The College Laptop Question, Help Please

[BRC]

So, I'm going to College in the fall. Which means it's New Laptop Time.

The Laptop Fund is at about $1000, but I can dip into my "Ramen and Red Bull" fund if need be.
Now, obviously, I'm not going for anything Top Of the line here. I'd like somthing I can play games on, but I understand that a Good Gaming Laptop is out of my price range.

Currently, I'm looking at this:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w27/bloddyredcommie/Laptoppic-1.png

What I'm looking for, is suggestions, general advice, all that sort of stuff.

[Erloas]

What I'm looking for, is suggestions, general advice, all that sort of stuff.
My first bit of general advice is forget that Dell even exists.

Second bit of advice would be to look at Newegg.com

For ~$1000 you can actually get a laptop that will game fairly decently. Of course no where near as well as what a desktop would at a similar price range. But laptops have come down quite a bit lately and its not that hard to find sub $1k notebooks with dedicated video cards.

As a quick search on Newegg all of these laptops should fit your requirements. As a quick search on Newegg all of these laptops should fit your requirements. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=32&Description=&Type=&N=2034940032&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=1200&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A39859&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A40028&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A44056&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A45366&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A44835&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46846&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A45121&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46995&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46420&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46992&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A48903&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A48928) Although I haven't looked through it specifically, they all have decent video cards and they don't usually put those with really low end processors or too little RAM or such. Of course some are better then others, I just based the search on video cards that will give acceptable performance in the majority of games.

[BRC]

My first bit of general advice is forget that Dell even exists.

Second bit of advice would be to look at Newegg.com

For ~$1000 you can actually get a laptop that will game fairly decently. Of course no where near as well as what a desktop would at a similar price range. But laptops have come down quite a bit lately and its not that hard to find sub $1k notebooks with dedicated video cards.

As a quick search on Newegg all of these laptops should fit your requirements. As a quick search on Newegg all of these laptops should fit your requirements. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=32&Description=&Type=&N=2034940032&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=1200&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A39859&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A40028&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A44056&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A45366&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A44835&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46846&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A45121&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46995&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46420&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A46992&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A48903&PropertyCodeValue=402%3A48928) Although I haven't looked through it specifically, they all have decent video cards and they don't usually put those with really low end processors or too little RAM or such. Of course some are better then others, I just based the search on video cards that will give acceptable performance in the majority of games.

Thanks. I'll check that out.


One More thing I forgot to mention. There MUST be a good warranty. I went with Dell because 1) My college has a deal with Dell (probably not worth it), and 2: If it breaks, they will actually show up to fix it, rather than sending it off to minnesota or somewhere for two weeks.

[Coidzor]

How close to the current generation of games do you want to approximate?

Hmm... not really sure what to suggest really... Other than making sure to be aware of the battery life and type, especially if you'll actually have it mobile....

[valadil]

I've had good luck with Dell. I prefer them for non Apple laptops. My Inspiron is still chugging away quite happily and I picked it up in 2002.

Are you getting a laptop because you need a computer that's easy to bring to college and back home again or because you want to take notes on it in class? If it's a class computer, I highly recommend getting something smaller. I have a 14 incher and it was at the upper limits of what you'd want to carry around in a backpack. If I had to do it again, I'd go for 12 inches or smaller.

[Thanatos 51-50]

My current Laptop (Toshiba Satellite) cost me 800 or so dollars, has a built in webcam and mic, and plays Fallout 3 and EVE online pretty well.
DoW II and Cryostasis give me problems, though.
Might be helpful.

[BRC]

I've had good luck with Dell. I prefer them for non Apple laptops. My Inspiron is still chugging away quite happily and I picked it up in 2002.

Are you getting a laptop because you need a computer that's easy to bring to college and back home again or because you want to take notes on it in class? If it's a class computer, I highly recommend getting something smaller. I have a 14 incher and it was at the upper limits of what you'd want to carry around in a backpack. If I had to do it again, I'd go for 12 inches or smaller.

