laptop for college

[bayvet]

Hey all! First I want to think this forum for the help they gave me on building my PC a while back. It runs like a dream.

Because I just dropped 1300 on a gaming/media desktop, I want a laptop purely for school work in the library and to take home on breaks. I'd like the price to be <1000. I won't be playing games on it, only researching on the net + writing papers and using programs for classes, if any. I don't need a huge hard drive and want it to be moderately quick so I can keep it for 3/4/+ years. Also screen size would be better smaller. Is the Dell college deals the best way to go? dell.com/ou seems to claim that I can get 12% off. Anyway, thanks for any help.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

I'd get a cheap, used, old POS that won't prompt stealing.

- M4H

 

[Corporate Thug]

buy a mac book for $1000.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
buy a mac book for $1000.

 

[Jones2006]

Go with the Dell 710M ... very bright 12" screen which means the laptop is very light. I recommended it to one of my friends who had a $800 budget and she loves it.

 

[pcmodem]

Dell Latitude D620

It's about $1176 full retail (college discount price would be less), which is more than your stated $1000 budget, but for the extra money you get:

1. Critical things that you likely could not upgrade later (WXGA+ LCD and 256 MB nVidia Quadro NVS 110M) without violating the Dell Warranty
2. Important features which will noticeably improve performance (1 GB of RAM instead of 512 MB of RAM, 7200 RPM HDD instead of a 5400 RPM)
3. CDRW/DVD - you have to have at least CD burning capability

I'd estimate the weight of my D620 with A/C adapter to be about 5.25 pounds, which is pretty darn light for a 14.1" widescreen laptop.



Cheers,
PCM


======================================



Latitude D620
Date 6/1/2006 12:35:02 AM Central Standard Time
Catalog Number 4 Retail 04
Catalog Number / Description Product Code SKU Id
Latitude D620:

Intel® Core? Duo T2300E (1.66GHz) 667Mhz Dual Core D6216E [222-2818] 1

Operating Systems:
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition, SP2, with media XPHSP2 [420-4802] 11

LCDs:
14.1 inch Wide Screen WXGA+ LCD Panel 14WXG [320-4573] 2

Graphics:
256MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 110M TurboCache? NVS110M [320-4574] 6

Memory:
1.0GB, DDR2-533 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS 1G2D5 [311-5677] 3

Hard Drives:
60GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 7200RPM 60D72 [341-2978] 8

Optical Drive - Modular:
8X DVD with Cyberlink Power DVD? 8XDVD [313-3879] 16

Wireless LAN (802.11):
Dell Wireless? 1390 802.11g Mini Card DW1390 [430-1483] 19

Floppy Drive:
No Floppy Drive NFD [340-8854] 10

Fingerprint Reader for Added Security:
Standard Touchpad TPAD [310-7268] 9

Batteries:
6 Cell Primary Battery 6C [312-0378] 27

AC Adapter:
65W A/C Adapter 65AC [310-7283] 15

Internal Keyboard:
Internal English Keyboard ENG [310-7270] 4

Purchase Intent:
Purchase is not intended for resale. NOT4SEL [462-4506] 138

Miscellaneous:
Latitude D620 01D620D [465-1357] 82

Hardware Support Services:
3 Year Mail-In Economy Plan T3YRR [982-5768][983-2207][983-2217][950-8540][950-8542] 29

Onsite System Setup:
No Onsite System Setup NOINSTL [900-9987] 32

Resource CD:
Resource CD - Contains Diagnostics and Drivers RCD [313-3885] 26

Reference Guide:
Quick Reference Guide REF [310-7282] 40

 

[vegetation]

Before you spring for a smaller form-factored laptop, make sure you can actually type on them. I personally find 12" models have keyboards that make it inefficient and frustrating for me to type on (browsing web is fine, but that's not serious work to be done), but I have big fingers.

 

[pcmodem]

Originally posted by: pcmodem
Dell Latitude D620

I'd estimate the weight of my D620 with A/C adapter to be about 5.25 pounds, which is pretty darn light for a 14.1" widescreen laptop.

Went to the local supermarket and weighed the D620.

5.5 lbs (w/6 cell battery)
6.3 lbs w/AC adapter

Dell's website says the D620 starts at 4.37 lbs. They must reach that number by removing the battery and removing the optical drive.



Cheers,
PCM

 

[phaxmohdem]

I am also in college, and a year or so ago this forum helped me pick my laptop as well. I ended up with a Thinkpad T40p and I could not be happier with it to this day. I STRONGLY recommend looking for a 14" model T-series notebook for college use. (I bought mine off eBay from an authorized IBM dealer w/ 3 year warranty even for ~$1300 a year ago)

There are several reasons I recommend the Thinkpad to you.
- Sturdy as hell... Great to toss in the backpack and not have to worry too much about. Some models in the T-series even have titanium or magnesium frames for protection
- Keyboard is simply to die for. A college machine is tyipcally used for research and typing. (And some graphics work In my case) The keyboard on The T40 series is sweet to the power of awesome!
- 14" display is the perfect size IMO. small enough that the unit is thin and light enough to carry in your backpack without pain, and on IBM's you can get 14" panels up to 1400x1050 resolution (which is what I have and it is marvelous)
- This one sounds a bit stupid, but the "ThinkLight" LED above the monitor that can turn on and illuminate the keyboard in dark places is actually pretty handy

In the end whether you choose a Thinkpad or not, look for a unit that is:
- thin and light enough to carry around without hassle.
- Has extended battery, or gets Uber-long batt life because it sucks to be stuck up school creek without power
- Most comfortable keyboard/mousing experience for you (What good is a laptop you hate using?)
- Get 1GB or more RAM.... you won't regret it.
- My laptop has a 1.6GHz Pentium M (Banias) that is quite capable, however if you're planning on keeping your lappy for 3-4 years to come, I'd use 1.6 as the baseline number and try to go higher if possible.