Recomend a College Laptop

[imported_Atoghunter]

I need a laptop for college. I'll have to carry it around in a backpack, so small and light is a necessity (12", or 14" Widescreen are the largest I think). OS doesn't matter too much, I'd almost prefer an apple just because of the lack of virus/spyware and increased stability).
So far the notebooks I've looked at are the
12" iBook (I hear they might make a new widescreen one...may wait for this, I have all summer)
12" PowerBook
14" Widescreen Hewlett Packard DV1220US (I saw it in a CC for $1200 and liked the feel of it quite a bit) (1.5 P-M, 512mb DDR, 100GB HD 4200rpm, centrino, dual-layer DVD+-R)

Any other suggestions? Obviously wireless is a necessity. I also want good build quality and an excellent keyboard, since I'll be writing all my papers on this thing and I'm in a writing intensive major. Money isn't a huge problem, I just got a big graduation check, but I would like to keep it somewhere in the mid 1000s range. Please recommend a laptop.
Thanks

 

[onza]

dell 700m is another suggestion. 4hrs ish battery life

 

[knightc2]

I like the iBooks, but they are kind of pricey. That steers me towards the Dell. You can save a lot of green by keeping your eyes open for deals here on Dell lappys.

 

[beverage]

any thing in the dv1000 series is nice, i've had mine for several months, and i love it. not too big, not to small, easy to carry around, great battery life, and it just down right looks nice, i've gotten lots of compliments on it, and they're all well deserved. if you don't find a retail model that fits your needs, you can always customize your own at hpshopping.com, or at many stores, compusa, office depot, etc.

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

MSI Megabook S270: Turion 64 ML-30 1.60GHz/1024kB ? 512MB ? 60GB ? DVD+/-RW DL ? onboard Radeon X300SE Grafik max. 64MB shared memory ? USB 2.0/FireWire/Modem/LAN/WLAN 802.11g ? 12.1" WXGA TFT (1280x800) ? Windows XP Home ? Li-Ionen-Akku ? 1.90kg http://www.geizhals.at/img/pix/146211.jpg 1050 Euros

MSI Megabook S260 Pentium-M 735 1.70GHz ? 512MB (2x256MB) ? 60GB ? DVD+/-RW ? USB2.0/Firewire/Modem/LAN/WLAN 802.11b/g ? 12" WXGA TFT (1280x800) ? 1.80kg http://www.geizhals.at/img/pix/151862.jpg 1080 Euros

Averatec 4155 13.3? WXGA AveraBrite Technology, 1280x800, 512 MB DDR-RAM PC333, 80 GB, SIS760GX Integrated Mirage, DVD-+RW (4x/2x/16x/10x/12x/24x), Wireless LAN komplett integriert (802.11b/g), 10/100 Mbit, Cover (jetblue) with white keyboard, 3 x USB 2.0, 4in1 CardReader(SD,MMC,MS+PRO), 2 kg leicht, Microsoft Windows XP Home, 2 years Pick-Up and Return Warranty, 1100 Euros.

Acer TravelMate 3002WTMi Pentium-M 740 1.73GHz ? 512MB ? 80GB ? DVD+/-RW (extern) ? Intel 915GM onboard Grafik max.64MB shared memory ? USB 2.0/FireWire/Modem/Gb LAN/WLAN 802.11bg/Bluetooth ? 4in1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro) ? 12.1" WXGA TFT (1280x800) ? Windows XP Professional ? Li-Ionen-Akku ? 1.61kg http://acer.at/acereuro/wr-resource/221...3/upload/E0Entity3/1/TM3000_normal.jpg 1400 Euro