A little bit of both really.

I hadn't thought about Screen Size, but then again, for the last few years most of my schools note-taking classes have been in rooms with nice big tables. I'll see if I can get the screen smaller

[Thanatos 51-50]

This is the one I use. (http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-Satellite-L305-S5924-15-4-Inch-Laptop/dp/B001NEJQI4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248479343&sr=8-1)

It's well below your price range.

[Mando Knight]

You should be fine with almost any computer you purchase right now if you're not going to be worrying about cutting-edge games.

Regardless, you should check to see if whatever company you go with offers a deal that will let you switch to Windows 7, which comes out this fall and is supposed to correct a lot of things people disliked about Vista.

[13_CBS]

I would NOT recommend laptops from the following companies:

Toshiba

Lenovo


My current one, a Lenovo, runs very well, and cost about 1200 USD. But the main problem is that this laptop is, apparently, notorious for having weak hinges.

BE WARY OF THIS WHEN YOU HAVE A LAPTOP! It might be just me, but the two laptops I've owned (this one and the last one, which was a Toshiba) had serious problems with the hinges. Right now, my Lenovo screen must be set against a wall--the hinges are so broken that the screen won't stay upright anymore.

[Thanatos 51-50]

I would NOT recommend laptops from the following companies:

Toshiba

Lenovo


My current one, a Lenovo, runs very well, and cost about 1200 USD. But the main problem is that this laptop is, apparently, notorious for having weak hinges.

BE WARY OF THIS WHEN YOU HAVE A LAPTOP! It might be just me, but the two laptops I've owned (this one and the last one, which was a Toshiba) had serious problems with the hinges. Right now, my Lenovo screen must be set against a wall--the hinges are so broken that the screen won't stay upright anymore.

My hinges are fine. The onoly issue I have with the laptop's construction is that the female end of the power cord is a bit finnicky in regards to the male end.
Inappropriate sex joke goes here.

[toasty]

I bought a Toshiba last year and it... isn't a good machine. (Model: Satellite 205x I'm not sure what it is... little things like the speakers going weird (nothing but the subwoofer playing) and then having problems with the DVD (well... HD DVD, not that it matters. :smalltongue:) not reading any discs sometimes. That and I think its had some heating issues and doesn't do a good job playing OLD video games (Diablo II and KotoR nearly broke my GPU, literary). Oh and the battery sucks. On power saver I'm getting like 45 minutes I think... maybe less. My sister's Dell has like 2-3 hours and she can play Sims 3 for an hour, I can hardly play Warcraft III.

Also, don't buy a Dell. The last two dells we bought broke within a year. We had warranty but the GPUs just stopped working... for no reason.

If you want a good gaming machine I do suggest NOT buying integrated GPUs. Other than that, a good CPU and 3-4 Gigs of RAM (which should be standard on most mid-ranged machines) will do you fine.

Also, yes, screen size. I think a 15in would be fine since most backpacks will carry one fine. Though if you end up having a lot of books and a power cord in your bag as well... I have a 17in and its not very portable. It takes nearly my entire (special, 17in laptop backpack) to carry the darn thing and all its accessories (power plug, cooler, headphones)

[Jack Squat]

What's the problem with Dells? My family's got 9 of them of varying ages(my dad's got 2 laptops, 1 of them for work, 3 college kids with laptops, 3 desktops, and my mom's got a laptop), and no problems out of them so far.

Actually, the choice you had is the one my little brother got for his first year in college. It's pretty nifty; though I don't like that the finish smudges up pretty easily...that's the only thing I notice that's wrong with it (other than apparantly the fact that it's a Dell http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e378/jacksquat3/smilies/rolleyes.gif)

Depending on how far you'll be dragging it, maybe look for a slightly smaller screen, yours is about the largest I can recommend in good conscience for walking around all day.

