Going to college

[CairnGorm]

I bought a high end "gaming laptop" about a year ago...it is basically a large paper weight. The GPU gets too hot when playing any worthwhile game.

My suggestion...a laptop is about portability...light and extreme with alot of battery time...maybe watching a DVD on a plane...that is it. I cannot play Oblivion on my laptop even though it falls well within the range of acceptable requirements without major tweaking including underclocking my GPU.

 

[pkme2]

Dell E1505 with the 40% off coupons. Google "Dell Coupons" or check the Hot Deals link on Anand Tech.

The #1 selling laptop is a Dell, so you do the math. In Hawaii, Dell laptops are 70% usage on our campuses.

Its your choice. Good hunting....

 

[Mister Walrus]

Wow. Thanks for all of the input. I guess I'm convinced now that I should separate the Laptop and Desktop system - I think I won't even have to buy all new parts for the desktop, just a motherboard/processor/ram set (already have an Audigy 2ZS, Raptor 74GB HD, 9800 Pro which is quite sufficient for games). The college I'm attending is supposedly pretty intense so I'm definitely relegating the gaming experience to the desktop. I guess I'll just get a lightweight, portable, document-oriented laptop. Thanks again for all the input.

 

[Bootstrap]

If you're really interested in a notebook, I suggest you check out www.notebookreview.com -- it's a site dedicated just to notebooks, and they have separate forums for each brand, along with reviews by users and such. THere's also a questionaire you can fill out in the forums and people will recommend notebooks to you based on that, as many people there tend to be familiar with lots of brands. It was very helpful to me when I was shopping for a notebook, I never would have considered Asus otherwise.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

WTF? The truth, that's what. Widescreen laptops tend to be heavier and have worse battery life

Why would a widescreen be heavier and have worst battery life? The screen itself is the exact same technology, it's just wider, often sacrificing height for the width. Weight and battery life is dependent on the rest of the system.

4:3 resolution is much better for working with documents, because you can get more text onscreen without having to shrink the font down to a size that makes you squint. In addition, many websites these days do not display well at 800 X 600.

First, more websites are standardized for 800x600 than any other resolution. And a widescreen wouldn't be displaying things at 800x600, that would be a 1600x1200 that would do that.

And why would you need to shrink the size of the font? You're absolutely clueless! I think you've never sat infront of a widescreen, and all you have this some demented image in your head that you're spewing forth.

The bit about having two documents side by side is a canard, promoted by those who love their widescreen notebooks. I'm not saying you shouldn't make your own choice, but the truth is the truth.

Very few notebooks run at 1920x1200... and dual pages are really only plausible on 1920x1200, which few notebooks are. I only mentioned that if he's willing to go with something that's at 1920x1200, then he can have the benefit of dual pages. The vast majority of people running 1920x1200 are running it on their desktop, where that resolution is more common.

 

[nocrapman]

Yes you seem to have the priorities right - dont forget the battery life - my cheapo 3 year old dell inspiron 5100 with a P4 still gives 4 hrs+ while a brand new HP 14" widescreen Pentium M gives 2.5- 3 hrs at best.

I have finally got the preferences right(but I am done with school after spring):

Light weight - +++++
Specs - ++++
Battery life - ++++
Durability - +++
Cost - +++

Best of luck! and let us know what u finally do...

 

[6000SUX]

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

WTF? The truth, that's what. Widescreen laptops tend to be heavier and have worse battery life

Why would a widescreen be heavier and have worst battery life? The screen itself is the exact same technology, it's just wider, often sacrificing height for the width. Weight and battery life is dependent on the rest of the system.

4:3 resolution is much better for working with documents, because you can get more text onscreen without having to shrink the font down to a size that makes you squint. In addition, many websites these days do not display well at 800 X 600.

First, more websites are standardized for 800x600 than any other resolution. And a widescreen wouldn't be displaying things at 800x600, that would be a 1600x1200 that would do that.

