
Core i7 3630QM(2.40GHz) 15.6" 8GB Memory 1TB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW NVIDIA GeForce Dedicated 2GB GT 635M 1 Year Accidental Damage/30-Day Zero Bright Dot

These HP that can be customized to what you need, Bump the APU and ram for better performance.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/C9W57AV;pgid=c7twGfjc0ptSRpIq7ZUcoGXQ0000fb8mNv9y;sid=NID2W1inOb6JXwkRbh2qz4GoAJwzDmy78dUe8LW2AJwzDtPc7Kuhl6jI?HP-ENVY-15z-j000-Notebook-PC Starting at $530

http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-Pavilion/D1H55AV;pgid=c7twGfjc0ptSRpIq7ZUcoGXQ0000fb8mNv9y;sid=NID2W1inOb6JXwkRbh2qz4GoAJwzDmy78dUe8LW2AJwzDtPc7Kuhl6jI?HP-Pavilion-17z-e000-Notebook-PC Starting at $450 Your choice of 4 colors

These are not customizable

http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/C2K91UA;pgid=c7twGfjc0ptSRpIq7ZUcoGXQ0000ptFcn-Ce;sid=UfkUk5vYup7bi8p-xu5OB0LXZeXRxq_ElKxaT319WyKZOCFLk0_Q5UIX?HP-ENVY-Sleekbook-6-1110us
HP SleekBook AMD Quad-Core A8-4555M APU AMD Radeon HD 7600G 4 GB DDR3 500 GB SATA (5400 rpm) $700

http://www.shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Laptops/HP-ENVY/C2N66UA;pgid=c7twGfjc0ptSRpIq7ZUcoGXQ0000ptFcn-Ce;sid=UfkUk5vYup7bi8p-xu5OB0LXZeXRxq_ElKxaT319WyKZOCFLk0_Q5UIX?HP-ENVY-dv7-7230us-Notebook-PC
17" DV7-7230US laptop AMD Quad-Core A8-4500M APU AMD Radeon HD 7640G 6 GB DDR3 750 GB SATA (5400 rpm) $750

Brand buying advise

You get what you pay for. Systems with high end parts with low prices are to be viewed with suspicion. They have to cut corners somewhere to get the price down.

Apple makes a good quality laptop. The problem comes when it requires service or minor upgrades. It is near impossible to do anything with them. They even glue the battery and hard drive down so you can not change it. They solder the ram to the logic board so you can not increase it. They lock up most of the software so your stuck with what they approve.

Lenovo has serious stand behind their product problems. They bought IBM PC division and proceeded to drive the quality of the system into the ground. Their customer service is well below par. They even makes Dell customer service look good. The last and final thing to remember about them is they are a Chinese Government own company. It is up to you if you want to trust them.

Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony should be avoided because of their heavy modification of Windows and the drivers. If you remove some of the bloat they install, you can cripple the system.

Acer, Gateway, and eMachines should be avoided period. Low end system that are driving the race to the bottom.

Dell once made a good system and fell from grace. They are now struggling to regain their place in the market. Customer service is one of many problems with this company.

Alienware are glorified Dells and are more name then product. Priced extremely high for what you get. They do perform but you can get the same for less by looking around, just not packaged to be eye candy to the gamers.

Samsung has a history of using cheap parts in critical areas. Capacitors has been one area Samsung has a known history of going cheap, causing units to fail early. For that reason I would avoid them.

ASUS and HP do not modify Windows as bad as the other manufacturers. They have excellent build quality. They might add a lot of bloat but they also makes it easy to get rid of it.

Ultrabooks are the higher end of Wintel laptops but they have some of the same concerns as Apple. They make it next to impossible to change any hardware in them. Service of them will have to be done by the manufacturers. With most of them, you can not change your own battery or hard drive. They are designed to catch your eye but they are not any more special then other laptops except for the fact that they are slim or thin. Your paying for it being thin and slim. For the money your going to spend on it you can buy a much better laptop with more power.

Hybrids are the worse of the worse. The flip or detachable touch screens are just a disaster waiting to happen.

Never buy an All In One. They are far worst then laptops of any kind to service and they have a higher failure rate.

Choose wisely.

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Is this laptop good for a college bound student?

Girl

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8989008&type=product&id=1218006772494

Is this computer good enough for college? I plan to just use it for entertainment + assignments. Also, is it easy to connect to wireless? Do I need to buy an adapter for the wireless internet to work?

Thanks for any answers. I don't really know much about the specifications of laptops.

P.S. Is it good enough to play computer games on?

Answer
This is not a bad laptop. For what you plan on using it for I think it would work out just fine. Be careful about what games you buy for this because not all High end games will work on it with the graphics card it has in it. But if you are just trying to play some basic games to include WOW then you should be fine. As for wireless you need no adapter. It has wireless built into it. So as long as there is a wireless network set up you can connect to it (assuming you know the security settings).

Laptop suggestions for a college-bound student?

Smeagzman

Can someone help me find a decent laptop?
Why: Heading to my first year of college in the US and looking for help finding a good laptop. I live overseas so desktop is not an option I'm considering
Budget: US$1000.
I'm not very computer intelligent so I won't understand the technical terms pertaining to the specs. It should fulfill all the college functions like being able to connect to wireless internet, USB port (for a memory stick). Also want to have decent gaming specs (I'm not looking for a pure gaming laptop, and I understand that finding super gaming specs is hard for a $1000 budget)
Windows XP preferable over Vista.
Custom-made laptops are welcome suggestions.
I'm looking at some Dell laptops and refurbished laptops seem to be a pretty good deal. Anyone have first hand experience with refurb laptops? Are they really that much different or is it almost the same as a new laptop?