[RS14]

I would NOT recommend laptops from the following companies:

Toshiba

Lenovo


My current one, a Lenovo, runs very well, and cost about 1200 USD. But the main problem is that this laptop is, apparently, notorious for having weak hinges.

BE WARY OF THIS WHEN YOU HAVE A LAPTOP! It might be just me, but the two laptops I've owned (this one and the last one, which was a Toshiba) had serious problems with the hinges. Right now, my Lenovo screen must be set against a wall--the hinges are so broken that the screen won't stay upright anymore.

For what it is worth, I've been satisfied with my Lenovo R61. Mostly I picked it for the matte screen, keyboard, and trackpoint. The absence of these things bugs me.

It sound as if you're using this primarily as an excuse to get a new gaming computer. Do I judge the situation correctly? A computer is all but necessary, yes, but I don't feel that a laptop is. I never take mine to class. Additionally, many of the people I see doing so merely use them to brows the web during class. Thus I would advise you to disregard the bulk of the computer unless you intend to use it in class.

How long have you had your current computer? How long do you intend to keep this one? Do you really need the four year warranty?

Why buy MS Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)? Besides, as I recall Microsoft is planning to offer a free, crippled, online version of office to consumers with their next release.

[Ichneumon]

You could buy a macbook, just, of under 1k, or actually exactly 1k. But I guess that would defeat the purpose of wanting a gaming laptop.

[Erloas]

What's the problem with Dells? My family's got 9 of them of varying ages(my dad's got 2 laptops, 1 of them for work, 3 college kids with laptops, 3 desktops, and my mom's got a laptop), and no problems out of them so far.

The biggest problem with Dell is that for the same specs you will be paying a lot less for the system from most other companies. Just about the only company that is worse for pricing is Apple...

I mean you look at their options and they want $75 to upgrade from 2GB to 4GB of RAM... when you can buy 4GB of RAM for a laptop for like $50, so you could buy their system, take their RAM and throw it away, put in your own and still come out money ahead. To upgrade from a 160GB HD to a 500GB HD adds $125 to the price... an aftermarket 500GB laptop HD is only $90 to start with.

I tried to match the build BRC had and I came up with about $1000 from Dell. $1000 and it has an integrated video card, its not super thin, it doesn't have a large screen, its a run of the mill laptop that costs hundreds more then from other companies. Its not like Dell has anything special either, they don't make RAM, they don't make motherboards, video cards, hard drives, screens or anything else. They outsource all the parts from other companies and put them together, so their parts are pretty much exactly the same as the parts in laptops from every other company.


As for a warranty, I wouldn't really worry about it. Maybe if they were really good about replacing it for free even if you broke it, but I don't think Dell does that. In terms of hardware failure pretty much they either die right away or they last 5+ years anyway.
Besides, for the price of an extended warranty you can replace any part that is likely to fail anyway.

If I were getting a laptop for a primary system I would get a 17" one, because I can't stand the limited resolution on the smaller monitors and I don't like the partial keyboards.

Personally though if I needed a laptop for college and wanted to play games and had $1000 to spend I would buy a netbook or very cheap basic laptop for taking to school and build a desktop to do everything else with. You will have a much more portable system with a lot more battery life (because you simply can't get laptops with decent hardware and good battery life, it just doesn't happen, mostly because of the GPU) and a system that will game a lot better then all but the highest end laptops. I've also never found laptops that comfortable for doing things like playing games and even simple stuff like surfing the net isn't as comfortable (mostly because of the keyboards). I also wouldn't even think about using a laptop track-pad for any amount of time, I would always have to have someplace to use a real mouse.

[BRC]

Actually, Dell warranty DOES replace things when they break, and they do it quickly. Usually you get your replacement part within a day, rather than them sending it off too some factory in the middle of nowhere and you get it back in two weeks. It's mainly that reason we are going with Dells. Also, my school gives me like a $200 Discount on a Dell, which is nice.