And why would you need to shrink the size of the font? You're absolutely clueless! I think you've never sat infront of a widescreen, and all you have this some demented image in your head that you're spewing forth.

The bit about having two documents side by side is a canard, promoted by those who love their widescreen notebooks. I'm not saying you shouldn't make your own choice, but the truth is the truth.

Very few notebooks run at 1920x1200... and dual pages are really only plausible on 1920x1200, which few notebooks are. I only mentioned that if he's willing to go with something that's at 1920x1200, then he can have the benefit of dual pages. The vast majority of people running 1920x1200 are running it on their desktop, where that resolution is more common.

You can't argue with reality. The reality is that widescreen notebooks usually are heavier and have worse battery life; go shopping online and you'll see that I'm right. You can argue until you're blue in the face, but facts are facts.

Another fact: many websites won't display well at 800 X 600, as 1024 X 768 has been the de facto GUI standard for many years now. A widescreen would certainly be displaying a website at 800 X 600 in side-by-side mode if you were using 1680 X 1050, a popular resolution.

The font would be shrunk, Mr. Clueless, if you were viewing a Word or other document in side-by-side mode, and the document was scaled down. The fact that you can't understand this means to me that you've never tried to use side-by-side mode, as I have.

You're right that dual pages are only plausible at really high resolutions, but also only at LARGE screen sizes. This means that to counsel someone to buy a widescreen laptop for college because they're better for document creation (due to dual-document ability) is to give HORRIBLE advice. To even make it workable, they're going to buy some huge horking laptop with a 17" screen or larger, with the attendant battery draw, horrible battery life and heavy weight. See how that works?

It irritates me when people are so blindly loyal to their own choices that they lead others down a bad path.

You did NOT mention that if he's willing to use 1920 X 1200 resolution he'd be able to use dual pages... you slammed me for suggesting that 4:3 is a much more useful aspect ratio in a laptop for doing general document editing. Here you go, blathering again in insulting fashion because your mother didn't teach you manners.

 

[porcorosso]

Dang! Take it easy, guys! It's just opinions about computers, fer criminey's sake! It's time to ease up on the caffeine and reflect a little, eh?

I'm an old man, and I use a 15" with 1920x1200 resolution (Dell Precision M70). My old eyes don't have any trouble at all with text or graphics on this thing, and I don't even change the dpi setting from the defrault 96dpi.

This notebook gives me about 6 hours on a charge when all of the energy-saving settings are tweaked. And I have hardly any more trouble carrying it around than I have carrying my itty bitty Panasonic CF-R3. (But I carry each of them in a big bag with lots of other stuff.) As I said before, the fitness of a system to a particular user has to be determined by the user. There is no one "reality" for everybody in this matter. Some people have no trouble carrying 30 or more pounds of computer gear all over kingdom come. Some people would rather not bother. Some people don't get eye strain after 16 hours of staring at text. Some get the blearies in a few minutes, regardless of how good the monitor is. Some like to view one document while typing simultaneously in another. Some would rather just alt-tab between documents when contemplating one document while typing another. It's all good -- as long as you find a system that suits your own preferences.

I've been using portable computers for longer than some here have been alive. (The first ones had built-in CRTs and thermal printer!) My experience tells me that one man's boat anchor is another's treasure. But there is one thing that ALL of us value in a notebook -- reliability. Cheap notebooks were, at one time, as likely to be reliable as expensive notebooks. My personal exposures have led me to believe that's not true any more. When spending limited funds on a notebook, my advice is to focus hard on reliability and quality of warranty and service organization. You can adapt to a notebook that is not comfortable. No amount of adaptation (on your part) will make an unreliable notebook useful.

 

[6000SUX]

 

[erikistired]

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

Originally posted by: Looney

Originally posted by: 6000SUX

WTF? The truth, that's what. Widescreen laptops tend to be heavier and have worse battery life

Why would a widescreen be heavier and have worst battery life? The screen itself is the exact same technology, it's just wider, often sacrificing height for the width. Weight and battery life is dependent on the rest of the system.