Answer
i would encourage you to go for a laptop that is STRONG.. that will not be damaged very easily etc..

DELL is a very good brand of laptop. the are very strong. i have had one for 4 years and i have had NOOOO problems with it (except after a year and a half i had to replace the battery... regular thing for ALL laptops). they have a new series called the Dell Studio.. i would encourage you to get a dell studio 15 .. got to Dell.com to costumise any setting recommended.. they explain what the are so you dont have to worry you will understand! :D

hope this helps

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Laptop Recommendations for College-Bound Student?

Hello1234

My laptop must be reliable, efficient, cheap but premium, simple, and durable enough for class assignments, online discussions, note-taking, and all Microsoft Office-related work. My limit budget is $400, but I can extend my expenses to $500 if that certain laptop exceeds those qualifications above. Sorry if my expectations seem somewhat high hahaha, but I'm only searching for the most compatible laptop that can last all of my college years and hopefully even beyond that point.

If anyone has any suggestions, please leave your comments below! Any help or advice is appreciated!
Thank you! :)

* I won't be using my laptop for gaming or anything other than work and please no Windows 8 or Macs! Thanks..:)

Answer
You can get a good laptop around $400 which can perform all the things which you have mentioned. By considering all of the things which you have mentioned I would recommend a laptop from Asus which is around $400 and it is good overall for different stuff.

Its features include AMD E-Series Dual-Core E-450 1.65 GHz and 4 GB DDR3 which is a good combination to perform different tasks. It has good storage with 320 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive. A portable 15.6-Inch Screen and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The features shows that it is strong technically in this price range. On the other hand you can see that it is good in performing different tasks as one of the customer says that it gives Excellent Value. Here is a complete comment for your help in making decision:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZUFIUD8Y4SQH/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00BEU3FTI&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=hawmekm-20

So among many options available I think this one is really good overall but I would not restrict you to this laptop only. You can see other ones as well in the market with the price of around $400. Here is a list for your ease which you can see and decide by yourself as well:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_36_0?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A565108%2Cp_36%3A2421886011&bbn=565108&ie=UTF8&qid=1375457069&rnid=2421885011&tag=hawmekm-20

For a college-bound student, is a desktop or a laptop better?

Josie

Please list reasons why and I would be glad if you could give me a model and/or company name you would highly recommend.

Answer
From a recent college grad, I say Laptop without a doubt. Choose your own make and model, and if you have questions about this ask your future school's tech center for advice as some have preferences. Dell is a hot maker, though personally I prefer Compaq.
I say Laptop because you can actually take it to class if it's your preference (and with some classes it makes things much easier). Also if you ever study abroad (just FYI: do it if you can, even if you're a little afraid to it's always worth it) then you can take your computer with you which makes things a thousand times easier. It also means that you can take your computer and work with you to various places around your college or university's campus and work in varying places which can come in useful when you're starving and have a 10 page paper due in a few hours, or if where you're living doesn't have air conditioning and a library or cafe does.
Good luck to you whichever you choose.

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What kind of laptop is best for a college bound student?

best laptop for college bound student image

johnny boy

In your opinion what brand is best and what kind of features would you get. Also how much would you pay for it. I dont just want the basics, I want a nice one.

Answer
I have a Toshiba Satellite and I love it. It has a really good sound system on it. You can also burn CDs or DVDs on it. I think it costs about $800 to $1500 depending on the model. I have an A105 model and it cost me $800. Hope this helps you out!!

What is the best type of laptop to buy for a college bound student?

Bar19one

Keep in mind I cant STAND Mac's...

What brand, model?

I want fast/strong wireless internet connection pickup, and decent gaming..

Answer
Dell has some excellent computers and great deals. I have had mine for 5 years now and it runs great. Just take care of it and it will take care of you. Wither you are on a budget or not, you can always get a great deal.

Current coupons include 20% off most Dell Laptops good until 11/23. Get them at http://www.24houredeals.com/dell-coupons-23-mer.html

You can easily get a great computer with wireless Internet and something that can play most PC games.

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What is a good laptop for a college bound student?

best laptop for college bound student image

britt_m_89

I'm going to be going into computer-aided drafting and design at the college I'm going to be attending. I would like a laptop that has a lot of memory, windows vista, and I want one with a CD and DVD burner.

Answer
Don't get anything less than:

2048mb ram
Core 2 Duo (t5200 model and up)
Vista Premium
WOULD BE GREAT IF IT HAD A VIDEO CARD
Would be okay if it came with Webcam and Mic also


Go to Best Buy and show them the specs i gave you and if they have one for under 1000 then get it.

DONT GET:

vista basic
< 2 gig of memory
celeron or p4 or AMD = heat and bad battery life



I like gateways because they give alot of performance for price but HP gives alot of features but tend to throw AMDs in the pcs and you can't touch the outside or you leave finger prints everywhere. Also Acers come and go with good deals. Sony and Toshiba don't seem to have anything i like.

How much should I pay a guy who looked at my laptop?

Cupcake

I am a 20 y/o college student and I had another college student look at my laptop. He took it a part to see what was wrong with it. He wasn't able to fix it. He actually took a few months to look at it. How much should I pay him when I get my laptop back (the laptop is still broken, btw) he just took it a part to see if he could fix it.

Answer
He should have realised the first day that he was unable to fix it.
As you`ve been deprived of the laptop for months, I don`t think you should pay him.
A professional usually advertises "no fix no fee"
Has he asked for anything, or do you feel duty bound to give him something?
Maybe you could just buy him a drink for trying.

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