So yeah, after consulting with my computer savvy brother, I'm going for a dell. A diff build than the one shown above though.

[Ichneumon]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I have a netbook and was wondering if it would be "good enough" for univeristy, as I'm going next year.

[Myrmex]

Thanks. I'll check that out.


One More thing I forgot to mention. There MUST be a good warranty. I went with Dell because 1) My college has a deal with Dell (probably not worth it), and 2: If it breaks, they will actually show up to fix it, rather than sending it off to minnesota or somewhere for two weeks.

If you plan on using your laptop a lot, plan on pieces breaking and failing to work. Laptops suck because all the components are too small and close together.

I had a desktop through college, but most of my friends had IBM laptops. They all had problems with them, eventually (depending on amount of use), but thanks to the AWESOME warranty they were all under, they could get anything fixed they needed.

And face it, you're going to be playing A LOT of video games for the next 4 years.

[Jack Squat]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I have a netbook and was wondering if it would be "good enough" for univeristy, as I'm going next year.

It depends on what you mean by "good enough".

If all you need it for is to type up papers and use the internet, then yeah, it'll get the job done. I suppose it if it can't do anything you need it to, Universities normally have computer labs that you can use.

[Mauve Shirt]

I love my HP laptop.
All of the Dells I've seen have problems like keys breaking off and batteries dying and not charging within a year. My HP is still quite healthy. The biggest problem with HP though is the accessories. I'm on my 3rd AC adapter, the first two just died.

[RS14]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I have a netbook and was wondering if it would be "good enough" for univeristy, as I'm going next year.

It sounds awful to actually type on, though. I'd get a USB keyboard for serious writing and keep it in my room.

[MissK]

I have a Dell netbook, and am going to grad school, and it works fine. I don't have trouble typing, maybe just because I have small hands, but I did get an optical mouse because I HATE scroll pads. I touch it the wrong way and suddenly I'm zoomed in like 500%. My only worry is that I'll become a hunchback from stooping over it all day, but the same goes for all computers.

[KilltheToy]

If you want something cheap, I'd reccomend the Asus Eee PC.

I have a 904HA, it was cheap, it's lightweight, it's portable.

However, it can't play games worth crap. The only games I know I can run on it without serious lag are Maplestory and Gunz: The Duel. I tried running The Ship and had some serious lag that ruined the game for me. I may have to try it again now that I've upgraded the memory, as that was the only complaint Steam had about me playing it.

[Bouregard]

So, I'm going to College in the fall. Which means it's New Laptop Time.

The Laptop Fund is at about $1000, but I can dip into my "Ramen and Red Bull" fund if need be.
Now, obviously, I'm not going for anything Top Of the line here. I'd like somthing I can play games on, but I understand that a Good Gaming Laptop is out of my price range.

Currently, I'm looking at this:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w27/bloddyredcommie/Laptoppic-1.png

What I'm looking for, is suggestions, general advice, all that sort of stuff.

Gaming laptop and College Laptop don't mix well. For a college Laptop you wan't a really longlife powersupply. 5hours is a minimum. Usually Laptops more in the gaming range drain heavily on your powersupply.


There is nothing more annoying then a laptop without power halfway throught the day.

Buy a low end laptop with long duration, Office, Wlan and some good old games that are always fun (Dwarf fortress, old RPGs..).

[Lupy]

I'm not trying to hijack this thread, but I have a netbook and was wondering if it would be "good enough" for univeristy, as I'm going next year.

If you're typing papers and surfing the web, you want it to run quickly, and you're tired of 2 minute boot-ups...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3756782936_ce5a34ab62.jpg?v=0

Seriously, send me a PM, you'll be amazed. </shameless advertising>


------------

As for lappys, HPs have the best hinges because there is one giant hinge running the length of it. They also will come to your dwelling place and fix your machine if you have a problem, which is rare. We've had HPs since long before I was born (286 era for all you oldtimers) and the only one we had a serious problem with they replaced with a better one.

