Community Newsletter: Q&A: 8/11/06 Laptops: which one to buy?
- 8/10/06 5:55 PM
What Apple ad?
by Fotograffiti - 8/11/06 8:07 AM In reply to: OR telll us how to move it! by mahubsAm I the only one NOT seeing this supposed Apple ad these guys are takling about?
Apple Ad. Not seeing it.
by NYBRN - 8/11/06 9:50 AM In reply to: What Apple ad? by FotograffitiI'm not seeing it.
NO
by Zeppo - 8/11/06 11:29 AM In reply to: What Apple ad? by FotograffitiThey may have fixed it, because I don't see it either. I do see a Mac add to the right that is marked "advertisement" but that's it.
Apple ad
by rrg1231 - 8/13/06 10:19 PM In reply to: What Apple ad? by FotograffitiI haven't seen it.
Laptop Choice
by jlev1 - 8/11/06 6:14 AM In reply to: Barry's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Excellent advice on the choice of laptop, I couldn't agree more. On the warranty - again good advice, and, if you purchase a dell, spend the extra $100 for the complete care accident coverage - my college son had 16 days left on his Dell when he spilled a glass of water on the keyboard, and Dell responded wonderfully. Beats buying a new system. Thanks, Paul Delomel
Get your money's worth
by bullfroghrr - 8/11/06 7:31 AM In reply to: Barry's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I recently purchased a laptop for school, and i would agree that there are many good deals out there right now, however purchasing a $500 laptop could leave you wanting more in a year.You can get an AMD turion64 with integrated ati graphics, a gig of ram, 100 gig hard drive, dvd burner, and a widescreen for about $900, it does very well and will probably leave you happier in the future.
Buying A Laptop
by Coolcatio - 8/11/06 7:47 AM In reply to: Barry's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Wow, what a great answer! I don't know what business you're in Barry but if it's not consulting you've missed your calling.
Which Laptop to Buy
by Wasn't Me - 8/11/06 12:46 PM In reply to: Barry's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I don't know if it was already mentioned, but pay close attention to the design, construction and materials used in making the laptop. My Dell 1150 had developed hinge cracks after about 6 months of almost no use (two hours a week, max with the lid opened and closed a few times). Dell recognized this issue, but only will replace ONCE, after that you're on your own.
Look for metal hinges NOT plastic.
Excellent advice.
by highlander2000 - 8/13/06 6:54 PM In reply to: Barry's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Barry, all I can say is your answer post was awesome to me. Packed with useful information. Rock on, brother.
What is a "Tier" 1 laptop?
by fancyface354 - 8/27/06 12:24 PM In reply to: Barry's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Barry,
Your information was extremely helpful. Thank you so much. Going shopping with my son (college freshman) for his laptop. Have a couple of questions. What is Tier 1 ? Have never seen reference to this before. What other equipment (cables, wireless modem, etc) will he need? and, do you have an opinion about virus protection, which one is best? Thank you so much for your help. Look forward to your reply
Wayne's winning answer
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 8/10/06 6:22 PM
In reply to: 8/11/06 Laptops: which one to buy? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Answer:
Hi Collin,
You made no mention of your college major, and that would affect the computer you purchase. When I bought a laptop for my son to take to college, he needed a pretty powerful machine since he was a computer engineering major. If you are entering the humanities, you wouldn't need a graphic card with a lot of RAM.
Your first step should be to talk to your school. Perhaps your advisor could help, if you've been assigned one already. If not, call the school IT department. They should be able to answer some of the most important questions, like if the campus is wireless and--if so--what type of wireless card is needed. (The standard wireless card that comes standard on laptops should work.)
Along these lines, some campuses are only partially wired. As such, they will have specific hot spots on campus, but your wireless will only work in building that have it. In your dorm room, you might well have to hard wire to the internet. Find out what type of internet is available. It should be, at a minimum ADSL.
Some college professors use Blue Tooth in class, sending notes and diagrams directly to your laptop for storage. (A great study aid when a test rolls around.) Ask the IT department. If your school does use Blue Tooth, that's generally an add on, not standard with an off-the-shelf laptop.
For storage, you have several options. Most laptops come with a flashcard reader that replaces the 3.5 inch floppy. That's the good news. The bad news is they don't come with a flashcard, and you have to purchase that separately. In most cases, you'll not use it as XP computers boot from the CDROM when you have a problem.
The laptop hard drives have really come down in price and a 60GB or 80GB hard drive adds little to the initial price. When I bought my son's computer, I opted to stay with the offered 80GB hard drive and purchased him a 160GB external hard drive. The cost differential between the external drive and the higher capacity computer hard drive was minimal. The access time is quite good using a USB2 connection, and it gave him the capability of downloading his work done on school computers, so he could continue working in his dorm room.
Since you apparently want to store MP3s, the external hard drive is an excellent choice. My son keeps his MP3s on his external hard drive so they don't clutter his machine. He reserves his internal hard drive is for school related programs and data. Of course the problem with this is obvious. People keep borrowing his external hard drive to listen to his tunes.
You said weight is a consideration. As a general rule, the bigger the screen, the heavier the laptop. If you purchase a 9 cell or 12 cell battery to improve battery life, that also adds weight, a does carrying a spare battery in the compartment provided in many laptops. Again, your major will drive this choice. If you can do your work on a 12 inch screen, that will give you the lightest laptop. If you're doing a lot of number crunching or graphics, you might need a larger screen.
