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Laptop for College

B

BOOM

Charter Member
Hello,I need some advice from the smartest people I know[that would be you!] My daughter is leaving for college in a few weeks and needs a good laptop PC to do the job that University life demands,She is thinking Apple but I don't know much about them.

Any ideas comments welcome
Thanks
 
Apples are great computers. Windows computers are great too. Since she is going to be using it, I would give her a budget and let her choose.
 
I don't claim smarts but if you search Blue/black here you will find a thread on the very same topic. My daughter decided on an ASUS K60. For around $600 she got Windows 7 and a laptop she has been real happy with. Plusses: good price, never gets hot, lightweight, great video quality. Minuses: hit by blue screen of death about 2 mos in (able to recover with built-in partition boot, no issues since), poor speakers, notoriously difficult tech support. I can post the specs when she gets home.
Another here mentioned another brand with more conventional support with more or less the same features but I can't remember which it was. She pondered Apple but the price and exclusiveness were too much.

Also search under help_laptop started by dogknot.
 
This is always a tough question for me to answer, I have been in the computer sales and support game for over 25 years and I generally don't like to get "Specific" on brands and models. I have always gone by the guideline that a person should buy the machine they "NEED" not what they "want" or what someone "THINKS" they want or need. Having said that, to me it all comes down to two things, what applications will be run on the system, and service support after the purchase. For the average user (I mean the folks who can not or do not want to build their own) the big box stores and the big brand names are the most common route, I know many don't like the Best Buy's, Radio Shacks, Future Shops, etc. of this world but they do sell a lot of computers and do offer some very good terms.

My advise check for specific needs of the program your daughter is taking, most schools provide a sample of required system specs and some even provide purchase plans - these plans are often well discounted. If she is taking a program that does not have specific hardware requirements - AutoCad needs specific sytems spec's, marketing and multi media programs may require Apple for the apps they use, then look at the general recommendation of the school. Take that to one of the Big Box stores and use their stock and staff to look over what they offer, that will give you a good idea of price range, then check with some local folks around your area and see if anyone has had any service support issues with any of the brands you are considering - keep the local factor in mind, some brands have great support in some markets and terible service support in other area's.

Here are a couple of thoughts on brands;

If you are really budget focused look at the Dell, they offer a very wide range of systems, the prices are reasonable, and they do have one of the largest service/support networks of any Mfg.

HP/Compaq, another wide selection, although much of their line up is home consumer focused, i.e. Media Centre PC's and Laptops. They also have a fairly well rated service support network in most areas I know of.

ACER, very good selection, generally better pricing than the other Big Brands, the support is generally very good, however their serice network is not as consistant in some small markets - my experience in Canada.

Lenovo (formally IBM), good gear, good service support, more money - nuff said...lol

Apple, very nice gear, some additional "tweaking" needed to run Windows and Windows applications, the online support is very good and the service network is improving, but still smaller than the others listed above. Apple is higher priced than other brands, but overall there is good value for the extra cost.

The thing about computers today is they have become pretty much a commidity item so the price and features change so rapidly you will never stay current, and in the end they are probably the 2nd most disposable piece of electronics sold today - Cell phones #1 answer...lol

I am not sure if any of the above is much help to you but it is the way I see the market today.
 
Alot of the kids are really into Apples. They make a cool white one she might be into. They are seriously nice laptops, especially their latest ones that have dual graphics card chips in them. I would recommend that if you do go with Apple, you get her Windows 7 as a secondary OS for it if some of her classes require her to run windows programs. The Apple retailer should be able to install it for her and show her how to work it.

The Mac Book Pro is the best, but very expensive... (I want one bad, the 17", what a unit... )
 
BOOM said:
Hello,I need some advice from the smartest people I know[that would be you!] My daughter is leaving for college in a few weeks and needs a good laptop PC to do the job that University life demands,She is thinking Apple but I don't know much about them.

Any ideas comments welcome
Thanks
Click to expand...
I'd want to know what major she is going in to before settling on apple. If there are going to be rather specific programs she needs to install and run, windows might be the way to go. Or at least expect to install windows on the apple if that is the case.

Also, is there any way to find out what the majority of the professors in her major use at the university? That would offer a big clue which way to go, if you see what I'm saying.
 
Make sure to check out the college bookstore. They usually give students a very big discount on laptops and software. They make up the savings with their overpriced books! LOL!

Don
 
I like both Apple and Acer computers. I brought a cheap Acer and it has worked fine. I use the Apple at work. I have both Windows 7 and the Apple OS on it. Apple is by far faster in all areas including the boot up, shut down and battery life. The graphics on the Apple are better and it also has better features. The programs that you buy for a Windows computer you have to pay for. Apple computer already have them installed for free. I have never had a BSOD on a Apple nor have I had a screen freeze. As far as I am concerned the Apple is ten times more stable than Windows. There are more programs for the Windows computer than Apple and Apple programs are more expensive. Apple takes a bit getting use to if you have been using a Windows computer. I would suggest going to BB and trying both. It all depends on what you want the pooter for and what's in the walley.
 
Oh and before you get an expensive one, make sure it is covered by some sort of insurance for theft. Easily portable computer = prime theft target on any college campus. Make sure she backs up her course work on to something else for the same reason!
 
Yep, what CraterMaker said..

You can get an inexpensive backup external HD now for computers, tons out there. CostCo has some basic nice ones for around $100.00 and if she does get an Apple, it has something called Time Machine that auto-backs up the files to the aux external HD. Apple have a wireless one with HD, sort of a network hub for the home, but I think its $250.00 which I think is a bit high, but it has a wireless bluetooth hub, so thats kind of a nice feature. (I think they call that Airport).
 
Brilliant!!!!! You guys are the best and that's why I come here 1st with my questions!! Thank You all for your ideas/comments and suggestions.I'm sure with the above info we'll be making a better decision.

Thank You very much!!
A now better informed/Patrick
 
Having to purchase two laptops for my College bound kids in the last couple of years. Here's some of the questions I asked the kids to decide on the laptops:

1- What kind of applications you need to run for your school classes. Are they available for Microsoft and Apple Operating Systems?

2- Are you planning to take the laptop to classes to take notes?

3- What kind of games are you going to play with the laptop?

4- Do you plan to watch Movies? DVD or Blue Ray?

5- How much do you want to pay for it? (actually what I wanted to pay for it :) )

Laptops are a compromise of weight/size, battery life and performance among many variables.

So here's the selection criteria based on the answers

1- If the apps run only with Microsoft OS's then get a Windows7 laptop. You can set-up the Apple laptops to dual-boot but you need to buy both OS's, learn how to select the OS to boot, etc.

IMHO the Apple laptops are more of a status symbol and a bit overpriced, apps are more expensive and so on.

We saw a student at the College with an Apple laptop and asked her why she chose it. She said that she had 2 laptops, the Apple to take notes and a Dell laptop for her school work since some of the apps run only on Microsoft OS's

2- If your kid is going to take notes with it then select a smaller laptop, no bigger than a 15".
Remember that most school desks don't have much room. My kids do not use it to take notes.

3- If they are playing games then get a laptop with a discreet graphics chip and dedicated graphics memory. and not an integrated graphics controller. Price is lower with the integrated controller.
Some games are ok with the integrated controller but some of them will choke big time.

4- If they are watching movies you probably want to get a wide screen 17" laptop. If they are watching Blue Ray movies then get the Blue Ray drive.

5- Here's you need to insert your price.

Bottom line for my kids was to get them a Dell 17" laptop with dedicated nVidia graphics and a DVD player/CD recorder.

Hope it helps
 
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