Laptop buying advice forum: Recommended Laptop for Animation

I got suggested the quad by a couple of friends on the course. I'm not entirely clued up on laptop specs, all I know is i need a laptop that wont die when I run three adobe programs at once.

I've been looking at i5's though, it's just hard to find a decent laptop at a price a student can afford. Contrary to the technological world and lecturers beliefs, not all of us can afford to buy things or borrow money off parents.

As a demo one of our office netbooks has Visual Studio loaded up on it. It does not "die" when we send it off to load VS and do a debug session. It does however get very busy for 15 minutes and then it finishes and you can use it.

That's not dying.
Bob

When I say die; I refer to the blue screen of death. My current laptop is not built for animation, therefore if you do too much on it (as is required of my course come deadlines) it will blue screen, or shut down, or go through a strange array of technological suicide attempts.

Hence why I was worried about what I'd need in a better laptop. More RAM, better graphics for smoother running, a faster more capable processor etc etc. I can't afford a full blown new Desktop, so a Laptop is my next option as even my current ('dying') laptop can handle five times as much as my current Desktop.

Laptops have been more reliable for me in the long wrong, however I've never been sure as to reliable brands and hardware.

As a student I'm pretty poor, so I cant fork out for £900 or over £1000 laptop or desktop...even £800 is pushing it. But all my searches lead me to them. So I came here for advice.

And as you've said, and i5 processor is ample enough than the most recent, so it opens up more options.

If it makes it any clearer how much my laptop suffers you can check its specs out Here.

It's done excellent for a 3 year old laptop, with 5 repairs and counting on it. 12 Blue screen incidents, several billion fan cleans and software removal, as well as hardware replacements.

But as much as it is like a 'loyal dog' to me. It wont last much longer. And this is my final graduate year, I can't risk this laptops life ending on me.

So as asked: If you have any advice or recommendations for what's good, but not necessarily "top notch", it would be helpful and I would be grateful.

That's a sign the machine is in need of repair, a reload of the OS or simple maintenance. I can't tell.

Tell me if you own "canned air." Usually I find folk that have never heard of that.
Bob

PS. My netbook example is just that. Some folk call the machine dying when they have to wait.