I need help finding a laptop

[Python14]

Well, graduation is coming...and after graduation(and after Beachweek) is college.

Because I want to be a good college kid(sort of), I need to get a laptop. I got the basic reqs from Christopher Newport and it seems most everything either meets or surpasses the reqs(thus making the decision harder). The computer I've been looking at the most is the Dell 5150. It seems to have the best balance of things. But I'm still kind of swamped, So what I need are opinions on as many different(affortable laptops). Also, for those of you that are students, what kind of programs are there for students as far as financing or whatever. For the most part, I'm paying for it, but I will still pay more for a better computer. But every little bit helps, ya know.

[JimmyBeam]

best thing i ever did was finance a computer when i first went off to college. it came out to like 30 bucks a month for like 2 years and it built up credit for me at the same time. dell has a good finance program, check them out

[hitech]

I have the Dell 1100. I use it for work. It works well for me, and with the "large" battery option has EXTREMELY long batter life (it easily lasts 6 hours!).

I would recommend it.

[SIGSays]

don't go dell.. if you got a sam's club or bj's wholesale club near your house you can get a very nice laptop...

my friend got a dell with 2.66 p4 and 256ram 40 gig hd for $1500

when bj's had 3.0 p4 with 512 ram and 80 gig hd for the same price

they had a 2.8 p4 with 512 ram and 40 gig hd for $1200

they had 2 hp's there and a sony vaio...

[JimmyBeam]

whatever you do, you gotta go wireless network. kewlest thinger ever

[hitech]

let's see, I got a 2.4 GHz Celeron, 256MB memory, 30GB disk, CD-RW/DVD drive and the 96 WHr battery for $700. Seems like a good deal to me.

[Hexis]

Gotta put in a plug for Apple. If you need Office and such an iBook or Powerbook is a great option. Not so great if you want to run any Winders specific software.

On the PC side I would have to suggest dealing with Dell. The only Dell gear I have is a monitor (2001FP). I just got it and there were some dead sub-pixles. Dell has shipped me a replacement, and gave me zero argument about it. It's worth paying some extra for support and service like that.

[Python14]

well, the dell 5150 I was looking at was

Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.8GHz and 533MHz Front Side Bus

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

15" XGA TFT Display

32MB DDR NVIDIA GEForceFX Go 5200 Graphics

256MB DDR Memory

8X DVD-ROM Drive


I will probably up the memory to 512(that's what I'm running on this desktop), go with a nice CD-RW and get a new 750mb zip drive(USB).....and maybe down the road I'll up the graphics to 128 when money says I can.

This whole deal will run me around $1200...I'll probably go with their monthly payment plan too so I can rack up some credit, and not destroy my ability to have money/fun for the first semester.

But as far as this goes, it's still nothing for a few weeks or months because I need to earn some money.

As far as wireless goes...well, it doesn't. As much as I'd like to, I can't do wireless at CNU for whatever reason. Just the basic 100/10 ethernet.

Also, I wouldn't mind going with an Apple, but it's already hard enough to find programs for windows for cheap, finding them for apple...holy crap.

But yea, more opinions would be appriciated. :)

[painTech]

powermac owns you. long battery life, wireless internet, blue tooth, garage band. oh yeah, and it works.

[Bluestrike_2]

Ok, while I love Apple, I think that a PowerBook is out of his range, by far. Maybe an iBook.

Ok, with educational discounts:
Processor speeds are not easily compared to Intel/AMD/etc. You get the idea....
12" 1 GHz $999
14" 1 GHz $1,199
14" 1.2 GHz $1,399

All with Combo(CD-RW) drives

Microsoft Office v.X 2004 Student/Teacher Ed. - 150

go to apple.com if you want to view a list of software. There are a lot of programs. Most don't cost more, some even less. Maybe not as many games, but there are still a few of them.

If you need Adobe CS (~400 w/ EDU discount), or Maya Complete (~500 w/ E.D.; normally 2k) or such, you can purchase student-licenses at http://www.journeyed.com Just beware, they cannot be used for commercial purposes. Huge discounts though. Both Mac and Windows.

========
Now, if you want a windows machine

Falcon Northwest
Voodoo Computers
Alienware

I'm not too fond of Dell, Gateway, and such. Go with a custom company for best results.

[fire1811]

http://products.gateway.com/products/GConfig/proddetails.asp?system_id=m505x&seg=hm

just got this laptop couple of weeks ago
very nice

my battery lasts about 4-5 hours which is good and it doesnt have the intergated graphics crap. has a 64mb ATI so you can still play all current games, some at lower settings but still runs them good. i ran Farcry at medium everything and it was smooth.

all in all its a nice laptop

[xmetal2001]

If you can afford to pay a little extra, get an IBM Thinkpad. Best build quality out there. They are great.

[vf-xx]

Unless you're going into a graphics arts program I would shy away from Apples. They're good computers, but you'll run into compatibility issues.

I'd suggest looking into Toshiba's. I got an Satellite A35, from this series.

I bought mine a little overpowered because I knew I was going to be running a intense CAD program (Autodesk Inventor).

P4 2.8 Gz
512 Ram
DVD/CDRW
G type integrated Wi Fi
15.2 in LCD


Very nice and long battery life.

I'd steer clear of Compaq and HP for sure. I'm also not thrilled with Dell. Sony makes a good laptop but it's more expensive for the bang than similar ones.

The only downside of my laptop is that it's heavy, but I knew that going into this and it doesn't bother me.

I strongly reccomend buying locally where you can get support and I definatly suggest shelling out for extended warrenty. Best Buy's warrentee covers battery replacement which is a good thing.

[Bluestrike_2]

Question!!!

What is your major going to be? That might be helpful...

[OysterBoy]

Most likely not what your looking for, but I have a Jornada 680 (Mini Laptop) I'm selling for 400 canadian. It has Windows 98 I beleive and has all the office programs you should need. Network capable, includes a 138 MB Card. Can even play Doom on it! :) PM me if your interested.