ASUS W5667AU Pentium-M 740 1.73GHz ? 512MB ? 60GB ? DVD+/-RW ? Intel i915 onboard Grafik max.128MB shared memory ? USB 2.0/FireWire/Modem/LAN/WLAN 802.11bg/Bluetooth ? 4in1 Card Reader (MMC/SD/MS/MS Pro) ? integrierte Web-/Videokamera (1.3 Megapixel) ? 12.1" WXGA TFT (1280x800) ? Windows XP Professional ? Li-Ionen-Akku ? 1.60kg http://www.geizhals.at/img/pix/148871.jpg 1600 Euros

and - though i cannot understand why anybody would buy it....maybe u like it the IBM way...: Lenovo IBM ThinkPad X41, Pentium-M 758 1.50GHz LV ? 1024MB ? 40GB ? no optical drive ? Intel GMA900 DVMT onboard Grafik shared memory ? USB 2.0/Modem/Gb LAN/WLAN 802.11abg/Bluetooth ? 12.1" XGA TFT (1024x768) ? Windows XP Professional ? Li-Ionen-Akku ? 1.24kg ? 36 Monate Herstellergarantie http://www.geizhals.at/img/pix/153861.jpg 1700 Euros.

Asus A6000L - 15.4? WXGA TFT Display, max Aufl. 1280x800- 512 MB DDR-RAM PC333 - 60 GB- 64 MB Intel 852GMV DVMT- DVD+-RW Double Layer (8x/4x/16x/10x/12x/24x)- Wireless LAN (802.11b/g)- Web/Videocamera- 4 x USB 2.0- 4-in-1 Card Reader/Writer (SD,MMC,MS,MS PRO)- Audio DJ Funktion- Microsoft Windows XP Home, 930 Euros.

Averatec 4265, 13.3? WXGA AveraBrite Technology, max Aufl. 1280x800
- 512 MB DDR-RAM PC333 Arbeitsspeicher- 80 GB hdd -Intel Graphic Media Accelertor 900 up to 128 MB- DVD-+RW (4x/2x/16x/10x/12x/24x)- Wireless LAN (802.11b/g)- 10/100 Mbit- Cover (jetblue) white keyboard -3 x USB 2.0- 4in1 -cardReader(SD,MMC,MS+PRO)- 2 kg - Microsoft Windows XP Home 1300 Euros. Coming out this month.


maybe u like one...

 

[DarkAmeba]

I love my powerbook sooo much its crazy. I can't wait for the new tiger builds because there is a slight chance i will be able to run windows games in a vpc type enviroment w/o much of a performance hit. I'd never use windows again long as i can get osx rto load on my AMD64 (probablly will work!) Needless to say I'd go with the Powerbook, or even the iBook.

 

[6000SUX]

It's not the least expensive, but I like the S6231. I also think that a Thinkpad is a really good choice for a college student (but not the X series, the T42-T43) because while it's not indestructible, it does last... and last... and last.

If I were you, I'd try to choose a laptop that was thin and light, durable, had a comfortable keyboard, and had a modular bay. That way you can take out the optical drive to save weight (usually) and put in a modular-bay battery. The S6231 weighs only 3.85 pounds, and with the modular bay battery in (which bumps it a little over four pounds) it achieves over eight hours of battery life. The screen is just the right size for XGA at 13.3 inches, and is very bright and sharp to boot.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Being a college student, you can get good academic discounts from HP, IBM, and others. The HP dv1000 is a SOLID notebook, I love it to death. Everytime I turn on my gf's machine, I start to wonder why my T42 cost $2000 (last August) and her dv1000 cost $1200.
In-Depth dv1000 Review
In-Depth IBM Thinkpad T43 Review
You can find several T42's on NewEgg for a great price, and IBM has decent academic discounts. Better yet, find someone who has access to the Employee Purchase Program and you will get one HELLUVA deal. Another note, don't bother with the T43. It offers mildly improved performance and decreased battery life; just go for a T42 and have IBM exchange the battery for the new higher capacity versions (assuming they don't ship with them). IBM upgraded the batteries on the T43's to account for the higher power consumption of the Sonoma platform.