I got a 15 inch screen for my son. He would have preferred 17 inches, but the weight was excessive. Instead, I got him a separate 19 inch flat screen monitor for his dorm room. That seems to work fine for him.
Of course if you're looking at a separate monitor, keyboard, mouse and hardwired internet connection in your dorm room, you might consider a port replicator or docking station so you won't have to connect and disconnect the peripherals every time you take your laptop to class and return. I didn't go that route. Instead, I got a wireless mouse and keyboard. (The transmitter is a small device that plugs right into the USB port.) He still has to plug in his internet connection and monitor, but it doesn't take much time.
Another peripheral to consider. 17 inch laptops--and a few 15 inch--come with a numbers pad. The lighter ones do not. I recommend a wireless keypad with a connection similar to the mouse and keyboard.
Now to the machine itself. Again, your major will determine what capabilities are needed. As a general rule, processor speed is not as important as RAM. Assuming you don't plan to upgrade your laptop frequently, I recommend at least 1GB. If speed is important, check the RAM speed and opt for the faster RAM.
As a student, you will no doubt be multi-tasking. You could be writing a paper while researching on the web and crunching numbers. (...And you'll do all of this while listening to MP3s, right?) I strong recommend a dual core chip. Not only does it improve multitasking, but it makes your computer Vista compatible, should you care to upgrade.
Will your courses require graphics? If so, consider a separate video card with some onboard video RAM. If you're majoring in playing video games, this will be a necessity.
All this said, I'd recommend talking to some student who have attended your school and see how many kids actually bring their laptops to class. I think you'll be surprised at how few really carry a laptop during the day. The school may well provide you with a workstation in your classes. If you do find you'll have to lug it around, I recommend a good backpack carrier. There's room for the laptop and any peripherals you might need with space left over for a book or two.
The number one crime in colleges across the country is apparently laptop theft. As a general rule, it's not like car theft where rings go out seeking something to steal. It's inattention and a crime of opportunity. A student leaves his laptop on a library table while searching for a book. Computers left unattended in dorm rooms also seem to grow legs. So, when you buy your laptop, buy a security cable. That will allow you to secure it in your dorm room, though it won't stop you from wandering off and leaving it in the coffee shop.
One final point. Don't buy software. As a college student, you can get some deep discounts. (My son's college provides anitvirus, antispy and firewall software free of charge.) If the school doesn't offer them directly, you can go to sites like journeyed.com and find some amazing deals, like MS Office Professional for under $80. These discounts are only available to students and educators.
Hope this helps,
Wayne
--Submitted by: Wayne F.
(NT) College or University IT Folks?
by cheerios2000 - 8/11/06 5:26 AM In reply to: Wayne's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My experience (undergrad + grad) with IT folks at college has been less than satisfactory. They really only have the perspective of what complaints are most likely encountered. They would be a good final screen to make sure that your machine is compatible. I liked the idea of chatting with an advisor, but it would be helpful only, if as Wayne mentions, you have one, and if you know your major. Good luck. -Nick
Maths Major - Laptop needed
by Shugs_21 - 8/11/06 10:14 AM In reply to: Wayne's winning answer by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi there!
Your advice is great:)
Im a math and applied math major so I need a laptop that can deal with really advance mathematics and run programs such as Matlab and MAthematica with ease. Obviously I have been looking into dual core and the Toshiba's seem great. My question is which Toshiba (for around R12 000) is my best bet?
Thanks
Look at business machines
by happy2000usa - 8/11/06 12:19 PM In reply to: Maths Major - Laptop needed by Shugs_21When I was researching laptops for my kid--a computer engineering major--I found that most laptops advertised on the market were for home use. To get a dual core processor, 512MB video card and at least a GB of RAM cost an arm and a leg because I was into gaming machines.
Small businesses are NOT going to pay $4000 for a laptop. As such, you can get a comparable machine through the small business section of most computer manufacturers at a grearly reduced price. I opted for a Dell D820--only sold to small businesses and not carried in their home use line. It had identical performance and configuration as their gaming machine, but was under $2000. As delivered, it had a T2500 Dual core processore, a 512MB NVidia video card, iGB RAM, Firewire, Bluetooth, USB2--powered and unpowered--a 9 cell battery and was wireless capable.
When you shop in stores or call a manufacturer, chances are you're going to get into home machines. With Dell, it took several calls before someone finally transferred me to their small business unit.
By the way, ask about student discounts. Often their small business section will tell you that there are no discounts... unless you want to go to the "for home use" section. Dell said that, then magically made about $350 disappear from the original quote... and threw in a Dell top of the line fax-scanner-copier-printer to boot.
Happy Hunting,
Wayne
Personally...
by Nelson5693 - 8/11/06 12:27 PM In reply to: Maths Major - Laptop needed by Shugs_21I just graduated with a Computer Engineering degree with a minor in Math and Computer Science, and I had a laptop with a 1.3GHz Celeron M, with 256mb, and a 30GB hard drive, and I not only ran Matlab 7 and Mathematica 4.5, but Electronics Workbench, Derive 5, Photoshop CS2, Java compilers, and MS Office Professional 2003.
For Matlab and Mathematica, unless you're going to be writing some serious code, that does alot of intense calculations and estimations, you really don't need that much power. I took 2 400 level Math courses, and the amount of code that I needed to write for those courses was minimal at best, compared to my comp. sci. courses and engineering courses. Just letting you know.
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