I've seen these threads pop up here and there, but for the sake of not wanting to hijack anyone else's thread decided to make my own. I'm going off to Uni in ~ 2 weeks and need to purchase a laptop. I was looking the Macbook route, but figured I'd just get that next year and go with something a little more economical for the time being. I just need a general all around good laptop, with emphasis on speed, storage, and battery life. My budget would be about 4-6 hundred, but could have a little wiggle room in the upper direction I suppose. Not picky about brands or anything, so all suggestions and comments are welcome. Thanks in advance. -HD
Newegg.com - ASUS A53 Series A53E-NS51 Notebook Intel Core i5 2450M(2.50GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 750GB HDD 5400rpm DVD±R/RW Intel HD Graphics This is a nice laptop. Good rating and specs. If you know a decent amount about computers, you can just browse around newegg some more. Intel Core i5 (2.50GHz) 15.6" 6GB Memory 750GB HDD
Why would you buy a cheap laptop for now, then go and get a Mac? Seems like throwing $600 down the drain for a shitty laptop you're going to get rid of anyway is pointless Get a Mac now. Especially for college.
I do agree with RIPit. A MacBook will be your ultimate college computer, and will last you YEARS if you take care of it. Look around on eBay. My sister got a MacBook pro that was only about 3 years old for $900. Runs as good as new. Check out eBay and craigslist, and I bet you can find something that'll fit your budget. Idk much about good cheap PC's though, as my main computer is my iPad. Portable, great battery life, and works with open office. All you need is a wireless printer and your set. If you must go the PC route, I'd say go used. Honestly, you don't need anything more than a dual-core 2.4 GHz and 2 GB of DDR2. Hard drive size depends on your personal preference, but I can get by with a 320GB just fine. That will do anything except Hardcore gaming or movie editing.
do not just spend like $400-$600 and then buy a mac. i did this a few years back & its pointless. i dropped around $500 on a cheap acer, within 6 months the thing crashed & i was screwed. i ended up just going to the book store and using my financial aid to buy a macbook. in the end i spent $500 on a door stopper & $1500 on a computer that has lasted me 5 years. seriously just use the computer lab, all colleges have them, until you have the cash for a mac...you will NOT regret it.
Simply because I'd either be buying it myself or going half/half with my folks. Thus, I don't want to burden them or myself with the cost. Finaid hasn't come in yet so I have to use the funds available to me presently. Appreciate the comment though. Thanks, I'll check up on eBay for some decent used Macbooks within my range. However, I feel that may probably end up buying a decently priced laptop before I go in and then make the switch. It's not that I don't want to get the Macbook now for that would be my ideal choice, but it's just the monetary aspect. I know that with scholarships and me money making, by next year I'll be more than able to afford one, so I just needed something to carry me in the interval. This is an idea, except for the varying times when the computer lab wouldn't be open that I would need my laptop. If I had anywhere from 1-2k to drop on a Macbook I'd probably just get it instantly. But I'm looking into it though, see a few auctions on eBay that I'm going to follow. Thanks though, if I can snag it I will. Appreciate all of your comments which advocate getting the Macbook now versus waiting and potentially wasting money that could've just been put towards it. Makes sense, so I'm going to check out and see if I can get a good deal on one online before resorting to getting a cheaper notebook. So the priority now is 1) Macbook and 2) the alternative. -HD
Fanboys assuming all pc laptops suck. Tsk Tsk. If you buy from Asus, you'll get a hell of a machine for much less than a mac, with better specs, and without being locked in apples proprietary universe.
I was actually looking into some Asus laptops, for they had great specs, long battery life, and were reasonably priced. Have a link to one in the 5-7 range?
If you're only going to be surfing the web and using office on it I would just get the cheapest one you can find and get a square trade warranty on it incase it dies..if you want to play movies on your tv make sure it has a hdmi out..also make sure to get a cooler to set it on because laptops tend to get hot
[quote name='"Growopositions"'] An iPad? I have an iPad and a keyboard for school and I love it.[/quote] This.. After five years of science and medical classes. An iPad with keyboard would have been more than sufficient and a lot cheaper than a laptop or desktop. I bought a MacBook pro 3 years ago for college and the thing runs like new, only had a two software issues but were fixed for free at the Genius Bar at the apple store. Can't go wrong either way though
I bought a Mac PowerBook G4 in 2001 when I started grad school. It still runs better than the HP laptop I bought 6 months ago for work and I have spent less than $600 in 11 years for upgrades. You can't go wrong with a Mac. Yes, they are pricey but more economical in the long run.
Update: Ended up getting a Toshiba Satellite P750-ST4N02 w/ 2.3Ghz, 6GB of RAM, 580GB HDD, scooped it up for 440$ after a fault by the Office Depot store on an Asus I had intended to buy. Got 20% off an already clearanced price of 570$, so it worked out pretty nice . With another hundred I was able to get a 160GB iPod classic I located today off of Craigslist so that was a steal . Also picked up a Sony voice recorder for 60. Think I'm done school shopping, ready for the books & the bud. -HD
I've had a $500 Acer, its going on it's 5th year this September. I took great care of it, only needed to replace the AC adapter(since I bent the cord). It's not a bad computer and did everything I needed it to do in college. Do you need a Mac? Probably not. Would it be really nice to have one? Sure
I got a netbook for college. There is mad computers in my school everywhere, so if i need a desktop i can use one there... No need for a expensive laptop IMO. Got a HP Mini 110- 4250 NR for 280 on Amazon and a 2GB ram stick for 13$ from corsair. 1.66 Ghz Intel Atom, 320 GB HDD, 2 GB ram. pretty decent for the price yo also about 10 hours battery life depending on what you are doing. about 7 hours watching video on average. I had a HP laptop i had on for about 6 years straight literally lol, and it never had a problem. upgraded the ram and HDD, but that was because i wanted to, didnt need to. Was always a great computer for what it was.
I had great experience with Dell and Toshiba Laptops... And both are the best high proficiency laptops brands and good to use... Apple Accessories
After having 2 ThinkPads die within a few years, I finally bought a laptop I can live with for a long time. I'm using a 15" MacBook Pro with the HD AntiGlare Screen, plugged into a 27" Apple Cinema Display. This gives me the best of both worlds, an awesome looking desk computer with tons of memory, then I've got an equally awesome laptop with a very nice Anti-Glare Display. I thought about the new Retna laptop, but I couldn't justify the price when I'm using it with the 27" Cinema Display. I do a lot of photography, calibrated my display and the color accuracy and black levels on the 27" Cinema Display are just awesome.