BlingBlingArsch had some great suggestions. Just stay away from anything 15.4" of course, they aren't very portable. Averatec's are great for the money, but don't have the build quality of even HP notebooks. They're cheap for a reason but should work well for just about anyone's uses.

Overall, I highly recommend a 14" T42 (something along the lines of 14" SXGA+, 1.6-1.7GHz, 40GB-60GB 5400RPM, Radeon 9000 Graphics, wifi, CDRW/DVDROM, 3 year warranty, $1500-ish) or a 14" widescreen dv1000 (14" WXGA {1280x768}, 1.6-1.7GHz, 60GB 5400RPM, Intel Extreme 2 graphics, wifi, CDRW/DVDROM, some kind of extended warranty, $1300-ish}.

 

[AmigaMan]

One thing to be aware of is if you're planning on running Linux on your laptop. nVidia's graphics drivers are much better than ATI's. I've run into several problems with my Inspiron 9200 w/ ATI Mobility9700. It works ok with Ubuntu Linux, but getting dual monitors working was a BIATCH! It's working, but I think I would have saved some heartache if I'd gotten a different graphic chipset.

 

[screwd01]

i had a 12 inch 600mhz laptop my first three semesters then upgraded to a dv1000 last semester (1.7m, dvd burner, 512 ram) and it was just too big for me....it was a great laptop but not portable enough for me...

i'm looking for 12" widescreens like the 700m

 

[fbrdphreak]

For 12" widescreens check out Averatec and MSI. MSI has a number of good barebones and prebuilt laptops that I think would fit your needs at a decent price.

You can check out some info on the new MSI 12" Turion notebooks here. In those posts are links to MSI's site with other Centrino notebooks as well.

 

[screwd01]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
For 12" widescreens check out Averatec and MSI. MSI has a number of good barebones and prebuilt laptops that I think would fit your needs at a decent price.

You can check out some info on the new MSI 12" Turion notebooks here. In those posts are links to MSI's site with other Centrino notebooks as well.

anyone know where to buy these msi's?

 

[fbrdphreak]

The Turion ones are still "coming soon." For the others, you might try sending an e-mail to ATer 'fords8.' He sells MSI notebooks, I just don't know which ones. E-mail him 'cuz I'm not sure he's on here often

 

[Zukatah]

I'll myself go for a 12" iBook! Small, portable, good battery life, OSX, one of the best bang for the buck! The 12" PB is a bastardised powerbook as it has much more similarities with the iBooks than the Powerbooks, therefore I can't see why it's so much more expensive than the iBooks!

 

[BRObedoza]

check to see if your school offers a discount with any manufacturers. i just got a 12" powerbook minus $200 education discount

 

[nzimmers]

about 4 months ago I picked up a used IBM 570E (450mhz PIII) 14 inch screen, upgraded the HDD and the memory, installed 2003 server (I use it for development) and wow am I pleased! only set me back about $170.

From my collage days, I remember lugging around an HP laptop and I usually just ended up carrying the power cord and finding a power outlet, even with 5 hours of runtime on the newest laptops you'll probably be doing this anyways.

If you really aren't going to do any gaming - and I recommend in college you don't, take a look at some of the used IBM laptops, they seem to be built so much better than the rest and really do last a long time, the keyboard feel of the 5 year old 570E that I have is like new compared to a Sony viao from the same time period.

Hey, and the money you save could go for something else! external LCD monitor....etc

 

[LuckyTaxi]

I have an iBook and I love it. I would love to have a mac mini for my desktop, but i need to keep a PC around.

 

[evn3]

Maybe you should check out the laptops made by Portable One. The offer both a 12" (UX) and 14" (MX) notebook. They both come standard with 7200 rpm HDDs and pentium m processors. Plus they offer good build quality, and upgrades are more than reasonable. They are available exclusively at portableone.com. You can see reviews of them at notebookreview.com and digitalreviews.net.