4:3 resolution is much better for working with documents, because you can get more text onscreen without having to shrink the font down to a size that makes you squint. In addition, many websites these days do not display well at 800 X 600.

First, more websites are standardized for 800x600 than any other resolution. And a widescreen wouldn't be displaying things at 800x600, that would be a 1600x1200 that would do that.

And why would you need to shrink the size of the font? You're absolutely clueless! I think you've never sat infront of a widescreen, and all you have this some demented image in your head that you're spewing forth.

The bit about having two documents side by side is a canard, promoted by those who love their widescreen notebooks. I'm not saying you shouldn't make your own choice, but the truth is the truth.

Very few notebooks run at 1920x1200... and dual pages are really only plausible on 1920x1200, which few notebooks are. I only mentioned that if he's willing to go with something that's at 1920x1200, then he can have the benefit of dual pages. The vast majority of people running 1920x1200 are running it on their desktop, where that resolution is more common.

You can't argue with reality. The reality is that widescreen notebooks usually are heavier and have worse battery life; go shopping online and you'll see that I'm right. You can argue until you're blue in the face, but facts are facts.

Another fact: many websites won't display well at 800 X 600, as 1024 X 768 has been the de facto GUI standard for many years now. A widescreen would certainly be displaying a website at 800 X 600 in side-by-side mode if you were using 1680 X 1050, a popular resolution.

The font would be shrunk, Mr. Clueless, if you were viewing a Word or other document in side-by-side mode, and the document was scaled down. The fact that you can't understand this means to me that you've never tried to use side-by-side mode, as I have.

You're right that dual pages are only plausible at really high resolutions, but also only at LARGE screen sizes. This means that to counsel someone to buy a widescreen laptop for college because they're better for document creation (due to dual-document ability) is to give HORRIBLE advice. To even make it workable, they're going to buy some huge horking laptop with a 17" screen or larger, with the attendant battery draw, horrible battery life and heavy weight. See how that works?

It irritates me when people are so blindly loyal to their own choices that they lead others down a bad path.

You did NOT mention that if he's willing to use 1920 X 1200 resolution he'd be able to use dual pages... you slammed me for suggesting that 4:3 is a much more useful aspect ratio in a laptop for doing general document editing. Here you go, blathering again in insulting fashion because your mother didn't teach you manners.

dell xps m140 - 14.1 widescreen - 5.47 lbs
dell inspiron b120 - 14.1 4:3 - 6.41 lbs

so, yeah not always. i don't even keep a document open full screen on my 1024x768 12" powerbook, so not everyone follows the more is better ideal. in hindsight i wouldn't mind a widescreen because it would give me even more horizontal room to play with. heck i don't even keep my browser open full screen, it takes up about 80% of the width of my screen. the only time i pull it wider is for wide sites, which doesn't happen often. so to say that most websites are optimized for 1024x768 would be wrong a bit. they seem to work fine at lower resolutions.

imho, go to a store and try both. open a document, open a webpage, see what you prefer. if you aren't gaming and running a weird native res than a widescreen should work fine for you. i dunno if you're 60 or something and have bad eyes (i'm technically legally blind without my glasses at age 30) and need to have huge type, but not everyone is in that situation.

I've been using portable computers for longer than some here have been alive. (The first ones had built-in CRTs and thermal printer!) My experience tells me that one man's boat anchor is another's treasure.

word. i had one of the compaq suitcase "laptops" with the crt built in and the keyboard that latched on over it to "close" it. that thing was a beast, but it played the hitchhiker's game great!

 

[nameisong]

Hi I'm new to the forums and also collegebound next fall. My question is whether a laptop is necessary at all. Unless one is pursuing a CS or ECE degree, it seems that the ability to take a laptop around is unnecessary. Yes courses are getting more wired but I'd probably get more distracted than productive. Please tell me if this thinking is incorrect or if your experiences have said otherwise. I plan on getting a desktop to leave in the dorm. I might reconsider only if somebody posts a convincing argument, or I decide to attend Columbia over Cornell, in which case a laptop to use in the pleasant city of NY is highly desirable. Comments?