[SDF]

The biggest problem I've encountered with Dell is their 3rd party hardware compatibility issues. It's pretty bad, but most people don't change out hardware on their laptops before they replace them anyhow. My parents have had Micron, Dell, and HP while I was growing up before I finally helped them out building a custom tower. My computer is a high spec Alienware (Now owned by Dell) that I love. For straight up brand preference I would choose HP, but go where the deal is.

[Yarram]

Here we go:
Personally, I dislike Dell, because of its compatibility issues, but then again, most Laptop Companies are incompatible with something. (Dell is particularly bad about it though)
Despite this, Dell's tend to last for a very long time.
The laptops that are recommended for industry standards however are Toshiba and HP, as they're 'sposed to be the most reliable consistently. My own experience with Toshiba has been fairly good too, the only difficulty I've had with one I purchased this year is it's incompatible with some kinds of Linux because of its graphics card being obscure, but since I was more concerned with price and the ability to run programs for school, I ignored this when I bought it. (For $800 including P&H and a free 8GB flash drive from Mobile's Notebooks Laptops (Australia) (http://www.mln.com.au))
(Which is pretty good for a 2.4 Ghz Dual Core with 120 GB HD and 3 GB RAM)

I'd say the most important thing to look at for a gaming computer is the graphics card. Get a really compatible brand, and most of your problems will just sort themselves out. Make sure your Laptop is compatible with XP. Some restrict it, and also make sure you google the model of your laptop like so:
"<Brandname> <Model Number> error"
"<Brandname> <Model Number> problem"
"<Brandname> <Model Number> broken"
etc.

[Serpentine]

Same question, for Australia.
Still <.<

[potatocubed]

Word to the wise: for a laptop you're going to be hoofing about all day, the key requirement is light weight. Even if you're buff as hell, the strap/s on your bag are going to be carving grooves into your shoulder/s and ruining your posture.

The second requirement, as other people have mentioned, is battery life. I put this second because you can usually find a power point if you look around for one, but anti-gravity stickers are harder to come by. :smalltongue:

Also, laptop battery lives are appalling. You can expect to get about half of what the manufacturer says, and that will degrade over time. On the other hand, you can get replacement batteries without having to replace the whole laptop.

[purple gelatinous cube o' Doom]

from experiences with friends, I highly suggest against a Toshiba laptop. THey are on the cheap side, but I've had three friends in college have one, and every single one of them like clockwork broke down relatively quickly. I also despise Dell with every fiber of my being, so I don't recommend them. If you can afford an HP of some sort, I'd go with that. In my experience they have great customer service and repair times. I sent my computer away to them to have some repairs, and from the time it left my hands until the time I picked it up was about 3 days. They're very efficient about that kind of thing.

[Erloas]

I've heard a lot of good things about Asus's laptops. I haven't tried one myself, but I use their motherboards and video cards quite a bit and have never had problems with them. They haven't been a big name in the retail sector or general public, but they have been a very trusted brand for people building their own systems for quite a while.

If you are really looking for a laptop to be portable though I would again suggest picking up a netbook for your portable needs (small and light weight with good battery life) and then build a desktop for gaming.

[eidreff]

You appear to be going about this the right way in making a list of things that you want from the machine.

The comments above about portability and battery life are something that you should really bear in mind.

if you can it may be worth investing in two machines. a base unit that you can store at "home" wherever that is and an unltra portable or netbook that you can carry to lectures and work on the move with.

I also recommend Linux as an operating system. you may not be able to play all your windows games on a Linux netbook, but packages like Openoffice can save your notes into a format that can be read by Word.

How technical are you willing to get? There are a couple of "self build" options available on the market with pretty reasonable specifications (OCZ are the only manufacturer that springs to mind at the second) that come pretty cheap an you get to choose what RAM and HDD you put in. They also can work out cheaper, but you would need to get your own oprating system.