 

[slpaulson]

Originally posted by: nameisong
Hi I'm new to the forums and also collegebound next fall. My question is whether a laptop is necessary at all. Unless one is pursuing a CS or ECE degree, it seems that the ability to take a laptop around is unnecessary. Yes courses are getting more wired but I'd probably get more distracted than productive. Please tell me if this thinking is incorrect or if your experiences have said otherwise. I plan on getting a desktop to leave in the dorm. I might reconsider only if somebody posts a convincing argument, or I decide to attend Columbia over Cornell, in which case a laptop to use in the pleasant city of NY is highly desirable. Comments?

I'm an ECE major and I've never really had a use for laptop.

As for the op's question, I'd wait for some dell coupons. Do you know if your school has a dell epp account? My friend just got a 1.83GHz core duo with 1 gig of ram, 100gig hd, dvd burner, and an ati video card for $1,125 after taxes.

 

[porcorosso]

word. i had one of the compaq suitcase "laptops" with the crt built in and the keyboard that latched on over it to "close" it. that thing was a beast, but it played the hitchhiker's game great!

Yes, the Compaqs and Panasonics had great keyboards. And they really were "full-size" keyboards, unlike the notebook keyboards the vendors claim to be full-sized these days. I also loved having the Function Key pad over on the left side as on my Panasonics instead of in a row above the alpha-numeric keys.

My games were Zork, Deadline, and LGoP -- on the Apple //e.

 

[porcorosso]

Originally posted by: nameisong
Hi I'm new to the forums and also collegebound next fall. My question is whether a laptop is necessary at all. Unless one is pursuing a CS or ECE degree, it seems that the ability to take a laptop around is unnecessary. Yes courses are getting more wired but I'd probably get more distracted than productive. Please tell me if this thinking is incorrect or if your experiences have said otherwise. I plan on getting a desktop to leave in the dorm. I might reconsider only if somebody posts a convincing argument, or I decide to attend Columbia over Cornell, in which case a laptop to use in the pleasant city of NY is highly desirable. Comments?

I think you're wise to be thinking this way. And I'm a person who takes at least one notebook everywhere he goes. Notebooks -- the larger ones, at least -- are almost useless for most people in lecture halls. You can't comfortably or safely (for the computer's sake) hold a large notebook on your lap. In classrooms with desk tops you still have to watch out. Those itty bitty slanting desktops are quite slick and have led to the demise of more than one notebook.

The actual usefulness of a notebook for note-taking in class depends very much on how much drawing / diagramming you might be doing. Obviously there's a theoretical advantage for a Tablet PC in such classes.

But I think the old pen/pencil and paper can't be beat for a lot of the types of notes that people take. And they're pretty reliable.

Now, if the coursework actually requires or benefits from the student having an active connection to a network during classroom sessions, that's another matter. Folks who take many courses of that sort really do need to carry a portable computer.

So you really have to do some research and some self-examination (of your own efficacies with keyboard, pointing device, etc.) to know whether or not it makes sense for you to buy a notebook for college. Many of the students I've taught have purchased notebooks only to wind up leaving them in their dorm rooms and using them, effectively, as desktop systems. I don't think there's much doubt, even these days, as to which kind of computer gives you the most bang for the buck. If you're going to be using it as a desktop, it may as well be a desktop.

But I have to admit that I feel almost naked without my notebooks. It ain't all about logic.

 

[KeithTalent]

I agree with most of what you guys are saying about notebooks not being necessary, I mean I never took mine out in class for lectures or anything either. However, I found mine to be invaluable for group project work, as well as preparing reports and taking notes while at the library/study hall. So no, a laptop is not absolutley necessary, but it sure as heck makes college life a little easier...at least mine did.